When The World Ended, I Stole Tomorrow

Chapter 10: Savage Dark

Don't make a noise Ronan whispered. He put his hand over Elias's mouth as Elias started to breathe

The dark hallway outside the cell made loud sounds. Bone was. Claws were scraping against concrete. The small room was terrible, like rotting meat and ozone.

Ronan let go of Elias. Turned to his brother. Leo was almost asleep, his head against his shoulder. He was breathing badly, like a wet, rough sound. His body was paralyzed. He was losing a lot of blood.

I have to draw them, Ronan said quietly. He wiped some blood from his brother's cheek. If they smell the blood in this room, they will come to us. I'll take them into the tunnel and seal the door.

You can't go there! Elias said, his voice scared and quiet. You have no bullets! Your rifle is empty! You just have a knife! You are going to die!

If I stay, we all die Ronan said. His voice was very calm.

Ronan picked up the tactical knife from the floor. The blade was chipped from cutting through the alien rope.

He looked at Leo one time. It hurt a lot. He controlled his feelings.

Keep pressure on his neck, Ronan told Elias. Do not let him bleed out. I will be back.

Ronan stepped out of the cell and into the dark.

He closed his eyes. He had to rely on the paths in his brain. He focused on his hearing.

Click. Drag. Hiss.

There were at least four of them. They weren't Executors. They were creatures, made with human DNA by the Chrono Covenant.

Ronan tapped the edge of his knife against the iron frame of the cell door.

Clang.

The clicking stopped. A heavy silence fell over the bunker. They had found him.

Come and get it Ronan growled.

The darkness exploded.

A big shape jumped at him from the shadows. Ronan dropped to one knee. Let the creature go over his head. Its sharp claws scraped against the wall.

As the beast landed, Ronan. Drove the knife upward. The blade went into the creature's abdomen.

The predator. Thrashed. The knife went out of Ronan's hand.

Ronan was now unarmed.

Two predators charged down the corridor. Ronan didn't retreat. He sprinted forward, diving beneath the sweeping claws of the attacker.

He grabbed a rusted iron pipe that had broken off the wall. He swung the pipe with force. The metal connected with the predator's skull and sent it down.

The victory was short-lived. The first creature Lunged at his back. Its teeth went into his shoulder.

Ronan roared as the fangs tore through his jacket and into his flesh.

He threw himself backward, slamming the creature against the wall. The predator's jaws released his shoulder.

Ronan spun around, wrapping his hands around the creature's throat. He squeezed until he felt the crunch of snapping cartilage.

The beast went limp.

Ronan staggered back, clutching his bleeding shoulder. He was losing much blood.

The blue interface of the Future Archive System flared to life.

System Alert: Situation.

Lethal damage sustained.

Emergency Protocol unlocked.

Three new glowing files expanded in the air before him.

File One: Healing Factor.

File Two: Arsenal.

File Three: Sacrifice.

Ronan stared at the files. The blood from his shoulder was running down his arm.

He needed firepower.

Ronan reached out his hand and smashed his finger against the second file.

File Two Selected: Arsenal.

A blinding flash of light erupted in Ronan's empty hands. A heavy metallic weight materialized in his grip.

It was a Vanguard-Class Plasma Rifle.

The three remaining predators leaped from the darkness.

Ronan didn't aim. He squeezed the trigger.

A torrent of superheated plasma flooded the corridor.

Within three seconds, the hallway was completely silent.

Ronan lowered the weapon.

He turned around. Limped back toward the cell.

Elias! Ronan called out. It's clear. We need to move Leo.

There was no answer.

Ronan stopped at the threshold of the cell.

Elias was standing in the center of the cell, his hands covered in blood.

Leo was slumped in the metal chair, his eyes wide, a massive fatal laceration cut across his throat.

Elias slowly turned around. His face was slack, his eyes devoid of any emotion.

Elias? Ronan whispered. What did you do?

The Architect must be cut off, Elias said. His voice mixed with the computer-made choir of the Chrono Covenant. All connections must be cut. The anomaly must sink alone.

Ronan understood the truth. The Covenant did not just use Leo. They spread a hidden virus to the whole quarantine block, waiting for someone to catch it. When the blast hit the facility, it did not just let the monsters out. It also released a mind-control agent.

Elias was in trouble.

Before Ronan could pick up his plasma rifle, Elias plunged the tactical knife into his own chest. He pierced his heart in one harsh move.

The hacker fell to the floor. He joined Leo in a growing pool of blood.

Ronan stood in the doorway. He was completely alone in the part of the Blackwood Silo. The system gave him the power to control tomorrow. It took away every reason he had to see it.

The interface flashed one time.

Timeline Deviation Absolute.

The Origin woke up.

Countdown to Extinction: Ninety-Seven Days.