Episode 6: Breakout
The woman in the severe suit frowned at Hank and David. Her brick red suit only enhanced the look of trouble hovering around her like a fog of gloom. She had been standing there for quite awhile listening to Hank and David's conversation.
Hank noticed her first. It was Kate Donovan. She was the head of the Alpha Site. She ushered them to her office for a more secure chat.
"Kate. What do you know about the Facility?" Hank Carter asked.
"They go by the name Echelon. It's run by a woman named Esta Cooper. She's a few crackers short of a box."
"Not a fan?" David Carter asked.
"They don't focus solely on scientific advancements. So, they're not as responsible as others."
"You're just mad they stole your best asset," said Shayne Michaels, had of Alpha Site security walked into the room without knocking. He was tall, lanky and movie star handsome.
As Hank stared at him he thought something about him looked familiar Shayne was used to the expression. "My brother's an actor," he said in explanation.
It was then the image clicked into his mind. "Chance Michaels from Darkstone: Secret Agent? I love that show."
Shayne barely acknowledged Hank's outburst. He gave him a troubled glance that said he and his brother weren't on speaking terms.
"We have some activity at the Facility." Shayne looked pointedly at Kate. "Our man on the inside said they have some 'originals.'"
"Originals?" Hank asked.
"Normal people like you and me. People who haven't been implanted with a second personality they call an ADP. Advanced Digital Personality. They aren't the ones who created this tech but they've managed to cobble together their own machine by reverse engineering."
"Get a team together," Kate said. "We've got to get the originals out before they're compromised."
"So, does this mean you're going to help me?" Hank asked.
Kate gave him one of her looks, Hank couldn't quite decipher it. She and Bailey, his boss, didn't have the best relationship in the world.
"We'll see." She steepled her hands in thought.
___
Jenna's eyes were as large as saucers. Liz Hunter was the last person she expected to see at the bottom of the stairs. The two of them stopped short. Phoenix, who was behind her, held her still and whispered softly in her ear.
"Move back slowly."
As they did, Marcus came out of the room behind them with the ADP transfer device. His eyes scanned the room. When they landed on Phoenix and Jenna he growled and lunged in their direction. They were caught on the stairs. There seemed was no escape. At least that was what was running through Jenna's mind.
"Run!" Phoenix yelled. He bounded over the railing landing on the next level. He motioned for Jenna to follow. "Jump. I'll catch you."
Jenna glanced from Marcus above and Liz below. The decision was practically made for her. She had no choice but to jump. She landed awkwardly but Phoenix cushioned her fall. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the closest exit.
"We have to go... now!"
Marcus jumped over the railing in pursuit. Liz followed closely behind. The chase continued through the hallways. They rough-housed through people who were walking innocent by-standers thrown against walls and shoved to the floor. Jenna was too scared to do more than breathe heavily through her mouth and grunt as another person got in their way.
The were almost free, but one wrong turn had them staring at the dead end. Marcus quickly covered the only exit.
"Where do you think you're going," he said in a voice that sounded drastically different than it had been fifteen minutes earlier. It was a lower, evil tone.
"We're leaving. Come with us." Phoenix tried to appeal to his sense of self-preservation.
"Why would I do that? This is where I belong." A vacant expression crossed his face. There was definitely something not right with Marcus.
Jenna was the first to spy Liz. She was tip-toeing behind Marcus holding a large stone bust of a former founder of the Facility. She elbowed Phoenix who focused on Liz just in time to see her smash the bust on Marcus' head.
"What are you doing?" Jenna squealed as Marcus fell to the floor unconscious. "You're one of them!"
Liz looked up as she checked Marcus' pulse. "We only do what they say when the ADP is inside us. Without it, we're free. They think we're mindless shells. Somehow I was able to maintain my identity."
"Which way out of here?" Phoenix asked.
"What about Marcus?" Jenna asked. Liz stopped Jenna from touching him.
"We have to leave him behind. With that thing in his head, he's one of them! This way."
She led them to an unused part of the Facility. The further they went down into the bowels of the Facility, the more the knot tightened in Jenna's stomach.
"I don't like this," Jenna whispered so only Phoenix could hear her. "I think it's a trap."
"What choice do we have?" Phoenix said. "Go back and become an Echelon zombie killer like Marcus or go forward and see what happens?"
"I really don't like this." Jenna shook her head but she hated the idea of becoming a zombie killer even more.
Soon the stairways gave way to pipes and duct work. Aged rusted metal peeked out everywhere.
"Exactly where are we going?" Jenna asked loud enough for Liz to hear.
"Away from prying eyes and closer to an unguarded exit."
"Is this exit somewhere near hell?"
The tunnels with pipes running above their heads stopped and opened into a larger room. It was dark and the walls were covered with a black metal. Liz led them to a specific wall with a ladder created with U-shaped brackets.
Liz pointed up. The metal hooks led toward the ceiling and disappeared into darkness.
"You want me to climb that?" Jenna said.
"It leads to a hatch outside the Facility's gate." She grabbed onto the rings and scurried up and into the darkness.
Jenna hesistated and Phoenix put a calming hand on her shoulder. "Go on. I'll be right behind you."
Jenna began her climb and Phoenix started after her. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed him and pulled him to the floor.
It was Marcus.
"Leaving so soon?" Marcus' voice was low and disturbing.
The woman in the severe suit frowned at Hank and David. Her brick red suit only enhanced the look of trouble hovering around her like a fog of gloom. She had been standing there for quite awhile listening to Hank and David's conversation.
Hank noticed her first. It was Kate Donovan. She was the head of the Alpha Site. She ushered them to her office for a more secure chat.
"Kate. What do you know about the Facility?" Hank Carter asked.
"They go by the name Echelon. It's run by a woman named Esta Cooper. She's a few crackers short of a box."
"Not a fan?" David Carter asked.
"They don't focus solely on scientific advancements. So, they're not as responsible as others."
"You're just mad they stole your best asset," said Shayne Michaels, had of Alpha Site security walked into the room without knocking. He was tall, lanky and movie star handsome.
As Hank stared at him he thought something about him looked familiar Shayne was used to the expression. "My brother's an actor," he said in explanation.
It was then the image clicked into his mind. "Chance Michaels from Darkstone: Secret Agent? I love that show."
Shayne barely acknowledged Hank's outburst. He gave him a troubled glance that said he and his brother weren't on speaking terms.
"We have some activity at the Facility." Shayne looked pointedly at Kate. "Our man on the inside said they have some 'originals.'"
"Originals?" Hank asked.
"Normal people like you and me. People who haven't been implanted with a second personality they call an ADP. Advanced Digital Personality. They aren't the ones who created this tech but they've managed to cobble together their own machine by reverse engineering."
"Get a team together," Kate said. "We've got to get the originals out before they're compromised."
"So, does this mean you're going to help me?" Hank asked.
Kate gave him one of her looks, Hank couldn't quite decipher it. She and Bailey, his boss, didn't have the best relationship in the world.
"We'll see." She steepled her hands in thought.
___
Jenna's eyes were as large as saucers. Liz Hunter was the last person she expected to see at the bottom of the stairs. The two of them stopped short. Phoenix, who was behind her, held her still and whispered softly in her ear.
"Move back slowly."
As they did, Marcus came out of the room behind them with the ADP transfer device. His eyes scanned the room. When they landed on Phoenix and Jenna he growled and lunged in their direction. They were caught on the stairs. There seemed was no escape. At least that was what was running through Jenna's mind.
"Run!" Phoenix yelled. He bounded over the railing landing on the next level. He motioned for Jenna to follow. "Jump. I'll catch you."
Jenna glanced from Marcus above and Liz below. The decision was practically made for her. She had no choice but to jump. She landed awkwardly but Phoenix cushioned her fall. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the closest exit.
"We have to go... now!"
Marcus jumped over the railing in pursuit. Liz followed closely behind. The chase continued through the hallways. They rough-housed through people who were walking innocent by-standers thrown against walls and shoved to the floor. Jenna was too scared to do more than breathe heavily through her mouth and grunt as another person got in their way.
The were almost free, but one wrong turn had them staring at the dead end. Marcus quickly covered the only exit.
"Where do you think you're going," he said in a voice that sounded drastically different than it had been fifteen minutes earlier. It was a lower, evil tone.
"We're leaving. Come with us." Phoenix tried to appeal to his sense of self-preservation.
"Why would I do that? This is where I belong." A vacant expression crossed his face. There was definitely something not right with Marcus.
Jenna was the first to spy Liz. She was tip-toeing behind Marcus holding a large stone bust of a former founder of the Facility. She elbowed Phoenix who focused on Liz just in time to see her smash the bust on Marcus' head.
"What are you doing?" Jenna squealed as Marcus fell to the floor unconscious. "You're one of them!"
Liz looked up as she checked Marcus' pulse. "We only do what they say when the ADP is inside us. Without it, we're free. They think we're mindless shells. Somehow I was able to maintain my identity."
"Which way out of here?" Phoenix asked.
"What about Marcus?" Jenna asked. Liz stopped Jenna from touching him.
"We have to leave him behind. With that thing in his head, he's one of them! This way."
She led them to an unused part of the Facility. The further they went down into the bowels of the Facility, the more the knot tightened in Jenna's stomach.
"I don't like this," Jenna whispered so only Phoenix could hear her. "I think it's a trap."
"What choice do we have?" Phoenix said. "Go back and become an Echelon zombie killer like Marcus or go forward and see what happens?"
"I really don't like this." Jenna shook her head but she hated the idea of becoming a zombie killer even more.
Soon the stairways gave way to pipes and duct work. Aged rusted metal peeked out everywhere.
"Exactly where are we going?" Jenna asked loud enough for Liz to hear.
"Away from prying eyes and closer to an unguarded exit."
"Is this exit somewhere near hell?"
The tunnels with pipes running above their heads stopped and opened into a larger room. It was dark and the walls were covered with a black metal. Liz led them to a specific wall with a ladder created with U-shaped brackets.
Liz pointed up. The metal hooks led toward the ceiling and disappeared into darkness.
"You want me to climb that?" Jenna said.
"It leads to a hatch outside the Facility's gate." She grabbed onto the rings and scurried up and into the darkness.
Jenna hesistated and Phoenix put a calming hand on her shoulder. "Go on. I'll be right behind you."
Jenna began her climb and Phoenix started after her. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed him and pulled him to the floor.
It was Marcus.
"Leaving so soon?" Marcus' voice was low and disturbing.
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