Blood trickled down Evelyn’s leg as she limped towards the secured door at the end of the hallway. She stopped for a moment and took a breath before continuing on. Beads of sweat rolled down her face and down her neck. She shivered. The lighting was starting to get brighter and fuzzier. Io kept Evelyn on her feet as they approached the door. Nyssia had not let go of Samantha’s hand during the entire walk from the generator room. Samantha was terrified and concerned for Evelyn as she trailed behind her, while trying to not stare at the blood that followed. They were now in front of the locked door they couldn't get into the other day. The war taking place upstairs had started to get quieter and quieter.

“Okay, Blu. I’m gonna set you over by the window.” Io said. Evelyn didn’t say anything. She only gave Io a thumbs up. Evelyn leaned up against the window and looked in.

“Guys…” She muttered and slowly tapped her finger on the glass. The rest of the group joined her and looked through, only to see Jane on the other side. She had her hair up in a bun again and she was wearing a white lab coat. Next to her was Dr. Bronson, who looked like he was dictating to her instructions. With every bob of his head Jane would turn a few dials on a control panel. Light flashed in front of them and Dr. Bronson would write down the results. The floor beneath them gave a slight quake. Beyond them was the machine that Samantha had built. It looked like it was ripped apart, added some more reflective panels and colorful wires. At the center of the machine looked like a glass cylinder with a large crystal in the center. The crystal glowed with energy. Io looked in shock but then turned her attention towards the door.

“Nyssia, can you get the door open?” Io asked in a stern voice. Nyssia reached into her pocket and pulled out a screwdriver in silence. Her face was gaunt. She didn’t let go of Samantha’s hand and dragged her over to the control panel. Nyssia wedged her screwdriver into the panel and popped it open. Colorful wires spew forth. Nyssia let go of Samantha’s hand and started to rummage through them. A few sparks flew up while Nyssia continued to fumble with the wires. The door made a ping sound and the red lights switched to green. The door slid open.

Dr Bronson was the first one to turn around. A look of worry and panic draped over his face as he saw the group walk in. Jane was the next one to look. Her face was cold and unwavering at first until she saw Evelyn stagger in.

“Well…”Dr Bronson started. “I did not expect this.” He said in a somewhat calm tone. It was unnerving. “I’m sure we can come to an arrangement.”

Io let out a scoff. “Not happening, doc.”

“Please, Sir. This madness must be put to an end.” Samantha pleaded. “Your experiments are reckless.”

Dr Bronson let out a laugh. “Reckless, child? Great men of science have done worse and worked with much less.” He said as he stood up, facing the group. “I do not intend to cease my experiments just yet.”

“Buddy…” Evelyn chimed in while taking a deep breath. “ The whole city is dark. People are freaking out. The army is outside and they’re in the building. It’s already over.” Evelyn said as she leaned with her back against the wall. “Turn the machine off. You’re going to blow us all sky high.”

Dr. Bronson reached into his lab coat pocket and revealed a large gold nugget. “You know I have a hard time believing you. You see this nugget here?” He said as he held up the gold nugget in his hand. “This is the result of earlier testing. This was only a half a pound of lead a few hours ago. Alchemy at its finest. Lead to gold. Old Arthurian myths and legends become a reality. With this machine anything is possible. I will not stop.” Dr Bronson said as he put away the gold nugget and produced a small pistol. “And I will not let you cease my efforts.” A look of frustration swept over Evelyn’s face.

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“Does everybody in this freaking building have a gun?” Evelyn said in an exasperated tone.

“Dr Bronson if I may be so bold...” Jane started but then was immediately cut off.

“Silence!” Dr Bronson said as he jerked his head back to Jane. “You will continue with the experiment and keep your mouth shut!” Dr Bronson spat out at Jane. Jane’s shoulders flinched. Io took a step forward.

“Alright, small fry. This ends here.” Io said in a bravado tone. Fear crept up in Dr Bronson’s eyes. His hand trembled with the pistol.

“Never!” He said, With his free hand he turned and reached for Jane’s collar. With a strong yank Jane was pulled out of the chair and hauled in front of the group. Dr Bronson’s arm slipped around Jane’s throat and tightened. Jane tried to let out a cry of distress but couldn’t. The sudden motion had caused her glasses to fall off. Her world instantly became a painting of blurry and abstract objects blended with a variety of colors. The friends that faced her were completely unrecognizable. Io let out a cry as Dr. Bronson put the gun to Jane’s head.

“I will not let my efforts go to waste!” Dr. Bronson yelled out. It was deafening in Jane’s ear.

“Let her go!” Io shouted out. Nyssia panicked and hid behind Samantha. Evelyn attempted to push herself off from the wall as soon as the action started but the pain in her stomach pushed her back to the wall. Her legs trembled to keep herself up.

Jane’s lip quivered in fear as she stood still. She felt lost and afraid. But then something inside her started to burn. A hot rush of emotions filled her and she let out a scream of protest as she struggled with Dr. Bronson. She reached for his arm to pull it away from her throat.

Dr. Bronson attempted to hold Jane still but she soon enough knocked him back with her head. Dr Bronson released Jane and stumbled back. Jane ran forward, not fully knowing who was in front of her. Just then she heard two things. One was the deafening sound of a gun and the other was a cracking sound. But in the heat of the moment she didn’t pay attention too much to the latter and ran into Io. Tears filled her eyes as Io caught her in her arms. Dr. Bronson rolled off the control panel and slumped to the floor.

“Holy shit, Red.” Io said as her eyes darted from Dr. Bronson to Jane. “Hey it’s okay.” Io said in an attempt to comfort Jane. Io looked quickly back towards Dr. Bronson who by this point was laying on the floor unconscious. He had apparently collided into the control panel. A bright spark shot up from the control panel. The ground beneath them started to rumble. Io looked through the glass window into the testing chamber. The roof had crumbled away. Debris littered the floor and the machine in the center started to glow with intensity.

“The hell is going on?” Io said as she looked at Jane. Jane still had her head buried in Io’s arms crying. Samantha looked over at Evelyn who at this point made the effort to push herself off the wall. She staggered for a bit before collapsing on the ground.

“Evelyn!” Samantha called out as she hurried over to her. Nyssia’s hand slipped from Samantha’s but instead reached out and grabbed a hold of her shirt and did not let go as she walked with Samantha. She stood there staring wide eyed at Evelyn as Samantha rolled Evelyn’s body over. Evelyn’s confident grin was gone. She wore a haggard expression on her face as she took slow deep breaths.

“Pushed myself...too much.” Evelyn said in a quiet tone. Jane attempted to look around in the direction of Evelyn’s voice.

“Evelyn…?” Jane called out.

“Hey Parker.” Evelyn said weakly. Jane looked back in the direction of Io.

“What happened?” Jane asked.

Io proceeded to inform Jane of the events that had led up to this moment. A look of horror swept across Jane’s face. Jane pushed herself off of Io and onto the ground. Her hands were fumbling around.

“Where are my glasses?” She said in a panic. Io looked around and saw Jane’s glasses on the floor behind her. They were broken. Io carefully stepped over Jane and picked up her glasses.

“Uh, Red. They’re broken.”

Jane let out a cry of frustration.

“Perfect! Just perfect!” Jane called out as she crawled her way over to Evelyn.

“Evelyn? Evelyn?” Jane said as she fumbled her hands over Evelyn’s body towards her head. “Please say something.” Jane said in a desperate tone.

“Something…” Evelyn weakly called out. A mixture of relief and stress coated Jane’s face.

Jane looked back up and around.

“She needs bandages and water.” Jane said.

The floor beneath them rumbled once more.

“Red, we got bigger fish to fry.” Io said as her gaze was fixed towards the machine in the testing chamber.