>>5382683There’s a stabbing pain in your ear from just how loud Bernard had shouted, one that has a hand flying to your comm and leaves your ears ringing, but, as your vision swims back into focus, it dawns on you that you can’t just wait around for the others to stop Blaze’s rampage.
If they’re going to move Conduit, you can’t waste anymore time here in the containment center.
Mind made up, you haul the mad-scientist woman onto your shoulders once more; even if she’s a killer, it’d hardly do for your conscience if you left her to die, and, while you can’t say the same for the brainwashees– brainwashees who you hope have enough common sense to flee from the hellish heat– at least you saved at least one person from the out-of-control inferno.
Leaping up and across the gap, the heat against your skin is downright oppressive, threatening to fry you into a crisp. Julia, who follows your lead, seems to be faring a bit better with her rocky composition, but the temperature that had been clinically cold not only moments before now teeters on the brink of oppressive.
Embers rise with the increasing heat, and, while you don’t want to imagine what those embers are feeding on, your nostrils already give you enough of a clue. Bile rises in your throat as you push those thoughts as far down as you can shove them in favor of focusing on the task at hand.
“What are you guys doing?” Valjean asks brusquely, the commotion on your end of the line clearly audible to him and Bernard. “Did Blink and I not tell you to get somewhere safe?”
“We’re not doing that–” You retort. “The scientist we have says they’re going to move Conduit soon, so we’re heading right to the labs.”
“You’re sayin’ they’re movin’ Conduit out of this place?” Bernard inquires, sounding rightfully flummoxed at the sudden turn of events.
“Yeah,” You affirm. “She said he’d either be in Room 101 or quantum, so that’s where we’re going.” There's also the fact that, not only are you racing against Conduit being dragged out this facility and off into the unknown, but the system, which is currently infected by Eddie's program, will be rebooted with all of you guys in the building sooner rather than later.
Eddie had mentioned that any intruders would be ghosts in the system while his program was up-and-running. Therefore, even if you guys have to split up, it'd serve the five-- soon-to-be-seven of you-- well if you got out of here as soon as possible.
Nonetheless, silence reigns from the other end of the line as the guys process what you said, likely none-too-happy about what you’re about to do.
“You gotta be kidding me…” Valjean huffs. “Fair warning, upper floors are crawling with damn guards. Guards who are shooting to kill, mind you."
>(1/2) 