Elemorts

Chapter XXXIV - Stalemate

Sparxtrike gunned the car down the road between gentle, sloping hills. The road was brightly lit with luminescent white strips, but the hills were shrouded in darkness, looming all around in the form of rolling black silhouettes. Almost over, she thought as she exhaled and let her tense shoulders relax.

"You are making a big mistake," Oblitz called out from the rear seat. A partition was between him and Sparxtrike, and his hands were bound in ener-cuffs. "You are better than this." He had sat fairly silently initially, but his pleas had started becoming more frequent and more intense since they had drawn closer to the old headquarters of Oracle.

"You deserve this," Sparxtrike retorted for the thirteenth time since they had set out from Digitch space territory.

"You keep telling yourself that. But—"

"I will!" Sparxtrike interrupted. "Now, shut your mouth!"

"You will regret it when you find out what they did to me," Oblitz said pleadingly.

"Should have thought of that when you assisted them in their horrendous experiments," Sparxtrike said, trying her best to ignore his eyes in the rearview mirror. "You knew what you were getting into. I hear you were the one who pushed for acquiring mer subjects."

"I saved your life!" Oblitz pressed on. "Does that mean nothing to you?"

"And I thought I was saving yours. But you betrayed me — and our planet. Now, that means a lot to me."

"Our planet is also assisting Oracle," Oblitz yelled. "Can't you see? I left Oracle, but Zapstrom is still with them. You condemn me for the same mistake you serve your home planet for!"

Can't get there sooner, Sparxtrike thought. "Listen. For the last time... I am merely fulfilling my duty. If I don't, I will be fired, and soon enough, I may find myself being escorted with you. So, it's either you or me. I choose me." With that, Sparxtrike swerved around a bend between the hills, drove onto a driveway, and raced on. Oblitz lurched in his seat.

The headquarters were visible near the horizon now at the end of the driveway, nestled between rounded, sloping hills.

As Sparxtrike had expected, the old headquarters were barely lit even at this hour. She knew Oracle had already shifted to their new headquarters somewhere. Only a handful of their staff remained behind, along with some Wystal and Zapstromiss reinforcements to wrap things up and attend to some undisclosed matters left behind.

The hulking silhouette of the central lab of about sixty floors was nevertheless still outlined against the night sky and backdrop of rolling hills. Apart from the muted magenta Oracle logo on its top, Sparxtrike could see faint lights emanating from just a few scattered windows on various floors.

Fortunately, Oblitz had called quiet now. No more debates on morality, Sparxtrike thought in relief. He knows he deserves this by now, she tried to convince herself but did not succeed completely. Sparxtrike stole a glance through the rearview mirror and saw that he was staring ahead, wide-eyed.

She soon arrived at a checkpoint and pulled over. A Wystal truck was in front of her. An Oracle guard walked around its back and inspected its cargo while another talked to the driver before they cleared it. As the truck moved on, Sparxtrike pulled up in its place.

"State your business," one of the guards said gruffly. He released luminescent amaranth energy from his hand and shone it into Sparxtrike's car.

"I'm Sparxtrike Galvolt from the Zapstromiss Space Reconnaissance Unit," Sparxtrike replied as the guard noticed Oblitz in the back. "I understand you have been informed about my arrival. I am bringing in a highly valuable..." Sparxtrike bit her lip for a moment. "Prisoner."