Chapter 501
Chapter 501
They carefully moved down the corridor toward the door that had just opened. Jake could see that beyond the opening stretched another passage leading to another closed circular door. As far as he could tell, there were no threats in that passage.
When they reached the open door and were about to step through it into the next passage, something happened. There was a control console set into the wall next to the door, and it suddenly activated.
“Jake, Owen,” a familiar voice emanated from the control console. “You gotta get out of there, now!”
“Mick?” Jake said.
“Yes, Jake, it’s me. Glad you were able to recognize my voice.”
Jake couldn’t tell whether Mick was being sarcastic or not.
Anyway, now it was clear that it was Mick who had deactivated the force fields to let them out of their cells.
“Did you hack into the airship’s computer system?” Jake asked.
“That’s correct,” Mick replied. “Not without some help, though.”
“Some help? Wait, you don’t mean the Whisperers?”
“Yes, Jake. Them. They contacted me not long before you bailed out of the helicopter.”
“So this airship belongs to the enemies they told you about? The ones they needed help fighting against?”
“Jake, listen. No more questions for now, alright? As I said, time is of the essence. Focus on what’s important right now. Escape. I’m gonna help you guys get out of that airship. I now have partial control over its systems. I can access the feeds from surveillance cameras, and I have control over the doors.”
Only then did Jake notice what looked like a camera lens at the top of the control console. Mick was likely watching them as they spoke.
“However, the bad guys already know there’s been a breach,” Mick continued. “They are trying hard to lock me out as we speak. I can maintain some control over their system, but barely. It’s just a matter of time before I lose control altogether. So no more talking. Just do as I say.”
Jake simply nodded so as not to interrupt Mick.
“They are already aware that you are out of your cells. They locked every door, sealing off different sections of the ship. But I still can override them, and I know the exact layout of the ship. So I’m gonna open the doors you need to pass through. I’m gonna lead you to the back of the airship, to a place from which you can get out. That’s all. No more talking. Go. Now. Rapido, rapido.”
Jake glanced at Owen. His partner gave him a nod, and they stepped through the door. Just a few steps into the passage, there was a hiss behind them, and when Jake glanced over his shoulder, he saw the door spiral shut. Had Mick just been locked out, as he said he would? Had he lost control over the airship’s system?
There was no time to dwell on it, though. They continued to move down the passage. The floor was flat, while the walls and the ceiling together formed half a circle, merging into a single surface. It was segmented, consisting of numerous rhombuses, each side about six inches long. Inside every segment glowed clusters of tiny lights in different colors. Every few seconds, all the lights changed color, seemingly choosing one at random.
The door at the end of the passage was still locked. If Mick was indeed locked out of the airship’s system, the two of them would be trapped in that corridor.
However, when they came within a few paces of the door, it spiraled open, each segment rotating neatly into the walls.
“Don’t stop, guys,” Mick’s voice emanated from the control console. “Keep moving. The bad guys have already dispatched units to intercept you. Go, now! Quick! I’ll keep opening doors for you. Chop-chop! ”
Jake and Owen stepped through the door to find themselves in another passage that looked exactly like the previous one. There was one notable difference, though. This passage didn’t lead to another closed door. Instead, it opened into a junction.
When they reached it, they paused to take a look around. The main passage continued forward for about twenty yards, leading to another closed door. To the left of the junction branched off another passage, also leading to a closed door.
Jake wondered which route they were supposed to take. As soon as this thought crossed his mind, there was a hiss of a door spiraling open. It came from the left, so they turned and proceeded down the left-hand passage.
It wasn’t long before they reached another two-way junction. One passage led forward, the other to the right. This time, it was the door up ahead that spiraled open. They passed through it and continued on.
As they moved, Jake couldn’t help but wonder why Mick hadn’t opened the door at the end of the right-hand passage. Why had Mick made them take the forward passage instead? He’d told them he was going to lead them to the back of the airship. That was where they had been moving before taking the left passage at the first junction. But now they were moving perpendicular to the route they were supposed to follow. Why? Jake didn’t know, but he sure hoped Mick knew what he was doing.
As the two of them moved, Jake kept studying their surroundings. So far, they hadn’t encountered any enemies, and their progress hadn’t been impeded in any way. There definitely had to be some protective security measures in the interior of the airship, but so far, they had encountered none. Perhaps Mick was able to deactivate them, at least in the sections of the airship they passed through, turning them off in a timely manner.
Just like the previous time, as they got closer to the door, it parted in a spiraling motion, twisting itself open from the center. As they passed through the opening, Mick’s voice came from the door’s control console once more.
“Guys, you’re too freaking slow,” he said in an annoyed voice. “You gotta move much faster than that, you hear me? I have five minutes before I get locked out, tops. You gotta move fast, guys! Don’t stop, don’t pause, don’t even think! Just move! As soon as you see a door open, go through it. Now move!”
They ran as fast as they could. For the next minute or so, they ran through one passage after another. They all looked identical. At the junctions, they took turns, passing through whichever doors Mick opened for them. So far, they had encountered no enemies and no protective security measures of any kind. While that was good, Jake couldn’t help but grow suspicious.
Neither he nor Owen actually knew where they were going. They were basically headed wherever they were told to. Sure, he had no reason to mistrust Mick, but… what if it wasn’t Mick who had contacted them inside the airship? Whoever had created this ship surely had the means of creating an artificial voice that perfectly imitated that of a particular person.
Still, despite all the turns they were taking, Jake’s keen mind kept creating a mental map, keeping track of every turn they made, and he could indeed see that they were gradually moving toward the back of the airship, though not in a straight line. Whether they would find an escape when they reached the back of the ship or some kind of trap was hard to know. Perhaps they were being led exactly where the enemy wanted them.
As they reached another door, which Mick or whoever was impersonating him had just opened for them, Jake asked, “Why are you making us take this convoluted route? Why not move in a straight line? Wouldn’t that get us to the back of the ship much faster?”
“Oh, don’t start doubting me now, Jake,” Mick said, irritation clear in his voice. “We don’t have time for this crap. I’m keeping track of enemy movements and their blockposts to make sure you don’t run into any. Now keep moving, guys!”
They continued on. If it was Mick leading them, then he sure was doing a great job making sure they encountered no enemies along the way. So far, they had met none.
However, their luck soon ran out.
As they raced down another passage, which looked exactly like all the previous ones, they passed some strange object. It was in a small alcove in the wall. Jake and Owen paused briefly to take a look at it. The alcove was about three feet wide and cylindrical in shape. At the bottom and at the top were what looked like metal discs. The top and the bottom were covered by a round, thick layer of glass.
Suddenly, Mick’s voice came from the control console built into the wall next to the alcove.
“Why did you stop?” he said. “Keep moving, you two.”
“What is that thing?” Jake asked.
“It’s just one of the teleporters,” Mick replied. “They are scattered throughout the ship. And before you ask, no, you can’t use it to teleport to the back of the aircraft. I wasn’t able to take control of these things, so they’re useless to you.”
Just as Jake and Owen were about to keep moving down the passage, Mick spoke again, and his voice sounded worried.
“Oh no,” he said. “The teleporter is about to be used. You’re about to have company, guys.”
Just as he uttered those words, Jake saw the discs at the bottom and the top of the teleporter begin to spin. A second later, the air cracked with a sharp burst of energy, and what looked like a bolt of lightning flashed vertically through the center of the chamber. In the next instant, a strange humanoid figure materialized inside.
Jake didn’t have much time to get a good look at the enemy, but he did notice it was armed with some kind of gun. Which immediately fired a bolt of energy right at him. The shot drilled into his shoulder with great force, spinning him around and whipping him to the ground. He landed face-first.
Before he could even recover and get to his feet, the teleporter crackled two more times, indicating that more enemies had just come through.