Project Sarin

19 - Free

I tear myself around to see who just shouted. Standing in the doorway I see Grimes holding a gun with a shaking hand. His middled aged features turning stressed, almost desperate.

I start to reach for my gun, but Reed beats me to it.

"I got him," he says calmly as he walks up behind me, pointing his own gun at Grimes.

"You have ruined everything!" Grimes shouts, his eyes wide like he was turning into a maniac.

"I- I can't let you finish this," I say, my voice shaking slightly, "I don't want to be responsible for what could happen".

"For what could happen?" Grimes scoffs,  "You just made the whole thing worse! You will be responsible for whatever happens next!"

"Wait... wha- what do you mean?" I thought I had stopped them from pursuing their plan, but the way Grimes talks, it sounds like I just put the whole world at risk.

"Don't listen to him," Reed says, "he's just trying to trick you".

"So the traitor decided to speak up, huh? Don't worry, both of you will pay for it," Grimes raises his gun again "you won't live to see the moon rise tonight".

In that moment, armed guards rush in through the emergency doors behind us. I know that if we give up now, Grimes's last words will become the truth. But the odds are not in our favor.

"Sarin," I try to say as calmly as possible, "I need you to activate now".

Nothing happens except that the guards approach us faster by the second. From the corner of my eye I see Reed tense up. If he hadn't decided to help me he wouldn't be in this situation right now, close to death.

I know I need to do something. I owe him that. I owe Sarin that. And the team that decided to help me when no one else would.

I make the leap. I dash as fast as I can towards Sarin, not sure of what I'm about to do, just knowing I have to try.

That's when the world starts to move slowly. I hear gunshots, shouts and my own heartbeat in my ears. I feel an overwhelming pressure in my right shoulder that causes me to lose my balance. I fall to the cold ground, hearing screams on the way down. The speed I had gained makes me continue forward for a short while, until I still, lying on my back right in front of Sarin.

The world still moves in its slow pace. Every breath I take increases the pressure in my shoulder, which is now spreading through me, numbing my body.

At that moment, I no longer felt any fear. I was calm. And I reached my left  hand up to Sarin, reaching its headlight.

"I don't want to forget," I whispered with my last strength.

A bright light is the last thing I see before my eyelids fall shut over my eyes.

~~~

It feels like my shoulder is being crushed by the immense pressure I feel on it. I notice it sometimes, I stir but then fall back into the darkness.

That is, until the pressure is too much to just ignore, and my senses begin to wake up from their deep slumber.

The bright light that shines on my eyes could be helping the process. The light gives off heat and makes me break a light sweat.

It's sunlight. I realise it as I open my eyes, trying to avoid the light. I stare up and see a ceiling, or a display, that shows me a monitor for blood pressure, oxygen levels and other things. I use my left arm to push myself up.

I'm in the back seat of Sarin. I recognize the familiar interior. The display, that stretches across every available space, seems to work the same for the ceiling.

"Thanks for looking out for me," I say with a tired smile.

The doors are open to provide fresh air, a light breeze ruffling my hair slightly. My shoulder still hurts, but the wound has been taken care of, a bandage covering most of my shoulder and upper arm.

The memories from before start to hit me and I remember Reed, and Grimes and Sarin.

I manage to get myself into a sitting position with my legs touching the ground outside. It's a bit difficult with just one helpful arm.

I use the door for leverage and stand up. I notice someone sitting on the grass outside, his back leaned on the side of Sarin's front, a laptop in his lap.

"You're up," Reed looks up as soon as he notices me.

"Where are we?" I ask as I close the door and look around, a field spreading out in all directions, after that, endless amounts of trees. Not a single road to be seen.

"We're off the map, somewhere it will take a while for them to find two people and a car," Reed says, turning his head to look out across the field, "we're off-road".

"Literally or metaphorically?" I ask jokingly as I slide down on the ground next to him. I groan as pain stabs my shoulder again.

"Haven't decided yet," he smiles.

I finally reach the ground and lean my back against Sarin, sitting next to Reed, "mind giving me an update?" I ask him since he's looking back at the laptop screen.

"Uh, yeah, right," Reed removes his attention from the screen and starts explaining to me. "After you ran, Grimes moved to shoot you, I acted on instinct and shot back. Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough."

Reed glances at my shoulder. I shrug a one-shoulder shrug in order to save me from anymore pain and to tell him that it's alright. "I guess I should be used to it, even if I can't remember anything of my past," I tell him.

"After that the entire place turned upside down," Reed continues his story, "we were lucky you managed to activate Sarin, or we wouldn't be here".

"Wait, I couldn't activate it," I say in disbelief, "I tried but it was of no use".

"Wrong," Reed says, "after you touched Sarin, it got activated, must've been some kind of DNA lock".

"Huh..." I don't remember Sarin waking up, I had thought I would either wake up without memories of the past days or not wake up at all. This car still surprises me. And I guess it will continue to do so.

"After you passed out Sarin took a few laps around the big hall, distracting the guards. We barely got out of there on time."

"But we did," I say, "against all odds".

"Against all odds..." Reed says thoughtfully and looks back at the laptop.

"Hey, you still seem a bit distracted," I ask him, wondering if there is something he isn't telling me.

Reed sighs and taps a few keys, "this is the laptop we found in the same hall we found Sarin in. Apparently it was connected to most things inside that building. Including the CCTV".

Reed taps a few more keys, "I think I know why Grimes went crazy on us," he taps a final key and four windows open, showing the big hall we were in.

No, wait, that isn't the one we were in. There isn't just one car in here. The huge emergency gates open, identical to those we got out through, and light is slowly being let through.

The cars' headlights turn on one after the other, revealing rows of cars in various sizes and colors, but all with a design that reminds me of Sarin. As the gates continue to open, the cars start to speed through them like wild animals fleeing from a cage. Their tires leave black stripes and white smoke behind them as they carry the cars out into the world.

"Does this mean..." I pause. I keep staring at the screen. However, Reed finishes my sentence for me.

"Yes," he says and looks at me, "there was never just one".