Gene. Sys. by Aaron Denius (best ereader for comics txt) 📕

Ox and watch over Mag and Sil. Wait for us to call you forward. The rest of you come with me. We are going to have to attack, and fast.”

I rejoin Titan and Sodi at the corner and look around. The plan has worked, as the majority of our attackers have been shot. The lone remaining drone and Dr. Metzger are still shooting, mostly at the incoming outsiders and drones.

“Let’s go!” I shout.

The seven of us charge, shooting at the attackers and the few that continue to run into the hallway. Just before we reach Dr. Metzger and the drone, two outsiders run out from the weapons cache, firing. Dr. Metzger hits one in the leg, but the other drills her in her chest. She falls over.

“No!” I hear Ev and Hydro shout. They must have all bonded with her.

We take care of those two outsiders and make our way to the weapons cache. Every couple of moments, a new outsider, drone, or scientist steps into the hallway, but they are quickly taken care of.

“Watch the hallway,” the drone demands.

He runs into the weapons cache and is followed in by Sodi and Al.

“K! Ox!” I yell back to let them know they should join us.

I return my focus to the hallway and see Titan and Ev handling any new threats that come into the end of the hallway.

When I peek into the weapons cache, I see Sodi switching her gun out for a sniper rifle. Al adds a few knives to his arsenal, and the drone is tucking knives in his shirt and stuffing anything sharp into his pockets.

Right behind them, I see something on a shelf that makes me smile—a chain, a real chain. I drop the simulation chain that is still wrapped around me and grab the one from the shelf. It’s slightly heavier and colder than the other one.

One by one, the Genesys take turns going into the weapons cache and grabbing the weapons of their choice. Once we are all equipped, we gather back in the hallway.

“Do not follow me in,” the drone states as he turns toward the end of the hallway. “You will know when to go.”

He takes off running, and we walk down the hallway behind him, adding cover fire when needed. In an instant, he turns the corner and is gone. I run toward the end of the hallway, but a boom stops me in my tracks before I get there. The metal doors leading into the hangar are blown into the hallway. One of them has a small knife sticking out of it.

“Did he just blow himself up?” Cal shouts as he catches up to me.

“Yeah.” I’m in disbelief. I can’t believe the drone would voluntarily do that, but it has bought us some time.

I look around the corner and assess the situation out in the hangar. A massive amount of bodies lie on the ground. Some are beginning to pick themselves up, but the majority are down for good. The sun’s sharp glare penetrates through a hole at the top of the ramp the rollpods used. The flow of attackers streaming through the hole breaks up the shine of the sun.

At the opposite end of the hangar, I see many scientists and drones protecting a door. Most of the scientists look out of place holding guns. Among them is Dr. Cicca. I’m happy to see she is on our side.

I realize that we only have a few more moments before the attackers replenish their numbers. This is where my training needs to pay off. I look next to me and see the two metal doors that were blown off. I shoot one of them with my gun, and the bullet doesn’t penetrate.

“Ev, Hydro, and Al. Grab the doors and wedge them together in a V,” I order, and they do as they are told. “Titan. You, Sodi, Cal, and I will provide cover fire as we move to the opposite end of the hangar. Ox and K, you stay in the middle and get Sil and Mag to the other side.”

We all get into position. Ev, Hydro, and Al raise the doors and hold them up to protect our bodies from the front. Titan and Sodi walk next to the doors to cover any attackers from the side, while Cal and I cover the back.

I look back down the hallway one last time, wishing to see Fe, but all I see are bodies on the ground. I can only hope that she has already made it to the Flyz.

I face the rest of the Genesys until I have their attention. I let out a primal scream, the air escaping my lungs, turning my face red with adrenaline. The Genesys all join in. I turn my attention back to the hangar.

“Genesys!” they all shout in unison.

We move quickly into the hangar and are immediately met by gunfire. The bullets ricochet off the metal doors, giving us the protection I anticipated. Titan and Sodi open fire; soon after, Cal and I shoot at the outsiders, scientists, and drones that run up behind us.

“They’re coming!” I hear Dr. Cicca yell from the other side of the hangar.

I turn my head briefly to see a large group of drones peel off from the door to come and protect us. When we reach the middle of the hangar, the drones have entirely surrounded us, and they help us get to the other end.

The few scientists and drones directly in front of the door move away to let us through. Al, Hydro, and Ev drop the doors and run through. K, Sil and Ox, carrying Mag, follow them in. As Titan and Sodi stop their cover fire to go through, I see a large wave of attackers run down the ramp. Leading them down is 13 and Petros, the outsider who nearly killed me when I ran to the pyramid with 80.

Cal and I help the scientists and drones with suppressing fire. A hand falls on