Broken Mirror: Apophis 2029

by Michel Savage

  "This might not be the best idea," Tasha offered, referring to taking a lift up to a floor where it might be a serious tactical disadvantage not knowing what lies beyond the elevator doors when they finally opened. She had learned not to take unnecessary risks, and her two comrades agreed with her.

  "How high do we have to go up?" Roy asked Betty before her hand could reach the control panel to pick a floor.

  "How rude," the old woman blurted as she stared him up and down, her behavior becoming even more erratic than usual. She was acting very strange, and we had all noticed it.

  "How many floors up to get to the laboratory level?" Roy demanded again from her.

  "It's too far to walk. Besides, I have no clue where the stairs are here," she spat back in contempt.

  We could tell Roy was getting weary with her attitude and was making mental notes if he was willing to take the risk of letting the old woman to continue to be so reckless with all our lives at stake. She might know her way around this vast facility, but that blown rail system and the removed control panel at the back door screamed that this place was on lockdown for a reason.

  "Look, lady, I don't know what your game is, but you're starting to become a liability," Roy clarified to her. We all stood by his statement. Our group was tired and exhausted and we were not in the mood for swallowing her psychotic bullshit anymore.

  "Maybe we can find the lab on our own," Tasha remarked with a glare towards her. Betty waved her hands in surrender and finally said something sane.

  "Okay, fine," she muttered aloud, "the laboratory is only four stories above ground, but I assume we are..." she paused as she wiggled her head around Roy's body to take a glance at the control elevator panel, "thirty floors or so below ground level at the moment," she answered directly, "...so, if you all want to walk and take the scenic route, you go right ahead; but I'm taking the damn elevator," she declared stubbornly.

  We couldn't presume why she was acting so saucy all of the sudden. It could have been as Thorn suggested, and she was suffering from a concussion as she wasn't being her usual herself. Maybe a few screws in her head had gotten knocked loose back in that train wreck after all.

  We discussed the situation with Serena and Kel who would be hampered by their wounds if we took a stairwell some thirty to forty stories up. It was a better plan, since weepers didn't have the mental capacity to operate the lift, and that we would be inviting thirty times the risks of confrontation at every floor if we took an emergency stairwell. Without much debate at that fact, it did make more sense to use the elevator, as long it didn't break down and leave us entrapped. Roy stepped aside and let Beatrice have access to the panel. Oddly, it lit up when she put her hand near it and she pressed in a code. Strangely enough, the floors weren't labeled. She put in a numeric sequence followed by depressing one of the color-coded keys, and the doors chimed shut.

  The rest of us were mildly amused and astounded when soft elevator music began to play as the lift began to ascend towards the upper floors. Haiti smirked, while Roy seethed. I liked it on a personal level though, because it was a nice tune. It made me wonder if the reason for elevator music in the first place was to distract you from dwelling over the reality that you were willfully risking your life by stepping into a small tin box set over a deep shaft, which was being held secure by nothing more than a thin cable. Maybe it was to take your mind off the effects of claustrophobia for those who suffered from it. Whatever the psychology behind its purpose, it did help to relax us, even if it was just for a few moments.

  On the ride up we heard banging on the doors as we passed several levels. Other floors had severe electrical failures that sparked the panels as we crossed and we heard the lift stabilizers grind in anger beneath our feet. With nervous relief, the car finally slid to a gentle halt as a recorded female voice came over the speaker: "Blue Level," while the doors slid open.

  It was clear something had gone awry even on the upper floors. There was equipment and packages strewn everywhere. Long shadows cast through the tall glass windows that let in the light of the setting sun as it neared the horizon. At least there was no sign of blood splatter or weapons fire here; the place was merely trashed.

  Beatrice marched out in front of us and turned back to us with an awkward smile then headed out towards a central hall without taking any tactical precautions. There were clearly infected people wandering this facility, yet she acted as if didn't matter in the slightest. The old woman just strolled out and around to a main foyer and spun around once more with a hand on her hip and a furl in her brow, as if she was wondering why we were still all standing at the elevator door, poised with our weapons drawn.

  "I swear, if she gets jumped, I'm not saving her wrinkly ass..." Roy grunted. Truth be told, we all were beginning to agree with his logic.

  "Are you coming or not?" Betty chastised from across the room. Timidly we checked our corners and did a visual sweep, realizing that there weren't any tell-tell signs of weepers on this level. "Trust me, this is a secured level," the old woman urged, "there is nothing to worry about." Needless to say, we didn't put much value in her words.

  "This section does seem quiet," Thorn finally affirmed after a drawn moment.

  We were still on edge after our last encounter in the rail tunnel, but it was getting tiring lugging weapons on the draw. We were all wounded and drained, and were attracted to the idea of getting a chance to recoup. Kel's leg needed to be rebandaged, and a few of us were getting more than a tad strung out from hunger, so we decided to play along. Betty led us straight to a sizeable rest area that appeared to be a staff breakroom.

  We plopped down on the stiff couches and rifled the cabinets for anything to eat. Unfortunately, there wasn't much present to impress anyone, as it had all been previously looted. The mercenary girls took their time to get some medical attention to Serena and Kel, while I roamed back out to the main hall near the elevator. In a rare break in the clouds, the sun was just setting and warm orange light glared through the windows of the lobby.

  Looking down at the entrance through the glass it seemed we were three or more stories above the ground level. Outside there were lighted pylons and a wide yard full of military trucks parked in a jumble. It was hard to make out any details in the failing light, but I was relieved not to see any infected wandering within view. Even if we were able to jack one of those trucks, there was still the matter of the collapsed mountain tunnel blocking the only road out of this place.

  Someone had locked down this facility, and we all wanted answers as to what had happened here. Tasha, I assumed, would want them the most since her father had disappeared somewhere on this base. We barely got the rock sample here in one piece; now we just had to figure out what to do with it. Distracted by the view and with the shadows casting behind me, I was almost startled when I heard a voice speak just over my shoulder.

  "Nice view," Thorn noted as he took a step beside me.

  "I really miss seeing the sunset; being stuck down in the dark like we were, really ...really isn't for me," I admitted, "I grew up on a ranch in the boonies, and when I finally moved out to a big city, the first place I got was this tiny basement apartment," I giggled out loud in embarrassment, "I don't even think is was actually legal for them to rent out. It was like a boiler room where all the water heaters for the rest of the apartments above me were right beside my bed; and I had one teensy window that wasn't even at ground level. Oh, jeez..." I smirked.

  "That bad huh?" Thorn offered with comedic sympathy, "Well, I can understand not wanting to live underground. It was hard enough for us when we were stuck back in Fallhaven," he granted with a cute smile.

  "Yeah, that apartment I had was like a cave ...but, it was my cave," I smiled faintly while he gave particular notice, "It was a space of my own. That was a strange time in my life," I reflected in tearful honesty.

  "...And this isn't?" Thorn answered back with a questionable smirk.

  We both giggled at that to the point it was
infectious, until we couldn't seem to stop. That feeling of feeling stupid and awkward around him melted away just then. I looked at Thorn in the scarlet light as the sun hit the horizon. We kissed. It was over before I knew it, and I wondered if I had hallucinated what had just happened. I was facing him and our hands were touching; but the sudden sound of gunfire echoing up the hall snapped our attention back towards the break room.

  We didn't say anything as we shot a single worried look to one another, and made a run for the hall. Like an idiot, I had left my rifle in the breakroom with Ava, who was at the task of cleaning all the weapons. Thorn drew his automatic pistol and we swiftly made our way down the hall. Just as we were a few steps from the entry, shards of metal and plastic sprayed out of the break room as we covered our faces from the sound of the blast. Wires and bits of gears sparked errantly amongst the debris on the floor when we finally rounded the doorframe.

  We found Roy's limp body lay slumped over the central table with a smoking hole burnt out of the back of his head, while Haiti lay mortally wounded in a pool of his own blood by the door. Kel was opposite the table, nervously holding a shotgun; its barrels still smoking from the blast. What looked like a mechanical box sat sparking between us in the middle of the room. Serena was sitting up on the couch staring at us in disbelief while Ava lay sprawled across the floor grasping for gun parts.

  "What the fuck was that?" Serena finally wailed aloud, having just woken up and suddenly left gawking at Roy's corpse and the hole burned through his head. We rushed to help Haiti who was gurgling in his own blood. There were two neat holes in his side, causing him to bleed out.

  "Hold on Haiti, we'll patch you up," Thorn assured, trying to assess his wounds; though blood oozed through the punctures with every breath he took.

  "Aye, da fucking robot, man; what kinda shit is that?" he muttered weakly while he coughed up blood, its red staining his white teeth. He looked dazed, his eyes were rolling in pain.

  "What happened?" I asked, trying not to lose my head. Kel reloaded her weapon as Ava handed her another pistol, which she quickly reassembled just as Tasha came running around the corner. She looked just as stunned as we had when we stumbled upon the scene.

  "Some sort of Lab robot came rolling in here and shot a laser into Roy's skull, then stabbed Haiti with its pincer when he jumped on it," Kel answered in shock.

  "Da fucking thing was quiet, man, we never heard it coming," Haiti coughed again, his breath getting shaky, "it just rolled in here without any warning and killed Roy ...and fucked me up real good too," he sputtered while trying to sit up. Thorn tried to get him to lie still while searching for something to wrap the wound. Haiti held onto his hand tightly, his grip tensing for a brief moment; then he gently collapsed. Haiti was dead.

  A look of anguish washed over his face as Thorn turned to me. The little small boy, who had been cowering in the corner, gingerly stepped over to Haiti's body, touching his arm with a mark of sorrow. They had personally been closer than the others were; and Haiti had always been kind to him.

  It took a short moment, but the rest of us finally came to the realization that Betty was nowhere in sight. The wheels began to turn in my head. She knew about this facility because she had been a member of the laboratory team at one time. How the panel in the elevator only seemed to work when she got close to it made me suspect she had an ID implant that allowed her internal access. She had known the code for admission to this particular floor, and was acting so cavalier once she got here because she knew this place was her own territory, where she would have the upper hand on us.

  "That bitch, Betty, said she needed to use the restroom and left down the hall. Roy told me to keep an eye on her, so I tried to follow her," Tasha stated, "I lost her when she entered a room down the end of the far hallway, but the access button wouldn't work for me after she went inside," she revealed with a tone of regret.

  "She must have locked it from the inside," Serena mentioned from behind, referring to Beatrice sealing the door.

  "I don't think she needed to," I added, "I think Betty has an embedded chip that allows her access to any security points on this level," After revealing my suspicions, the rest of them agreed, and my analogy made perfect sense to Tasha. We should have seen this coming, but the old woman had played us all too well.

  "She probably sent that automaton in here to kill us all," Kel accused, pointing to what was left of the robot, "I knew we should have dropped that crazy cunt back at the pit," she admitted heartily, as she implied to the chasm under the derailed train where we had lost Felix. Grudgingly, I had to agree. Beatrice wasn't just a liability, she was unpredictable and dangerous.

  Thorn was just as shaken as Serena, seeing both of their comrades lying dead without any forewarning. They had all been through a lot of close scrapes together. Roy's maturity and tactical knowledge was of great value to their team, and even Tasha had admired him. It was disturbing to think that with all his training and combat experience that he was taken down so easily with a shot from behind. He didn't even see it coming.

  "Gear up. Ava, watch the door," Tasha instructed while we got the rest of the weapons together.

  Betty was still out there; probably playing the same game she had back at Fallhaven. Likely, she was sitting behind a control board watching us on some hidden security feed. Mobile laboratory robots had some lethal capacity in their toolsets. Clamps that could crush bone and scalpel lasers which had the ability to sear through living flesh; as in the case of Roy's grisly execution.

  The droids reactions were quick and were equipped with quiet servos which made them silent stalkers. We had to find Beatrice and either get her under control or put her down. Serena stayed behind to guard the boy and the meteor sample.

  "Follow me," Tasha advised as Thorn, Kel and I made our way through a series of switches down the white tiled hallways; checking our corners as we went. We finally arrived at the door where Tasha had followed the old woman. The sign inset beside it was labeled: 'Tracking & Phase Development'. The activation panel would not react to our touch, only confirming my suspicions that Beatrice had an ID chip with full security clearance.

  There was no way to pry the door panel open, and if there was a way to access its wiring, we couldn't seem find it. As tempting as it was to bang on the door to cuss at the murderous bitch, we realized that kind of outburst would be entirely futile. However, that did not keep Thorn from doing so in his anger.

  "Open up Betty, you damn..." Thorn yelled, beating the sliding steel door with the butt of his gun. He never finished his verbal threat, as to our utter surprise, the door promptly opened. I didn't know whether to be puzzled or impressed. Tasha looked just as stunned, but she wasn't going to waste the opportunity to get inside.

  She was smarter than I had given her credit for considering her age. Tasha took an empty clip and wedged it into the door slot to jam the door and keep it from closing on us.

  "We might need a way out," she advised, explaining her precautionary measure to keep us from being locked inside.

  Within the rectangular room were stacks of blinking panels, most of which looked like data storage computers. A few robotic arms whirred behind panes of glass of several dozen sealed cases moving a countless number of test vials containing mysterious substances. At the far end of the room sat Betty, alone in a chair looking at multiple digital screens. I thought Thorn was going to shoot her right then and there, as he raised his scope to aim for her head. He stalled when she merely glanced over her shoulder and quaintly answered his rude summons to be allowed inside.

  "Welcome to my old workstation, come take a look at what I found," she declared.

  With a note of vigilance, we slowly approached her to see that she was unarmed, and not seeming to be a threat, "I hope you don't mind me getting distracted by all this mess, but it's been a long time since I've been back here," she added; completely oblivious to Thorn standing directly behind her with gun and seething to put a bullet in her skull.

&
nbsp; "Why did you kill them, Betty?" I had to ask mournfully while putting a hand to lower Thorns rifle from the back of her head. She turned around, looking a little baffled, then casually spun back to her task of monitoring the array of screens before her.

  "What an odd question; what do you mean, dear?" she babbled while distracted by the data in flashing on the desk before her.

  It slowly became clear that Beatrice had no idea what had just happened in the breakroom, and admitted to us that she had no control of the laboratory robotics in the facility. Contrary to her past actions, we started to believe what she was saying. She took a moment to bring up a status screen for the facility so we could see what happened here in the past. Data began to stream across the board about the lockdown with bold red letters that lit up on the screen as they blinked: 'Failsafe enacted.'

  Cypher

  "Why were you in here and how are you able to open that door?" Tasha demanded, giving Beatrice the third degree.

  "I have clearance," Betty replied, tapping at the hidden chip in her wrist, "everyone who had worked here has them."

  "You told the others you were heading for the restroom but ended up locking yourself in here instead ...whatever this place is?" Thorn retorted while scanning the robotic arms whirring behind the glass in multiple containment lockers. Each of the automations were tirelessly filling jars of liquids in test tubes in one size or another, and replacing them on slotted trays.

  "I passed by this station I once worked at and couldn't help but take a peek. It is not my fault you couldn't get in. I opened it when you knocked," Betty countered in her defense.

  Tasha gave us both an incredulous frown, noting though that her side of the story was entirely credible. The question was, who the fuck sent that robot to lynch us in the first place? It appeared that Betty had an answer for that.