Within a hidden chamber inside an old warehouse, an alien base operates in secret. Monitors surround the entire room and everything is bathed in red light. Strange equipment line the walls, quite like weapon racks.
The racks are filled with pistol and rifle-like weapons with tips which look like magma-filled discs. The insides whirling with red, orange and gold whilst emanating brutal levels of heat. In human terms, they were heat ray guns. Along the few wall-shelves are small, orange tubes which continuously produce a soft hum.
One person is present in the room, working away on the main interface. On the screen is an upgraded version of a radar. The figure is shadowy, but the glistening from metal can be seen. Enough to know that they wore a Navy uniform.
On the radar, one blip is moving. The blip is shaped like a military vessel. The vessel which had appeared made the figure smile.
'It begins' comes the pleased response of a male
* * *
With the crisis now averted, the Huntress attempts to use her sonic on the few remaining water droplets. By her facial expressions, Gray clearly knew that luck was not on her side. She was crouched there for quite some time fiddling with her sonic, changing frequencies and altering her search patterns. Nothing seemed to work.
'Damn. It's as if the destruction has erased everything. Down to the genetic code' she comments aloud as she hauls herself to her feet and stares at the ground where Gray once laid and where the water once was.
'Genetic code? What kind of thing could do that? I know it ain't human, but that's flipping crazy' adds Gray as he studies his dry suit jacket in wonder.
Cassie meanwhile is sat on a stool in silence. The event which occurred was still processing in her brain. It took both Huntress and Gray to lift her and place her on the stool. Huntress made sure to check her for any alien influence but she came up clean.
As Gray put his jacket back on, his face scrunches up and he turns his head back to the Huntress. 'The size. How did that little speck of water become that massive bubble? I mean, your scanning multiple drops now.'
Huntress' head darted over to Gray and a smile grew, quite wide. 'Now that, my friend, is the right question! Getting better every day. Why did it grow bigger?'
This sudden conversation triggered something in Cassie as she finally moved, standing up and aiming her attention to the few droplets remaining. 'Was it real? A creature or a, an alien? What the hell is happening?' she asked before lowering her head into her hands and started cradling it.
Out of kindness, Huntress walks over and gently places her hands on Cassie's shoulders. 'That is what I'm here to find out, so just relax. Ok?'
Cassie raises her head slightly and nods. With her calm, Huntress applies pressure to her shoulders and gets her to sit back down on the stool.
With that dealt with, the Huntress turns to Gray once more. He waves his arms at her. 'Still ain't answered my question.'
Huntress can't help but roll her eyes. She looks at her sonic once more before walking across to Gray. The closer she gets; the more nervous Gray grew. She stops in front of him.
'By the sonic, the remains were basic water but also organic. Its organic nature allowed it to multiply. One drop would double, then the doubled drops would double again and so forth. Clearly, that process started after it tried to drown you. I mean, to drown you it had to grow and continue to create more water. A perfect, programmable weapon.'
'So the act of killing me caused the water to multiply? That's bloody crazy. But if it's organic, why'd you talk to it like you were speaking into a phone?'
'Because, I was. Like I said, programmable weapon. Keep up. As well as absorbing information and killing, its programmer sees everything that happens. Every drop of water emanated an image of its surroundings. All I had to do was sever the link.'
She turns around to where the water once was. 'Unfortunately, it caused the entity to heat up and evaporate. Just our luck. I can't learn anymore from it with the sonic. Not an easy trick to pull off though, this thing. This would be the only one, most likely anyway'
Gray gives an understanding nod then starts to leave the lab.
'Where do you think your going?' she questions.
Gray just waves an arm behind him as he continues walking out. 'Gettin' some tea. Bloody thirsty for a real drink now. Want anything?'
Huntress smiles again and shakes her head. 'No. But maybe some for Cassie here. I think she'll need it.'
Gray leaves and starts walking along the corridors. He walks through several until he finds a door marked Tea Room. He tries to open it, but it's locked. As he looks at the handle, he notices a lock with a missing key. An odd shaped lock as well.
'Well that's just bollocks. We're British for Christ sake. They'd better have more around.'
As Gray walks away, a soft hum comes from the door. Almost like something responding to his presence, yet in a kind way. He ignores it and continues walking.
* * *
With this demented woman still behind them, Will tried to increase his pace while carrying the still-recovering Kate. They'd managed to run to the other end of the complex and find an elevator. By Will's estimation, the science labs would be directly below them. All they had to do was take the elevator down and find the correct lab.
Behind them, Weller continued to follow. As she ran, items around her would be flung backwards. Posters, chairs, paintings, the lot. Her eyes were locked onto her targets ahead of her and her expression never changed. She didn't even gasp for breath.
With a decent gap between them, the elevator with Will and Kate inside closed before Weller reached the intersection.
Will allowed Kate to grab hold of the side-railing and hold herself upwards. She still had trouble seeing and her head still spun. She gasped for breath and tried to calm herself.
Will pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and held it out towards her. She stared at it, quite confused. Will pointed at her, then at her forehead. In response, she touched that spot on her head where she felt really warm. When her hand came back down, there was blood across her hand.
'It's a nasty one. Not to deep though. This should help stop the bleeding. Here'
Kate slowly took the handkerchief from Will's hand and held it tightly to her forehead. She winced in pain at the pressure but endured it. Meanwhile, Will had pulled out a new phone from his pocket and started typing.
'What good is that gonna do?' Kate questioned as she leant her body against the wall and shook her shirt for cool air with her spare hand.
Will never turned his attention away from the phone and continued typing. 'Even the best detectives in the world make notes. If something goes even more wrong and we forget something important, it'll be here.'
Kate shook her head as he spoke. She wanted to understand, but the reflection of the polished metal walls was enough to mess with her mind.
'So what, you're saying that you're noting down details of what's happening whilst we're being chased by a telepathic maniac?' she clarified.
Will looked at the elevator level and placed his phone in his pocket once more. He then moved over to Kate again and placed her arm around his shoulder. 'Caution doesn't hurt. You ready to run again?'
Kate shook her head and tried to focus on the doors before her. 'You say that as if I have a choice.'
As soon as the doors opened, the chase was on once again. Behind them, the elevator doors shut and the ding noise which indicated the floor change went ballistic. Will knew that Weller could be there any second.
To their dismay, the elevator took them to a long, straight corridor. All the doors were locked tight and contained supplies and samples. Storage rooms.
At the end of the corridor were swinging doors. Beyond that was an intersection. By the signs, the right corridor led to the science labs while the left lead to the more offices.
They made it halfway to the doors when worst happened.
Out of nowhere, Kate was forced onto the ground. Her elbows stopped her face from hitting the smooth polished floor, but she was quite stunned. She never felt anything grab her, only a powerful force pushing her down. The handkerchief dropped in front of her. She started reaching for it, hoping she'd simply slipped.
Will quickly leaned down to pick her up, but frighteningly she started hurling backwards as if she was being dragged away.
As Will looked behind them, Weller was stood in the elevator with her arm reached out and a devious smile on her face. She was clearly enjoying herself.
Kate tried to yell for Will, but she was too stunned and scared. Her efforts to stop and struggle were useless and the pains she felt increased rapidly.
'Kate!' Will yelled as he ran after her without thinking. Will closed the gap, but not close enough. Kate was flung into the elevator with her body flipping. Her back leant against the elevator wall and her head was hit, knocking her out. Weller continued to smile and used her hand to give Will a single wave before the doors closed.
Seconds after the doors closed, Will reached the elevator and hit the doors with his fist. He looked at the level indicator. It rapidly changed numbers with no pattern. There was no way of knowing which level she was on, or even if she was on a basic level. For all he knew, there were basements or secret levels in the complex.
Nevertheless, Kate was gone and so were the documents inside the bag.
With Kate and the info gone, there was literally only one logical thing for Will to do. He turned on his heels and started sprinting to the swinging doors.
On the way past, he skidded to a halt and snatched up the bloodied handkerchief Kate had used for her wound then continued on. He charged through the doors and stopped at the intersection. He turned and looked at the elevator through the doors windows once more before continuing on. He had to find the Huntress and Gray. Fast.