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“Join up with each other and meet with Sakkar!” I ordered. I realized that if they met dead ends, it meant I was potentially on the right path. A door up ahead served as a beacon of hope as I came to it.
I drew my plasma pistol and braced myself. Reeling back, I unleashed a kick that swept the door off of its hinges. I wasted no time entering the room, my weapon pointed at the nearest Ewani as he curled up in fear.
Looking around, there was more of his kind in here with no sign of Elara. Still, these guys weren’t getting a free pass from me.
“A group of six passed through these alleys. Two of yours, two Nazok, and two human women. Where did they go?” I asked.
“I didn’t sssss-see them, but he did!” blurted the scumbag, pointing to a friend of his who lay unconscious on the floor. I grabbed the sleeping son of a bitch and pressed the gun to his head. His eyes quickly went from sealed shut to open wide.
“Your friend here says you saw a group of six pass by. Where did they go?”
The junkie shot an evil eye at his friend.
“You, asshole!”
“Hey!” I yelled, aiming the blaster. “Tell me what you know or I’ll splatter your brains all over the wall!”
“All right!” wheezed the alien with a raspy voice. “They were probably heading to a hideout of some ssss-sort,” he offered, hissing out each sibilant s in the manner typical of the Ewani. “One of the human women passes through these alleyways all the damn time.”
“Ratting her out, are you?” laughed another Ewani. I spun around, pointing the gun at him. He quickly shut his mouth. The man I had in my hands continued.
“They usually take the next right, but I don’t know anything after that.”
I let go of him immediately and rushed out the door, resuming my trail in pursuit of Jocelyn. I took the next right turn and was greeted by the sight of many more doors.
“Fuck, where could she be? It could be any one of these doors!”
I called the others to let them know of my position before going to the first door. I had no choice if I wanted to find Elara. If I had to kick all of them down, then that was exactly what I would do.
Most of the doors turned up nothing, met only with insults and jeers from the scum who resided here. Time dragged on and I was worried. What would Jocelyn do to Elara?
A horrid image of Elara strapped down on an operating table flashed in my mind. I forced my imagination to halt right there. I came back out further in another alleyway deeper in the narrows. Here, there were no more witnesses to even interrogate. It was empty.
Part of me lost hope. The search came to a standstill. Just when I thought I was on the right track, I felt as though I was pulled back to the starting line.
I came to a turn, given a choice between left and right. Following my instincts, I took the left turn and ran as if my life depended on it. A sight in the distance caught my attention.
I slowed my approach as I came to a metal wall. It stood out from the rest of the buildings around me. There were no windows on it. An unmarked door stood in its center, where there was a retinal scanner. None of the others had such a device, and so it gave me a glimmer of strength to keep going.
I pulled out my percomm, using my hacking software to bust open the lock. Slowly, I pushed open the door and stepped inside. I walked into a seemingly endless corridor, the bright lights a stark contrast compared to the desolate alleyways outside.
The smell here was akin to that of a medical facility. A heavy aroma of cleaning agents filled the air, mixing with the sweet scent of Elara, confusing my senses. The walls were so white that I saw my own reflection. This place screamed ‘secret hideout.’
“More fucking doors.” I groaned as I saw various unmarked doors stretch down the hallway. “Hold on a moment…”
There was a trail of muddied boot-prints along the ground. I followed it quietly, coming to a door with another retinal scanner. After hacking it, I stepped inside and gagged at what I saw.
Mutated lifeforms sat in cages along the wall, making horrifying grunting noises and cries. I couldn’t tell if they tried to roar at me or if they were begging to be out of their misery.
They were the stuff of nightmares, and even I, a grizzled war veteran, couldn’t stomach the sight of them. Pity filled me. I knew this was no doubt the work of Jocelyn.
I had to get to her before she joined them in a cage of her own. Looking around, I spotted a broken vial on the floor, which I imagined to be the result of a struggle between Jocelyn and Elara.
I checked around the various equipment in the room. There was no sign of where anyone went. Even the boot prints disappeared after the doorway.
With no other option, I closed my eyes and narrowed in on my increased senses. I swore I heard Elara’s faint cry incoming from the cages. I opened my eyes but saw there was nothing but the mutants.
There came a grunt from the cages. A mutant jumped and waved with his stump of an arm, grabbing my attention. He pointed at an empty cage beside him.
