To Be A Warrior

Chapter 6: Deep Web

"It's important that you don't panic, Runner Five. Concentrate on the sound of my voice. Try not to focus on the fact that you're locked in the dark basement under a mannequin factory with walls covered in spiders."

I grit my teeth, shining my flashlight around as I keep moving. Veronica still is just as bad at pep talks as she was when she was human.

I suppose I should be thankful. It means there's some part of Veronica left in there.

"The good news is that your mission was 98% successful. Your team captured the V-Types, and they're taking them to a containment facility for study. This is very likely to result in significant breakthroughs in my work on the V-Type morphology. The bad news is the remaining 2% represents your survival."

A whirring sound comes from above, and I gasp, shining my flashlight around. All I find are more spiders. They watch me but stay in their place.

I quicken my pace.

"Don't be alarmed by the noise, Five. There are security cameras in the room with you. I am tapping into them."

Just like she's tapped into whatever speakers are in this complex, I assume.

"Where's Sam, Veronica?" I ask, my tongue feeling heavy in my mouth. "Why can't I reach him?"

"I know you miss Sam. I do too! But I'm blocking his signal because your chances of survival are 6% higher with a single voice to focus on," She replies. "And I have access to more information on your location than Sam does.

"This factory has secrets. It was occupied by the Ministry not long ago. They built a small lab complex below the surface. Your only way out is through there. If you listen to me, I can guide you to an exit, but you'll have to be quick. I estimate you only have seventeen minutes of battery power left in that torch. Head down the stairwell to your left. Hurry."

"How do I know this isn't a trick?" I ask, and even though I don't really have any other choice, I have to be suspicious. Veronica merged with A.N.N.I.E., and Bad A.N.N.I.E. is still out there. I can't just trust her. I couldn't when she was just a human, so how can she expect that from me now that she's a machine?

"You can trust me, Runner Five," She says, and she almost sounds desperate, if robots can sound desperate. "I'm still Veronica! I'm just... I'm more, as well. Please go now. Run!"

Again, I really don't have much of a choice. If she's right about my flashlight battery, then I have less than twenty minutes before I'm in the dark with a bunch of spiders that seem to be watching my every move.

I can only think about the others. Poor Sam. He must be so worried. He always is, because I'm always the one who gets stuck in these dangerous situations.

Poor Peter. He was the one who told me to go hide. Is he feeling guilty that I'm trapped down here and they can't find me? I shouldn't have listened to him. I should have just kept running. The plastic wouldn't have done any real damage. I mean, it would have, but I would have healed.

Now I'm here, in the dark with a bunch of spiders with a voice that I'm not sure I can trust.

I'm scared. And even though I know Veronica is here, I feel alone.

I trudge down the stairs, careful not to trip. The silence is deafening, feeling like a heavy weight on my shoulders. I suppose that weight could be the hundreds and hundreds of pairs of eyes on me.

I keep thinking they're going to attack, but they don't. It feels like a waiting game in which I haven't been told the rules.

Somehow, even though my bones are quaking with fear, I feel as if I'm missing something. This feels almost too easy, too safe.