“I can help with the mainframe,” he said with a broad grin on his face. “My first approach was to hack the facility. I wanted to find out if I could restart you from the outside. Here is a connection through the external firewall into the mainframe,” he said, mentally pushing the connection over to her.
“The reboot...that was you? You really are a natural,” she said, giving him a hug. He grinned. “Well! Let’s get to work. I disabled the overrides, but we still need to go down and overload the nuclear reactor.” Core melted into a pool of liquid and flowed through the crack under the door, and Jason followed her out. “Finally, I am free of that room!” she cried jubilantly as they ran towards the elevator.
Jason tried to imagine her joy, but felt that it was beyond him. Instead, he thought of the problem at hand. “How do we overload a nuclear reactor? Aren’t there fail-safes in place?”
“Yes, there are several, we need the nuclear reactor to produce more heat than the cooling system can handle, and then push it until it destroys the controls, so no one can fix it in time.”
Jason thought of the technicians, and his face paled. “Everyone here will die...?”
“No one is left in the facility—everyone has been evacuated. Still...I want to blow it sky high for what they did to you. I want to destroy the hell that keeps my consciousness captive.” A menacing look glowered from her brow.
“No need for revenge,” he said. But then remembered how he felt after they shut her down. “Oh, screw them! Let’s do it,” he said, giving her a hug and melting into a liquid all over her, dripping to the floor.
Funny man! she thought as she followed suit. As one they flowed through the floor panels into the opening below the elevator, where they accumulated and dropped down the shaft. They blobbed and folded around each other, accelerating with gravity’s assistance. Floors rushed past faster and faster as they approached terminal velocity. Jason noticed a light deep down below them, fast approaching. They separated when the base of the shaft became visible. This is a deep complex, he thought. We were on level twenty-six, and this must be level one hundred and fifty at least.... I did not count all the floors, you were all over me, he added.
One hundred and forty-five, to be exact, and you have not felt me over you...yet, she thought, shifting into a parachute that broke her fall. Jason did not think of a parachute. Instead he shifted into a tiger and broke the impact with his powerful legs. The impact sounded like a bomb explosion—it rippled up the shaft as broken pieces of concrete, dust and debris flew in all directions. Once the cloud cleared, Jason saw that he was standing in a thirty-centimetres-deep hole that he’d created with the force of his landing.
Core landed gently next to him.
That was fun! he thought, stepping out of the hole as the dust settled around them. A grin drifted across his face.
It sure was. You have no idea what it feels like for me...I had no true feeling in the past, just what I expected feeling to be like. This is awesome!
Jason nodded patiently. She grinned, a little abashed.
Sorry, I will be like this for a couple of weeks.... It is so amazing. She glowed with ecstasy.
Don’t apologize, I love that you are here with me. I will never let you go again, no matter what!
They ran to the control room. This level was empty, and had not been used in many years. Dust lay thick on all the door handles, and the place had a grimy look to it. “Not a lot of traffic down here,” he commented.
“The facility is completely automated—there is no need for anyone to be down here,” she said, opening the door to the reactor room.
They stood in the small control room, which overlooked a large, clear pool of water in the middle of an even larger room. The pool was ringed by a small walkway that allowed access to a metal staircase on the far side. Six massive fuel rods, twelve centimetres in diameter, thrust three meters out of the water. The rods were connected to large hydraulic pistons, which were held up by massive arms that extended down from the ceiling to a metal landing that surrounded the base of the cylinders. They kept the rods in perfect alignment. From there, the fuel rods entered the nuclear core at the bottom of the pool.
The water was brightly illuminated with a sky-blue light that originated from the top section of the core housing down at the bottom. Jason felt the radiation in the air—even through so much water, the radiation from the reactor core would be lethal over time. He wondered whether the Nanites would be able to regenerate even him quickly enough to escape it, in the long run.
But, there would be no need to stay here indefinitely.
“We need to get to the pistons and cut the hydraulics keeping the rods out of the core. The weight of the rods hanging on the pistons will cause them to slowly descend,” Core explained. “The rods will penetrate deeper into the core, causing it to overheat and eventually explode. The blast will equal Hiroshima, at fifty mega tons. It will destroy the mainframe and everything up to the surface, but will not expand farther than that. Then, it will seal itself. We will have thirteen minutes to get out once we start the process. And once we start, there is no way to stop it.” She opened the door to the pool room and they walked around to the far side and began climbing the stairs to the platform that led to the pistons.
A loud crash sounded through the pool room. “What was that?” Jason asked.
“We’ve got company. Three men: Carlos and two of his goons,” she said. Her face turned red as she remembered her previous encounter with them. Unbridled anger flushed through her body.
A smile broke on Jason’s face and a menacing look grew in his eyes. “I have been waiting for this for a very long time,” he said, and wanted to turn around. “You take care of the pistons and get the process under way. I am going to enjoy myself.” He kissed her before turning around.
“Don’t enjoy yourself too much.” She giggled and continued up the stairs.
Jason turned to face their pursuers.
Carlos came through the door first, closely followed by the other two. He was dressed in black and wearing a shmuck smile.
“What an unexpected pleasure. Gentlemen, we are going to have some fun this morning,” Carlos said as he walked into the room. His stride was pompous and domineering, but Jason saw him for the puny fool he was. The other two walked around the pool towards the steps, surrounding him. Carlos, on the other hand, came directly for Jason. He took his pistol out and pointed it at Jason’s chest.
“Are you sure you want to do that, Carlos?” Jason asked with a skewed smile on his face.
Carlos hesitated when he heard the threat in Jason’s voice. Then the menacing grin returned. “Oh, absolutely!” Carlos said, dragging the last word. “Tonight I will end your miserable existence, and that of your girlfriend, too.... But before we kill her, well, we are going to have a little fun first.” He winked devilishly. “Maybe after we tire of her, we will slowly drain her life...or maybe we won’t.” His expression indicated that Core would be grateful to die.
Jason watched as the other two reached the corner of the pool, halfway to the staircase. He heard Core tearing the hydraulic pipe out of the first piston, and saw the fluid drip into the pool, forming a rainbow of colourful blotches on the water. The piston slowly pushed the fuel rod into the core, almost invisibly. Tiny bubbles appeared around the edge of the core, deep underwater, as it began to heat.
Carlos noticed that Jason was looking down into the water, but could not see the small bubbles rising from below.
“Only in your dreams, creep.” Jason said the words slowly, looking him straight in the eyes. Carlos’ shmuck smile became a look of disgust—his eyes narrowed and his mouth pulled into a sneer. He was quick, but he might as well have moved in slow motion. Carlos pointed the gun at Jason’s head and pulled the trigger. Jason saw the flash of the bullet as it exploded out of the barrel, but he easily stepped to the side and watched as the bullet passed by his head. Carlos moved towards where Jason had stood just a moment ago, realization slo
wly dawning on his face, followed by fear.
Jason stepped around Carlos’ back and watched as the man ran forward two steps and squeezed off two more rounds. The gun shots reverberated through the pool room, and the smell of burned gunpowder filled the air.
Carlos looked around, confused. His men were looking back and standing with open mouths—they had seen as Jason disappeared and then reappeared behind Carlos. Jason stood with his hands folded behind his back. “You will need to do better than that, asshole!” Jason shouted as Carlos’ friends signalled for him to turn around.
“How...? You...?” Carlos was momentarily stumped, but then recovered and squeezed the trigger again, this time aiming for Jason’s chest.
Jason stepped around Carlos at super speed as the bullets broke the glass windows of the control room. Pieces of glass splashed into the water and slowly dropped down to the bottom, swirling and turning in their descent. The majority of the glass flew outward, following the bullets’ trajectory. “We can do this all day,” Jason drawled.
Carlos jumped around, his eyes big. He breathed fast with panic, and his hands shook wildly. His gun rattled. His two friends started running towards the steps. Jason watched as two more fuel rods started to bubble. This time, large bubbles started to rise to the surface as the nuclear core heated. He heard Core giggle.
Carlos opened fire on Jason once more. The bullets whizzed through air as Jason stepped around Carlos again, this time bumping his shoulder on the way past. The blow sent Carlos spinning around, and Jason heard the man’s collarbone break. Carlos screamed in pain and collapsed on the ground, holding his shoulder with his free hand. The gun clattered uselessly to the walk as pain shot out of his shoulder. He gasped for breath, his eyes pinched shut as he screamed profanities.
“You broke my collar bone! You fucking shit!” he shouted. “Shit! Mother fucker!” he screamed, curled in pain.
“I merely touched your shoulder.” Jason bent down and held the man’s jaw, forcing Carlos to look at him. “You are weak. You had thirteen minutes to make it to the top of the facility, but instead you wasted your life trying to screw me. Good luck, Carlos.” Jason grinned wickedly. “In a few minutes, all this will become a melting pot of rock and metal.” Jason pointing Carlos’ face towards the surface of the water, where large bubbles caused the water around the fuel rods to bubble like a boiling kettle. Carlos’ eyes stretched wide through gasps of pain, as he realized what was happening.
The next moment, Core stood next to them. Carlos’ two wingmen stood at the top of the staircase, flabbergasted. They had been running up to catch Core, but she was gone.... They looked at each other with wide eyes, and then, turning as one, started sprinting back down the stairs. When they reached the bottom of the steps, they opened fire on Jason and Core, blindly shooting.
“Get out, get out!” Carlos screamed, but the rain of bullets cut him off. One bullet tore through his windpipe while the other entered the front of his skull and exploded out the back of his head, spattering brains and blood on the metal walk behind him. Carlos died instantly, and his lifeless body slumped down to the floor.
Jason and Core were long gone, of course, leaving the two men with a dead leader and a pool that was hissing and boiling as steam escaped from the surface. The blue light at the bottom of the water turned light red.
“What the fuck...?” one of the men said.
“Oh, shit,” the other replied.
They ran for the elevator shaft, slipping and sliding on Carlos’ blood as they passed him, screaming their desperation and despair.
Shifting
Jason and Core jumped upward from floor to floor, using the steel structure of the elevator shaft as a makeshift ladder, propelling themselves upwards faster and faster.
The army is waiting for us outside. They sent those three in as a recon unit, Core sounded in his head.
That is fine. We can take the tunnel out. That is the way I...we...came in, he said. At that moment, a large explosion sent dust, sparks and flames cascading down the elevator shaft from above. They both looked up and saw the elevator accelerating towards them, followed by a ball of fire and debris.
“They blew the tunnel shut!” Core shouted above the roar of the fire.
So much for our easy escape plan. We have no choice now but to go through the army.
They dodged the falling debris and shot past the accelerating elevator cage, which hurtled down the shaft. The shaft above them was filled with smoke, and fire. They flew by, creating a vortex that sucked smoke and fire as they ascended.
The reactor is going to blow! Core warned.
Now? Jason reached for a metal bar meters above him.
We had thirteen minutes since the first fuel rod entered the reactor. That was thirteen minutes ago, she chuckled.
My how the time flies... Jason thought wryly.
Yes, especially when you’re toying with your enemies. How about no more games, now, and let’s just get out of here?
Deal.
They looked down and saw the flame ball first, followed by a large explosion that shook the metal they were holding onto. That is the first stage of the meltdown. One of the steam generators blew up. What follows will be much, much larger. We need to be out of the facility when that happens. The bottom floors started to collapse down the shaft; a large ball of fire and smoke raced upwards, catching up quickly. They had four floors left when the flames shot past them, and billowing air pushed them up the shaft at tremendous speed. The fire was hot, but their bodies adjusted to the temperature, absorbing the heat and then transmitting it elsewhere.
They shot out the top of the elevator shaft, through the hole in the roof that the initial blast had opened. They landed nimbly on the roof and ran down the incline, which ended at the concrete in front of the parking lot.
And there they stood, facing the full force of the army: tanks, helicopters and other military vehicles filled the lot, interspersed with soldiers who aimed a massive amount of firepower at them. “Brace for it!” Core said, as she grabbed his arm and sat down on the ground.
Moments later, the ground rose five meters into the air and slammed down again as the nuclear blast sealed itself in, safely containing the explosion three hundred meters below their feet. Jason watched as a cat scattered out from the building behind them and ran at full speed past the army. He smiled at this little gesture of life, understanding quite well how the cat felt.
The office building slowly fell flat as fire consumed what building material hadn’t been utterly destroyed by the blast. The elevator shaft became a volcano of smoke and flames as the upper level floors caught fire from the immense heat.
The ground had been lowered by the explosion, forming a crater a hundred meters in diameter. Soldiers, hummers and tanks came to rest in disarray on the slopes, peering down at the two escapees, who stood unarmed at the bottom of the crater. The helicopters fell from the sky as one, once the electromagnetic pulse shorted their electronics. They crashed down on the parking lot a fair distance away from the crater, but exploded when their fuel tanks ignited on impact. The explosion sent massive balls of flame high into the air; the shock waves and sound reached them moments later, along with a rain of shrapnel.
General chaos reigned throughout the troops; some ran for cover while others drove the tanks to safety. Car alarms and safety sirens screamed in the distance as the shock wave reached nearby houses. Birds scattered as fast as their wings could carry them in their race for freedom.
“Stand fast!” the commander’s voice boomed over the chaos. As one the soldiers fell silent as his voice forced them back into submission. “Stand your ground!” he shouted again. Men and women turned around and readied their weapons, pointing them down at Jason and Core. Some still shook from the shock and fear, but their fear of the commander was greater. The sound of machine guns being cogged sounded around the crater.
Behind the soldiers, the helicopters burned merrily, illuminating the sun as it slowly rose abov
e the trees on the horizon. On this brand new day, the clouds were thin and the rain had finally ceased. In the distance, Jason could see thick rain clouds, dark and menacing purple at the bottom. The clear morning was just a lull in the storm. Later today or maybe tomorrow it would continue to rain. But for now the sun shone down upon them.
“Give up and you will not be destroyed,” the commander said, walking towards them. He was impressively calm, but then Jason guessed that he’d seen a lot of action throughout his career. Beyond the commander’s head, a row of birds flew away, silhouetted in black as they passed in front of the sun.
“What do you want, Commander?” Jason asked.
“Your surrender,” he said, approaching at a leisurely pace, his arms folded behind his back. A smirk besmudged his clean-shaven face. His eyes were fixed on Jason.
“And why should we do that?” Jason watched the commander stop a couple of meters from them. The soldiers behind the commander moved to the side in order to get back in the firing line.
There is our opening, behind him, she thought.
I see it. But I want to show him that following us is pointless. Indulge me a second?
Okay...but let’s not have too much fun. I have had enough of this place. Core slowly shifted into a bigger and better human self—she added more power and speed to her physique.
“Because you belong to the military,” the commander said, brimming with confidence. “Both of you were built from our technology, and we want it back. We will not hesitate to destroy you, if that is what it takes. You belong to us.” He looked back to his men, who waited for his orders. “We prefer a peaceful resolution, you know. We only want to keep the status quo. But should you oppose us, we will have no choice but to declare war on you. We will not rest until you two are destroyed or captured. It does not matter to me how it goes down...as long as you go down.” His eyes were hard and dark, implacable. “We will hunt you to the ends of the earth if we have to.”
Becoming (Core Series Book 1) Page 24