F***!

The enemy was close.

Ulrich, Winston and the rest ran as fast as possible while trying not to call attention to the other people fleeing the scene towards the many stairways in confusion.

Of course, some people below the stairway were still within the massive.

Even though they could see the glorious stairways, they were still a little far away from it.

So with the enemy closer to them than the stairways, they had no choice but to fight back.

Ulrich thought of them as chess pieces to stall the enemy.

And while Ulrich and Winston were in their own dilemma, around the 3rd stairway, another dramatic scene was slowly unfolding.

.

So far, Landon, Henry and a few others were the only soldiers that crossed the 3rd floor.

Why?

Because Landon was leading them while following Ulrich through the system's monitor screen.

His team wasn't overly concerned with taking down all the enemies, as they sometimes avoided it in an attempt to catch up to Ulrich.

In short, one could say that they would shoot a few, scare the others off and continue on.

They left the other enemies to the other teams and soldiers who would take their time to explore the place properly.

To put it simply, none of the soldiers or Henry's men knew of the dangers within the building yet.

But, they were about to find out.

Din Din Din Din Din.

While running across the ridiculously massive hall, Lieutenant Vlad looked at the stairways thoughtfully.

"Squad leader Angie, take your squad and head towards the 1st stairway.

Nick, Krima, Torto, Peter, Quino...you take your teams towards the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th stairway.

And I'll take the 7th.

Now go!"

"Yes, sir!"

(*^*)

With that, they broke from their formation, with everyone following their squad leaders and making their way towards their designated stairway.

.

Peew.

Vlad shot the person ahead of him on the stairs and swiftly his body to the side, making him fall off the stairs.

Another in front of him turned around to punch him.

But he ducked and punched the guy's belly, making him hit those in front like dominoes.

Way ahead, some who were caught by surprise, were accidentally thrown off the very tall stairway.

To put it into perspective, one could imagine an ancient massive cathedral church created In medieval times... and imagine several stairways shooting from the bottom of the cathedral to a distance that was very close to the ceiling.

And the stairways were so narrow that any slipup could make one fall straight down, giving them a fatal injury.

And depending on how they fell, some might die.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Crack.

The man fell face down and cracked his forehead on the hard floor.

But did anyone care?

Nope!

They were busy trying to escape.

And besides, the man wasn't the first person to fall.

Just like that, Vlad and his team fought their way up as if they were struggling to battle their way towards the heavens.

They ducked, punched, shot and attacked those ahead mercilessly while throwing their bodies over the narrow stairway. 

And when they were 2/3rd through, an enemy discovered a bucket filled with a mixture of grease and water kept at the side of the balcony.

All this time, everyone had been running for their dear lives and didn't have time to think of what could be inside the bucket.

But now, an enemy discovered it and decided to send those on the stairway, along with the soldiers packing.

.

"Hahahhahahahahh.

Look! Look!

It's greasy water.

They probably got it from the kitchen pots after a good meal.

There are even bits of food in it."

"Brother, do you think that we can use this to slow down these intruders?"

"Ahhh.

Why didn't I think of that?

This way, we'll be able to buy more time for ourselves.

But what about the others on the stairs?"

"Tsk.

What does that have to do with us?

Our masters are dead, so it's everyone for themselves."

"Your right!"

With that, the mischievous duo, who were previously whispering, suddenly ran to the stairs anxiously, as if they wanted to tell the person stepping onto the balcony some sort of secret.

But who would've known that they would kick the person back and later throw the greasy water on the stairs?

"You bastards!"

The person who was kicked, quickly used his reflex to hold onto both sides of the stairs with his hands.

Phew!

He was saved.

Or so he thought, because in the next seconds, the duo threw half of the greasy water on the stairs, and another half towards the man's face, making some of the greasy water fall and coat the sides of the stairs, making it slippery.

F***!

His hands began to slip as he quickly lost control of his grip.

He tried to hold on for his dear life while glaring at the duo who ran away into the dark path ahead.

But no matter how hard he tried, he still ended up falling backwards.

And those behind him who had thought that he was okay earlier on almost cried when he knocked them hard.

Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom

Instantly, the entire stairway became chaotic.

It was like an avalanche, with some people rolling down the stairs, bowling-pin style, while others got thrown over.

.

Vlad, who noticed the problem, quickly took action.

"Safety Bungee cords!

Now!"

Like lightning, Vlad took out his emergency bungee cord and secured it along the sides of the stairs.

And the person behind him secured his own on one of the ends of Vlad's cord.

Just like so, everyone did the same and even tied one of the cords around Henry's men to secure them too.

From there, everyone quickly fought off all falling men by deflecting them off the stairs.

And when no more enemies were raining on them, they carefully advanced until they reached a spot that was too greasy.

Vlad looked at it thoughtfully.

So this was the cause of the accident earlier on?

Well, this was not a problem to them, as they carefully advanced as if they were rock climbing while using the cords.

And soon, they were all safely on the balcony.

Now, it was time to enter the seemingly dark tunnel.

"Everyone, stay vigilant."

They all turned on their flashlights from the latest military wearable arm guard gear that acts as an arm shield, can release pepper spray, has an in-built taser and so on.

With their torches on, some began pointing like Buzz Lightyear in Toys' Story.

They pointed up, down, and sideways quietly.

And so far, they hadn't heard anyone's voice or seen anything out of the ordinary.

But soon, all that would change.

One of the men close to Vlad, stepped on one of the lightweight planks, snapping it and sending him straight down.

'Snap!'

Shwoop!

"Mandel!!!" 

Everyone got anxious now.

.

The air grew tense, and their hearts beat so loud that it was about to pop out of their chests.

They could feel the air in their chests swelling up into a ball of anxiousness, for tear of what would happen to their comrade down below 

What's going to happen to him?

"Everyone, we have no time to waste.

Charlie!

I'll leave the team for you to lead.

Inform all other team's about the dangers in these hallways.

There might be more trap doors ahead.

And looking at the broken pieces here, these beautifully painted wooden boards aren't here for decoration.

That's probably why the place is kept dark.

While I'm gone, watch out for other traps.

This place isn't as easy as it seems.

Jenifer, Serra, Luke, Asher, Geo.

You 4 Follow me.

We're going to save warrant officer Mandel."

"Right!"

With that, the team dropped right into the while without delay.

They had to hurry.

Who knew what dangers were lurking below