I can't run to the West Wing!
I pivot, turning left towards the entrance of the gym building.
Footsteps echo behind me.
As the automatic doors slide open, I time my entrance perfectly, rushing inside at a full sprint.
"Wait!" Rose calls after me.
Her voice fades as I race deeper into the hallways, heading for the alternative exit.
"Diana!" I shout, holding my phone up to my ear. My left arm swings harder to keep my balance; the waiver I signed earlier is crumpled in my hand. "What's going on?"
Did she set me up?
"I-I..." Diana stammers. "You were not supposed to be there..."
She wouldn't be calling me if she set me up, right?
I put Diana on speaker and slip the phone into my jacket's breast pocket. "It's okay..." I mutter. "I-It's my bad. I probably should've messaged first..."
Ahead of me, the alternative exit comes into view. I push through the doors and step outside, emerging onto a sidewalk that encircles another parking lot.
Where do I go?
My eyes follow the path to the right, where a set of stairs ascends to the university plaza. Between me and the plaza stands a red emergency campus signal, its blue light flashes rhythmically.
I quickly approach the signal.
From the silence of the night, a faint whistle grows louder.
What?
Seemingly out of nowhere, something collides with the signal. A loud metallic crash follows, ringing in my ears.
The signal topples over. Sparks erupt from the exposed circuits and a suspicious white spear stands in the rubble at a slight angle.
I follow the angle and see Rose falling from the sky toward my position.
Is she...?
She lands on the pavement to the left of me, cracking it beneath her.
"Holy...!" I exclaim as I register what I see before me and rush towards the plaza.
Yeah, I definitely got involved with something I wasn't supposed to!
I hear the automatic doors open behind me.
"Stop him, Rose!" Luis' voice orders.
"How?" Rose stands and looks at him. "You want me to take him out?"
"Yeah...!" I quip as I climb the stairs towards the plaza. "...to dinner, please!"
Rose clicks her tongue.
The sound of cement shattering fills the air.
In an instant, I find Rose standing at the top of the stairs.
Normally, I'd be in awe of how quickly she'd moved. However, with her staring daggers at me, I'm currently terrified.
"Nah, fuck it, we're killing him!"
"Wait!" Luis orders from behind me.
Rose starts walking down the stairs.
"Rose stop!" Diana pleads from my phone speaker.
Rose stops in place, her eyes widening as she attempts to locate Diana's voice.
I take the opportunity to move to my right and jump onto the stair railing beside me, then leap onto another set of railings that border the plaza.
"Would'ya look at that..." Rose whistles.
The moment I land back on the ground, I hustle towards the first building I see.
"Uhhh..." I hear Luis' voice trail off as I put more distance between us.
I enter the student building, hoping I can lose them inside. Or better yet, bring the chase to a public area where they can be seen chasing me.
A burning sensation radiates across my back as my bag shifts against me. I fasten the straps to keep it from moving and open up the waiver I have.
If I recall correctly, I signed the waiver with my personal information and my signature.
I rip the waiver into pieces, tearing at angles that cross over my information. I sprinkle fragments of the waiver at each garbage can I pass.
Should I start screaming for help? I look behind me to find Luis and Rose nowhere in sight.
There is a chance that if I do make a ruckus, campus security might be called on me rather than my pursuers.
I glance behind me and out the building's windows, but the glare from the interior lights makes it hard to see outside clearly.
"Where are you?" Diana calls from my pocket.
My attention falls on the groups of students wandering the halls. Some appear to be coming from evening classes or studying for upcoming midterms.
"There are exams happening right now, right?" I ask Diana.
No response.
"Diana?"
"My apologies, I thought you were talking to yourself again," Diana responds.
I snicker to myself.
Looks like she noted how I tend to talk to myself when I think.
"Yes, there are some exams taking place today," Diana continues.
"Yeah, don't wanna be a bother..." I note to myself.
"I don't mind you talking to yourself," Diana adds. "I think it's an interesting methodology you have there—verbalizing your thoughts to organize them."
"Oh sorry, I meant 'bother' as in bothering students taking exams. I was thinking about making some noise..."
A deafening silence from Diana lets me know I must have jumbled the conversation. I resist the urge to clarify, but the damage is done.
"Very courteous of you..." Diana fills in.
I slow my pace to a brisk walk to catch my breath. The sides of my legs start to burn.
"I need a place to go to..." I note to myself.
Is there someone I know?
My classes are done, my professors are probably gone. I definitely don't want them to follow me back to where I live...
"I have a couple of places in mind," Diana chimes in.
Despite my situation, I am reluctant to follow any advice Diana wants to provide.
"Maxim?"
I ignore her.
My chest feels tight.
"Sorry Diana, I've got to go." I quickly hang up on her.
He's at the lab, I recall myself saying to Rider.
I spot a group of students standing outside of a classroom with their heads glued to their work.
Last-minute study before an exam? I think to myself. I'm gonna take a gamble...
I walk through them and then press myself against a wall to hide from view. I take off my bag and then my black jacket, revealing the red long sleeve I am wearing underneath.
Fortunately, my bag has enough space left for my bulky jacket. I zip my bag closed and fasten it on my back.
I stand up and begin walking through the hallways with a certain destination in mind.
...
"Yo, I'm here..." I speak into my phone.
The echoes of a door opening down the hallway catch my attention as someone steps into view from the right.
"Ayo?"
"Ayo?" Kevin's greeting repeats both in the hall and over the phone as I approach him.
I end the call and put my phone away. "Thanks for having me, man!" I say as I enter the lab.
"Hey Max!"
"Maxy!"
A couple of students from the lab welcome me as I enter the room.
I notice a few students working late again. Some are sitting at the gaming PCs stationed by the walls of the room, while others are using the PCs beside the VR cage positioned in the middle of the room. At the back left corner of the lab, a small sound booth stands with its door left open.
"Hello there!" I wave at them. With a swirling hand gesture, I reply, "If someone asks, you didn't see me."
I garner a couple of chuckles from the comment.
"Yo, what happened?" Kevin's voice whispers from behind.
I turn away from the others and face Kevin. "I need a place to lay low."
"You hit on someone's girlfriend at the gym?" Kevin grins.
A smirk creeps onto my face. "Possibly..." I shrug.
Kevin shoves his hands into his tan hoodie.
"Huh..." I glance at the colour of his sweater. "Yo Kevin, can I borrow your sweater real quick?"
"Wuhh?" Kevin's head recoils back. "You tryna make a move on me as well?"
...
"Ayo!"
I remove the VR headset.
My sweaty forehead thanks me for the sweet release.
"Yo?" I call back.
Kevin approaches me, "I think the people you were talking about are gone now. They thought you were hiding in here."
I go and place the headset on a table nearby. "Think I tricked them?"
"Ye..." Kevin chuckles. "They definitely didn't think it was you playing VR."
I laugh as I take off Kevin's sweater. "Really?"
"I told them, 'a friend of mine is just playing a rhythm game,'" Kevin snickers. "The guy got really concerned when I said it involved swords. However, his friend got really interested." Kevin takes a deep breath. "I clarified that only students from the program can enter and use the stuff in the lab."
"Appreciate it man!" I hold up Kevin's sweater. "I'm doing laundry tonight. I'll return this afterward."
Kevin's mouth goes ajar as he looks at the sweater I borrowed. He nods as confirmation.
I go to pick up my bag that I had hidden in the open sound booth.
I think it's okay for me to switch back to my jacket now... I think to myself.
So far, I managed to change my outward appearance with different coloured clothes: black from my jacket, red from my long sleeve, and tan thanks to Kevin's sweater. It's not the perfect disguise, but better than nothing. Especially if you're a moving target...
I swap Kevin's sweater for my jacket from my backpack.
"Later guys!" I wave back at the students in the lab before I leave.
"Later!" someone responds.
"Bye!"
"See you tomorrow!"
"Did that guy only come to play VR?"
I turn right and make my way towards the eastern hall of the building.
Right now, the plan is to get off campus.
The western stairwell would allow me to exit southwards. I'd probably meet other students and from there, I could blend in with them to make it back to the main campus.
However, seeing how the RISC building is already near the edge of the campus, I might take a roundabout path back home instead.
The eastern hall has an exit leading east. Currently, this provides the most flexibility for my escape. From the door I can make my way north towards the other campus sports facilities like the ice rink, eastward through the soccer field, or, depending on the situation, I can run back south towards the main campus again.
With two of them after me, the odds of being caught are higher. If they can predict my next move, they might already be waiting at one of the exits. There are staff entrances, but I doubt they'll throw my pursuers off for long.
All or nothing, I guess...
I put up my hood and make my way back to the ground floor.
Through the glass exit door, I peek around to see if I can find Rose or Luis. However, it's too dark to make out any figures.
The only things I can see are the distant campus facilities, the road that runs alongside the RISC building and the silhouettes of some shrubs.
I casually exit through the doors and find myself in the empty staff parking lot of the RISC building. In front of me, I spot the fenced-off soccer field illuminated by floodlights.
If they see me, I just need to play coy or pretend I don't see—
"Oh...?" a familiar voice says to my left.
A cold wave surges up my back. My shoulders immediately flinch and I follow the source of the voice.
The door slams shut behind me.
Luis' eyes widen as if he himself is surprised by my reaction.
He didn't recognize me until I revealed myself!
My reflexes just gave me away.
I immediately rush south toward the road.
Maybe I can lose him within the traffic?
"He's here!" Luis calls out, his voice booming into the dark of the night.
"Looky here..." a voice echoes from above.
Suddenly, someone lands in between me and the road cracking the ground below themselves.
It's her!
With Luis behind me, my northern escape toward the campus ice rink is cut off. As for Rose, who stands in front of me, I doubt I can even use the road and traffic to shake her off me.
I'm surrounded, but...
I can still do this—!
I make a break east toward the soccer field without looking back. The two hesitate, watching me go.
The first obstacle in the way is the closed chain-link fence to the soccer field.
Just before I reach the fence, in a fluid motion, I spin around and sling my backpack over it.
"Look at that..." Luis comments.
I ignore the comment and jump halfway up the fence. I dig my feet into the links below me and pull myself up with one jump.
"Shame..." Luis mutters.
Before I can even think about getting down, something slams into me from behind with tremendous force.
"AHHHhhHH—!"
I fall forward onto the cement path, my face slamming into the ground.
Silence...
Then, the silence is broken by a powerful ringing in my ears.
I try to inhale, but my body refuses to comply. It's as if I'm completely winded.
I try to take another breath in, but I cough up blood onto the ground, and a fiery sensation engulfs my whole body.
It's as if someone was pouring molten metal on my back, searing through to my chest.
I stare at the blood dripping from my lips. Below me, I watch a red pool slowly spread along the concrete.
No... The pool is my blood... and it's growing.
"Ooouuoouo..."
My eyes follow the movement of the pool and lock onto the source.
Below my chin, I find a familiar long white spear impaling me, its shaft glistening with my blood.
Slowly, I feel both my strength and warmth draining away; my blood siphoning it out.
Move....
As much as I want to move, my body refuses.
My chest tightens with every passing moment, as if it's being crushed.
While light, the weight of the spear effortlessly pins me down, its powerful sting discouraging even the slightest bit of movement.
I'm going to die...
I press my head against the ground and manage to position my arm directly below me.
"NNNHhhghrgh..."
It hurts...
I plant my hand on the ground and press my knees into the cement to try and push myself up.
It hurts! It hurts!
My strength finally gives out.
I can feel the ground shake as someone approaches me, and my vision begins to darken.
I don't want to die I don't want to die I don't want to
dieIdontwanttodieIdontwanttodieIdontwanttodie
Pleasepleasepleaseidontwanttodiepleaseplease
My vision goes black.