Purge of Prometheus

affectionately. He lowered toward her, his warm breath dancing in white clouds in the cold night. Keryn’s heart raced in her chest as she leaned forward, her lips brushing against his. Adam slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her into him, their kiss deep and passionate. Emotions suppressed for so long flooded through them both, finding an outlet in their shared kiss. Finally, Keryn pushed herself away, her breathing heavy and her cheeks flushed. Looking at Adam, she saw the same fire that she felt in her veins reflected in his eyes.

“Come back to me,” he whispered once again into the darkness before opening the front door, the lock already picked in anticipation. “And be safe.”

Without a reply, Keryn slipped out into the night and she heard the door click softly closed behind her. She stood for a moment with her back resting against the door, emotions flooding through her mind. Closing her eyes, she pushed away the memory of Adam’s burning eyes and thought again of the course she would have to take to reach the sewer entrance. She wished she could have brought the map with her, but she couldn’t risk it falling into the hands of the Terrans if she were caught. Instead, she would have to go on memory alone. Opening her eyes again, she took a deep breath and ran into the night.

Keryn knew the dangers as she set out into the night. If spotted, she would be shot on sight by the Terran patrols. But remaining unnoticed would not be easy. Aside from the roving guards, spotlights scanned the open areas, spotlights that were manned by armed guards in towers. Above all, Keryn feared the fighters that made randomized passes over the city after curfew, scanning continuously for violators.

As she passed from building to building, ensuring that she stayed as close as possible to the alleyways that ran between them, she cursed the lack of heavy snowfall. Any other night, it would have been near blizzard conditions, but not the night she snuck away. Looking behind her, she could already see the trail she left as she pushed through the thigh-deep snow banks and the lack of precipitation would not cover her tracks. Desperation set into her, the inevitability of her impending capture settling over her and driving her on at a reckless pace. Counting the streets in her mind, she knew it was only a few more blocks until she reached the forgotten department store, which she knew to be her only detour before escaping the city.

As she covered the next two blocks the snow began to fall heavy and thick, Keryn was glad to see that the heavy snowfall was filling in the tracks behind her. Already, the trail of her crossing the street after leaving House 12 was disappearing, consumed by the aggressive winter. Up ahead, only one more block, she could see the outlines of the department store. It’s windows shattered from the bombings, Keryn knew it wouldn’t be hard to enter, assuming she made it there. Reflecting her fears, she began hearing voices coming from a cross street between her and the store. She froze, shrinking against the building and crouching low into the snow drift. From the side street, four Terrans in full armor entered onto her street, laughing at one another’s stories, but deadly serious in their scans of the area. Keryn forced herself lower into the snow, ignoring the biting cold.

“Don’t turn left,” she mouthed into the snow, knowing that her tracks would be easily discovered if they walked past her hidden location. To her relief, the soldiers glanced only briefly left before turning to the right and walking up the main road, heading toward and past the abandoned department store. When they were far enough away, she stood and shook free the clinging, wet snow before setting out toward the store once again. She fell into step behind the soldiers, using their worn troughs through the snow to cover her own tracks until she came to the front of the store. Breaking through the snow until she reached the shattered window, she slipped inside, moving nimbly between the display manikins, all of which had been stripped bare of their fashionable clothing.

The inside of the department store was dank and musty, the smell of accumulated moisture assaulting Keryn’s senses. She moved slowly, struggling to see in the deep darkness of the store and wanting to ensure she didn’t knock anything over that might give away her position. The trio had entered the store only briefly following the occupation, just long enough to hide their weapons among the discarded and forgotten items of the store. She remembered little of the layout, and regretted not making a map of this place as well. After a few minutes, however, she made her way to the back of the store, many of the clothes too far removed from thieving hands and still undisturbed. Locating a skirted manikin, Keryn reached below the long dress and inside the latticework cage that comprised the manikin’s lower half. Smiling, she felt the pistol, flashlight, and grenade belt still fastened to the inside of the cage. As she tore her pistol free from the cage, something rattled behind her. She turned reflexively, bring her pistol to bear. In the darkness of the store, nothing moved.

She walked slowly around the racks of clothing, checking for places where someone would have hidden, but wasn’t able to find anyone. Though she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was still being watched, she returned to her belongings, latching her ammo and grenade belt around her waist. Stepping cautiously back through the store, glancing in alcoves as she walked by, she made her way back to the front of the store and out the window.

The trek to the ruins where the trio had been working earlier that day was slow going, as she was forced to hide repeatedly from the roving patrols. Though she was now armed and more confident in her chances of survival, she had no interest in drawing the unnecessary attention that a gunfight would bring. Instead, she remained hidden in the snow each time until the patrol had passed before moving again toward the rubble field. Nearly two hours since leaving House 12, Keryn reached the ruins. Closing her eyes, she produced a mental picture of the area, trying to pinpoint the stone slab in the darkness. Confident that she knew the direction, she opened her eyes again and started moving cautiously through the rubble, always staying as close as possible to fragmented walls and piles on stone.

Keryn passed halfway through the field, but was still unable to locate the slab. What if the sewer had been discovered, she worried, fear creeping unwontedly into her mind. If it had been discovered, then she was walking into a trap. If it was a trap, she realized, then she was already too far committed to stop. She would have already been spotted and more than likely would have been killed already. The fact that she was still alive showed promise for her mission. Breathing deeply, she took a step but then froze unmoving as a red laser dot ran over the ground in front of her. It moved twenty feet ahead of her before stopping and slowly moving back toward her position. She stared in wonder as the dot moved toward her, now only ten feet away. Still, it rolled toward her position. When it was within five feet, the Voice erupted in her skull

Run, you idiot, the Voice screamed. It’s the tracker for an automated turret!

Keryn stood, hypnotized. The automated turrets had motion and heat censors. Even if she ran, there was a very high chance that she’d never make it across the field before she was torn apart by the automatic fire.

You don’t have to get across the field, the Voice yelled. You only have to find the sewer. Now run!

Breaking free of her daze, Keryn rushed across the open ruins, darting between low walls and piles of rubble. The laser tracker immediately shifted, following her movements, and flames leapt from the barrel of the automatic rifle as it turned mechanically in the turret. Rounds struck the ground around her as she ran, their detonations sounding like muffled cannon blasts in the thick snow. Stone and ice pelted Keryn. As she ran, the turret decimated the small amounts of cover she used to avoid the deadly barrage. Shifting back and forth, Keryn tried her best to avoid both the hail of gunfire and, covering her face, tried to keep the flying debris from tearing through her soft flesh.

There, the Voice cried excitedly. There’s the sewer!

Keryn peered through the darkness as she ran. Directly ahead, the stone slab the trio had pulled to cover the sewer entrance slowly emerged from the gloom like a beacon of salvation. Feeling rejuvenated, Keryn sprinted the rest of the distance, the turret’s continuing fire still close on her heels. Dropping to her knees, she slid underneath the low overhand, never once in her life assuming she’d be so excited to see a sewer. Reaching out, she found the entrance, the hole a deeper black amidst the darkness. Above her, the rounds slammed into the thick stone slab, vibrating the ground beneath her. Taking a deep breath, she slipped into the sewer’s entrance, her feet dangling as she tried to locate the rungs of the ladder. Finally, her feet struck the first metal rung, and she lowered herself into the consuming darkness. After climbing nearly halfway down the ladder, she heard the gunfire above her subside, both the motion and heat sensors losing her signal.

After climbing for what felt like an eternity, Keryn finally sloshed into the stagnant water in the sewer pipe. Without constant water flow from the surface, the waste had pooled in the pipes. The smell assaulted Keryn’s senses, the air hanging thick with the scent of dust, bile, and human waste. Gagging from the scent, she focused hard on controlling her stomach contractions. If she started vomiting now, it would be a long time until she was able to recover enough to move on, time that she wasn’t sure she had. When she felt under control of her reflexes, Keryn unclipped the flashlight from her belt and turned on the narrow beam. Flashing the beam down both directions, she grew content that nothing waited in ambush within the pipe. The light did, however, dance across