We can still hear the sounds of gunfire and shouting. Ahead I see a dark corridor, pipes and cables line the walls and ceiling. I check for a local map, it is a twisting maze of maintenance tunnels. The area is full of dead ends and there is a clusterfuck of random rooms. I instruct my IC to find a way out of the mess. It tricks my eyes into seeing a neon yellow line on the floor, which will lead us out. I send the instructions to the others, then we take off into the labyrinth, hoping to rapidly put some distance between us and the battle.

I carefully unload and pocket the armor piercing rounds that are loaded into my revolver. I replace them with shotshells, hoping that they will do well in the claustrophobic environment. We move through tight corridors and around sharp corners. Each of us glances back nervously, expecting to see the armored frame of a tactical drone, or the slight distortion of light made by a cloaking device. Each of us except for Gorman, who is still somehow completely unshaken.

A message comes in, the sensation that my IC uses to alert me to this fact startles me. The transmission is from Alpha Prime; they are making me an offer. I can bring them the girl and be handsomely rewarded or face severe consequences. And with that the final piece is placed on the board, or maybe it would be better to say that the final player has entered the arena. Whatever this girl has or knows, everybody wants it. I don’t have time to think about any of that right now.

Our group keeps going. The tunnel twists and turns. The neon guide shines like a beacon, we follow it blindly. The four of us slip past an open door. The room is occupied by a humanoid drone which has its back to us, toiling away at a workbench.

The tunnel widens as we enter a junction. Support pillars and equipment fill the room, the sides and corners are pitch black, the ceiling is high. We advance slowly, methodically checking in every direction. The neon line runs the full length of the intersection.

Sylvia spots it just in time, a faint shimmer in the dim light. She reacts, raising one of her SMGs and letting off a long burst. The Ascended commando’s cloaking device fails as he falls to the ground, his katana still held above his head, ready to strike.

Chaos ensues. People start shooting at anything that looks suspicious. A muzzle flash lights up the darkness as an enemy takes a potshot. I aim and fire, then I thumb back the hammer and let off a second blast. Some of the pellets find their mark, the cloak fails, my third blast drops the hostile.

“Look out!” Gorman yells. The shimmering figure is lit up by the three of them just as it gets into melee range of Gustav. That was a close one. We need some kind of edge, or at least a way of neutralizing those invisibility cloaks.

Out of desperation I check out what is being openly broadcasted. I feel the transmissions, drones sending out safety notices; hazard warnings, and there it is, the thing that could save us.

With a thought I order my IC to find and activate the area’s fire suppression system. Hidden fixtures pop out of the ceiling, light blue colored gas sprays out of them. The gas rapidly sinks to the ground, the place is now shrouded in mist. Through the artificial fog I see resplendent displays of rainbow light as stealth systems fail.

I spot one of them lining up a shot on Gorman. I fire, taking a leg clean off, the doctor turns and finishes the commando off with a single shot to the head. Another one charges at me, his sword at the ready. I expend the two remaining shells. One blast gets him in the belly, the other in the chest.

I reach into my coat to grab another speed loader of shotshells. The shooting has stopped, did we get them all? The others start reloading.

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

The sensation of cold metal on my neck tells me that in fact we didn’t get them all. The Ascended had managed to work her way over to me by using the supports and machines as cover.

She says exactly what I expect her to say, “Tell me where Jill Winters is, and no one gets hurt.”

A pale, snake-like mass whips out of the shadows. I hear the words, “He is mine!” Metal claws grab ahold of the commando, punching through her suit and gouging deep into her body. She lets out a scream of pain and terror, in a flash the thing moves back into the shadows, the woman still held in its gleaming claws. We hear her shrieks get further and further away.

“What the hell was that?” Sylvia exclaims, speaking for the three of them.

I answer her, “That particular class of madness doesn’t have a name yet, thankfully, it is still completely unique. But the individual does go by a name, which is Goëtia, he is a bounty hunter.”

Gustav is hopeful, “He saved us.”

“No, he was just clearing the way. He’ll be back, we need to get out of here.”

As I reload, I send them a brief summery of everything that I know about the creature. The claws. The laser cannons, the location of the armored section that houses his brain and organs, I give it all to them. Then we start moving again.

Dr. Gorman gives his expert opinion, “The brain is probably completely isolated. The organic parts of the body run off of a separate system of organs. The only thing that connects the mind and body is the nervous system.”

“So, wounding him won’t help,” I say, letting myself sound more pessimistic than I mean to.

“No. It wouldn’t hurt his mental functions, but it will still affect the body. Of course, it is hard to tell without knowing the capabilities of those organic parts or how much of that body is cybernetic.”

“He planned it all out in detail. We should expect the worst.”

With that, we quiet down, listening intently for the sound of metal claws scraping and clicking in the darkness. The neon line is our only hope, our only way out. Goëtia has no doubt anticipated our move. The same route is being projected into his awareness. His awareness is so altered, so different from my own, that I can’t even begin to guess what it would be like.

That terrible voice echoes through the corridors, “I’m gonna drag you away, one by one!”

Mind games, I should have seen this coming. I can’t let him get to me. He’s just another freak, just another product of the modern age. But this doesn’t help, because I know that there is still a dangerous, warped mind inside of that thing, I can’t wright him off as just another weirdo.

The corridor ends, we find ourselves in an open area. In several places the walls disappear, and we can see into hollow spaces that are many stories tall and miles long. Flying drones race around in the cyclopean voids. In the distance I can see what looks like a part of a massive ventilation system.

He attacks. His lower claws are attached to the ceiling, he swings his upper body down. Goëtia points his head at Gorman and Sylvia, letting two laser blasts fly. They hit between the pair, the deck plate explodes, sending molten metal and shrapnel flying.

With his upper claws he makes a grab for Gustav, who dives down. The big guy doesn’t make it far enough, the freak grabs him. The abomination starts moving in an up-ward motion. At somewhere around the halfway point the head cannons lock onto me. It fires a single blast, which hits the pillar beside me. The next thing I know I am sprawled out on the floor.

The body completes its swing, the thing lets go of Gustav, sending him flying head over heels. The creature detaches itself from the ceiling, landing on all fours with surprising grace. It crawls across the floor with shocking speed. Every movement of its sickening body is a blasphemy. Before I can line up a shot he reaches me, slaps the Stallion out of my hand. The abomination hovers over me, there is something about that belly that is especially revolting, like merely being touched by it is harmful and defiling.

It takes a second to taunt me, “You’re coming with me, this is going to be a fun interrogation!”

There is a blast. Something hits Goëtia, the impact knocks him away, green blood sprays out of a nasty wound. Another blast and another hit, it is pushed further away. He turns his upper body, looking for a target. Then a final shot sends the vile thing careening over the edge.

I scan the area. There, a feminine figure in the shadows, but her face is hidden. The mysterious woman is holding her right arm out, she puts it at her side, I can see some kind of mechanism slide back into place.

The figure steps out of the shadows. It is Ashley.