Test Subject: Escape 2 by A.V. Ray
Author:A.V. Ray [Ray, A.V.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2024-08-06T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter 24
All emergency units activated with a heavy electronic click, but the yellow illumination remained localized to the bulbs themselves.
Everything else remained in shadow, making the space between lights almost impenetrably dark.
With my gun aiming down the utility corridor, I waited for Lynchpin and the others to return through the closet, but she still hadnât shown up yet.
I could scarcely smell the Hunter anymore, but the shadows persisted. This was all deliberate. The Hunter had to be nearby, and yet he hadnât shown himself.
And I had a theory on why he let us out.
In the Labyrinth, one could reconstitute themselves from deathâas was the case with Dr. Gammon. By letting me out of the Labyrinth, it rendered any possibility of using its chaotic physics to survive.
A way to make me easier to kill.
But that also meant the same was true for him.
Our guns may not have worked on the Hunter in the Labyrinth, but there was a chance heâd be more vulnerable as wellâthe gap in our experience notwithstanding.
I didnât see or hear anybody bolting toward the lobby.
Where was Alpha team? Bravo team? The DFC? Did he pull the entire field team into the Labyrinth? Was anybody still alive?
As much as I wanted to call out for someone, my instinct forbade me from doing so.
I heard a shrill beep echoing in the distance. The power had gone out, and yet the sound was coming from the lobby. I asked myself what it could be, only to be fed an answer from my subconscious.
An uninterruptible power supply box; enough electricity to run a computer for a few minutes to shut it down safely.
Another idea followed that recollection: the Escape Key.
The One Stop Shop told me when I first got it that it did what all escape buttons did, which was cancel an operation.
When I wanted to go somewhere, it cancelled the travel time from point A to point Bâor that was what I assumed it did based on the computerâs description.
If I connected the key to a powered computer and tried to use it, what would happen? Would it work? I decided that the risk was acceptable, especially with the very shadows themselves clinging to the light fixtures.
My wrist immediately went from numb to nigh excruciating. The Hunter was close. And then I blinked.
I fucking blinked.
The Hunter was suddenly there, standing down the service hallway just beyond the closet door.
My mind said to shoot him, but my body held a still vigil instead. Watch. Observe. Learn.
Think through the fear.
His cigar was gone, leaving only his dirty burlap head, while his silhouette melded with the shadows in a way that was like stirring ink through water.
And he wasnât moving; but he was facing my direction.
Using my back foot as a doorstop, I kept the service entrance open and immediately concluded that he still wasnât seeing me. Amalaâs claim was still holding true; I could get around this guy.
But seeing was one thing, perceiving was another. Could he hear me? Smell me? Maybe
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Sita - Warrior of Mithila (Book 2 of the Ram Chandra Series) by Amish(53735)
The Crystal Crypt by Dick Philip K(36381)
Cat's cradle by Kurt Vonnegut(14704)
Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han(14427)
Ready Player One by Cline Ernest(13920)
The Last by Hanna Jameson(9773)
Year One by Nora Roberts(9273)
Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey(8914)
The remains of the day by Kazuo Ishiguro(8347)
Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro(8254)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown(8207)
Dark Space: The Second Trilogy (Books 4-6) (Dark Space Trilogies Book 2) by Jasper T. Scott(7881)
The handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood(7414)
The Circle by Dave Eggers(6814)
Frank Herbert's Dune Saga Collection: Books 1 - 6 by Frank Herbert(6667)
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood(6446)
Legacy by Ellery Kane(6368)
Pandemic (The Extinction Files Book 1) by A.G. Riddle(6150)
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty(5788)
