Chapter 147 - Overlooking carnage (2/2)

”Kill those things. Altas must not gain control of the factories,” yelled a loud voice over the chaos of gunfire. Grant looked up, snapped from his state of shock. The one who spoke seemed to be in charge of the humans. The sheer violence of the attack was terrifying. It was a massacre. An execution.

”We are here to stop Atlas and we are going to stop him. We stick to the plan,” Grant said with determination. The group around him nodded. ”There's an entrance on the side of the building through the cafeteria, we'll use the humans as a diversion,” he explained. Everyone smiled except Demos. His face was closed, jaw tensed. He held Liliane's gun, the one they got off the terrorist.

”Go, go, go,” Grant waved and they backed away to another street and rounded a factory facing the Lab. They crossed the street as the group of cybots closed around the stranded military. Terrible screams rose in the cold morning light as the sun gradually rose. The front of Lab 87 was blood red from the carnage.

-Grant, we can't just let them die! said Demos. Grant didn't answer.

They reached the side of the lab, easily hopped over the fence and inside the facility. This side of the building was also destroyed. Glass panels shattered, wall riddled with impacts, the yard littered with debris, and bullets. Demos remembered how they go out in haste with bodies lying in the corridors. The group made it inside the cafeteria, it was eerily silent.

”In formation,” Demos whispered. Those carrying guns protected those without. Grant stood in the middle. They crossed the room without problem and went down the first bas.e.m.e.nt the same way they escaped earlier, through the fire exit. The staircase was pitch black. No one had flashlights, most were equipped with night vision. Those who didn't grab the arm of the one in front and let them guided down the pit. The descent was laborious, the air thin and hot. No human could advance in such conditions. Reaching the 14th landing Grant paused.

”This way,” Grant urged and pulled the door leading to offices. He peeked in both directions to see if it was empty then waved the others to step into the light. Demos narrowed his eyes at the familiar corridor. Grant didn't wait for them and dashed straight to an unmarked door. They followed behind without question. As he pulled the door open he stopped.

”What—” Demos pushed those standing in front of him to join Grant. When he peeked inside he saw Olga sitting on a chair at a workstation.

”Didn't I tell you not to come?” she said half smiling. She had a sweater wrapped around the waist soaked with white liquid, soot, and burns covered the right side of her face. Her hair was mattered on the side, the shoulder burnt black with synthetic skin peeling away. The other members hurried inside, cheering with joy.

”What happened to you?” asked Grant. She turned back to her workstation ignoring them.

”Is Liliane, ok?” she asked without looking up. Grant pressed his lips together. He wasn't sure. Nicolai patted Olga on the back. She didn't react.

”We came to save you, as I see you don't need saving,” he pointed to the guns tucked into her belt and the huge one resting against the table. Olga finished her typing, saved the files and pulled a black box plugged to the console. She swirled around in her chair and glared at them.

”Why are you here?” her eyes rested on Grant. ”I've sent you a message telling you they are going to destroy this f.u.c.k.i.n.g facility. The military built a safeguard inside the whole thing and they were going to blow everything up. Do you understand what they are going to do? So why are you here?” her voice rose up and everyone went quiet. Smiles faded.

”I couldn't decode your message,” Grant averted his eyes. Olga struggled to get out of her chair. They watched in shock as her cooling liquid dripped from her wound and onto the floor. She limped to Grant and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. ”They are going to blow up an EMP, if we don't get away from the blast we'll all be scrap metal. I was able to get a backup of their servers before they wiped it,” she waved the black box into his face. ”Now we better get out and quick,” she pushed Grant away.