Tonight was her last night. Her plan was going into effect. She wouldn’t live in fear of the world anymore. Evelynn thought this as she raced down the long hallway and burst through the pair of double doors into the research lab. Startling the head researcher at her sudden entrance. The researcher’s skin was completely blue, a racial trait of the beings the humans had started calling Paladins.
“Is it done?” She panted, slightly out of breath from the race into the lab. The lab was taken up by a large machine with several cylindrical pods installed. Each pod was big enough for a person to step inside of it. The pods had several straps inside and a helmet towards the top connected to the pod by several cables. Cables were also strewn around the machine connecting the machine to several consoles with several dials, buttons, and switches on them and a large generator towards the back of the room.
The blue researcher standing in front of Evenlynn gave her a panicked look.
“Almost, we just have to wait for it to charge up to give us as much time as we need.” The blue researcher turned a dial on the console in front of the machine and a hum started to fill up the room.
Evelynn stared at the man in shock “we don’t have any more time! The Guild knows we’re here! We have to go now.”
“We just got done with the machine last night and I just finished double checking everything. We just need a little more time so I start it.”
Evelynn chuckled at the irony of the words the researcher spoke. Suddenly, an explosion sounded from nearby the building shaking the complex the two were in. Evelynn steadied herself and looked up at the ceiling hoping nothing would collapse on them. “How much longer?”
“Not much, maybe 5 more minutes. Start strapping in.” The researcher said after steadying himself from the sudden tremor and giving the room a look as well as if making sure nothing would suddenly collapse. The researcher walked to the double doors and stared down the hallway obviously nervous about what was going on outside as Evelynn stepped onto the machine.
“Where’s Joseph?” The researcher nervously asked while walking back towards Evelynn and started to strap Evelynn into her pod in the machine.
“He’s trying to fight them off” she stated jaw tight from frustration and fear.
“By himself?”
“No, he took most of our fighting group with him.”
“I thought he was going with you”
“I did too”
“Does he...does he not think this will work?” The researcher asked, finishing with the straps and beginning to attach the helmet connected to the machine to Evelynn’s head.
Evelynn shot him a glare.
“Of course it will work! We’ve done the math. We’ve created the machine, and I’ve gotten the right upgrades. It...it has to work. We can’t live like this anymore. This is our only real chance right now. Everything else is just delaying the inevitable.” Evelyn declared this with as much passion as she could get out. She had worked so hard for this chance. Scraping by the skin of her teeth to earn everything that she and Joseph had, Fighting tooth and nail day after day just to survive just to have monsters continually take these things away from them. Why isn’t he here! She thought angrily to herself remembering their argument earlier that day about Joseph “not wanting to put all of their eggs in one basket”. She was convinced that the Guilds were too strong now and had too many skilled people to form any other organized threat against them. Another large explosion shook the lab and dust rained from the ceiling. Evelynn nervously looked up, praying again that the ceiling wouldn’t come crashing down truly dooming what she believed to be humanity’s last chance. The lab door suddenly burst open and a man came stumbling into the lab.
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“Joseph!” Evelynn cheered a smile instantly forming on her face, her mood quickly turning around from the dread of having to follow through on the plan on her own “did you change your mind?” Joseph ran towards Evelynn and wrapped her in an awkward hug due to her being strapped to a machine. He was covered in blood, sweat ran down his forehead.
“I’m sorry Evelynn, you were right I should have listened. We can’t stop them like we are now.” A weight lifted off Evelynn when she heard that Joseph was coming with her. Thankful she wouldn’t be alone.
“It doesn’t matter. Hurry and get in the machine, it's almost done charging!” Joseph made a motion to the next pod in the machine when suddenly a shout could be heard down the hall.
“They’ve breached the building, get to the emergency exits! Try to get as many people out as we can!” Joseph turned towards the hallway in a panic after hearing the members from their group.
“No! Get in quick! I can’t do this without you!” Evelynn pleaded knowing what Joseph was about to do. Joseph looked back towards and gave her a warm smile with tears starting to flow down his face.
“There isn’t enough time to strap me into the machine, and yes you can do this, you’re the strongest person I know. Just fill past me in on the plan when you get there.”
“What if you don’t believe me?” Evelynn cried, tears started to form on her eyes knowing this would be the last time she talked to this Joseph.
Joseph just smiled warmly back. “Don’t worry, I will”
“How do you know!”
“Because I love you” Joseph quickly turned towards the hallway and told the researcher to hit the button to use the machine. The researcher quickly pressed the button and a light started to rapidly spin around Evelynn’s pod.
“Joseph!” Evelynn shouted over the loud whirring of the machine around her. Tears now freely flowing down her face, her heart breaking at the sudden confession knowing they had no time left. “I love you too!” Joseph started laughing when he heard her. It was a deep belly laugh, one she hadn’t heard from him in over a year.
“Tell past me that! I guarantee that the plan will go much smoother that way”. The light around the machine started to get brighter as soon as several men in full combat gear started to enter the lab. Joseph leaped at them to engage them in combat when suddenly Evelynn’s vision was swallowed by the light and then went dark.
Evelynn suddenly felt like she was falling.
Thwack! Evelynn felt her head slam against a solid surface and she bolted awake her vision swimming from the recent stimulus of what had just happened. She started to hear people giggling around her as her eyes and brain worked hard to focus on her surroundings. Giggling? She thought to herself. She hadn’t heard this type of laughter in a long time. Realization started to overcome her as she noticed that she was in a classroom. She smiled to herself. She did it. The hours of work she put into that machine wasn’t useless! She could save so many people now. She suddenly started laughing as she felt blood start run down her nose from her recent attack against her desk. Despite all her recent losses she was ecstatic. She had made it into the past!
Author's Note
So this is my first work (discounting some written works I did as a child). I've been a long time reader and I've recently enjoyed progression fantasies and litRPGs as well as Post-Apacolyptic stories. So I wanted to write my own take on the genre. My goal with this story isn't to be revelutionary or new with the genre, but just to be entertaining. I will do my best to proofread and edit before posting because one I don't want little mistakes to really ruin the flow of the story. I hope you all enjoy! Feel free to give me constructive criticism as well to help me improve my writing. Thank you for reading!