Chp. 7 - The Blight

                                    

                                          
"Just one more - gah!"
Finally, the grate gave in, crashing to the floor below as I slipped out onto my feet. N then fell out soon after in a heap on the floor, quickly springing up to grin down at me as I rolled my eyes at his clumsiness.
Dismissing class was worth it, I ran straight for the blast doors and used the keycard I 'borrowed' to head out and find N, of course, there was still some sunlight left so I made sure to grab something to help him move under shade when he could. But when we got back, workers were already looking at the door, running their usual checks, my dad among them. So I dragged N off to the way I got out during prom.
"Uzi, you sure I should be sneaking in like this? Wouldn't that make them more mad," N questioned as I found a spot SIVA had infected, twirling a screwdriver out from my pocket to undo the screws holding a panel in place. "And, aren't you grounded?"
"My Dad said I was 'grounded' after I banished myself the first time, and besides, what he doesn't know won't hurt him, not like he cares enough anyway..." Muttering that last part, I pried the panel off for N to crouch over. "See? Look at this? It's spreading through the walls and other electricals. Even coffee makers,"
N gasped, "That's horrible!"
"I know, right? I can't drink stuff that's probably infected with these nanites," I jabbed the red wires with the tip of the screwdriver. "Bottom line, I need you to help me find the source of this and cut it off. Kovik said it's spreading from a 'Node', we find that, blast it to pieces, all this becomes dead wiring and nanomachines," A grin grew across my face. "Let's smash this place wide open,"
With a flick of his hands, N held up two spiked maces. "Ready to smash stuff,"
"Excellent, then follow me!" Pointing down the corridor, I traced the line through the walls, over our heads in the ceiling. Down flights of steps to lower levels of the Outpost as some spots had the wires fully visible, other drones were completely oblivious or just didn't care to show even a hint of concern at how the wires were sticking out.
Someone even tripped over one sticking out from the floor, sending them flying with several boxes down a flight of steps. N and I winced and kept walking, my eyes following the threads further and further, winding down corridors and passages I barely used. Soon, no one was even around, just the clanking of the grates underfoot and the various, ambient sounds; hums of machinery and hissing from gas pipes.
~Down there~ Kovik appeared, gesturing down a flight of metal steps towards a thick, concrete wall where SIVA practically burst from the walls themselves. ~The infection has grown considerably~
"Freakin' understatement, this screams 'trap'," I tisked, approaching what looked like a short rampart leading to a very old, dusty blast door. Around it were more thick, wavy lines of wire, some splayed, forming black clusters, as though it were a bunch of flowers set to bloom. "N? Anything?"
He poked his head out from around a bend, shaking his head. "All clear, but this stuff's really hot to the touch," He poked at one with his tail as I slapped it away.
"Don't just poke it," Looking around, I found an old security panel coated in a layer of dust. Brushing it clean, the screen was dead, SIVA had ripped through part of the panel so it was lopsided. "Need a way to hotwire this, maybe I can-"
A blaring hiss and flash of light spun me and Kovik around to see N digging through the old blast door with a concentrated beam of plasma, molten slag puddling just shy of his feet, melting a sizable hole through the old door, guess it wasn't designed to handle lasers, kinda a bad design flaw.
Blowing the smoke off the ends of his wrists, he smiled with a salute. "I thought the door would've been weaker than the ones at the entrance, seems I was right, will this do?"