Time is a strange thing. It waits in the background of your day to day life. When you notice it, it goes slow but when you let your guard down it strikes and suddenly you are hours into the future. In the heat of the moment in a dire situation, time feels super slow; as every second is being monitored and every action is being calculated.
A lot happened in the space of a few minutes after Jane freed herself from Dr. Bronson’s grasp. The bullet from Dr. Bronson’s gun didn’t hurt anyone. Instead it found its way into the control panel, causing the machine to go haywire. Jane was able to stabilize Evelyn and keep her somewhat conscious. Nyssia was comforted by the group but has now found her way to holding onto Jane and not letting go of her lab coat. Meanwhile Samantha and Io formulated a plan to possibly turn the machine off.
“Blondie.” Io said. “I really don’t like this idea.” Samantha had that inquisitive look upon her face as she gathered whatever tools she could find and placed them in her tool belt. She turned and faced Io with a look of determination.
“It’s not that bad really. All I have to do is go inside the room and remove the crystal that is powering the machine. Theoretically if the crystal is removed then there is no powersource left for the machine to run off on and it shall gradually shut down.”
“That’s...a lot of words for something as simple as taking out the battery.” Io said.
“And that’s exactly what I am doing. Evelyn is in no shape to go in. Jane cannot see and must stay with Evelyn. Nyssia is too young-”
“Am not.” Nyssia commented in a quiet tone. “I’m a wizard.” A faint smile came over Jane’s face as she turned to Nyssia.
“Yes dear. You are a wizard.” Jane said in a motherly tone. Nyssia gave a weak smile back. Her eyes were filled with hints of joy clouded by fear and stress.
“When's the wedding?” Evelyn chimed in with her sarcastic grin. Nyssia responded by sticking out her tongue. The childish moment brought a brief relief of tension to the group as it seemed like for a split second, all the troubles in the world had dissolved. Unfortunately, reality is only kind for so long as it soon creeps back into our view and rushes up our spines with tension and dismay.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
“Okay fine. But you are not going in alone.” Io said. Samantha gave Io a confused look.
“Io someone has to stay here and keep an eye on Jane, Evelyn and Nyssia. And if something happens to me I can trust you will be there to help me.” Samantha said as she tightened her tool belt. “Can’t afford for you to get caught in the crossfire should a mishap arise. Besides, taking apart machines is what I’m good at.” Io gave Samantha a worried look but then let out a sigh.
Samantha turned and opened the door to the testing chamber and slammed it shut. Io walked over to the window and peered through. The room was pretty big. Samantha looked up at the gaping hole in the ceiling. She still could not see the stars. All she saw was blackness. The room had large chunks of the wall and the ceiling littered about. Rebar was protruding from the walls and the debris. Samantha carefully observed the machine. It was humming and glowing a bright blue. She took a deep breath and made her way to the machine.
The first thing she noticed as she approached the machine was that the main shielding she originally had was replaced with a shiner metal but the main core where the crystal was inserted had remained intact. There was a sort of alien feeling in the air as she walked. A slight ringing persisted in her ears. Her injured leg started to pulse with pain. Not all at once. It was a slow pain that gradually picked up the closer she walked to the cylinder. As she got within five feet of the cylinder she felt the humming. It moved through her like a wave of force. She felt her head spin and the ringing in her ear didn’t help. Her ears seemed to be only focusing on the ringing and tuned everything else out.
The humming got stronger as she stood next to it. She felt the vibrations beat like a crescendo up and down her body. The light was slowly growing brighter and giving her a headache. She felt her heart race as she knew that the machine could hold much longer. She attempted to reach out for the crystal but drew her hand back. She let out a yip as the heat from the crystal was unbearable. The white part in the center was glowing bright with intensity. She dug into her tool belt and produced a hammer. She wedged the end of the hammer inside the slot where the crystal rested and began to push downward.
Even though she was not physically touching the crystal she could still feel its intensity through the hammer. Her mind started to ache with pain. An odd draining sensation flooded her face as she felt something warm and wet run from her nose and onto her shirt. She took note and saw that her nose was bleeding but didn’t let up. She pushed down even harder as she let out a roar. She suddenly felt her hair stand up as sparks flew from the cylinder. She ignored the sparks and closed her eyes. There was a cracking sound and then ringing in her ear ceased. Her whole world became silent. What followed next was an explosion of light. Multiple colors shot out from the cylinder and a force as strong as a tidal wave crashed right into her, sending her flying off her feet.
The landing threw her back but she didn’t land on the ground in the testing chamber. The light had encompassed her as she flew and in an instant she disappeared from the world. Io saw this from the observation window and immediately shielded her eyes from the blinding hot light. But that didn’t stop her. She instantly took off sprinting towards the door and entered the testing chamber. Her journey unfortunately would be immediately halted as she entered the testing chamber only to discover the machine destroyed and a thing stripe of light dancing where the cylinder was. From inside the observation room Io could hear Nyssia cry out in fear.
“The hell happened?” Io asked as she observed the ruined room. Just then she heard a smashing sound coming from the observation room. Io looked through the window and saw that the National Guard had finally made their way to the basement. Some of the soldiers peered through the window and were equally perplexed at the sight.