“Sharks? What are you on about? We’re in the fucking desert!” Hallon hissed.

“Doc, isn’t this mother fucker the one who’s been taking kids and experimenting on them?”

“Yes!”

“The sharks are at our door. The Doasians. Think.” I said, tapping the side of my head trying to get the doc to think.

I watched a light bulb illuminate in Hallon’s mind which resonated into his eyes, with a small glint gleaming.

Hallon then nodded in agreement when his eyes met mine. Once he realised our eyes met, he shifted them down looking at the ground, shying away. “Hallon, you bastard!” Fellis growled, “You betrayed me!”

“We have to be friends for it to be a betrayal Fellis.”

“You bastard!”

He spat a mouthful of blood at Hallon which barely missed his feet. I turned the bastard and kicked him in the stomach, feeling as my toes sink into his gut.

The bastard growled a howl that reverberated down the corridor.

Hallon’s eyes gaped instantly and I knew all this was going to go south fast.

I turned to Hallon, clapping him on his shoulder before he could run off. “Listen Efroniz, if anyone asked you about the scream. Tell them the truth. You and Efroniz had it out and you punched the bastard and walked out.”

“They won—“

“They’ll believe you if you believe it yourself. You punched him and left him on the ground. The blood there is more than enough evidence.”

“I don’t think I can do this.” He whispered

“You don’t have a choice. If they find out you gave Fellis to me, they’ll probably kill you and have someone else finish the Ortho-Interpretive Processor.”

Mention his sister, Nova said.

“That might be a good thing, your sister would be fine once the credits you send dry up.”

“How do you know—“

“It doesn’t matter how I know. Get your head in the game Hallon. Or everything you value will disappear like that.” I said firmly, snapping my fingers.

Defeat appeared in Hallon’s eyes, and I clenched my jaw. Trying my best not to let this Hallon’s pain resonate with my own when Hannah and Shin-Lee were threatened by Akatani.

I roiled the fury within my stomach and steeled myself as I released my foot from Hallon’s back.

“Here,” Hallon said, pushing a piece of paper at me.

I opened the crumpled paper and scanned it. The scribbles of lines that were dotted across the paper were meant to mean something, but I couldn’t understand what the hell this meant. “Snakes and ladders?” I asked confused.

“This is a map to Ranton’s office.”

“Here, Here and Here are where guards are usually posted. They change shifts every two hours and no I don’t know when the last shift was.”

“Look at you Doc,” I said crumpling the paper in my hand. “Being Proactive.”

“Right…”

The doc turned and scampered down the corridor, leaving Fellis and me alone.

I grabbed Fellis by the collar and pulled him through the door. I looked back ensuring none of his blood trailed toward the door.

Any fool would know if Fellis disappeared, it’d be through here, which meant I just compromised my entrance and exit. I shouldn't have kicked him, I grimaced.

“Who are you?!” Arson Fellis growled.

“The friend of your enemy,” I answered snidely.

“What?”

“What?” I said, turning to him and looking down at him.

The snivelling bastard bared his crimson-laced teeth at me as though he still had the power to do something.

I shook my head in annoyance at the arrogance he painted across his face. “You know what I don’t get about you scientist. Is the arrogance you lay your feet in. Everything isn’t about you or what you think needs to be discovered.”

“Without scientist brutes like you would’ve died without our help. Who do you think made the first sword, spear, or arrow? Do you think it is a swordsman, spearman or archer?! It was us…be thankful we gave you the tools to survive in this world.”

“Be thankful? For what? Protecting and guarding your miserable lives leaving you to rot in your arrogance because of your self-indulgent ego? Be thankful…for that?”

“Who do you think made your cybernetics?

“I don’t give a shit, Fellis you experimented on children. Doasian at that, what do you think would’ve happened? You thought the Doasians wouldn’t come for their kin? Are you stupid or just plain ignorant?”

“I had no choice!” He pleaded.

“There’s always a choice doc, but kidnapping children, you caused this upon yourself.”

I rocked my hand back and punched the doc in his mouth again. He sneered at me with crimson foam bubbling at the side of his mouth. It was like watching a hyena growl, but knew deep down what was about to happen. At least with you, maybe we can do something about the Doasians, I thought, I might be able to buy enough time to get the Hedgehog.

I dragged the doc to the Salent Coolant Reservoir and yanked the hatch open. He looked at me as if he’d seen a ghost as he peered down the hole. “What are you doing?” He asked me.

My trigger got itchy, so I yanked my pistol free resting it on his forehead, then looked at him dead in the eye. “Go down and I kill you here.”

“You won’t kill me, you need me.”

“Don’t mistake me needing you for tolerating you Fellis. S shut up, go down the hole or I’ll just toss you in!”

Fellis didn’t answer, but the defiance painted across his face made me want to stomp him on the ground.

After a two-second stare down, the bastard crawled towards the door and began climbing down.

A draft of cold wind stole some warmth from my lips. I knelt, watching Fellis head down.

As darkness began to resonate into my eyesight as I stared down. I switched to night-vision and watched Arson Fellis meet the green Salent Coolant. “Fuck what is that?” He growled.

“Salent Coolant,” I said. “Get in.”

“I can’t!”

“I said, get in.”

“I can’t swim you fucking ape!”

“Good, I’m sure they’d love to see you dead anyway.”

I began my descent, pulling the hatch down and locking the lever.

By the time I reached the bottom of the ladder, Arson was still hanging to the ladder. “I won’t let you drown…for long,” I grunted.

Arson didn’t reply, nor did he protest, which was satisfying. Fellis closed his eyes and released the ladder and began flapping in the reservoir.

I dropped into the reservoir with a big splash. I opened my eyes watching Arson sink to the bottom, proving he couldn’t swim.

I took a deep breath, kicked my feet out and dove towards him, catching him before he wandered too close to the fan blades with the reservoir.

I brought Arson back to the surface of the coolant. A mouthful of coolant slapped the side of my face. I head-butted Arson for spitting on me with the metallic side of my head.

A loud goof echoed through the reservoir and the bastard hissed a howl as he held his head, still holding onto me, forgetting that he couldn’t swim. “You bastard! He growled, “I’m bleeding.”

“You think you could spit on me scotch free?”

“I did—“ Arson tried to say.

I head-butted the bastard in his nose. A subtle snap followed and the bastard held his nose as his eyes turned red from the pain. “You were saying?”

Arson grunted a moan, then shake his head and finally was able to swim towards the wall on the opposite end without resistance. Fool, I thought bitterly.

I looked up and the hatch I’d used to flong myself into the Salent Coolant Reservoir was open, the only problem was it was higher than when I first arrived. “Shit, the coolant’s being drained into the generators.”

Make an incision on the wall with your blade and use it to climb up, Nova flashed across my HUD. My lips unconsciously smiled from the suggestion, but I had to admit, it was good to have nova back…despite how jaded I felt about her return.

I raised my left hand above the liquefied coolant. The green water dripped down my hand for the twenty seconds I had it raised.

My short-sword snapped free and the blade began to hum violently as the blade turned from silver to orange. The heat from the short sword warmed the left of my face and Arson began to fret hysterically. “Relax, this isn’t for you,” I told him, but the bastard wouldn’t give in.

I drove the blade into the wall and steam puffed in the air as coolant splashed against the blade. The metallic wall didn’t melt as I would hope, so I applied more pressure, hoping to make a small puncture.

After two minutes of forcing my blade into the wall with no results, I finally relented and gave my left hand a rest.

Ensen sheets do not conduct heat. It’s a safety feature which doesn’t allow salent coolant to evaporate. Try making an incision by punching the wall, Nova said.

“Alright,” I said softly, “let’s try it.”

I hit the ensen sheet wall. A loud reverberating noise rattled throughout the reservoir, but the wall didn’t bend.

“Are you crazy?” Fellis asked me.

I struck the metal sheet again, ignoring the question. I looked at the bastard but he said nothing this time, but the way he was looking at me, made me feel uncomfortable. It was as if he was trying to read my mind.

The third strike didn’t do anything, but it made me feel wary as if I would need to strike this wall eighty times before making a dent into it.

After my eighth struck a dent finally appeared in my eyesight, and the geneticist shrieked as if he were dissatisfied. So much for me returning into the bunker. I guess that’s what he hoped for but little did he know, I’d gladly drown him here if I didn’t need him.

After pounding the ensen sheet wall for fifteen minutes. I finally made a dent big enough for me to climb up. Arson Fellis fought me each time but knocking him across the head a few times calmed him down.

I pushed him into the hatch, feeling cold as the vapour sift through the air. As I fell into the trailer, I gritted my teeth feeling the warmth leave my body like a flickering light bulb.

Arson sat on the ground shivering, trying his best to warm himself up. I grabbed the bastard by his shoulder and hoisted him toward the back of the trailer.

I struck the hatch and it flew open. I then scooped up Arson, tossed him through the door and followed behind, feeling warmth return to my body.

The dull lit hallway appeared around me and I sighed, feeling as though this mission was going to get even harder.

I recounted my actions, realising, not only did I not find a console. I didn’t know what how my next infiltration will go because of Arson’s scream. I’ll find out eventually, I thought.

I took a two-minute break, pressing my foot into Arson’s neck, ensuring he didn’t try to run away. Once a subtle soothing sensation returned to my body. I pulled the bastard off the ground and took him towards the mess hall.

The kitchen was scrubbed clean, and no one in sight which made me feel sceptical, especially with the daunting aura that was permeating the air. Something doesn’t feel right, I mused.

“Eltessa, are you there? This is Cypher.” I said, after pushing my comm back into my air. No one responded. I tapped my comm raising the volume ensuring it wasn’t muted. “Stryme, this is Cypher,”

Nothing.

I wandered into out of the mess hall and allowed my eyes to rest on the stars above. As soothing as the wind was as it caressed my neck, something was bothering me.

The aura of the Sceleratus had changed, it felt thick, heavy but worst of all smothering, making me feel as though in my short absence something had taken place.

The children that were playing at night, were not in sight now. Instead, the men and women were scampering around as if a battle was about to happen.

Two young men darted past me holding assault rifles. Arson tugged himself away from me, trying to block their paths. He outstretched his foot, but the lad on the right hopped over as if it were a reflect.

I kneed Arson in the gut, then swept him off his feet, burying my other knee into his stomach.

The lads didn’t stop but kept on running. What is the Imbibe is going? I asked myself confused.

“What’s happening?” I growled. The young men who darted past me looked back, startled with confused eyes. They then looked at each other as if they were pondering if to speak or not. “Talk lads, what In the Imbibe is going!?”

“Parley.” The young man on the left said.

“What?”

“The Doasians have come to Parley.”