Epics of Noche 2, DeathTech

EON CH 44

A SPARK OF HOPE.

1774, NOVEMBER 28th, MONDAY 6:40 am.

Noche and her friends stepped out of the elevator and into a hallway lit with neon white light.

"So this is Raven's floor," she muttered. "The strongest bird of death."

Her gaze flickered over to the side where the elevator's up button was destroyed. She leaned in closer and it appeared as if a metal spike had impaled it. The blonde was snapped out of her inspection as Boot's rushed ahead.

All struggled to keep up with the orange-haired boy despite my grievous wounds. Blood dripped onto the floor with his every step, his eyes has a distant gleam to them, and every so often he stumbled. Yet he still led the way with staggering speed.

They turned corridor after corridor in this confusing maze of hallways. In minutes they arrived before a large door; a security camera aimed at it.

"I recognize this door. Yeah, I unlocked it for you once. I asked what do we say and you're response was," Jack imitated Boot's grimace. "Now."

The security guard shrugged as Boots kicked the door. Dust fell from the ceiling as he retracted his foot – a deep indent in the metal.

"Gee golly gosh, you said you unlocked it before?" Shaylin asked.

Jack nodded. "If there's a security room on this floor, I should be able to—"

Boots kicked the door again and the dent grew deeper.

"—Unlock it remotely."

"Maybe I can hack it?" Shaylin smiled.

With a third kick, the door exploded; ripped metal and electrical wires were scattered everywhere. An alarm blared throughout the entire floor as Boots leapt into the room. Noche's mouth hung wide open. She grit her teeth and scowled, before leaping after the man.

"... Nevermind," Shaylin chuckled.

One by one they all slipped through the crack in the door. The party stood before a room that was almost pitch black. At the far end of the room was a meter-thick red glass barrier, with large ventilation holes scattered every foot apart. In vivid white text above the glass wall were the numbers 19-16-01-18-11.

Beyond this red glass was a small, prison cell with a woman sitting on the bed. She shot to her feet as Boots ran towards the translucent barrier.

"SPARK!"

The red-haired girl shouted – excepted she made no noise. Her mouth moved and it appeared as if she was yelling, but not a single word could be heard. Noche paused and stared at the girl. Her eyes drifted all over the tall woman's body. Over the missing arms, the spikes for legs, and the singular left eye.

Then they locked eyes. Noche was stunned as she stared into the eye of a childhood friend she couldn't remember. Tears welled in Sparks's left eyes as her gaze lingered on the blonde.

"Spark! We're gonna get you outta here!" Boots screamed. "Hang on!"

A stream fell down her cheeks as she shook her head. Her mouth moved in silence, but Noche couldn't make out what it was. Not that she could focus on the girl's lips – it was her battered body that held her attention.

"B-Boots... What happened to her?" Noche whispered.

The orange-haired boy didn't respond. He immediately went to kicking the glass barrier.