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

One building left. My legs are starting to burn, something I’m sure the game of Breekbal yesterday contributed to. I jump from balcony to balcony, but when I get to the last one, I stop. The final building in front of me has a void where a balcony used to be. When I look down, I see that the missing terrace lies on top of the balcony ten feet below.

I can make this jump, but with the added drop, it’s going to hurt. I look back and see the outsiders and drones running toward the building.

I scream as I jump off my current balcony ledge and fall down to my target balcony. Shocks shoot up my legs when I land. I feel the pain instantly, and a cracking sound scares me into thinking I broke a bone. When I stand without any further pain, I realize that the sound is coming from the balcony.

A fissure spiders out from the corner that connects the balcony to the building, and before I know it, the balcony gives way, and I fall. Ten feet below the balcony, I slam hard into another. The familiar cracking sound lets me know that I will drop again if I don’t react quickly.

I whip my chain at the glass door, shattering it. I jump through just as the balcony falls away below me. My back stings with sharp pain, and when I reach back, I feel a shard of glass sticking out. Breaking the skin on my hand, I pull the piece of glass out and get to my feet.

The sound of movement outside gets me moving to the doorway. I stand, hidden next to the door, as an outsider steps in with her gun up. She spots the fresh blood on the ground, but before she can yell anything, I’m on top of her, covering her mouth with my hand. My other hand is digging the shard of glass into her side.

“Where is the Genesys?” I apply more pressure with the shard of glass.

The outsider’s body shakes, and I can sense the fear. Her voice pleads for mercy. “On the ninth floor with the doctor.”

I throw the shard away, and with a right hook, I knock her unconscious. She doesn’t need to follow me. I take her gun and head out the door to the hallway. As I get to the stairwell, I can hear a massive amount of activity. The outsiders and drones from the streets must be making their way up.

Next to the stairs is the indistinguishable door of an elevator. I use the gun barrel to wedge the door enough to put my hands between the gap and pull them open. Two chains hang in the middle of the dark shaft. I look up and only see darkness.

“You can do this.” I try to motivate myself. I need to climb seven floors.

I wrap my chain around me, but when I pick up the rifle, I notice that it doesn’t have a strap. I’ll need both hands to climb, so I leave the gun behind. I fly into the shaft with a powerful jump and grab hold of the chains in the middle. Hand over hand, I climb.

It isn’t until I’m around the fourth floor that I hear noises below me.

“Hello?” someone yells up. The words echo their way past me.

I stay as still as possible, hoping the moving chain doesn’t alert them to my location. Shots go off below me, nearly causing me to lose my grip. The bullets ricochet around me, and the fear gets my hands moving again.

My arms burn as I finally get to the ninth floor. I swing myself back and forth, but when I reach the elevator doors, I realize that I don’t have the leverage to pull them open and still balance myself.

I think for a moment and come up with what could be the stupidest idea I have ever had. I unwrap my chain and, with one hand, I do the best I can to tie the end of my chain to the elevator chain. The shoulder of the hand holding me up aches with pain; sweat drips down my face and stings my eyes.

After testing the knot’s strength, I wrap my chain around my waist and then the other end back to the elevator chain. Slowly, I lower myself into a horizontal position. When I let go of the elevator chain, my body drops a few inches, forcing a gasp out of my throat.

Once confident that it will hold, I swing myself back to the elevator door. On the third try, I manage to get my fingertips to latch on to the crack between the doors. It’s all or nothing, so I scream as I use all the strength I can muster to pull the doors apart. I quickly unknot my chain from the center chain and jump onto the ninth floor.

I jump to my feet the second I land, ready to act, but there’s no one around. Behind me, I hear a barrage of bullets ricochet in the elevator shaft. It won’t be long before they realize where I am. I need to act fast.

I move quickly down the hallway, checking every room I pass. Most rooms are filled with debris and dusty furniture. Then I get to one that surprises me. It’s clean and filled with makeshift monitors and tablets. The monitors display different parts of the city but also show a few areas around the compound. I can see that the fighting is still going on at the compound. It’s sad to see them all fighting for something that can’t be changed anymore.

I continue down the hallway, and near the end, I hear muffled sounds along with some peculiar beeps. When I poke my head around, I see Fe strapped to a chair. Her head is down, and she has a tube and other wires attached to her