Inferno
The factory smelled of rust and decay with nothing left in
it but abandoned humanoid VX3’s standing around dead machine belts like at any
moment someone would hit a switch and they’d go back to assembling whatever
this place had assembled when things were better. Blue had been staring at them
for hours.
Fingering the locket with Violet’s singed hairs in it Blue
was thinking about how his rations would probably only one more night. Maybe Arthur’s
old friend had been wrong about the location of the meeting or maybe he’d just
lied to him. Well he was too dead to give Blue any more answers so he’d just have
to be patient.
Suddenly the warehouse doors began to shake and as he
watched were forced open to allow a black limousine and two SUVS to drive in.
With their hands on the new TECHNA light machine guns the two men in suits
who’d pried open the door moved to take up positions around the limousine.
Blue’s heart grew lighter. Finally tonight he could give
Violet’s ghost the peace it deserved.
Armed men began to pile out of the vans and faced outward.
Blue could read the arrogance in them by the way they handled their guns. A man
in a long fur coat stepped out of the car to join them. He had pure white hair
and stood at a towering six foot two. The giant made a tempting target but he
wasn’t the reason why Blue had come.
“Damn I hate the boondocks. When did you say this clown is
getting here?” the giant asked a thinner man in glasses who was struggling out
of the limousine.
He got unsteadily to his feet, his fingers working to fix
the crooked angle of his tie. “He said nine so I’m sure he’ll be here.”
“He better be and if this all turns out to be some joke I’m
going to be very upset with you Toby.”
The thinner man appeared to be sweating a lot and was still
tugging at his tie, “Trust me boss, I got good intel that this guy is on the
level.”
“Oh I am,” a new arrival called out walking casually into
the factory with a large silver briefcase.
The burns of Blue’s face began to throb. It was him, after
all these months of searching he’d finally found Professor Arthur Mackie, his
creator and his personal demon. Violet’s screaming face as the fire inside her
took over flashed into Blue’s mind. His precious Violet had been destroyed that
day along with the lab and all the other test subjects, everyone but him and
Professor Mackie.
Dressed in a mustard yellow leather jacket his pitch black
hair slicked back Arthur confidently approached the giant ignoring the guns
that swung his way. “I’m very much on the level and you must be Mr. Wynn?”
The giant inclined his head then gestured at the case, “Is
that it?”
“Yes,” Arthur replied patting the case, “in here lie the
only vials of the miraculous ZenaMaxx in existence.”
“And it can really do everything you say it can?”
Laughter erupted from behind them. Wynn whirled around,
“Who’s laughing? Which one of you thinks this is funny?” he roared.
“Oh that would be me,” Blue called out stepping out of the
shadows with his hand raised.
Wynn was bewildered. Who the hell was this?
“No, no that’s impossible. You can’t be here..”
Wynn turned around and saw that yellow jacket was
backpedaling. His face had turned white as a sheet. “Do you know this fool?”
“Of course he does. Arthur and I are old friends, aren’t we
Arthur?” Blue paused by Wynn’s side.
Wynn pulled out a bulky TECHNA FH31 pistol and pointed it at
Blue’s head. “Somebody better explain what’s going on before I get very upset.”
Blue looked at him then reached up his to grab the gun’s
barrel. Wynn’s eyes widened and then got bigger when Blue’s hand caught fire.
“What the hell?” Wynn shouted just as Blue grabbed his shirt
with his other hand. Flames erupted around his hand and spread quickly to
engulf Wynn.
Wynn dropped his gun and started screaming as the fires
consumed his clothes and raced up to his body to his head. He grabbed the man
with glasses who yelled and futilely tried to push him off. The flames spread
until they had them both and they fell together in burning heap of clothes and
flesh.
Arthur started gibbering, “You’re not here, this can’t be
happening.”
Wynn’s men gaped in horror at the sight of the boss turning
to charred meat in front of them.
“Kill him,” one of them muttered then raised his gun at Blue,
“come on let’s kill him already.”
They all shook off their stupor and started shooting at
Blue. His body was struck from all sides puffs of blood sprouting from each
bullet and his body jerking around in a crazy dance. They fired until their
guns were empty.
Arthur looked up from his crouched position on the floor and
saw Blue still standing bleeding from various wounds. Blue met Arthur’s eyes
and smiled. Fire leapt up from his feet until it covered him completely.
“Now we’ll die together,” the abomination wheezed.
Fire poured from him like hungry wolves running across the
floor. They quickly caught hold of Wynn’s men who started beating at their
clothes. The flames were too strong to fight and spread further as they claimed
fresh victims. Arthur got to his feet and tried to run but Blue grabbed from
behind. Blue held on tightly as Arthur fought vainly for his life.
In minutes only small fires were left behind as the seared
remains of men and machines lay abandoned in the scorched factory.
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