Jake wasn’t sure how Johnny was going to help him escape the base unnoticed. Those 360-degree scanners that the turrets were equipped with were incredibly sensitive, capable of detecting even the slightest movements. Other than completely deactivating the machine gun turrets, there was no way to slip past them undetected.
While examining various data in the security control room, he had located a storage unit containing mana consumables. However, it was locked, and only guards had access to it. When watching the base from the high-rise roof, he had also learned that workers didn’t have access to the storage unit with mana items. Therefore, whenever a worker needed a mana consumable for one of the machines, they had to call out for a guard to provide one.
However, if Johnny tried to get a mana item from a guard and brought it into the tent, the guard who handed him the item would surely follow him inside to see what Johnny was up to. Or the guard might ask first what Johnny even needed a mana consumable for.
As for Jake, he himself hadn’t attempted to access the storage unit containing mana consumables, because he knew he wouldn’t be able to do so without being detected. It wasn’t why he had infiltrated the base anyway; his goal was to steal the Skeleton Key and gather some intel in the process.
“You need to promise me something,” Johnny said, taking yet another small step closer, wrenching Jake back from his musings.
Jake remained still, his gaze fixed on Johnny, waiting for him to continue.
Johnny inhaled deeply and, in a loud whisper that wavered with emotion, said, “After I help you escape the base, I need you to save my girlfriend. Will you do this for me? You have to promise that you’ll save her!”
Jake had no idea how he could promise something without knowing any details about it. However, Johnny clearly wasn’t going to help him until Jake gave his assurance. The human was watching him with an intense expression on his face, his fear of Jake completely forgotten.
So Jake nodded, and Johnny released a breath he seemingly didn’t realize he was holding. The relief on his face was almost palpable, as if Jake’s promise had already ensured his girlfriend’s safety. Did Johnny truly view him as some sort of superhero capable of accomplishing anything?
Johnny met his gaze and said thank you, even though Jake hadn’t done anything to deserve it yet.
“Let me tell you what happened to her and where you can find her,” Johnny said.
He was about to continue when the sound of approaching footsteps made him pause. Jake heard it too, but thanks to his enhanced senses, he had been aware of them for a little while. His abilities also allowed him to predict outcomes in certain situations, so he could tell that the person outside wasn’t going to enter the tent and that they were just passing by.
Johnny, however, didn’t know that. He grew tense, and for the next several seconds, he remained silent and motionless, craning his neck to peer around Jake’s form at the entrance to the tent, which was covered by a flap.
“Someone’s coming,” he whispered, his voice filled with terror.
Jake shook his head, trying to put him at ease. He even contemplated placing a comforting hand on Johnny’s shoulder, but considering how tense Johnny was at the moment, he thought the gesture might freak him out, so he decided against it.
The footsteps began to fade into the distance as the person moved away from their tent. Once he realized that no one was going to enter, Johnny relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.
“That was close,” he muttered.
No, it wasn’t, Jake thought.
Johnny glanced up at him again.
“I nearly lost my shit,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Pardon my French.”
Jake continued to stare at him through his emotionless unblinking eyes. Johnny’s grin faded as he realized that his humor had gone unappreciated by the obsidian-black mutant before him.
“Anyway, we don’t have much time since I have to get back to work as soon as possible, so I’ll be quick,” he finally continued. “My girlfriend’s name is Samantha. We were captured together. Both of us refused to join the ranks of those bloodthirsty bandits when they offered us the chance. So we were forced to do labor for them at this base. Only Samantha wasn’t happy about it.”
Johnny made a pause, as if gathering his thoughts.
“She always was the reckless one. She kept talking about escaping while I tried to convince her it was a bad idea. Eventually, she agreed with me. It’s impossible for those of us designated as workers by the base’s computers to flee. See, the turrets are programmed to open fire if we attempt to escape. We witnessed several escape attempts, all ending in tragedy as the turrets killed the fugitives. Sam was trying to find a way to bypass the turrets somehow, but eventually she had to reluctantly admit it was impossible to break out of this base alive.”
Johnny gave Jake a faint, sad smile.
“Do you think Sam was finished, though? Fat chance! Since she couldn’t get us out of the base, she decided to mess with our captors as much as she could. She set about sabotaging various contraptions that produced ammo for the gang. She kept at it for a while, each time doing her best to make it look like a malfunction rather than the work of one of us. Sam allocated many skill points to Intelligence and worked on improving her Engineering and Mechanics skills, so she became very good at it. She managed to sabotage the base’s contraptions several times, always making them look like malfunctions. While one contraption was being repaired after her handiwork, she moved on to sabotage another one.”
Johnny couldn’t help but smile at the memory.
“Sam is incredibly smart. At one point, she even considered breaking into HQ and hacking the computer to disable the turrets, giving us a chance to make a break for it! Unfortunately, she was never able to bring her plan to life.”
Johnny took a brief pause before continuing.
“The base leaders weren’t stupid. They understood that the contraptions couldn’t malfunction so often, especially right after being repaired. They suspected someone was behind the sabotage but couldn’t identify the culprit. Sam was too smart to be caught in the act. Eventually, the leaders lined up all the workers and threatened to torture and kill us one by one until they discovered who was interfering with the base’s equipment.”
Johnny shook his head.
“Of course, Sam couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t stand by and watch someone suffer because of her actions. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn’t listen. She gave herself away before those bastards could pick their first victim.”
He fell silent for a moment, as if the memory was too painful to revisit.
“I was terrified they were going to kill Sam, probably in the most brutal way to demonstrate that they weren’t to be messed with. But they did something worse—they sent her away.”
He went silent for a second yet again. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to speak about it.
“They took her to the main base,” he finally finished his thought.
Jake had no idea what it meant. What made being sent to the main base worse than facing a slow and agonizing death?
Johnny stared at him for a moment, as if trying to figure out if Jake got the gist. He didn’t.
Since his monstrous face couldn’t convey any emotions—except for one that resembled pure, barbaric rage whenever Jake opened his mouth—Johnny had no way of knowing what he was thinking. So, he opted to clarify.
“I’m not sure if you know this, but those bastards carry out terrible things at their main base,” Johnny said. “Have you ever heard anything about it?”
Jake shook his head. Johnny glanced around Jake, as if to make sure that nobody stood behind him to listen in. Then he leaned in closer, speaking in a hushed but intense whisper, “They make monsters out of us at their main base!”