Awoken 3: An Endless Nightmare

Chapter 11: Kill Me Now...

Silent Spark screeched and fell backwards, clutching her left shoulder. I collapsed against the side of the counter, my hoof brushing against the gash that her bullet had made across my neck. She didn't hit me, but it was very close.

I scrambled to my feet and raised Fury's gun in her direction. "What do you think you're doing?"

She raised one hoof up into the air in surrender, unable to move the shoulder that had been shot and put up the other one. "I'm sorry I'm sorry, I thought this place was abandoned, I'll leave I'll leave-"

"...Spark?" Blueprint poked his head out from behind the counter, and I mentally facehoofed. I think I would have preferred for him to stay hidden.

"Blueprint...?" Spark paused, covering her mouth in shock. "W... what are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for my sister, do you know where she is...?"

I shushed the pale green colt, not wanting him to give away too much. "Shut up, Blue. Hold on for a second." Turning to Spark, I loaded the gun, trying to act intimidating. "What are you doing here?"

Spark frowned and looked away. "I was... Just getting food..."

"And Tyra?"

"Tyra? I... Don't know a Tyra-"

"Don't bullshit me." I took a step closer, pressing the barrel of the gun to the side of her head. "Why are you really here?"

"I'm not kidding..." She said slowly. "I'm on a supplies run. I swear."

I gritted my teeth and lowered the gun. "Your bag. Dump your bag on the floor."

Spark paused, then picked up her saddlebag and held it out to me. I took it and turned it upside down, the contents falling out onto the tile. Machine parts.

I waved Blueprint forwards, and he came to stand next to me. "What are they?"

He picked up one of the metal pieces and looked over it. "This one's a rotary damper..." He sifted through the pile. "Shock absorber, a bunch of metal panelling, a bag of bolts and screws, some hinges, a pressure gauge, a whole ton of cables..." He looked up at Spark. "Aren't you a chemical engineer...?"

She nodded slowly. "That's... That's what I told her... She wouldn't listen."

"What are you building?" I asked sternly.

She shrugged. "I don't... Really know. Tyra gave me the blueprints and that's it. It would be a lot easier to build if I knew what it did..."

"So she's not filling you in on any thing...?"

Spark shook her head.

"Why are you helping her?"

She averted her gaze. "... I don't have much of a choice... I helped her at first because she was my friend; we've been best friends since forever, even Blue knows that. When I found out she was trying to murder an entire city, I wanted out but... She injected me with one of those chips... She told me that if I didn't help, that I would become part of her army... Either I help her, or become a mindless killer, and I... Didn't want that..."

"Hmph... And you can't just cut the chip out?"

She shook her head again. "If the connection is severed, the whole thing explodes. If I wanted to take it out, I would have to take out the entire device, which would kill me in the process since by now I'm sure all of my nerves and bones have been replaced by metal..."

I sheathed the gun. "Someone bandage her shoulder. She's going to bleed out."

Blueprint ran forwards with the bandages and began to wrap Spark's wound.