"Alright. Since you listened to my story I'm gonna hand you the cube. Just promise not to shoot me." Ezekiel said.
"Yea, sure whatever. I just want to get out of here." replied Gary.
Ezekiel opened the door, and handed Gary a thumb sized cube. "This better be valuable." He placed the cube in a special pocket his suit held for it. Ezekiel asked Gary if he could follow him up to the surface. Gary agreed, and led him towards the service elevator. Ezekiel.
"You used that elevator? You know that there are faster, more modern elevators outside of the service tunnels right? You don't even need to find a keycard." Ezekiel asked.
"No I didn't know. I don't live here. Also I was being hunted down by a custodian so I really didn't have the freedom to explore." Replied Gary.
"Why didn't you just look around after you killed it? " questioned Ezekiel.
"Killed it? I didn't." stated Gary.
"What!?" yelled Ezekiel. As he yelled the door to the service tunnels opened revealing a human-shaped custodian holding a key card. He screamed for Gary to run, but as he turned around he saw that Gary was already down the hall. He barely started running before the custodian's left hand turned in a spike, and brained him. As Ezekiel wasn't the custodians target it neglected to consume him, and assumed a canine form to chase after Gary.
Gary ran for his life. He didn't know where the elevator was amidst all of these labs, but he was sure he'd find it eventually. He hoped that Ezekiel could slow down the custodian a bit, but he wasn't holding his breath. He felt a bit callous, he was starting to like the guy. Gary could hear the sound of chainsaw rapidly approaching. He then heard a voice coming from his jumpsuit.
"Hey pal, my sensors show that you're the lucky clone that finally found that cube I've been looking for."
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Gary didn't reply, and kept running. He took a turn down a hallway, and ran through a door that led into a storage closet. Luckily it wasn't a dead end there was another door on the other side of the room.
"Hey buddy, as your employer, lord, and master. I recommend you respond." Said the voice.
Gary started barricading the door with the boxes in the room "A little busy trying not to die."
"Ah I see you made contact with the threat we warned you about" replied the voice
"Warned me about? You didn't tell me shit." Gary shouted.
"We gave you a gun." Said the voice. Gary refused to respond, and went back to stacking boxes. Then he heard a thump on the door, and a familiar chainsaw-like sound. He took that as his cue to run out of the other door. On the other side he found more hallways. Luckily a sign was pointing in the direction of the elevators.
"Well, if you survive get to the roof. If not We'll send some more for the cube." ordered the voice. Gary ran as fast as his legs could carry him. These elevators were really far away he thought. Behind him he heard a large crash. He picked up the pace. He could now hear the custodian getting closer. Fortunately he could see the elevators. He slammed into the wall inside of an elevator, pulled himself up off the floor, and pressed the highest button he could go. Which would take him to the ground floor. The elevator closed with the custodian still a couple hundred feet away. Gary took a sigh of relief.
The elevator quickly rose. While it was moving significantly faster than the service elevator. It would still be another while before Gary got to the top. He took the opportunity to relax, and plan his next move. There were other elevators available, and the custodian was clearly intelligent enough to use one. He assumed he would only be lucky enough to have a few extra minutes. Gary wasn't sure how he was being tracked, and he wasn't smart enough to find out. The upper section of the spire was a living area. Everything the lower section, which acted as a foundry, produced would typically go up, and out into the city. The importance of the lower section meant that no one could simply enter from any elevator in the upper section. Gary needed to find an elevator in the upper section to the roof. He didn't trust his 'employer,' but he had less trust in his ability to kill, a liquid metal death machine. The elevator had a glass window that allowed him to look into the massive factory that the lower sections were. The lower section was not limited to industry. There were also hydroponic farms, cattle ranches, breweries, fisheries. Every industry necessary for the healthy functioning of a city was represented within the lower sections of the spire.
Gary coughs into his hand. "Say employer? You'd want this cube sooner rather than later. Yes?"
"Yes." replied the employer.
"Ok, so I need to get to an elevator on the ground floor, probably within like two or three minutes. Is there any chance you have access to a map of the spire." asked Gary.
"We have a map of the entire city." replied the employer.
"Why didn't I have access to this map?" asked Gary.
"You didn't need it, but also we didn't trust that you clones wouldn't just run off into the woods at the first sign of trouble. Despite how far in we sent you. With a map you would've taken a train out of the city within minutes." replied the employer.
"Touché. Well?" asked Gary.
"Well what?" asked the employer.
"Can you guide me to an elevator in that time frame?" questioned Gary.
"Oooh! Yea probably." replied the employer.