Looking into the common area, everyone was zip tied save Takagawa and Kozak who were still in the bathroom.
The flash and sudden appearance of Klinger took us all by surprise. Jason, Joshua and I all stood there somewhat dumbfounded for an instant. She was approaching slowly, babbling about some form of god. Joshua was the first to engage her, talking calmly and holding her attention, enough for me to slip past and make my way to the bathroom, I needed to check that the two engineers were still where I left them. As I moved through the bathroom door, I could here the mumblings of Klinger, speaking about the “throne of god”, ramblings of a mad woman. Joshua speaking clearer about turning off the computers, asking how to make it stop.
Takagawa was still unconscious on the floor, Kozak trying to revive him, the faint glow of blue still emitting from Takagawa body. Within moments, a gunshot rang out in the hallway. I turned on my heel before reaching the two engineers and advanced back towards the door, the Beretta I had pulled from the security guard held tight. A second and third shot filled the air as I peered out the door down the hall, Klinger was struggling with Joshua, fending her off as best he could, screaming as she lunged at him. His voice echoed the words ‘kill it’, I took aim and put two shots through her back, the exit wounds spraying dark blood all over the corridor wall, yet she didn’t flinch. She raised her hand and struck Joshua again, his screams obvious, it was his final scream as his body fell back against the floor, motionless and cold. I fired again, striking Klinger in the abdomen, still no effect, turning to look at me, she began to advance. Something was wrong, something had snapped, Joshua’s screams, unnatural and so pained that I could not stop firing, the cold sweat from my brow pouring into my eyes.
I lost time, I must have blacked out, raising my head to see Jason pointing his pistol at me, only holstering it when he saw my eyes were sharp again, it was him that I had tried to fire at in the hall, he was worried, very worried. Forcing me to push on, telling me to zip tie Kozak and re-join the others. I sent Kozak back in the direction of the common room, my eyes falling on Joshua’s corpse in the hall, his face betraying the look of utter terror I had seen so many times before on the faces of those tortured and mutilated before death. As Kozak walked, behind me another flash of light, Klinger was standing there again.
The emergency lighting had come to life, forcing me to use the large Mag light I had taken from security, shining it Klinger’s face, she was whispering to me “I’m sorry, it’s the observer effect.”
She lunged at me once more, with no time to draw my Smith and Wesson, I swung the light at her head, making contact with her face, barely having any impact as her clawed arm diverted in the strike away from me. She continued to lunge at me, strike after strike, I have never hit anyone so hard, she finally felt an impact, swinging at her as hard as I could, my light slammed into the wall of the corridor as she disappeared again, my light passing right through the space where her face had been.
Turning around, Kozak was huddled on the floor, showing physical signs of shock, yet I was unmoved, marching back into the bathroom and looking at Takagawa. I drew my pistol and pointed it at the unconscious man’s head, every twitch of his body, flicker of his eyes radiating a bright blue slither of light. I squeezed the trigger, he was too far gone. Causing me to black out again.
Waking against the wall of the bathroom, cradling the body of Takagawa, his head showing a messy 40 calibre hole. I picked myself up as I whispered apologies at the lifeless face, all signs of blue had ceased. Stumbling down the hall, I grabbed Kozak who had not moved and shoved him into the common room, Jason looking at me with another cautious look as he explained he had to find David, telling me to hold down the area.
He disappeared out the door with speed, scanning the room, all of the staff were traumatised, looking at my blood-soaked clothes and wide eyes, they were afraid of me.
Gun shots rang out from down the hall, multiple shots, something was happening. As I moved to the door, another sudden wave or Vertigo came over me, another flash of events I had not lived filling my mind.
We arrived at the array at midnight having stopped at a green box to arm, brandishing an MP5 sub machine gun, I was moving through the complex, everyone was trying to kill each other. This place was chaos, something moving in the darkness, something had come through the array, Jason, Joshua and I all spraying bullets down the corridor. Something had ripped a hole in the sky, consuming everything, engulfing everything and everyone.
Snapping out of the Vertigo, I opened my eyes to see a familiar scene, Takagawa lying on the lounge in the engineer’s office, Kozak by the door talking of procedure, Joshua checking for signs of life from Takagawa. When the engineer woke, he needed to go to the toilet, Kozak trying to get help, but my hand grabbed him and forced him to help, Joshua was looking at me, I saw him die, I remember his screams. He looked at me with a look of knowledge, he remembered too. We both knew what was coming, Takagawa pissing blue, Campbell investigating, only this time, we left Kozak with Takagawa, we all went with Campbell to her office. Jason, David, Joshua and I, all in the office. Jason and David also had the look, we all nodded silently to each other, we all remember. Jason continued his argument with Campbell, this time, she called Kozak in and made the call to security. I had positioned myself by the door, as Kozak entered, I threw my elbow at him, breaking his nose and sending him bloodied back into the corridor. As he fell, the voice of the female security guard called out. They weren’t messing around, I nodded to Jason and put me hands up and stepped out, it was the standard procedure, on my knees, hands behind my back, cable tied and disarmed. Jason barking threats about harming Campbell as the female and male guards dragged me down the hall and threw me down on my stomach.
It didn’t take long, the gunfire began, Jason calling out and firing. I couldn’t see a thing, facing the main entrance, everything was happening behind me. One of the guards moving off through the kitchen, I rolled on my back to see what was happening, as I did, the male guard, Gonzales, pointed his gun at me, demanding I freeze, I was compliant, I had no choice. More gunfire from another direction, 9mm, not as loud as the 40 cal. The woman, she was firing at someone. Fuck! I was tied up, this was what I was here for, if shit goes sideways, this is my job and I’m the only one tied up.
Another wave of Vertigo hit me, I can see Jason on the phone to A-Cell, he is calling in the array, he is requesting assistance. Did we call this in first? Did we start this whole mess?
Snapping out of it, I was being dragged out the front gate and thrown in the back of an unmarked sedan, flashing lights and sirens everywhere. Looking in the front seat, Suits, feds, it was going to be an interesting night.
The interrogation room at the Chicago PD was rubbish, dark and damp, the only warmth coming from the glowing embers of my cigarette. They had run my prints, they knew who I was, they were shocked, all I could do was laugh, they wouldn’t believe me, even if I was telling them the truth, but it was more fun to talk about ghosts and PTSD, that way the jail time might be spent in a Psych ward rather than general population.
The flash of light was overwhelming, all of a sudden, I was back on the floor, on my stomach, listening to the exchange of fire between Gonzales and Jason. As I looked up at the new voice above me, coming from the kitchen doorway, Joshua was there, holding his Smith and Wesson and Beretta in each hand, calling out "Freeze!" to Gonzales. Reluctantly he surrendered before cutting me loose.
I picked up my guns from the hallway and re-joined Jason who seemed to have a plan, also having the look in his eye of remembering what had happened.
His plan was simple, he seemed to know what had to happen, everyone had to die. We were stuck in some kind of time loop, all witnesses to this event had to go, it was the only thing keeping it going, something about what Klinger had said, “it’s the observer effect”.
I was having the same thoughts, everything that had transpired, everything that I had seen in my moments of vertigo, how many times had we done this, three…five… I don’t know.
Jason motioned me to go to the lab with Joshua and David. Once there, the body of the female security guard lay on the floor, blood leaking from her neck and side. Gunshots began down the hall, with every shot, a weight seemed to lift from my shoulders, whatever was binding us here was failing. With every shot, a little more would disappear.
Klinger again appeared, the flash of blue light erupting from the far end of the lab. This time, we were ready, Joshua loosed two rounds at her, striking her in the chest, David, just like always, took cover. I took my time, letting go of one round that collected her right in the forehead, causing her to scream and suddenly implode with a magnificent implosion of blue light. As she disappeared, another weight seemed to lift from my shoulders.
This only confirmed what had to happen, I walked back to the bathroom, Takagawa was still lifeless on the floor, I dodn’t want to get close, opting to fire at him from the doorway, a sudden puff of red mist erupting from the back of his head as my bullet struck his temple. I continued back to the corridor as the gunfire from the common room continued, Gonzales, still tied up and sitting against a wall, I breathed to him that I was sorry before pulling the trigger again, more weight lifted from me.
Shadows rushed passed my peripheral vision as Jason gave chase to two figures who were trying to make a run for it, Kozak and the researcher Black exiting out a back door.
David, Joshua, Jason and I all gathered on the grass, the weight that had been pressing down on us was all but gone, yet there was still more to do. Jason made a call to Eve, briefing her of the situation. David had caught on, he was backing away as Jason fired a shot that bit into David’s stomach, sending him to the ground, his arms doing their best to drag him away. I kept my eyes on Jason, he looked back and motioned to Joshua before giving me a nod. I didn’t want to do it, Joshua seemed like a good man, he didn’t deserve this. Before anyone could react, I extended my arm and put a round into his chest, centre mass, he was dead before he hit the ground. Another weight lifted, the final weight. It was gone. I couldn’t help it, was it rage, was it sadness, my mind wandered, nothing was clear, I couldn’t stop myself, seeing David crawling away, I turned my gun on him, advancing as I pulled the trigger, so many shots, enough to empty my pistol before feeling the sharp burning of something hitting my back.
I fell to the ground, the world went dark, was this the end, Charlie would never forgive me.
Blurry, everything was phasing in and out, I could hear voices, I knew Jason’s, arguing with a woman, something familiar, like the way Charlie and I would argue over the smallest things. I can’t remember.
I woke in a strange wooden framed bed, looking out the window, woods and tall trees, this wasn’t my cabin, but it was somebodies.
Looking at the foot of the bed, Jason sat silently, smoking as always. Cigarette in one hand, revolver in the other, staring into my eyes, assessing me through and through. It took some time, but he offered me a cigarette. His questions were simple, do I want to keep going, or am I done.
Not knowing how long I had been here, I could only exclaim that I wouldn’t be alive if I didn’t want to be.
The mission was over, Jason explained that many had to die, but not all, he liked Joshua too, he had plans for him, plans that were cut short. Unnecessarily from what he said, if David had died from the first shot, Joshua may have lived. Jason had shot me in the back, twice, he was impressed that I survived. The shot to the chest had collapsed a lung, luckily not breaking a rib. The shot to the gut would take months to heal, how was I going to explain this to the department, and to Charlie.
