"How did you get here!?"(guy) managed to ask while still having a foot on his throat

I would have being impressed if he wasn't one of the a-sholes that put me there

"Vents"(Me) answered truthfully, it is not like it mattered

"Impossible! They are booby-trapped!"(guy)

"I know, the emergency power must have turned them down"(Me)

"They should have worked even in emergency power!"(Guy)

"You do know you are under attack, right? They probably turned down most security systems in some way"(Me)

"F-CK!"(Guy)

Again, not it wasn't really necessary to tell him all that, but it didn't matter if he knew, and I did want to gloat a little. Even if it was thanks to a mix of courage, luck and brains that worked out perfectly in the end, I did feel a little proud of how everything was turning out

Besides, he couldn't complain I wasn't being fair by only asking questions and not answering them

"My turn to asking questions. First, where did you take the kids from this afternoon mission"(Me)

I wanted to know about Meg specifically, but there was no way he knew, so it was faster to ask about the mission instead of the individual

"I don't know"(Guy) said

Of course, I applied a little pressure on his neck while trying to avoid his Adam apple, so he would be more inclined to talk and don't spill bullsh-t

"WAIT! I really don't know!"(Guy)

"Why not?"(Me)

"Not my department"(Guy)

Great news, right? not like I would give up with just that

"Ok, What do you know?"(Me)

"They are not here. They were taken to a sudden mission with some of our sta....."(Guy) Suddenly stopped in mid-sentence, and turned even paler than before

"What?"(Me) asked while being a little curious

I could see he just realised something important, but I didn't have a clue of what it was

"No way, no way, no way no way nowaynowaynowaynowaynowanowaynowaynowaynowaynoawnoway"(Guy) Started to panic

So, I applied a little pressure again, so he would calm down a little and answer my questions again. I did accidently touch his Adam apple thanks to the movements he did in his panic state. He started coughing after I did it, stopping him from repeating the same sentence like a broken record over and over again, so I guess it worked in my favour

"What?"(Me) said with a mix of annoyance and curiosity

And yeah, I didn't feel like treating the guy gently

It did take him a minute to get his composure back though. He Tried to say a few words and fell short thanks to the coughing, and his voice was kind of low after he did manage to say a few words

"They *cough* left us behind"(Guy) said a little pale while coughing

"What do you mean"(me)

"CAN'T Y*cough* see? The higher ups knew the heroes were co*cough*ming and they left the useless researchers and research subjects behind!"(guy) finally managed to say while coughing during and after his outburst

I was shocked by the news. For obvious reasons I didn't know the circumstances around the base at the time, so of course, I didn't realise why the sudden special mission until he pointed it out. I would be more surprised that the guy took so long to realise he was left behind until I asked about the missing kids, but considering he (and most of the people in the base) was in panic, he didn't have the composure to think straight under the circumstances

As for me, after the initial shock of what the guy said was over, I started to think about what it meant and I began to worry about Meg. I realised I would have a good chance of getting out while she would have to keep being a research subject for who knows how long

I felt a little sad of how lucky I was and how unlucky Meg was. I would be able to finally get out of this cursed facility, with worst case scenario being a research subject for the government with a best case scenario of going back home to Uncle Muscle and maybe even Cat

Well, at least that was what I was thinking about after what he said, but the next few sentences did make me stop worrying about Meg, and start worrying about me

While I was thinking about what the guy said, the guy finally stopped coughing and started to draw my attention, since I was lost in thoughts for a moment

"Kid, let me go, please! I have to get out of here as fast as possible!"(Guy) said while looking whiter than before

After everything that happened, I am surprised he didn't pass out actually

"Not until you answer some questions, unlike you, I am not worried if the heroes catch us"(Me) said a little cocky

"You don't get it! If they knew the heroes are coming and they still left us behind, why would they let the heroes catch us alive! Dead men tell no tale!"(Guy) said in a mix of yelling and screaming

For the first time since the conversation started, or even the day started, I turned as white as a sheet of paper like him. I could even hear some gasp from behind me from Mei, probably having a similar reaction

"Tthhey wouuuldn't ddo ttaht rright?"(Me) asked while trembling a little in fear, more as a last hope than actually believing what I was saying

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"The higher ups definitely would. They do all kind of sketchy stuff all the time, all for the "greater good". I am sure they will make it look like we "die for the cult" and start someplace else while the heroes think we are dead. Considering we are being promoted as a suicidal cult on the outside, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the idea from the start"(guy) Said whit a grim look

I couldn't really refute him, considering all the things these guys did, but after thinking for a moment, there was one thing that didn't make sense

"Iiiif wahtt you said iiis trrue, whhy aare wee sttill aalive? Thee herroes are heere allready, iisn't it ttoo rrrissky iff they wait too long?"(Me) again, trying to speak while trying to control my fear of sudden death

"I am pretty sure they just don't want to make it to obvious. All the people they are fighting will die even if they get captured, so it doesn't matter if they fight. My guess is that they will wait until a time limit pass or the heroes reach a dangerous place. Either way, we are screwed if we don't find a way out soon"(Guy) said in apathy, now with dead fish eyes

Yeah, I completely panicked there. I am lucky the guy wasn't bluffing to distract me or something, considering he would have easily taken me down in my panic state. Well, maybe he was worried about the other two since he could see their reactions unlike me that could only focus on him and what he was saying but it was more likely he didn't care at the time

It was maybe thanks to his attitude and how believable it sounded that I completely believed everything he said. Considering I had no way of getting to the heroes in time or finding a way to activate the teleports, I didn't know what to do

It was the speedster that managed to step up first instead of waiting for someone to say something or react. For a stalker, at least he could be useful under certain conditions

I may put him down a lot, considering he never beat me in a fight so far, but he was more experienced in fighting his fears over an over again, or he wouldn't have challenged me so many times

By the way, even if I never bothered to remember his name, after hearing it so many times in the intercom before the fight, I did end up remembering

"How we get out?"(Makombo) said with a thick accent

Probably the third time I ever heard him say a word in English, and the first time it didn't have curse words in it

"I don't know. The teleports don't have power and we will probably die before we can reach the heroes"(Guy) said again in apathy

"Can't we give power to teleport?"(Makombo) Tried again

"No, I tried. Or more like everyone in the facility tried. I guess they made sure they wouldn't work, no matter what we do"(Guy)

Silence

No one knew what to say

The teleports weren't working, and the safety measure would surely activate before we could get to the heroes. We were screwed

"Teleport with no power?"(Makombo)

"We need power to teleport, no matter what. Those machines don't work without the necessary power, and the amount they need is not something an emergency source could work with. I remember Frank explaining to me that most of the teleport power goes to accuracy, since even a 99% accuracy can kill you if you are unlucky and get stuck in a wall or something. There is no way to deactivate the accuracy from those matchings unless you are the one that builds them, and Frank isn't here"(Guy) still in apathy

Luckily, I recovered my composure a little, so I could ask some questions

"What if Frank had a way to reduce the accuracy in his locker or something?"(Me)

"Mayb.. wait! You are right! Frank did have a low accuracy teleport he was working on!"(Guy) finally left his apathy and looked like he found religion

"Great! Let's go! You lead and we follow. Don't try to run away"(Me) Said a little excited and even took my foot off his throat, but I still remember he was our hostage, kinda

To be honest, if I was a little older, I would have been more suspicious of everything he said. He worked there, and you needed to be smart to work there(I hope) so considering he was smart, there was a good chance a lot of what he say was a lie to lower my guard, lead us into a trap and screw us over. I know that if I was being threatened by a kid, I would lie through my teeth to get out of the situation

Part of the reason I was so sure of everything he said was because a kid is a lot more gullible than an adult, but on the other hand, her reactions, arguments, everything happening so fast and the situations surrounding us may have made me believe him anyway

The question is, how much of everything he said was true. I would soon find out, and pay the consequences of not doubting him

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Note: Another chapter edited with the help of Neiden. Thank for the help :)