The Island Project: A Thriller (14 page)

CHAPTER 36

CERTA FACILITY LABORATORY

15 OCTOBER, 1:00 A.M.

Bennett heard the door slide open on the opposite end of the lab. He immediately crouched down out of view. Even though it was dark inside, small red safety lights illuminated the interior, providing enough light to make out the silhouettes of the machinery inside the lab. Bennett was crouched behind the stairwell on the lab floor. He listened for footsteps—but heard nothing. He poked his head out from behind the metal beam supporting the stairway and glanced across the lab floor. The lab stations set up across the floor were obscuring his line of sight to the door. He stepped out slowly until he was a few feet away from the stairs. Another few feet and he was able to clearly see the doorway.

Bennett expected to see a man standing in there. Instead, he made out a shape highlighted by the red light. He squinted his eyes in the darkness.

Suddenly, the figure leapt high into the sky—a good twenty-five feet through the air until it landed atop the obstacle course. The jumping distance was extraordinary—
supernatural
. Bennett knew an ordinary predator wouldn’t have been able to achieve that kind of distance. It stood high off the ground on top of the obstacle course, scanning the floor from above.

It was the panther.

Bennett ducked back out of view. This confirmed his assumption about the cat.
There was no possible way the panther was a living animal.
He didn’t know what it was, but it was clearly some kind of machine.

It can open doors, too?

Bennett could only imagine what else it was capable of. He knew one thing—it was there for him. He had to get out of there, now.

Bennett sat against the stairs and closed his eyes, thinking of his next move. He heard movement from the robot—shuffling. Then an idea came to him. He reached into his bag and pulled out a battery. Gripping it tight in his right hand, he stepped out and threw the battery across the lab floor. It hit the far corner and made a loud clanging noise that echoed raucously through the room. The robot immediately sprang from the perch and ran toward the noise. Bennett crept across the floor, moving from station to station. He could hear the robot running.

It was fast.

Bennett heard the footsteps reach the far end of the lab. He was getting close to the door…two stations away…one station away. Bennett looked back. The robot was standing in the middle of the floor on the opposite end looking back toward the door.

It was staring right at him
.

Bennett didn’t hesitate. He ran. He ran hard all the way across the lab floor to the door. He could hear the robot running behind him. Bennett pulled out his phone and held it in front of him as he ran. He reached the door.
The receiver didn’t register.
The sound of the footsteps racing across the floor got closer and closer. It was right behind him. He could feel it closing in.

He held the phone closer…

BEEP

The door opened and Bennett ran across. He looked back and saw the robot bearing down on him.

The door was still open
.

The robot leapt through the air at an amazing pace. Bennett started off down the hallway, sprinting. The door started to close. It was halfway shut when the robot slammed into it—hard. Sparks shot into the air as the robot lodged itself between the doorway and the metal door. Bennett heard the noise and looked back toward the robot. The door remained slightly open, jammed. The robot was halfway through the door—stuck, but still running. It’s ball-shaped feet scraping at the slick surface below, flailing violently as it tried to regain traction.

Bennett couldn’t believe how powerful the robot was. It had slammed into the solid metal door extremely hard and it hadn’t even phased it. The speed too—it had covered an incredible amount of ground in no time at all.

Bennett couldn’t believe this thing was actually chasing him.

A robot? I’m being chased by a killer robot…

It sounded too far-fetched to be real. However, this thing was bent on destruction…and incredibly intelligent. Bennett had to find a way to beat it.

The robot began pushing its way through. Bennett knew the door wouldn’t hold for long. He looked back down the hallway. The walkway continued for another thirty-five yards to the containments where he figured Kelly most likely was being held. He could run now, but he knew he wouldn’t make it. The robot had almost made its way through, and Bennett didn’t stand a chance in a foot race.

There
.

He spotted two doors close by. Bennett ran toward them just as he heard the robot tear loose of the door and start advancing on all fours. Bennett got close enough to the doors to quickly read the signs above each.

ACCESS CLOSET

SERVER BAY

Bennett chose the door on the right and opened it. He ducked inside as it shut behind him.

The interior of the room revealed multiple rows of server columns reaching high to the ceiling. It was dark and exceptionally noisy inside. The sound of hundreds of fans cooling the hardware reminded Bennett of an angry hoard of insects.

He had entered the server bay. This was the level that stored all of the data and company files belonging to CERTA. Bennett could just imagine all of the information housed in the bays around him. He bobbed in and out of the columns attempting to find a way out. The robot would be following him in soon…if it wasn’t already inside.

He made his way down the left side of the room. Circuits and cords wrapped and twisted around the columns. The room was eerie and uncomfortable. It reminded Bennett of a nest...or a den. Something
otherworldly
.

The columns glowed with green lights, flickering and pulsating—like pods, suspended from the ceiling. The cables swarmed the exterior like feeding tubes passing data back and forth. The environment was ominous and suffocating. He knew it was just his mind playing tricks on him, but something about the place didn’t feel right. The room was nauseating and disorienting, and Bennett lost track of where he was among the pod bays for a brief moment.

Then he heard something.

It could’ve been the door shutting, he wasn’t quite sure. Bennett kept moving along the left wall until he reached the back of the room. He felt along the wall, looking for a door in the darkness. He thought about using his phone as a light but didn’t want to give himself away if the robot was, in fact, inside. He moved slowly along the wall, not finding a door anywhere—then he stopped. He sensed the presence of something in the room with him. He scanned the walls, looking for the robot until his eyes stopped on a sign across the room—a green sign.

A green exit sign.

He began making his way over, ducking behind columns and using them for cover. One of the columns he came across was hollow on one side. The racks were missing. Bennett stepped out into the aisle and immediately spotted the movement out of his right peripheral. He froze.

The robot was inside. Only four rows away.

It hadn’t seen him, Bennett was fairly certain. He guessed the robots were equipped with night vision, or possibly thermal imaging capabilities—considering it had spotted him easily in the lab.

He looked around him.

The heat from the servers…he could disguise himself!

The intense heat emitting from the servers would surely throw off any visual recognition brought by thermal imaging. Bennett slid back behind the column and stepped inside the nearby empty bay. He realized he was able to see though the cables in front of him—he could watch the robot approaching. The robot passed through the aisle three rows away. Then…
another
one passed in front of it.

There were two of them. 

Two robots had entered the room—and they were getting close. Bennett brought his body in tight inside the column. The cables were hot. He could feel the heat close to his face.

The fear began to sink in.
The fear of the unknown
.

Bennett had no idea what these things would do to him if they got ahold of him. Trample him to death? Skewer him with retractable spikes? Eat him?

Do robots eat?

The robots passed the aisle in front of him. They stopped only a few feet away. Bennett held his breath as the first one passed, and watched as the other one followed.

They didn’t see him.

He watched as they continued down the aisles. Bennett knew they would soon reach the back wall and then most likely return to the front of the room.

It was now or never.

He spotted the exit door and jumped out from inside the column. Bennett zipped past the servers and columns and made a beeline for the door. One of the cables protruding out from a column caught on his bag, snapping the buckle. It made a clattering noise but Bennett kept moving, he didn’t look back. He kept running until he reached the door. Bennett reached out his phone and the door slid open. He noticed the door was flanked by two columns, which appeared to be freestanding.

These could be of use
, he thought.

Bennett pushed on the side…the bay gave slightly. He looked back. The robots weren’t coming yet. He got behind the column and pushed on it with his left foot—forcefully. It began to teeter more—and more. Bennett reached out and used the adjacent column for leverage while he pressed harder and harder against the tall, heavy column. The hot metal began burning his hands.  Bennett pushed hard. The bay tipped over and came crashing down in front of the door. Metal plating, cords and circuit boards filled the doorway in a muddled heap. It had nearly barricaded him in, just barely allowing enough room for Bennett to crawl underneath.

The crash had created a loud noise. He was certain they heard it.

He got down on his hands and knees and squeezed his body through the opening. As he pulled himself through, Bennett impaled his right shoulder on a sharp piece of metal sticking out of the heap.

Blood appeared in a dark, round spot on his clothing. Bennett cursed.

He thought he heard the robots behind him…by his legs.

He moved quickly, pulling himself through the narrow opening. He got his shoulders through. Then his torso. Once his upper body was cleared, he was able to pull his legs across. Bennett got to his feet and looked through the doorway—expecting to see the robots at any moment.

They didn’t come.

Maybe they hadn’t heard him leave…nevertheless, it surprised him. Bennett stood in the hallway catching his breath. He looked at his watch—it was now 2:00 in the morning. This evening had turned into a complete nightmare. He had to find Kelly and get her out. It was time for it all to come to an end.

Bennett looked down the hallway. He saw a set of stairs in the lobby that led to the second floor. He knew he could access the containments from upstairs.

He made his way down the hallway.

As he rounded the lobby, he noticed the entry of the stairs had statues adorning the columns—Greek gods. One looked to be Apollo and the other Ares, judging by the shield in his hand and the warrior’s helmet atop his head. They stood high above the stairs, judging all who entered the building. Bennett found the statues curious. More so the fact that the entire construct of the facility resembled Greek ruins.
Whoever built this place had an obvious obsession with Greek Mythology,
he thought.

Bennett looked down at his phone. The battery life was at 12% and dropping steadily. He knew he wasn’t going to have his phone available much longer. He debated whether to turn his phone off, to prolong the life of the battery. If he powered it down, then he could turn in on when he actually needed it. After a moment of holding it in his hands, he pressed the power button and the light turned off. Bennett ascended the stairs. He took one last step then froze in his tracks.

There—
standing directly in front of him…the man called Braden.

He had a gun pointed at Bennett.

The man didn’t hesitate. He fired the gun from about fifteen feet away. Bennett was caught off guard, but reacted quickly. He spun to his left, swinging his body away from the man.

Not quick enough.

He felt the impact of the bullet—hitting him in his field bag slung across his back. The impact was quick and jolting. He immediately felt a small shock accompanying the impact, however…there was no pain.

A shock…

A Taser gun! The Taser harpoons must have embedded into his bag.

He quickly threw the bag off. Then he turned around to face the man. But it was too late…

Another shot fired.

Bennett had no time to react. The electrode harpoons landed directly in Bennett’s chest. A fiery pain immediately shot through his torso, causing him to seize up and curl into a ball on the floor. The pain was excruciating. His eyes were closed but he could see bright light everywhere—all around him. He felt as if he was burning alive…for a time…Then it stopped. He lay there on the ground—barely conscious—unable to move. He felt his arms being pulled back and tied behind him. Next thing he knew he was being dragged by his feet along the cold surface through the dark building.