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Hidden: Chapter 17

Back in the Saddle

The hot rusty air filled the ship, blasting me in the face. It was hot, very hot and not at all pleasant. Crane and the one guard in front of the admiral and me rushed out. They didn't have their weapons drawn. If there were any cameras that had somehow survived, then it would appear like we were just guards attempting to get the admiral back to his facility. I went out next with the admiral closely behind. The scene was bleak. The landscape was just flat, nothing was left. Not even the debris was there, it had been blown away in the blast and scattered for miles around. It looked like some pictures I had scene of the Martian landscape before the terraforming and colonization. Red, dusty, hot and inhabitable.

There, about fifty yards was large metal box with a small sliding door, the elevator. The bastard had survived the blast and now it just needed to work. We rushed right for it, not taking much time to look around. There was no point, anyone that was above ground would be dead, and the closest survivors would be at least a mile away. All of these lives were instantly crushed like a foot stepping on an ant. Many of them had no idea, they were minding their own business and then they were gone. It was a way that I didn't want to go, not knowing, having no control over anything, to have my fate decided by someone else without my knowledge. It was unnerving that it was possible, I was looking at the possibility that my life could end at any moment. I just needed to ensure I killed Dr. Ruse first.

The elevator was scorched, the silver gleam of the metal was covered in a thick charcoal. It was a sore thumb in the landscape. You could tell which direction the blast had come from because there was a triangle shaped area behind the elevator that looked normal. The ground wasn't scorched, I could even see bits of flooring that survived because the elevator acted as a shield.

Crane walked up to the elevator and stuck a stubby finger in a hole that was where a button used to be. A whirring could be heard from within the machine and we waited for it to come up. I had no idea what the radiation was doing to me. Was it cooking me from the inside or was I going to start glowing. I was no expert, I had been around radiation before, but I was trained to avoid it or I was in protective armor. Here I was standing waiting for an elevator, exposed to the element.

*Ding*

The elevator door opened and we crammed ourselves inside. It wasn't very big inside, even though the outside looks large. Most of the outside must have been solid metal and that would have protected the elevator. Crane furiously jabbed the 'close door' button until it finally did close. He then pressed a button that went to the lowest floor, three level beneath the prison level I was at. The whirring started again and I could feel the elevator begin to move down.

We all breathed a sigh of relief that we had made it alive and without any effects that we could see from the radiation. Crane looked up at a camera that was in the corner and then looked at the admiral. "Does the camera have audio?"

The admiral looked up. It was a basic camera inside a plastic ball. "No, it's purely visual. It's just meant to allow security to know who is coming."

"Ok then." He pulled out an audio device from his pocket that was facing away from the camera and started playing it. The voice of Captain Norman came through. Everyone stood silently to make it seem that we weren't listening or planning anything.

"Admiral Cornway, your job here is simple. Make sure no one get suspicious. Make up a story, lie, do whatever you need to do or Crane here has orders to start killing innocents." The admiral looked at Crane, who made no movement. "If all goes well, then we leave with Dr. Ruse and the commander and you get to stay behind and get rescued. I don't care if you tell the world what happened afterwards, it will be too late by then. Crane, keep an eye on them." The audio stopped and the device was put back away.

We waited for the elevator to reach the bottom. I watched the digital numbers on the wall.

B30

B35

B40

We were going down to B90. We would be here for at least another two minutes.

'Plenty of time to kill them all.' It didn't try to force its way into my head. Acting more like someone who was just whispering ideas into my ear. 'Here in the elevator, they wouldn't be able to get to their guns.' It was tempting, very tempting. I looked at Crane. He had his back to me, but his ears were pointed at me, his fur was on end, he was ready for me if I made a move. I didn't want to risk hitting the admiral. Plus, I still had hope that Crane could be saved, he had shown parts of his old self and I believed that with enough time and perhaps some sort of stimulation would get those memories and his old self to come back.

*Ding*

The door opened and we were met with a man in a lab coat with two heavily armed guards behind him. The guards didn't have their guns aimed at us, but they were nervous. Lab coat looked at Crane and then me, he bit his lip a bit and spoke. "Admiral, thank god you're still alive. The entire facility is a mess and everyone is trying to take control."

The admiral stepped out of the elevator, up to Lab coat. "I came back as soon as I heard what happened. There's no point in going back to Earth if there won't be anyone at the conference." He looked back at the rest of us. "I need to get to the administration level, my guards will escort me there. I need you to get these two," pointing at Crane and I, "to Dr. Ruse." The admiral's acting was impeccable, he knew exactly what to say. Though I bet he was doing all he could to keep the act up.

Lab coat looked back at us. "Are they secure?"

"They are, there won't be any problems from them. I did ride down the elevator without incident." He added an authentic laugh to that.

"Yes sir, I will get them to where they need to go." He stepped aside and the admiral, along with the other guards that had come with us began to walk down a hallway, leaving just Crane and I. I anticipated the voice to begin speaking and I slammed it down as soon as I felt its presence.

"If you two will come with me." Lab coat spoke up, a bit shaky. He kept looking at Crane, me and then the guards who had their guns raised slightly higher. I stepped out slowly and Crane followed. No one on this floor would recognize me, so the chance of getting help through other personnel was out of the question. I would have to keep playing along for the time being.

Lab coat led us down some corridors. Instead of the windowless halls of the prison level, there were large windows that looked into labs. People in more lab coats kept busy, they looked a bit rushed. My guess is that Dr. Ruse was keeping them busy so they wouldn't go out and cause trouble. A few labs had body parts in jars, furred body parts. I looked away when I saw a suspended pit bull head stare at me. My ears tucked a bit and the guards behind me noticed. They shuffled a bit, putting a bit more distance between me and them. Crane kept walking, not paying anything attention. He looked forward, no sign of his old self at the moment.

*Mumph*

The ground shook and the lights flickered and the ground shook. We stopped and looked around. The guards were talking into their radios. My ears were back up and trying to hear anything that would tell me what was happening. The sound was very muffled, so it was distant, maybe one of the upper floors were damaged by the explosion. The lights flickered some more and went out. There was screaming at the sudden darkness. It was pitch black and another explosion, this one closer shook the base. The hall was illuminated in red emergency lights.

"Attention all personnel." Admiral Cornway's voice came on over the speakers. "The facility has been infiltrated by terrorists." Crane looked at me wide eyed. "You are to assist Commander Anderson, the German shepherd at all costs..." An angry voice could be heard in the background and some banging. "I don't have long, they have me, help the commander." There was a loud crash and a scuffle.

*Bang*

The gunshot echoed through the intercom and was then abruptly cut off. I looked at Crane.

'Now's your chance. Avenge the admiral' I leapt at Crane and he raised his hands to defend himself. My tackle got him on the ground, but like in the elevator, he was prepared. He used his legs to launch me over and into the wall. I saw stars from the impact and then a sharp pain as Crane followed through with a clawed strike to my side. I rolled over to my right, barely dodging another blow. I got to my feet, holding my bleeding side. It wasn't deep, but it hurt.

The guards were unsure of what to do. Lab coat had fled the moment I lunged.

Crane was up on his feet as well. "Come on cap." He snarled. 'Don't be difficult." He ran at me with his hands raised.

I ducked at another swipe and grabbed him by the waist. He yelped when I tossed him over my head. He landed hard on the ground and I winced. I didn't want to kill him, but I couldn't let him get back up. I dove on him, straddling him and began to punch him in the face. I was hoping to knock him out quickly.

He blocked most of my punches and threw a few himself. I caught on the side of my snout, causing a nosebleed. I continued to pound on him, slowly breaking his defenses. Crane may have been the better shot, but I was always the better close quarter's fighter.

With a roar, I brought both of my hands over my head and slammed on his arms. There was a crunch, as his left arm snapped into an unnatural position. He screamed and that left his face unguarded. I hit him again squarely between the eyes and he went limp. He was still breathing and other than the broken arm, the damage to him was superficial. His face would be swollen for a while and he would have the worst headache of his life when he woke, but he was still alive.

I got up slowly, a bit sore myself. The voice in my head was silent. I thought I felt a bit of pride coming from the niche in my brain that it occupied. The guards on the other hand looked terrified of me. My ears were pinned to the back of head, fur was standing and I noticed that I was growling loudly. I took a few deep breaths and everything settled down a bit. I felt alive, it was invigorating to just fight like that. To let pure instinct control my actions and have the adrenaline rushing through my veins.

'Co...Commander Anderson?" One of the guards stepped forward cautiously. He looked down at the unconscious dog on the ground and then at me. Blood dripped from my side and I tried to put pressure on it. "Sir?" I looked up this time.

"What is it?" I tried to unthreatening, but it came out a bit rough.

"What are your orders sir?" He sounded a bit more sure now since I hadn't jumped him.

"Get this one and lock him up." I walked over to Crane and with a groan, put his arm around my neck and lifted him up. He was always heavy, nothing but muscle, he had this obsession with looks. Needed to impress the ladies was his excuse. I shimmied him over to the guard who set down his gun and took him. When it was apparent, Crane was too heavy, the other guard came rushing over and they took him from me. "No matter what, do not let him out." I warned and they nodded.

I watched them go. They were barely managing with all of that weight. Crane was short as a corgi and so they were hunched over as they slowly disappeared into the red darkness.

The guard had left his gun, it was the X-A301, the same kind of gun I used on the Eurasia. I picked it up. I didn't have hudded helmet to tell me how much ammunition it had, but knowing it, there was plenty. It was strange to hold it with paws. A sidearm was small and easy to hold, even with stubby dog hands. The rifle I had now was different, the stock was thicker and had more weight. If my aim was bad before, it was going to be worse now.

*Boom*

Another explosion shook the ground. This one was close, definitely on the same level as me.

"Alert." A feminine electronic voice came on over the intercom. "Alert, breach in subject holding chambers. Subject escape in progress. Alert. All security personnel to your appropriate stations. Alert."

Subjects, there were only one kind of subject in this facility. I swiveled my ears and I heard them. The god damn barking and howling began to reverberate down the halls and echoing so I was surrounded by the noise. Getting to Dr. Ruse would be more difficult than I thought.

I raised my gun, prepared for anything that would come at me and stalked down the hall.

'Kill the doctor.' The voice was back, pleading to me and I was listening.