Collateral History

by Genesis Swift

Chapter 3: Death, Colleagues, and Respect.

A sad sight I held but I couldn't forget. These humans were like us in so many ways that I almost think of them as current friends, but sadly they aren't currently here and never can be. May they find rest with whoever they believed in as a deity. Blink I can't let all these things happen to us that's why I'm writing this so you can prepare and preserve this knowledge yourself...

The elevator came to a sudden stop that almost made me lose my balance. I thought over a few things before I exited. How am I going to get answers out of someone who wants me dead...

---

During the elevator ride.

I patiently waited for this elevator to reach its destination and that's when my adventure took a dark turn for the worst.

"Hey... I don't want to do this and I may have leaded you in here; but that was an accident. I now know what I have to do," Hesitantly the man continued, "And I can't let you continue any further."

The static voice came back with unpleasant news,"Containment bunker security systems now online."

I was just about to respond when the man had came back with some little aggravating news.

"Don't bother yelling at me or asking me why I'm doing this, this intercom only goes one way so I can't hear you."

You can't have a conversation and even a decent friendly one at that, with technology being so antisocial. I had to stay vigilante now I had to be ready for whatever this "security" was gonna throw my way.

---

Well maybe if i could get to him I could talk some sense into him. I had to limber up my wings a bit more to be ready to fly and take evasive maneuvers, that and my hooves were killing me. I entered a small room that had many buttons and panels in front of a glass window that gives a nice view of a large room with a large black speckled cube that had a door way on its side. Quite intrigued I wanted to get down there some how and check things out. I took a look at the panels and screens, but I didn't to touch anything because I had no idea what they did. I took a look back at the elevator next to it was a stairway leading downstairs. I knew my way now, but first.

"Argh, I want to press one!"

I finally decided that I'd look for one that I know wouldn't completely blow up everything. I spent a few minutes deciphering a few words and also writing down the ones I didn't understand in my journal which happens to be a whole ton of them. Finally I closed up and repacked my tools and decided on pushing on the one that said deactivate screens...

Apparently the glass in the room wasn't even glass they were just projections of that room I had saw. I was surprised on how truly far this tech was. We are ages away from this at least I know were kind of following their footsteps in industrialization; they had trains and so do we that's close enough right.

I was just about to be on my way hopefully towards that room but I had just caught site of something that could be vital to research. A ponies or in this case a persons journal fell onto the floor, I took a brief look at its contents and slid the journal into my saddlebag promising myself that I'd research its scripture later.

I started my way down the stairs into a room full of lockers filled with tools and tool parts. Observing the small room I wanted to get a closer look at the tools inside the lockers...

*BANG!*

"Ahhhh!"

I was startled half to death I had knocked one the tools off the bench and when it hit the ground it made a loud sound. I checked what it was my first observation was that the hollow tube the tool held was smoking. I looked at the area the tool pointed towards and it had put a hole into one of the lockers. The tool dislodged a projectile that was obviously dangerous. I ran a few things over in my head and thought to myself. Were humans really so uncooperative with each other that they may have created weapons to combat war with one another; or maybe to avoid their own end maybe that's it. But why would these weapons be in hear. I tried not to think it over to much I just left all the weapons alone and headed towards the door that looked very reinforced. This door had the same gadget the front entrance had I knew exactly what to do. I pulled out the plastic card from my saddle bag and slid it right through, instead this time the door didn't open and the gadget didn't flash green it just flashed red.

I guess this card was a one time use thing or maybe it just wasn't the right one either way I needed another one. I searched the two rooms but I didn't find a card so I headed back to the elevator. Entering the elevator I realized this was the fifth floor not the sixth. That guy had stopped me from getting straight to the command room meaning that the sixth floor is the command room or at least I'm guessing. I knew i wouldn't be able to get there currently so I went straight for the number four button.

This time I was weighted briefly by the elevator rising this time. I exited the elevator quickly I don't know why but it just psyches me out. Outside the elevator was a hallway with multiple rooms to enter. I walked down the hallway and entered the first door on the right. Now I've seen some pretty gruesome sights but this was beyond that; there was I'm pretty sure blood along the walls and the floor. It has been thousands of years so the blood was dried up and a darker color, there was body but it had decomposed to a point if the bones were just blown on they'd crumble to dust. I had to search the area around the body cause I knew that it may contain the card. No luck just death I wanted to throw up but I held my stomach as bad as it felt.

I checked all the rooms some had more blood than the others; at least out of the five rooms two were clean. Still didn't have a card so I went on to the end of the hallway where these humans who had their own work spaces most likely met to talk of their findings. Fellow researchers... if only I could of met them. The room had some counters, a line of seats facing a chalk board with equations all over it, and much to my stomachs demise; blood coloring the walls and floor. I found my card next to a machine on the counter that smelled slightly of coffee. I looked around at the room and felt sadness poor over me as I thought of these researchers as colleagues. I went up to the chalk board and spent a long time over the equation in the end just to solve it, maybe it will help ease the souls more towards peace.

I started heading back to the elevator when suddenly two machines came out the wall and by the look of them, weapons. Immediately they started discharging the projectiles; I took shelter inside the room to my right. The elevator was down a hallway that had weapons that some how were tripped into activation. I started thinking on what I should do and to my surprise the man was back to give me some history lessons.

"I know this is a horrible sight to see and I would rather not defile the scientists resting place in these offices. But I need to get rid of you, now this will be your resting place," he said with a respectful tone that made me think of him as a better man but either way he wanted to kill me, and I can't have that happen. The projectiles stopped coming but I knew it was because I wasn't there, what technology allows objects to track and compute logic.

I couldn't think of anything I didn't completely know what I was up against I needed to observe its reactions. In this way I threw a pen out in the hallway... Okay so it's not sound activated. The next test was a risky one. I started reaching my hoof out into the hallway, I hesitated a little but than continued. As soon as my hoof was out in the open I heard the weapons spin up to fire. Quickly I brought back my hoof and let out a deep breath. Heat activated maybe? I thought so I looked around the room for anything that could produce heat. I looked at a machine that resembled the one that smelled of coffee earlier and thought, no pony likes cold coffee.

I looked at the machine to see how it works and some of the buttons were very familiar; I pressed what I thought was the power button than, it started working. Ten minutes and I'll have my fresh brewed coffee......*Ting*. Well that was like three but that's better; anyways the coffee was steaming with heat at least I think it was coffee.*Sip*

"Bleck, that tastes horrible!"

Okay so taste testing was a stupid idea but my curiosity got the better of me. This could be my ticket out but I don't think that this one brew is gonna get me past the hallway. I just can't check ahead like in an adventure book that tells me to flip to page forty-two if you chose the next room on the left and pray to Celestia that it doesn't result in your demise, no no, luck ain't getting me out of this one.

My own choice though was one that would naturally be the scariest... Go straight for the elevator. I took my hot, dark, bland, over thousands of years old coffee and tossed it at the wall. Immediate reaction from the machines and than from me making a break for it. I took flight while I saw the machines pounding a wall with projectiles. I got to the elevator but the machines caught sight of me. Moment of truth here everypony.

[Bullets Pinging against metal sound]

I didn't want to open my eyes to see me full of holes but I wasn't I was alive.

"Thank Celestia I'm alive, Woohoo! There is no trap I can't get through!"

I let that one out of my system because, well I just survived a murderous trap. Coffee is a life saver and I'll keep a coffee machine at home from now on; even though I don't drink coffee. Alright so back to floor five to see what this black speckled cube room is about.

-Chapter End-

Author's Note:

This chapter mixes tension with comedy trying to give it this realistic out look on things. Honestly wouldn't you be screaming with joy if you just survived a near death encounter, "man that was close woooo!"