The hallways were quiet. Quiet enough to hear a pin drop. The base was filled with this deadly silence, but an echo of quiet thunder rose up and quieted down. It was soon followed by the faint cry of many men and women that faded within minutes. Maru quietly looked down the hallway, towards the quiet screams and looked down in shame. Maru clinched a pocket that laid above her left shoulder tighter and tighter with each echo of a cry for help rose and faded. She grinded her teeth and began to shake.
“General?” said Marcus, walking up behind her. “We need to head to the safe room.”
Maru jumped slightly and stood quietly until she mumbled something.
“W-What was the ma’am?”
“I said, “I’m coming”,” mumbled Maru.
Marcus questionably looked back at the small group of soldiers behind him and shrugged his shoulders. Maru looked down at the ground for a few moments until she took a deep breath and turned around, her menacing glare back. The soldiers stood up straight at the sight of her glare and remained still she passed. As the small group of soldiers followed Maru, they arrived at a large sliding door that opened to a room that was filled with computers and screens. Maru entered the room and glanced at the screens in front of her. On the screens were images of intersections of the hallways. They were all empty. Not a trace of another person seemed to be in sight. Maru walked to the control panels where several men where working.
“So…how are things looking?” said Maru to a man sitting in front of a screen.
“Not good,” replied the security personnel. “We’re suffering a lot of casualties and reinforcements won’t arrive for another half hour.”
“…..Let me see it.”
“Ma’am?”
“Let me see what he’s done so far. I need to know.”
The man slowly looked down, but did what he was told and started typing on the keyboard in front of him as Maru slowly walked backwards. Maru intensely studied the screens, until they turned one by one, showing the grim work that Blain left behind. Many soldiers covered their mouths and moaned. One turned away gagging, but Maru looked at the screens displeased. Blood of many soldiers were painted across the hallways in a furious fashion. On one screen, there appeared to be blood smears that looked like someone or something was dragged across it. Maru pointed at the screen and told the man in to look at near by cameras to see what made those dragging marks. The man nodded and started typing on his keyboard again and a few screens changed until one stopped at a soldier slowly crawling down the hallway. His left leg was completely separated from him, but his right leg was only attached by a few pieces of skin. The man reached out towards the camera and mouthed, “Help…Me…” before he fell to the floor like a rag doll. Maru looked away and said that she saw enough. The security man nodded and started changing the screens, but stopped and stared at it.
“General? I think you need to look at this.”
Maru walked over to him and looked at the screen. She swallowed a large lump in her throat from the image of Blain standing in the middle of a small pool of blood, it smeared across the walls and over countless bodies. In his hand was a head of a woman that he held by its hair. Blain lifted the head up, letting it sway side to side for the camera to capture all its bloody glory. Marcus grinded his teeth and clinched the handle of his gun tightly, staring at the screen. Maru quietly looked at the screen, no emotion anywhere present on her face and looked at the security officer.
“How many soldiers do we have in the base right now?”
The man looked down with a depressed look, “Those men behind you…are all that are left. Until reinforcements arrive that is.”
“I see….Where is he located?”
“In front of the room where we are holding that girl.”
“Well, it would be obvious he would go after her,” shouted Marcus. “Ma’am! Please! Let us go take him down!”
Maru looked back at Marcus and to the screen. Blain was still holding the head in his hand. Maru took a few steps closer to the screen and gently ran her finger over the side of Blain’s face and studied the screen for a few moments.
“General?” spoke up Marcus.
“Alright…You can go, but…he must be taken down with out dying. We need him alive or everything we are trying to achieve for him will be in vain.”
Marcus nodded and ordered the small group to move out. After the last man left the room, Marcus stopped at the door and turned to Maru.
“You know, he’s not the little kid that you loved anymore. He’s a monster now and if he kills more of my men…I will not hesitate and put a bullet in his head.”
The security room became incredibly still as Marcus left the room and went to catch up to his men. Maru took a deep breath as the security officer looked at her.
“Do you regret it, general?” he mumbled. “Do you regret letting them do those things to him? Turning him into that…thing?”
Maru didn’t answer. She stared at the screen that showed Blain still holding onto the head and seemed a million miles away. Maru snapped back to reality when Blain dropped the head and turned to the door. Maru took a deep breath and turned away from the screen and headed to the door.
“Do you know what I would have done, general?” said the security officer.
Maru stopped in front of the door and looked back at the man, he turning in his chair and looking at her in the eyes.
“I would have done anything to get my child back into my arms, knowing what horrid things they did to him…and if I failed and let him turn into what I never wanted him to be, I would do everything to put his suffering to an end. Even if that meant betraying everyone, even hi…”
“I know,” said Maru. “I know what anyone would do, but…I can’t help him anymore. I can only watch from the sidelines and pray that he changes back, even though I know he will never be the same.”
The security officer looked down in frustration as Maru exited the room and made her way through the labyrinth of hallways.
The scientists stood next to Abigail quietly and watched the door, clinching onto some sharp tools. They both looked at each other and quietly mumbled to each other. They quickly turned back to the door when more rapid, muffled bursts happened next to the door. They started to move away from the door, but fell to the floor when the end of a blade pierced through one side of the door. One scientist gave a high, girly scream as another end of a blade pierced the other door. Gears began to screech from the doors being pulled away from each other, enough for Blain to slip in while a few bullets hit the doors and bounced away. The doors closed with a loud thump as Blain stood slumped over, breathing heavily. Blain stood up straight, but stumbled a little, his arms changing back to normal. One of the scientists grabbed a scalpel and charged Blain with a warrior cry, but was batted away from Blain’s back hand. He was sent into the cabinets and broke the glass holding all of the medicine and fell to the floor, dead. The other scientist screamed and started to freak out as Blain moved to the table where Abigail laid. He examined her body and saw that there was a trail of blood trickling down from her mouth. Blain looked over at a wastebasket and saw the inside was covered in blood. Blain’s attention changed and focused on the scientist laying on the floor. He knelt down and gave a deadly stare.
“Who are you?”
“M-M-Me??”
“Answer me!”
“Aaaah! D-D-Daisy! Daisy Remington!”
“Are you one of the head doctors here?”
“Y-Yes. Why?”
“Good,” said Blain as he stood up and grabbed Abigail, throwing her over his shoulder. “You’re coming with me.”
Daisy looked at Blain confused, but was quickly swooped up off of her butt and held her by her waist. Daisy blushed and started kicking and screaming, trying to break free. Blain tightened his grip on Daisy and muttered under his breath.
“If you don’t stop right now, I’m going to use you as a meat shield.”
Daisy quickly stopped and relaxed, sobbing. Blain turned to the door and took a deep breath and kicked one side of the doors, caving it in. With another kick, the metallic door crashed against the wall. Marcus and his men pointed their guns at the room and waited patiently for the target. Blain took a few steps out and looked down at the small group of men. Marcus gasped when he saw that Blain was carrying Daisy.
“Watch your fire! He’s carrying one of ours too!”
Blain smiled and turned away and sprinted down the hallway. Marcus cussed under his breath and gave chase, but eventually lost track of them. Blain quickly dashed through the hallways and made his way to the front entrance of the base. As he made his way towards it, he began coughing hard, blood exiting with each cough. Daisy covered her mouth quickly and looked away and waited for him to finish.
“W-W-What do you think you are doing?! I could turn into you, you know?!”
“Shut up,” hissed Blain as the coughing stopped and made his way to the exit.
As Blain approached the exit, the doors opened and the sun’s bright light blinded him. Blain looked away for a moment, shielding his eyes, but looked onward and saw a small army waiting for him. Every soldier in front of Blain pointed his gun at him and waited for their next command. Daisy started to cry intensely saying she was going to die rapidity. Blain scowled himself for being so slow but turned around at the sound of footsteps. Blain’s armor started to crack and break as Maru moved out of the shadows and stood out of Blain’s reach.
“It seems that you were too slow, Blain.”
Half of Blain’s mask cracked and tumbled off of his head, exposing his glare, “It seems that way.”




















