CHAPTER 26
ESCAPE THROUGH THE DARK
Ashley groped her way along in the dark. The blackness was absolute, and slightly broken the dim lights in her shoulder pads. The vent was tight and barely gave her room to move, but terror thrust her forward. She propelled herself in the weightless tunnel clutching and pulling on cables and smaller pipes that ran its length.
She could hear the deathbot behind her using its arms to tear shreds of metal off the hall as it tried to get her. The child's voice repeated, "Daddy I failed. But I will get her. Help me Daddy." The voice confused Ashley.
"Did someone put a baby in that monster? Oh, Oh, How horrible!" The thought filled her eyes with tears.
The sound of the deathbot grew faint as she pulled herself forward. The tunnel seemed to have no direction. Ashley didn't know where she was going, she was just trying to get away.
Fear of the deathbot monster thrust her ever farther in the darkness. "Where am I going? What if I get lost? What if I never find my way out and die in here?" She stopped and sobbed. "Daddy, where are you? Be safe, be alive please."
Boom! Ashley covered her ears. Boom! The noise was all around her. The tube wall moved over and slammed her against the opposite wall. She pulled on the cables to escape the squeeze. As she went forward the bangs and pops of combat vibrated the walls around her. Three thin shafts of faint light punched holes in the vent behind her as death lasers burned through. She thrashed arms and boots to scamper away.
Ashley kept pulling herself along seeking safety, but there seemed to be none, the walls vibrated with the sound of battle wherever she went. She made turns randomly into side shafts and rushed forward where the way was straight or clear.
The vent opened to a larger tube, giving more room to move her arms. She pulled herself forward using the cables along the wall. The sound of the deathbot was long gone but the bangs and pops of combat were faintly coming from all directions around her.
The vent opened to a large juncture. She floated into it and fell onto her back. The sudden pull of gravity knocked the wind out of her. Squares of light shown from far away.
It felt like a place. It felt safe. Ashley pulled herself up bringing her knees to her chin; she wrapped her arms around her legs and cried in the dark.
(c) Adron
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