directions.
“You're lucky.”
“No matter how many times people try to tell me that, I still don't believe it.”
“You're going to be a lot less lucky if those guards catch you.”
I can't argue with that.
At the end of another long chamber, there is a large fan spinning, cutting through the beams of light from the other side. There are no other chambers leading off of this one.
“Now what?” I say, annoyed that the glowing arrow led me down a dead end.
“Keep going.”
“I can't. There's a fan blocking my path.”
“Go through it.”
I actually laugh. It's a cold, dark laugh, but it's still odd. I'm not sure I remember the last time I laughed. Not in the real world anyway.
“I can't go through it. The fan is active. I mean, if I go through it, this conversation is going to get cut short. Along with my neck.”
“It's timing.”
“Timing?”
“Think of it like a game. The blade rotation isn't random. Just time your movements.”
“You're insane. I'm not going to-”
I hear a buzzing sound behind me. The noise is bouncing off the metal interior of the ventilation shaft, making it impossible for me to gauge how far away it actually is.
“Drones,” I whisper.
“You need to move. Now.”
I look back at the fan and curse under my breath. This isn't a game. This isn't fun. This is real life, and I hate it.
The closer I get to the blades, the more they blur together. The heat is blowing right in my face, making my eyes water. I look down at the bottom edge of the circular opening, trying to focus on each singular blade as it swoops past. I try to count, to find the pause between each rotation, but it's too fast. There's no way I'm going to fit my entire body through the gap.
“I can't do this.”
“You have to.”
The buzzing sound from behind me grows louder. A small machine floats around the corner. Four propellers keep it aloft and a bright light sits under the front-mounted camera. It points directly at me.
“Go!”
I turn back to the fan, trying to push myself forward, to summon the bravery to leap through the decapitating machine, but I can't. My brain won't let me. It's impossible.
The drone slides through the ventilation shaft with ease. Its approach is calculated, zooming in on my image. It stops a few feet away, keeping me centered in the camera's view.
I glance at the fan, then back at the drone. With a quick lunge, I grip on to the sides of the drone and yank it toward me. The propellers spin faster as it tries to fly away from me, but I don't give it the chance. I throw it the other way, toward the fan. The large blades hack through one of the drone's propellers and tear it off. The fan drags the body of the drone with the rotation, wedging it inside the track of the fan's blades. The fan screeches to a halt. I don't hesitate. I jump through the stalled blades. As soon as I'm on the other side, the fan manages to rip the drone free and continue spinning.
“Nicely done.”
I exhale and say, “Two birds. One stone.”
The arrow leads me through more of the maze of ventilation shafts until I reach another mesh wire opening. I approach it slowly and peer through the cage. It looks out into a huge vertical chamber with tracks running up and down the walls. I'm not sure what I'm looking at until an elevator rushes past at an incredible speed. Another one drops down the other side.
“We need to get you to the upper floors.”
“You want me to take an elevator?”
“You can't go inside them. They'll scan your nanomachines.”
“So what do you want me to do?”
The dramatic pause before the text appears makes me nervous. For good reason.
“You need to jump on top.”
“Okay,” I say leaning back. “I had a hunch when you tried to get me to jump through that fan, but now I'm sure of it. You're trying to kill me.”
“There's no other way to go up.”
“Then I guess we're done. I lose.”
“If I thought giving up or losing was an option for you, I wouldn't
“You're lucky.”
“No matter how many times people try to tell me that, I still don't believe it.”
“You're going to be a lot less lucky if those guards catch you.”
I can't argue with that.
At the end of another long chamber, there is a large fan spinning, cutting through the beams of light from the other side. There are no other chambers leading off of this one.
“Now what?” I say, annoyed that the glowing arrow led me down a dead end.
“Keep going.”
“I can't. There's a fan blocking my path.”
“Go through it.”
I actually laugh. It's a cold, dark laugh, but it's still odd. I'm not sure I remember the last time I laughed. Not in the real world anyway.
“I can't go through it. The fan is active. I mean, if I go through it, this conversation is going to get cut short. Along with my neck.”
“It's timing.”
“Timing?”
“Think of it like a game. The blade rotation isn't random. Just time your movements.”
“You're insane. I'm not going to-”
I hear a buzzing sound behind me. The noise is bouncing off the metal interior of the ventilation shaft, making it impossible for me to gauge how far away it actually is.
“Drones,” I whisper.
“You need to move. Now.”
I look back at the fan and curse under my breath. This isn't a game. This isn't fun. This is real life, and I hate it.
The closer I get to the blades, the more they blur together. The heat is blowing right in my face, making my eyes water. I look down at the bottom edge of the circular opening, trying to focus on each singular blade as it swoops past. I try to count, to find the pause between each rotation, but it's too fast. There's no way I'm going to fit my entire body through the gap.
“I can't do this.”
“You have to.”
The buzzing sound from behind me grows louder. A small machine floats around the corner. Four propellers keep it aloft and a bright light sits under the front-mounted camera. It points directly at me.
“Go!”
I turn back to the fan, trying to push myself forward, to summon the bravery to leap through the decapitating machine, but I can't. My brain won't let me. It's impossible.
The drone slides through the ventilation shaft with ease. Its approach is calculated, zooming in on my image. It stops a few feet away, keeping me centered in the camera's view.
I glance at the fan, then back at the drone. With a quick lunge, I grip on to the sides of the drone and yank it toward me. The propellers spin faster as it tries to fly away from me, but I don't give it the chance. I throw it the other way, toward the fan. The large blades hack through one of the drone's propellers and tear it off. The fan drags the body of the drone with the rotation, wedging it inside the track of the fan's blades. The fan screeches to a halt. I don't hesitate. I jump through the stalled blades. As soon as I'm on the other side, the fan manages to rip the drone free and continue spinning.
“Nicely done.”
I exhale and say, “Two birds. One stone.”
The arrow leads me through more of the maze of ventilation shafts until I reach another mesh wire opening. I approach it slowly and peer through the cage. It looks out into a huge vertical chamber with tracks running up and down the walls. I'm not sure what I'm looking at until an elevator rushes past at an incredible speed. Another one drops down the other side.
“We need to get you to the upper floors.”
“You want me to take an elevator?”
“You can't go inside them. They'll scan your nanomachines.”
“So what do you want me to do?”
The dramatic pause before the text appears makes me nervous. For good reason.
“You need to jump on top.”
“Okay,” I say leaning back. “I had a hunch when you tried to get me to jump through that fan, but now I'm sure of it. You're trying to kill me.”
“There's no other way to go up.”
“Then I guess we're done. I lose.”
“If I thought giving up or losing was an option for you, I wouldn't
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