Outside, the mass of exiting people was met by squads of New Atlantis’ law enforcement and emergency response units. People were being checked, although injuries were minimal to none.
“Were there any other people left inside?” an officer asked a man from the crowd.
“I think so,” he replied. “It sounded like the Ouroboros had grabbed some of the people who were at the end of the line and that they also had their guns back.”
“What do you mean by having them back? What happened in there?” asked the officer.
“Someone put together some kind of jammer that blocked the guns,” stated the man. “I think he was one of the students here. Someone also said that the guns must have been those stolen from GenTek recently.”
“Interesting,” commented the officer. “Where is this student at?”
“He is still inside,” answered Melody’s sister, who was nearby and overheard the conversation.
“Who is still inside?” asked a SWAT officer who approached the conversation.
“Lieutenant Chase,” said the policeman, recognizing the face and the name on the lieutenant’s badge.
“It sounds like the Ouroboros retook several hostages,” he relayed. “And one of the university students is responsible for the escape but is also still inside.”
“Taken himself?” asked Lt. Chase.
“No,” replied the girl. “Trying to help the others that were. He had a friend of his with him.”
“A tech-savvy student with a friend foolish enough to try to play hero...” said the SWAT officer with a shake of his head in disbelief.
“Do you know either of their names?”
The girl thought for a moment. “I don’t know the friend’s name, but the one guy is Lance, I think. He met my sister earlier,” she said.
Some of the color drained from Lt. Chase’s face. He pulled out his phone and showed her a picture on the screen: one of himself with a younger girl and a man several years older than her.
“Was it him?” he asked, hoping it wasn’t.
She studied the face, then nodded.
“That knuckle-head....” commented the lieutenant.
“That’s my brother...”
Lance and Adam had geared up with the thermal goggles, Adam’s makeshift smoke bombs, and a few other items they found along the way, and were not too far from the last hallways that led to the auditorium. They both stopped with their backs on the wall next to a corner and Lance used his goggles to check the hall beyond their hiding spot.
“There are several men around the corner,” he whispered as he removed the goggles. “But they don’t look too alert.”
“And we need to go across for the lights, right?” asked Adam.
“Yup, but one of us could swing back around to the other hall to draw them away,” replied Lance.
“What do you want to do?” Adam questioned.
“It might be quicker to split up for the moment,” said Lance. “Just don't get caught.”
“Divide and conquer -- sounds good to me,” stated Adam, after which he ran back down the hall from where they came, turning a corner farther down.
Lance waited a few moments until he heard a distinct pop sound and a commotion from around the corner. He peeked around, then sprinted across the opening to a doorway on the other side. He tried to open it but found it to be locked.
“So much for doing this quietly...” he mumbled to himself.
He backed up to the wall away from the door, then charged at it. His broad build smashed into the wooden door with a loud crack, and the door swung open. Lance caught himself from stumbling through the doorway, briefly rubbed down his shoulder. Knowing he needed to do his part quickly, he donned the goggles again after he had found the main breakers.
“Lights out, gents,” he said as if directly to the Ouroboros.
He quickly swiped all the switches on the board. The lights around the building died out quickly as Lance returned to the hall, where he found Adam waiting for him.
“Bad guys distracted,” he stated with a salute as if reporting from a mission. “I sent them on a wild goose chase towards the café.”
“Good,” said Lance. “Let’s hope they don’t come back around.”
“It’s not pitch black, but it is pretty dark,” Adam stated. “I was ready for it when it came, but I checked out of curiosity.”
“The auditorium should be though,” Lance mentioned. “I’m sure they’ll have some lighting figured out by the time we get there, but hopefully not enough to help them too much.”
The two friends cautiously proceeded down the hallway, watching the heat spots they could see and identifying the enemies’ positions. Working together, they performed various non-lethal takedown maneuvers on the unsuspecting gunmen. They turned another corner and saw a large form running furiously towards them. The figure stopped and put its arms in the air.
“NO! NO!” came the man’s voice. “I’m not one of them!”
The two removed their goggles to see a middle-aged man in a casual outfit in the dimly lit hall before them. Lance recognized him to be Melody’s father.
“Sir, it’s me, Lance,” he stated. “I saw you earlier when you came in with Melody.”
Melody’s father put his hands down, a flashlight in one hand and a radio in the other.
“My name is Derek. Derek Sonnet,” he said.
“What are you...?” he began, then decided otherwise.
“Wait, no... I have to get outside! They sent me out to give the police a message!”
“Is everyone else okay?” asked Adam, trying to keep Mr. Sonnet another moment.
“They beat up one man but threatened to hurt Melody if I didn’t go quickly enough,” replied an anxious Mr. Sonnet.
“Go,” said Lance. “Make sure the police know not to shoot us either, please.”
“I don’t know what you two have planned,” stated Derek, stepping closer to Lance.
“But don’t let them hurt her....”
With that he ran off following the emergency exit signs out.
The two checked through their goggles again and saw a group of Ouroboros running towards them.
“We are not having great luck with the noise, are we?” asked Adam rhetorically.
They turned just as the gunmen came around the corner.
“Stop right there!” one of them shouted.
The friends ran the other way in defiance to the command and bullets began flying in response. Reacting to the gunfire, Lance spotted and grabbed a car door from a metasteel project table and turned with almost superhuman speed to shield himself. While he backpedaled to the corner for cover, Adam had already ducked behind a table that was tipped on its side. The gunfire was sporadic, but the shooters were slowly getting closer to their cover.
“Any more ideas?” quizzed Adam.
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