Robots and Gore

Robots and Gore

Transmission:

Wolf-Trot: Wolf-Trot to Alpha. Wolf-Trot to Alpha.

Alpha: Yes, Wolf-Trot we can read you. Was the mission successful?

Wolf-Trot: Yes Alpha. The Subject has been apprehended from the abandoned facility and is being brought in for further analysis.

Alpha: Keep a good eye on the Subject. If it escapes again it could cause us some unneeded trouble. We are going to set up the Jaguar for your arrival. If anything goes wrong we will want that machine ready to insure the security of the facility even if it means the death of the Subject.

Wolf-Trot: Agreed. Our chopper will be arriving on the roof  top of the base very shortly.

Gamma: Technical support along with a science team shall be waiting for you there. Welcome back to Evo-Corp.

---3 hours later---

Roger awoke lying under a pile of rubble. His head was throbbing and it felt as if someone had smashed it open with a large hammer. As Roger got to his feet he began to remember what had happened. Subject 19 had escaped custody and in the chaos of the situation the Jaguar had short circuited resulting in the large robot massacring Roger’s team and fellow employees in the Evo-Corp facility.

Being a security guard Roger had been able to defend himself from the robot for a while. However the Jaguar then used a built in railgun to shoot out some platform supports, which destroyed the platform that Roger and his team were on. Now Roger was the last member of his team still alive.

After dusting himself off Roger picked up his rifle and progressed toward the main computer. If he could progress there he should be able to shut down the Jaguar and stop Subject 19 or at least acquire some reinforcements to do so later.

Entering another hallway Roger was surprised to encounter another demolished area with more security guards lying dead on the ground. In the center of the devastation stood the Jaguar covered in dust and gore. It turned towards Roger and analyzed him with its single metallic eye, which began to flash from a dull green to a crimson red.

TARGET SPOTTED. PREPARE TO NEUTRALIZE.

Roger ducked into cover as the Jaguar powered up its railgun to fire. As the robot fired its weapon some concrete near Roger exploded into fragments. As the security guard looked for another place to hide, he spotted a door that was labelled: Waste Disposal. Roger ran towards it as the Jaguar prepared to charge up another blast. Roger swiped his security card and the door opened. He rushed in just as another blast exploded right where the card scanner had been.

The Security guard found himself in a large cycler room with a cylindrical hatch in the center of the floor.  Containers filled with waste sat on the gate ready for disposal. Roger rushed behind one for cover as the Jaguar walked into the room. An empty shell was ejected from the Jaguars gun as it once again started to charge up another railgun blast. The gun went off and a container of garbage exploded.

RAILGUN CARTRIDGE EMPTY. SWITCHING TO MELEE COUNTERMEASURES. DISCHARGING EMPTY POWER WEAPON.

The Jaguar then detached its railgun and with the sound of gears turning changed its hands into a pair of metallic talons. With its large red eye the large robot began to search for Roger among the large garbage bins.

“Hey you!” A voice echoed over the intercom, “Down by the garbage shoot! Distract that thing a little while longer!”

Roger looked up to his right and spotted an observation window. In it he could see a man wearing a worker management uniform at the controls. Then Roger heard a crash as one of the garbage containers nearby was smashed and pushed over by the searching Jaguar. Looking around his cover Roger spotted the Jaguar, which now noticed which bin Roger had been hiding behind.

TARGET SPOTTED. PREPARE TO NEUTRALIZE.

With extreme speed the robot flung itself at the bin Roger was taking cover behind. The shockwave made Roger fall to the floor.

“Get out of there!” The man from the observation room yelled, “I have you covered!”

Roger stood up and jumped out from behind the bin, unloaded two shots into the robot and ran as fast as he could off of the waste disposal platform. As soon as he was off the platform the cylindrical hatch in the floor opened and the garbage containers and Jaguar robot tumbled into the large black pit below.

The security guard then noticed a stairway leading up to the observation platform. Roger had found a fellow survivor, perhaps even someone who knew how they could escape from this facility. Once that was done he would get in contact with his superiors and set up a containment party to contain Subject 19 in the facility.

As Roger opened the door he was met by the sight of a pistol aimed at his head. What was this? Why was this worker aiming a pistol at him?

“What are you doing?” Roger asked.

“I am being cautious,” the man said, walking towards Roger, “After all you could be him.”

“Him?” Roger was confused.

“Subject 19,” the man replied, “They say he can change his appearance and turn into anybody he wants to be.”

Roger signed. He had heard these rumors before as well. That Subject 19 had been an experiment by Evol-Corp to give humans the ability to shape shift. Such an evolutionary ability could be helpful in aiding humanity to adapt to their environment. However that is all they were. Rumors. Even his superiors had told him that these rumors about Subject 19 were unfounded.

“Look,” Roger spoke, “I am not subject 19. I am a security guard for this facility. You can check my records.”

The man shook his head, “Even if you are in the records that doesn’t prove that you are not Subject 19. And if you are Subject 19 then you could have taken on the appearance of the security officer that you are impersonating.”

Roger realized that there would be no way of convincing this man that he wasn’t Subject 19. This left him little choice but to attempt to leave. However would this man let Roger leave or would the worker attempt to shoot Roger instead? On the other hand what if this man was in fact Subject 19?

“I am going to leave this facility. You can either let me go or not. It is your decision.” Roger said. He still held the pistol from his confrontation with the Jaguar and Roger wouldn’t hesitate to shoot the worker if things turned hostile.

“NO! I can’t let you leave!” The worker said while flaying his gun arm around, “If you are Subject 19 you could escape or you could lie in wait to kill me later! NO! I won’t let that happen! I won’t! I won…” The worker couldn’t finish his statement as a bullet crashed through his chest cavity leaving a hole that dripped with crimson. Shortly after the man’s body fell to the floor.

Roger stood over the worker’s body. He had no choice. The situation had turned hostile. Yet despite this fact Roger still felt awful for shooting the man. He had saved Roger from the Jaguar and in turn he now lay dead on the floor in a puddle of his own blood.

The disheartened security guard knelt over the workmen’s body and closed the man’s eyelids shut. After a moment of silence Roger took the man’s gun and continued his journey out of the facility.

---On the Surface---

It had taken Roger about two hours to finally reach the entrance to the facility. As the elevator made a final beep the elevator doors opened showing the Evo-corp lobby. Once the door opened Roger noticed a squad of reinforcements waiting for him.

“Thank goodness you are here. We need to retake…” Roger stopped mid-sentence when he noticed that all the soldiers were pointing their rifles at him, “What is the matter? We need to reclaim the facility.”

The leader of the squad removed his helmet and Roger was shocked to see his own face looking back at him with a large grin on his face.

“That is as far as you go Subject 19!” the other Roger said as he made a signal to the other soldiers who then shoot Roger down. As Roger fell to the ground and as the life began to drain out of him he noticed something strange about the other Roger’s arm. A bizarre looking wound. Was that cut shaped like the number 19?

However that didn’t matter now to Roger for soon the only thing the dying man could perceive was the sound of his life drifting away, drip by drip.

---Epilogue---

In an attempt to secure the facility Evol-Corp. issued that the self-destruct protocol be activated to insure the death of Subject 19. After the facility was secured Roger went to Hawaii for a two week vacation. It has been three months now and no one has heard or seen Roger since. He has just recently been regarded as missing.

---

When I post the short-story: Subject 19 on the WarCry Forums one of the members: Iperks said he really liked the character. So here after a long while here is another story featuring Subject 19. I hope you all enjoy. Feel free to provide me with constructive feedback.