Stanley closed his eyes for a brief moment. The sound melted into the background while his heart beat at just the right time. A simple plan began to form. This plan had flaws, but it was doable.
He opened his eyes and looked at Bernadette.
She was much better than before, holding herself just fine.
"Do you believe me?"
She looked at him unsupportively and scoffed. "I don't."
"Perfect."
He pushed the dagger into her hand and closed her fingers around the handle.
"I have a way out. But I need you to do something."
Bernadette didn't respond immediately. She turned her back to him and nodded her head once with her shoulders tensed.
"Alright then," Stanley said, adjusting the straps of the backpack he wore. "Stay here. When I give you the signal, scream once, loud. Then run in a straight line as fast as you can."
She clenched the dagger in her hand. She nodded a second time, more heavily.
Stanley stepped out from behind the pillar.
He moved slowly, keeping his posture loose as he looked briefly at the robot dog. Then he turned and headed towards the train.
His shape dwindled as he entered the darkness, engulfed by the wrecked carriages. The reverberation of his footsteps ceased, leaving only the murmur of the machines and the distant flames.
Something snapped in her head. Her eyes widened.
"What signal?"
Time went on. She remained in the position he had left her in. The pillar was growing chilly against her back. She held the knife tightly and took slow breaths, her eyes regularly flicking back to the train behind her.
No movement there.
Then her eyes shifted back to the entrance to the tunnel.
The red light remained present.
Wait for the signal, and then scream loudly once and run as fast as you can.
Stanley sat cross-legged on the train. His hands moved quickly. The drone was halfway opened already. He extracted the wires until he found what he was looking for.
The battery.
He yanked it loose and didn't look back. The bag remained on the floor that it fell off of.
He stepped around the mess and back out onto the platform.
Nothing moving. Smoke drifting slow. The red light still burning near the tunnel exit.
He turned his head toward the pillar across the platform.
She was still hiding behind the pillar, still waiting.
Good.
Bernadette fidgeted again, her eyes flickered between the train and the tunnel. Her fingers squeezed the dagger's handle until her palm hurt.
Then—
Princess!
The cry rang out across the platform.
She jerked and then straightened. Her chest tightened.
"Stan!" she yelled back, as loud as she could.
The red light flared. The hum of machinery escalated, reverberating in the tunnel. Scraping echoed as the robot dog burst forward, locking onto her location.
Bernadette turned to run. The burning in her legs happened as she sprinted directly ahead, gasping to get air in and out of her lungs. Her shoes were torn off her legs.
Stanley also emerged out of his cover and began sprinting while his eyes were fixed on Bernadette.
Next, something burst through the air behind her. A piece of metal struck the ground just a meter away from her.
Boom.
The blast threw her forward. She sailed through the air and struck the ground, rolling across the floor.
"She had to have felt that," Stanley thought, but she was still moving. She was alive.
The tunnel trembled under his feet. The lights above him flickered wildly.
The robot adapted. The metal pipe turned.
The red light locked onto him. The whine escalated.
Stanley started running while looking at the robot.
He needed it to concentrate. There was one opportunity. His hold on the battery tightened, sensing the hum within. The robot was recharging its round, the pitch rising.
Three seconds.
Stanley slowed.
Two.
He stopped dead in his tracks, his feet planted, his stance firm
One.
He threw.
The battery sailed into the air in a straight line. At the same time, the robot fired. It collided right in front of the battery.
Boom.
The blast struck the robot dog right in the face. Fire erupted high into the ceiling, undulating in waves across the concrete. The heat smashed into Stanley's skin, forcing the air out of him.
He staggered once before regaining his footing, gasping hard as the smoke filled the tunnel.
His eyes turned towards Bernadette promptly. She was trying to push herself up.
Relief flowed through him, his eyes flickering towards the train.
A red signal flared in the smoke.
His heart stopped.
A drone was drifting out from behind the carriage. This has to be a result of the series of explosions that happened. It scanned once and then stabilized.
"Down!" Stanley screamed.
Bernadette had barely straightened when she heard him. Her gaze quickly trailed after Stanley.
He looked tense… but for what reason?
She turned her head in the direction of the train.
Shots shattered the air. Rounds hit the pillar beside her, concrete spalling outward. Hitting her in bursts, sharp and numb sensations mixed together.
She was frozen in place. The gunfire did not cease – it ripped through all of her limbs and body.
Then the firing ceased. Her lips parted, but words did not come. The dagger left her grip, dropping to the floor in rattling metallic slams.
Bernadette stumbled, legs betraying her, and fell to the ground as if strings that controlled her motion had been severed.
Stanley was already running.
He reached her as she lay collapsed on the floor. His knees slid beside her. Hands shook, hovering above her body.
Her breathing was shallow, eyes unfocused, as though they might close at any moment.
No, no, no.
Her lips parted, and a slow patter of blood spattered from her mouth. She coughed.
"I… I'm so sorry," he whispered.
Her hand reached for his. She grasped tightly as her lips moved.
"I.. I knew. You all are after my…
Stanley shut his eyes and would not hear her.
He opened them again to see that she had her head cocked toward the knife that lay on the ground. She did not blink. There were no signs, yet she was still alive.
The drone floated nearer.
Stanley's hand reached for the knife. His mind went blank. No time. Stop her pain.
Both his hands flexed tighter around the handle. He raised the knife above her and plunged it deep into her chest to end her misery.
"I will save you."
She didn't reply. Her heart momentarily ceased beating. Blood began pouring from her wounds, flooding into his hoodie.
She was dead.
The drone was just a few meters away from them at this point. It stopped upon noticing Stanley, fixating on him.
[ SYSTEM ACCESS APPROVED ]
The drone opened a round of gunfire at him. The moment the shooting stopped, Stanley was no longer in sight. Only a dead body lay on the cold floor.
The drone hovered in the air, confused. It turned slowly in an effort to locate its lost target.
Stanley was there, behind the drone, with a slack posture.
There was a red light blazing in the drone as it was preparing to shoot, but the hands of Stanley were already grasping the drone. He squeezed the drone in his hands till it pained him.
He slammed the drone all the way to the floor with all his might.
A whine came from the mechanical parts of the drone trying to get it airborne. Stanley reached for the drone again, lifting it into the air before slamming it back onto the ground.
Smoke started to rise from the drone. He lifted the drone again and threw it against the wall. The drone made a loud noise.
He began walking towards the drone again. The red light was getting weaker, flickering.
He picked it up, holding it for a second to take a closer look. He took a slow breath, then smashed the drone on the floor once again.
[CORE ABILITY - COPY]
[ UNLOCKED ]