Chapter 62 – Better Me Than You

AN: New cover! I like a lot of it, but the face turned out a bit weird. The angle kinda threw me off, and I couldn’t get it as detailed as I wanted to. First time I’ve ever done a full body though, so that’s cool. Usually I cut stuff off at the hip. I’m probably going to draw out a few more at some point, but I dunno.

It’ll take a bit for it to get approved and changed, unfortunately.

— — —

“There it is.” Lizzie stopped, and pointed past the endless maze of machine cabinets. Ahead of us, standing at complete odds with the massive arcade, was a massive pillar stretching from floor to ceiling. It was the first hint of a structural support or wall that I’d seen in the entire time that I’d been in here.

We’d been walking for an hour already, and had survived one dark out without any issue. Err, without any major issue. I doubted I could ever forget the way Quinn looked at me after the lights turned on. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes promised we’d talk about it later.

”What are we waiting for?” Quinn moved past her—only to stop as the girl grabbed her sleeve with tightly clenched fingers.

”O-once we get close, it’ll go dark out.” Lizzie stared past her uneasily toward the pillar. “I-if its like last time.”

”We’re nearing the maintenance time anyway.” I’d been carefully keeping track of time ever since Robert and I got caught out.

“This one’s different. It’ll stay dark unless we make it there, or leave the area entirely.” Lizzie rubbed uncertainly at her arms. “Last time, I crawled under the machines the entire way there.”

”Then let’s just do that?” Robert suggested.

”It won’t work with all of us here.” Quinn stared thoughtfully at the four kids. “What’d you do when you had to cross an aisle, Lizzie?”

”I prayed.” Her head dropped, and her hair fell forward slightly. She’d had some confidence in leading us here, but that confidence was nowhere to be found now. “I prayed and ran.”

“A moment, Reyna.” Quinn motioned to me, and backed away from the kids. We walked away slightly, and her voice dropped into a low whisper. “I don’t like our chances of getting through this with all the kids. It’s too uncertain.”

I was thinking the same thing. At the very least, we’d make too much noise while moving. That’d alert the creature, and we might not even get a chance to move once we entered the zone around the pillar. ”I know.”

Quinn didn’t have an ounce of fear in her eyes as she dropped the idea we were both thinking about. ”I’ll act as bait, so you get the kids—“

”No, Quinn.” I grabbed her shoulder, and looked deep into her eyes. “I’ll be bait. You take the kids.”

”Reyna…”

”I can’t protect them like you can. If the monster even gets close, you’ll at least be able to blast it away.” I was the logical choice. “‘Sides, I’ve got my Apex agility working for me. I’m faster than you.”

”And I have Awoken physiology.” Although she said that, her voice lacked any true conviction. She could see it as clearly as I could, even if she didn’t like it.

”Guardian Tidebreak.” I shifted into my big girl voice, and stood up straighter. It really was the best that I moved alone. Without anyone watching, I could release the full extent of my strength and agility. They were about the only things I had going for me anymore. 

“Vargriev.” She sighed heavily. Pure exhaustion weighed at her face for a moment. She straightened up, and pulled me into a hug. “You better be safe.”

”I will be.” I tried to smile at her. After a moment, I pulled Vigil out of my pocket and lifted him up to her. “If I—“

“Don’t say it.” Her eyes slammed shut like she couldn’t bear to look at me.

”Give him to Sylvie.” I waved Vigil at my Guardian. “Please.”

”Operator, this unit thinks it unwise—“ Vigil’s voice cut out entirely as Tidebreak accepted him from me. She stared down at the small plushie for several lingering moments before slowly nodding.

“I will.” She carefully pushed him into her pocket as her bright blue halo flared as bright as it could. “I better see you on the other side, Reyna.”

”You will.” My eyes lingered on Vigil poked out of her pocket. His eyes flashed angrily as if he was desperately trying to communicate with me. At least this way, he wouldn’t be stuck in here if I broke my promise to him.

“Yeah, yeah I will.” She nodded her head slowly. “If you die, can I have your plushie collection?”

”Fuck you, bitch.” I laughed more for her benefit for my own, and backed away from her. I waved my hand toward the kids and checked that my pistol was ready to go. “Go do your thing. Go be the hero, Quinn.”

Tidebreak forced a smile to her face, and turned back to the group of teenagers. “Alright kids, stay close behind me. We’ll be crawling until Canary Vargriev gives the signal. It’s a mad sprint to the finish line after that.”

”What’s the signal?” Robert asked.

”You’ll know it when you hear it.” I nodded to my Guardian, and moved a few steps further away from them. “We’ll keep you guys safe.”

Tidebreak looked back at me one last time, and led the kids on ahead of me. I followed after giving them more than enough time to make space. We edged closer and closer to the prize shop until—

“Attention, valued guests.” A distorted voice broke out over whatever hidden speakers the arcade worked off of. It sounded more broken than the last couple times I heard it. “Scheduled maintenance is now beginning. Please remain near an arcade cabinet until service resumes!”

The lights across the arcade started to flicker and go dark. Despite the power shutting off, one section of the arcade remained lit up like a beacon amidst the darkness. The ticket shop was just as bright as usual, and even let out a cheerful tune across the suddenly silent arcade.

My eyes rapidly adjusted to the darkness as I let out a heavy breath. There wasn’t very much light this far out, but it was more than enough for my night vision to keep working. At least I could see. And if I could see, I could fight.

Clomp… clomp-clomp-clomp…

My ears flattened at the familiar sound of the maintenance creature moving. One of them flicked upright as the noise came from near Quinn and the kids. The tremble left my hand as I lifted my pistol into the air and squeezed the trigger.

The sharp, concussive crack of a gunshot rang across the dark arcade. It was so shockingly loud that my ears stung at the sudden jolt. The bullet itself didn’t travel far before slamming into the side of an arcade machine. Plastic shattered and deformed under the impact of the bullet.

For a moment, nothing but silence answered my shot. Heh, I was probably the only idiot stupid enough to ring its dinner bell like this. Probably stunlocked it… I gave into the wishful thinking for only a moment. After this long here, there was no trusting in the silence.

A shambling shape crawled silently along the roof toward me. The multi-legged creature of distorted flesh and broken wires totally ignored the arcade machines blocking the way. Traveling along the roof gave it total maneuverability to bypass the machines and approach all the fast. Despite its silent moving, it was disturbingly quick.

I looked one last time toward Quin and the kids. I was far enough way that they were totally hidden by machines blocking the way. Pyre, please let them get out of here safely. Even as I looked away, I readjusted my aim and fired several shots at the creature. I didn’t bother waiting to see if they connected before sprinting down the aisle in the opposite direction.

It dropped down onto the carpet behind me with a heavy clomp, and noisily started to close the gap. I didn’t give it the chance, and jumped up onto the top of a racing machine’s detached car. From there, I vaulted over the top of it and slid across the top of another machine. 

My momentum carried me clear into the next aisle over. I hit the ground with a roll, and popped up into a mad sprint down a totally different aisle. I slammed into an arcade game with my shoulder, and sent it careening into the path behind me to block the way. Based off the metallic crunch from behind, it bought me seconds at best.

Throughout the entire movement, my heart hammered in my lupine ears. One of them arched to the side to keep up with the monster while the other stayed pinned low to my head. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little exhilarated at being let loose to run freely. That part of me was drowned under my worry about the situation.

The abrupt change of pace threw off the creature for only a moment. It’s metallic limbs clattered across the tops of the arcade games in a more direct path, and it dropped down behind me in hot pursuit. The heavy clomps of its footsteps were unnaturally erratic.

Whshhhh!

A sharp whistling came through the air behind me. I dropped into a slide, and slid underneath a pinball machine blocking the way forward. I cleared clean through the machine, though grabbed its leg at the last second to tip it onto its side. The machine crashed back, and pinned a whip-like limb that’d shot at me.

With it stuck, if even for a moment, I rerouted to run around back to the pillar. Although I was trying to lead the entity way, I myself still needed to escape once Quinn got the kids safely out of here. Soon, it was back hot on my tail with the irregular clomps of this limbs against the ugly carpet of the arcade.

It was fine, though. I was smaller and naturally had the advantage in the tight aisles of the Back Arcade. As long as I still had enough light to see by—

“Att-att-attention, value-valued guests!” A broken vocie broke across the arcade, and the light of the shop started to fade. My nose curled up in disgust. Heh, right. It was too easy otherwise, wasn’t it?

Darkness washed across the arcade. Absolute, total darkness. A broken laugh bubbled out of me before I could stop it, and I slowed ever so slightly. I reached for my phone, and turned on the flashlight so I’d at least be able to see—

Shnk! 

A metal lance appeared at the corner of my vision, and slammed into my phone before I could react. The light abruptly cut off as the metallic limb speared through my shoulder. The force of the blow slammed me back into an arcade cabinet to my side.

”Argh!” Agony laced down my arm as the breath was totally knocked out of me. My hands turned into a trembling mess, and I totally lost my footing.

The moment the limb spearing through me touched the arcade machine, it came to life. Lights and music erupted into the dark arcade. Through the pained haze in my shoulder, I got my first real look at the monster that’d been stalking me.

It was a distorted mess of wires, machine parts, and broken flesh. A tattered white lab coat covered what looked like the body of the creature, though it was so heavily stained in blood and machine oil that it was practiclly unrecognizable. Limbs, dozens of disorderly limbs, stuck through the cloth and unevenly supported the body. One of them was stretched out toward me, spearing me into the arcade cabinet.

A chittering broke out, and its head lowered down to my eye-level. It didn’t do anything for a moment, and just stared at me with glowing red eyes like it was gloating. It’s lower chaw split open into two metal mandibles, and clicked like an insect.

My hand trembled so much I nearly dropped my gun. My ears had long flattened to the sides of my head, and my tail curled so hard against my leg that it almost hurt. Through it all, I couldn’t help but be viscerally disgusted by the maintenance monster’s actual appearance.

Your mistake! With it so clearly presented in front of me, how could I miss? My gun whipped upward, and the reciever thundered as flash after bright flash of light erupted between the two of us. Bullets slammed into the abomination, and the spike embedded in my shoulder twitched erraticly. 

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Click!

The reciever froze backward, and my gun turned into a fancy paperweight. Maybe it was one to begin with. Its eyes were blown out by my gunshots, but it seemingly didn’t need them in the first place. Despite the bullets embedded in the creature’s flesh, it still stood strong as the chittering noise broke out once more.