The entire world around me violently fractures into blinding white light.I drop to my knees on the cold concrete of the dry dock.The pain is immediate and entirely overwhelming.It feels like raw electricity is pumping directly through my veins.My skin burns as if I am standing far too close to a massive open fire.I clench my teeth together so hard I taste fresh blood in my mouth.I refuse to scream. I will not give the empty darkness the satisfaction of hearing me break.Eight years.I just traded almost a decade of my natural life in a single second.I grip the heavy shotgun tightly in my right hand just to anchor myself to reality.The blinding white light in my vision slowly begins to fade into a dull, pulsing grey.The air around me feels different now.It feels heavy. It feels completely still and dead.I force myself to open my eyes fully.The rusted steel cranes above me look exactly the same. The dark clouds are still moving slowly overhead.But the humming energy that us

The deafening sound of automatic gunfire fills the dark office.Alice is emptying an entire magazine into my building.I stay pressed hard against the dusty floorboards.The heavy metal desk absorbs two direct hits.The impacts ring out like massive hammer strikes right next to my head.The shooting finally stops.I hear the sharp, mechanical clack of her reloading her rifle in the yard below.I do not wait for her to start firing again.I crawl quickly toward the heavy metal doorway leading to the stairs.I need to change my position constantly.If I stay in one room, she will pin me down and flank me.I slip out onto the metal landing and move quietly down the dark hallway.There are several small offices on this floor.I enter the third office down the hall.It has a narrow window that overlooks the side of the building and the main stairwell entrance.I peek cautiously over the windowsill.Alice is no longer st

I leave Alice securely bound to a heavy metal pipe in the administrative office.I walk down the dark metal stairs and retrieve the small black uplink drive from the floor.I slip it carefully into my inside jacket pocket.I step out of the warehouse into the freezing night air.The rain has completely stopped. The sky is starting to clear, revealing a few bright stars above the dark city.I walk back to the alleyway where I left my car.I open the trunk and throw the heavy shotgun inside.I sit in the driver's seat and take a long, deep breath.The deep, burning pain in my bones is still present, but the sharp agony has faded into a dull, manageable ache.I turn the key in the ignition. The engine roars to life.I drive slowly out of the abandoned meatpacking district.I watch the glowing dashboard clock closely.As soon as I cross the ten-mile boundary line, the heavy silence in my mind shatters violently.The System rushes