"That was fast", he knew they'd be able to pinpoint him soon. Though he never knew how they latched on to him. Was it the guns? Or maybe the access cards? He didn't have the time to worry. The hallway was ending and he didn't see any key card reader up ahead.
He was about to reach a dead end when ears soon picked up a faint sound coming from the right wall up ahead with no key card, two foot steps only they were not in a rush. The wall was about to open up, and it seemed like it was going to be a secret entrance? He needed to move fast.
He increased his speed with everything he got, his body bending to the right. Those that were tracking them down from the ship's surveillance rooms widened their eyes in shock as they saw the direction he was heading. A man then opened the communicators of almost everyone on the ship.
"They are heading towards the restricted zone, I repeat, they are heading towards the restricted zone, Section 0. Men exiting from there, close it immediately! Stop them at all costs", his warning stunned everyone on the ship.
The ones chasing him realized the part of the ship they were in and cursed, they had to be stopped.
The two men exiting from the restricted zone were shocked by the announcement and quickly tried to close the entrance that had opened a considerable bit.
Just as they were about to relax in the final moments of the entrance closing, Alrick's figure bolted through the door like a bull on steroids accompanied by turrets of fire power from behind which he dived down to dodge, leaving the poor scientists on the receiving end.
Their bodies were riddled with holes as they collapsed to the ground. Alrick, who was holding Eleanor in his arms while sitting against a wall in the bright long hallway, watched them fall to the ground while he tried to catch his breath.
He turned towards the now closed wall, no one had come in after him yet. Like he had guessed it wasn't accessible to many, it seemed the ones that had been chasing him were small fry and the dead scientists on the floor seemed to have somewhat of a high ranking.
Now he had another question on his mind, it's obvious he wasn't supposed to be here judging by how agitated his pursuers had become when he reached the wall. They even actively opened fire aiming at his vitals, something they had never done so before.
It was clear at first that they wanted to take him alive, but that goal of theirs was overridden as soon as he got closer to this place and they aimed to kill him before he did.
Whatever was in here must be really something then.
He stood up and guided a still dazed Eleanor onto his back after looting the dead scientists on the floor, he knew that this grace period wasn't going to last long and he needed to start moving.
He steadied himself and slowly limped down the bright hallway, hoping not to get into any more trouble. What he didn't notice behind him were the bright golden tiny orbs that floated out from the two scientists' bodies and down into the floor, it seemed incorporeal as it passed through every barrier below the ship before reaching the very bottom.
The room was large and dark with a bottom that looked impossible to reach, metallic bridges were suspended mid air all leading to an overly large transparent oval chamber, its insides glowed with an ethereal gold colored energy. The tiny orbs floated into the chamber, accompanying their brethren in their peaceful flow.
****
"Professor Link and Peter have been confirmed dead by the system, their imprints have been transferred to the chamber and is currently undergoing psychoanalysis to avoid any problems during the assimilation process to the new bodies", Tracy watched the woman on her holographic screen who explained the situation to her.
"Have you blocked their access cards?", Tracy asked, her eyes never leaving the screen. The woman gulped and quickly explained, "Not yet... My team and I have blocked so many of them today, the system is trying to adjust so it's taking some time to block them.", her voice was shaky, not daring to look Tracy in the eye.
Tracy drummed her fingers on the edge of the arm rest and sighed, "This kid is causing too much trouble, I shouldn't have let any able bodied individual stay behind that time", she mumbled to herself forgetting the frightened woman on the screen before her.
"C-captain... Should we allow the assault team access into the restricted area?", the question was met with a glare from Tracy.
"And here I thought you were amongst my best minds, those brutes might ruin my life's research if I let them go in there after those vermin. Instead, tell every scientist there to put the research on hold and leave the area. I'll go in myself", Her words stunned the entire support team that had been in the room with the woman on the screen.
"Y-yes captain, I'll send a message now to Section 0", she said as she ended the transmission call with Tracy. Tracy stood up and stretched, turning her head towards screens that displayed Alrick evading her men then getting into section 0.
"Is it just me or is this kid a monster? He seems to have been made in a lab but was actually conceived by an ordinary uterus, is someone expecting me to believe that?", She said to herself as she watched the feed of him carrying an incapacitated Eleanor with a body that was shutting down but still had tenacity to keep on moving.
"He's worthy of being my personal test subject," she said, lips curling into a disfigured smile. She turned away from the screens and strode out, pulling her cap down with finality.
The corridor was long— Well it felt overly long to him since he was moving at a snail's pace, his body was seriously wrecked and in need of a three month coma to get back on track.
He had finally reached a key card reader on the right wall, he didn't know what was in there but couldn't hear anyone at least, he was happy he didn't have to go in guns blazing. He used one of the access cards he had gotten from the two men earlier and opened up a passage, when it closed and the room brightened up he swore he could heard his stomach having an epiphany.
It turns out to be some kind of break room you would normally find in an office environment for the workers to relax and have lunch before resuming work. The room had a lounge area in the corner, some bench tables for eating, a bathroom and something that resembled a machine that could instantly make any edible thing as long as you told it what you wanted.
The machine made him think of a certain superhero tv show where they joked more than they actually fought crime.
He shook his head trying to stay focused, he walked over to the lounge area and set Eleanor down as gently as he could before flopping down beside her with ragged breaths, "Shit... Sorry Ellie, I can't carry you anymore"
He didn't get a response and turned to her only to find her still dazed, "Eleanor! Can't you snap out of it?", he snapped at her, making her flinch a bit.
He sat up and turned to her properly, "You need to get a grip or we're both going to die here if you keep this up, are you listening?", he could see she was still somewhat out of it.
She was quiet before the first streak of tears went down her cheeks and she was soon sobbing, "But everyone is dead Alrick! What's the point of even trying? We'll surely be killed anyway, and even if we do escape, how are we going to get home and go on with life?!"
"So you're saying all my effort in keeping us alive is a waste? I was giving it my hardest out there while you stayed frozen like a statue! Do you want to know why? Because I believe we can get out of here if we tried hard enough, you think I don't feel grief? I watched my younger brothers and my pregnant mother die before my eyes, the people I was supposed to be protecting!", her words had really pissed him off to the point of yelling, something he had never done to her. He felt bad but he felt like he needed to do this.
"I want the nightmare to end too, Ellie. But I'm not going to give these bastards the pleasure of killing me, I'll screw them over before they even have the chance to. Ellie... I know you're grieving, we both are. But I also know Nana Mae wouldn't want to see you like this, she wouldn't want to see you give up so easily", his tone was softer know as he put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a weak squeeze.
"... But Alrick I can't do-"
"That's nonsense and you know it", he cut her off, "You saved me from that guy that tried to blast my skull open remember? You did that"
"But I killed a man!!"
"And you saved my life, wasn't that worth it?", his words finally got through her, her eyes gleamed with something she couldn't understand, "Don't see it as an unforgivable sin but as you saving a friend, even if it meant taking a life. I'd do the same for you any day Ellie"