08:18 Armstrong Building, Lecture Hall 1A

The alarms were sounding. Lights had been dimmed and alarms were going off. John instantly went into fight mode, but he was desperately under gunned. Kristin was determined to follow him. Patrice and Richard were going to follow John, they knew sticking with him meant they’d likely be safe.

A feminine computerized voice broke through the siren, “Please head to the bunkers. This is not a drill. Leave the rooms in orderly order. Head to the appropriate bunkers.”

“Let’s go. Bunkers are in the third basement.”

“Roger,” the three cadets said in unison.

John hopped the row and headed out one of the exits that weren’t marked for emergency exits.

“That’s not…”

“We’re going to the armory first, then the bunker,” John said without flinching.

The three didn’t bother arguing with him. Given the situation being armed helped their position more than it detracted from it. They walked down a darkened hallway until they got to the stairs. They followed him downstairs to the third basement level.

“Armory is at the end of the hall on our left, ” John pointed as he stepped into the hallways slowly.

“And you have access to this?” Patrice asked.

“No, but I know how to get into it.”

“Sure you do. This is stupid. We should get to the bunker,” Richard was getting angry.

“It’s here,” John walked up to the door.

He pulled out his tablet and connected a wire to it. The other side of the wire clicked in under the handprint scanner. John appeared to start a program from the other’s point of view. He was tapping his foot impatiently.

“Look this is stupid, we need to get to the…” Richard was interrupted by the tablet changing color on its screen from red to green.

John placed his hand on the scanner. The door opened.

“In, now,” John pulled the cord out and entered the room.

John closed the door after Kristin entered the room, “Patrice, go to that terminal and view the hallway cameras for this level.”

“O…k…” Patrice still had his doubts about John’s bona fides. But this was beginning to quell some of those doubts.

“Richard, that terminal,” John pointed at it, “Scan the coms, let’s see what the fuck is going on here.”

“Yup, on it,” Richard wasn’t about to argue with John anymore.

“Kristin, let’s gear up.”

John and Kristin walked to the back of the small room. There are several lockers containing battle rifles, sub-machine guns, and numerous pistols. Ample amounts of ammunition and spare magazines were there too. Four combat suits were also in another locker.

“Thank fucking Christ. Can someone please turn the bloody lights on in here?” John asked as he began taking his clothes off.

Patrice stood up and flicked the switch on the wall. He looked back at the end of the room and saw John in some boxer briefs. He saw three noticeable bullet exit wounds on John’s back along with two fairly large scars that appeared he was cut with something.

“Fucking hell man,” Patrice stopped in his tracks.

Richard turned around and saw the same thing Kristin did at the same time. They stopped what they were doing and gasped. John had been in the locker room with the other two boys, but no one seemed to have looked at his back or said anything. There was now no need to question his past.

“Yeah, when you fuck up on an operation, shit gets real, quick,” John didn’t even look back; he knew what caused the commotion, he zipped up the suit and engaged it, “Get these suits on. All of you. You two look away when she’s changing. Underwear only.”

“The fuck is this?” Patrice walked to the back of the room and grabbed one.

“Standard issue marine combat suits. When you activate it, the suit will conform to your body. It’s an impact-resistant nano-fiber suit. Armor plates are back there which we will put on before leaving this room,” John was acting as a human wall for the other two boys to make sure they didn’t look back and get a glimpse of a near-naked Kristin, “Once the suits are on getting back to the coms and the cameras. We’re not leaving until we can hear them.”

Richard looked to the side, “How are you so sure this isn’t a test?”

“Intuition, hurry up.”

08:25 Armstrong Building, Main Floor hallways

“He was in that bloody classroom. We had all the exits covered. This op has gone tits up,” a man dressed as a janitor said.

“Masks on, let’s get down to the bunker and get it opened,” the leader of the group picked up a bag on the ground, “You three check around this lecture hall and see if there were any other routes or places for cadets to hide. Be quick.”

“Roger,” the three ran off.

“Look, I don’t want to be that guy, but this is dangerously going pear-shaped. You know we may need to call it early just in case.” Another one of the goons said, he appeared to be closer to the leader than the rest.

“We’re not there yet. Move out.”

The other group turned around and headed down the stairs with the intention of going to the bunker. They were moving quickly without checking their surroundings.

“Tech guys, when you get to the bunker hack the surveillance system inside. We need to locate where the target is.”

“Got it, shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes to get eyes on the insides of the bunker.”

08:35 Armstrong Building, Primary Armory

John finished loading magazines for everyone. There were four extra magazines for their rifles, pistol, and sub-machine gun magazines. John went back into the lockers to find suppressors. After finding them for all three guns he began screwing them onto the end of the barrels.

“Shotgun would have been nice but oh well. Mags and guns are ready for you lot. How’s intelligence going?” John had moved over to the stack of armor panels.

He began separating the different types of armor plates. Kristin had received messages from the rest of their group. They were fine, but a number of recruits weren’t accounted for. That left a sickening feeling in her stomach. She walked over to John and helped sort out the armor plates.

“The rest of our friends are safe and sound in bunkers. Just thought you’d like to know that.”

“Thanks,” John was hovering the armor plates over where they should attach, the suit did the rest to properly align and lock them into place, “Get armored up and use all the plates. Getting shot does not feel good. I obviously speak from experience.”

Kristin complied. John was fully armored; he grabbed his weapons and spare magazines. He walked over to Patrice just as he had found something. He pulled it up on the view screen on the wall behind his terminal.

“I see it too, Patrice. They are hunting for someone.”

“You?” Patrice didn’t know any better but figured it could be him.

“Wouldn’t surprise me. But something is off about these guys though.”

“Got it,” Richard patched the enemy coms through the armor’s audio systems.

“You two, get armed and armored,” John pointed to the back.

Kristin had just loaded a magazine and chambered a round. The pistol was magnetized to a piece of armor protecting her hip. The submachine gun was off her right shoulder. John was listening into the feed closely. Then they all heard John laughing maniacally. Patrice and Richard were confused, while Kristin was just left stunned.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Hey, it’s not me for once. Thank fucking Christ,” John looked back at the group, “Don’t worry Patrice, we may not be friends but I’m not going to let these shitbirds get you.”

“What’s the plan?” Kristin asked.

“We’re going to eliminate all of the assailants on this floor. Then move up and clear the building,” John brought up a detailed map of the building, “Getting shot is going to hurt but you should survive. The downside to these suits is that stun rounds hurt like a motherfucker. Avoid getting shot and we should be good. Clear?”

The three nodded.

“Good. Also, don’t turn the suits off. As long as they stay turned on, they can’t remove you from them. Except for the helmets,” the three nodded in unison, “I’ve got a point, Kristin you cover our rear. You two cover each side. Helmets on.”

The four of them put the helmets on and synched their coms together. John pressed the button to open the door and the four left the room. The door closed silently behind Kristin. John motioned forward so the group advanced forward slowly. Just before getting to the stairs, John held up a fist. The squad hugged the walls. John peaked around the wall slowly and scanned the stairwell.

“No one’s here, we’re moving forward to the end of the hall. Hold up before the turn to the right. Expect hostiles there.”

08:35 Armstrong Building. Outside of Bunker 1 and 2

“No joy, he’s not in either one,” the tech specialist said.

“So, he left in the rear exit and got out of the building then,” one of the others angrily said, “He could be fucking anywhere now.”

“Building is locked down, we just don’t where he is. He did not leave this building. We just have to find him. Let’s get out of the basement, he isn’t here.”

Before leaving the bunkers the tech specialist on the team loaded a worm into the building’s systems. It rendered the general-purpose naval communication system useless. The attackers then left the bunkers and headed up the stairs. They went up the stairs and began scanning the second basement. They finished the scan quickly, the doors were locked with no way a cadet, except one with John’s talents, could have gotten in. They moved up the stairs and began checking that floor.

08:50 Armstrong Building. Outside of Bunker 1 and 2

John had unlocked the first bunker. The doors were slowly and quietly opening. A pair of professors and a couple of seniors were about to greet the cadets with violence.

“Friendlies. Armory is down the hall. Get yourselves armed and shoot any hostiles. We’re going up to clear out hostiles in this building. There are cadets that didn’t make it to the bunkers.”

One of the professors, a captain, pushed forward, “Wait, who are you?”

“Cadet Leif. I’m aware I don’t have rank here, but please do as I ask. We’re leaving,” John saluted and then headed towards the stairs.

The group followed him up. As they were heading up the stairs John reached out with his mind. There were a handful of students on the second and third floors. The hostiles were moving up to the main floor from another stairwell. He relayed the video feeds into their HUD.”

“Enemies spotted, they’re in the south stairwell. We need to ambush them on the main floor,” John said as he bounded up the stairs.

A minute later they were on the main floor running towards the south side of the building. They slowed down when John did. He crept up along the wall and peaked around the edge. He gestured with three fingers pointing to the right and left sides. He also made a gesture that implied an unknown number more up the stairs.

Target assignments were assigned in their HUD, then John started a countdown. When the timer hit zero John turned the lights on. He bolted out and targeted the far two hostiles. He pulled the trigger. As he was doing that the other cadets crept out from cover and fired at their targets. Three seconds later six dead hostiles lay dead on the stairway.

John tapped into the building's speaker system, “This is Cadet Leif; students lock the doors and do not exit the rooms until Naval personnel relieves you. For the assholes that are here, we’re coming for you.”

09:05 Armstrong Building. Second Floor

“Fuck that noise, we need to exit now. Casper, do that trick of yours.”

The small one began running, as he did, he placed three fingers on his temple. He began shrouding their presence psychically. The attackers continued running down the hallway. Halfway down the hallway, the lights came on and suppressed gunfire was heard on the main floor.

“Book it, now. Don’t stop. Head to the main stairwell.”

“Agreed.”

“Like yesterday.”

The group made it to the end of the hallway and headed left toward the stairs. The lights went and then they heard a warning come on the speakers. The group paused to hear it.

“We’re getting out of here.”

When they got back down to the main floor, they looked down the hallway and saw two armored individuals in the hallway. Their leader raised his first and pointed at the two. They raised their rifles and fired them. The two dropped to the ground writhing in pain.

“Infantry suits, perfect. Get to them quickly, maybe he’s there,” the leader pointed.

They ran over to the two bodies writhing on the floor. They pulled the helmet off the first. Kristin’s face was contorted in pain. Another one of the attackers pulled the helmet off the other. Patrice was in as much pain as Kristin.

“Fucking perfect. Strip their weapons and bag their heads,” the leader drew his gun and shot the glass out of the nearest window that led to the street.

“We’re taking both of them?” one of them asked.

The leader nodded. While the group was confused, they complied with the order. Bags were placed over the cadet’s heads. One of them shot the windows out. They were dragged out of the building, onto the sidewalk, and then unceremoniously thrown into the van that just rolled up.

“What about the others?” the driver shouted back at the group as the side door slammed shut.

“They are dead. Drive now!”

As the van merged into traffic and began driving away the leader sitting in the front passenger seat turned to his right and saw a black armored individual jump from the second floor of the building. John landed on a parked car’s roof caving it in. The sub-machine gun was already drawn and aimed. He began firing at the van’s wheels. Unfortunately, the magazine was woefully inadequate for the gun’s rate of fire. John triggered the secondary fire system on the gun. It fired a single tracker round into the van.

John’s VI chimed in that the worm that was interrupting communications was removed. He sent a message to his friends to head to the main armory beneath the gymnasium.

“Fuck fuck fuck fuck. Dick, with me, we’re heading to the gym,” John bolted off towards it.

“Rich, not Dick, and I don’t suppose I have a choice in this?”

“No, you are suited up already and time is of the essence.”

John sent a message to his friends as he was running toward the gym.

‘Head to the armory in the gym, need your help. You’ll be guided to where is when you get in the building.’

Everyone responded in the affirmative back to him. John leaped over a parked car. He got Director LeCroix on the communication line that he and Richard were sharing.

“Morning, wish I could say I had good news. Cadet’s Patrice Vernon and Kristin Anderson were captured.”

Rich was part of the call, “Infantry armor plus high energy stun rounds.”

“You weren’t wearing any shielding interfaces?” LeCroix sounded shocked.

“I’d like to formally request that all armories have sufficient armor interfaces anywhere this shit is stored going forward,” John jumped over a car, “We’re heading to the armory now; my friends will be there shortly after I get there.”

“I’ll get you access.”

“No need, already have it.”

Director LeCroix grunted, “Of course, you do.”

“Six dead combatants on the south stairwell of the Armstrong building. We’re three minutes out to the gym.”

“I’m five,” Rich was in over his head and didn’t really want to be there. But he figured John wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

The cadets continued their run to the gym. True to John’s estimates he got to the gym before Rich. The Director had left the call and was coordinating actions with the personnel on-site. John unlocked the armory remotely for them.

“When you get to the armory get into combat suits ASAP,” John commanded his friends once again.

John got to the gym, there were two waiting vans outside for the cadets, “Rich, you’re driving one of those. Get in and get ready to book it.”

“Vehicles I’m presuming?” Rich answered back, “Two minutes out.”

John ran down the ramp to the armory door. He had already activated the reliquary holding his power armor. The psychic channeler module was requested to be attached to the armor. His friends started running into the armory. John then ordered his combat suit to dump its armor plates.

“Grab weapons and get into the waiting vans. Kevin, you’re driving one of the vans,” John turned around when he got to the reliquary and allowed it to place the power armor onto him.

Andern was looking around the room, “Where’s Kristin?”

John pointed at the wall of guns and magazines, “Focus, you need that.”

Jessica grabbed a rifle then turned around and gasped, “Oh my god, was she…”

John interrupted, “Captured and alive. Stow the chatter, time is of the essence.”

“Hold on…”

“LOOK, focus on getting armed, we need this shit right now, I’ll explain on the way,” John looked at the reliquaries read out, “Ninety seconds and we’re moving.”

The reliquary was attaching a hood-like device to the back of his power armor. When it activated a faint buzzing could be heard. The group of friends, already unnerved at the morning’s events and the recent news of one of theirs being captured, felt uncomfortable with the buzz. They all looked back at John and saw his eyes.

They were radiating ethereal energy and something else entirely unnatural. It was almost as if the emotions John was feeling at that moment were tangible to them. Anger, hatred, rage, and regret could be felt as the energy radiated off from John washed over each one of them. John’s willpower had been made manifest to those near him.

The reliquary released the locks on the armor. John grabbed the helmet and put it on. The power armor’s reactor was engaged, and its power output was spooling up. Supplementing the power reserves was John’s psychic capabilities. When its accumulator's stored sufficient energy, the suit unlocked itself.

“GO NOW!” John sprinted out of the room at preternatural speeds.

To the rest of the group of friends, he was just a blur of blue. They followed suit and ran up the ramp. They separated themselves into different vans. John got into the back of one and kneeled down. Moments later both vans drove off in search of a friend and a classmate. In the back of the van in front, John continued to stew in his anger.

09:10 I-50, heading to West St

“So, are we going talk about what happened or…” Jessica asked the van.

“I can literally feel and taste anger right now from the back. I’m cool with going with the flow here,” Nathan said.

“I get the feeling Kristin wasn’t the target,” Kevin said as he rechecked his rifle.

“She wasn’t,” John’s voice sounded unnatural as if one felt the words in their minds rather than hearing them.

“Wow, that was downright terrifying,” Theresa looked at Kevin.

Kevin looked at Theresa and shook his head, now wasn’t the time to push him. Nathan was content to just follow orders and not question anything. They decided to stop with the questions and just follow John’s lead, whatever that may be. One thing they all agreed on was that the armor was drastically different than the last time.

“Five minutes to destination. We’re in a commercial zone,” Richard said over their coms.

John downloaded the schematics of the building and shared them with the team. He overlayed the route they’d take to enter the building.

“Take us to the freight entrance. We’ll figure out what floor when we get there.”

The group in the same van shivered. There was a cold focus to John that they all knew about, but they could feel it now. But the anger and rage they were feeling, were new. They knew John was capable of that, but not to the depth and levels they were experiencing. Frankly, this wasn’t something they’d want to experience ever again.