Chapter 25: Escape at last

You would expect leading a large group of intellectuals and trained personnel would be easy, but Owen found himself more frustrated than not as he and others had to stop folks from wandering off too many times. This quickly frustrated Owen, who watched as the last person stepped into the elevator and rode it up to the arboretum.

"Alright, that should be it. I guess it's our turn now," Sarah said, prompting Owen to nod as they entered the elevator. They soon rode it up to the arboretum, where they exited to find a large group of people waiting.

Not wanting to waste time, Sarah soon led the group away from the main lift and around to some grav shafts. After entering, they descended to a small area with a large set of doors leading to the bridge – something Owen had been longing for. He watched as someone armed with a shotgun approached and opened the door.

Dark.

That's the only word to describe what Owen saw. Even the lightly glowing signs that hung above the hallway, directing everyone where to go, did little to dispel the darkness. However, this wasn't much of a problem, as everyone in the procession had a flashlight built into their suit.

"Owen, lead the engineers towards the escape pods. They should be just ahead, down that grav shaft. I'm taking a team to seize the command deck," Sarah declared, her words injecting a sense of urgency into the situation. Owen's mind buzzed with confusion at Sarah's unexpected directive.

"Why do we need to take control of the command deck?" Owen questioned, his brow furrowing with curiosity. The necessity of such an action seemed dubious as the command deck offered little to no benefit to the current plan.

"I want to secure it so I can disable the escape pod locks which activate when ever theirs a malfunction or failure to launch. It's essentially a safety feature," Sarah explained, her voice resolute as she outlined her rationale. Owen nodded in understanding, absorbing the necessity of Sarah's plan.

As Owen led the large group down to the escape pods, he encountered a couple of tray mimics, dispatching them with a practiced ease that bordered on relaxation. Observing the engineers and scientists around him spring into action, repairing and fine-tuning the pods, Owen caught snippets of conversation murmured in hushed tones, with words like 'sabotaged' and 'purposely disabled' echoing through the tense atmosphere.

'Might as well relax' and thats what he did for the next hour and half before sarah returned with her group of 8 down 1 man something owen didn't need to question as he instead focused on the engineers who began shouting that they had competed the repairs something that brought a smile to owens face as he along with everyone else began to load up on the escape pods some of which had a seat or two empty missing at the group numbered only 42 compared to the 48 seats spread across the 6 pods.

"LAUNCHING PODS IN T-MINUS 1 MINUTE," a robotic voice announced, slicing through the tense atmosphere with a sense of urgency. Owen secured his seatbelt as the escape pod began to seal shut, enclosing him within its confines. The countdown to departure had begun, amplifying the adrenaline coursing through Owen's veins as he braced himself for the imminent launch.

"Do you wonder how many people we are leaving behind?" Owen heard a random woman speak causing him to sigh as one of the men who had went with sarah to secure the bridge to sigh as he spoke.

"Bad news, we checked the monitor that tracks everyone, and I regret to inform you that only 5 people who are alive aren't with us," Sarah's announcement echoed through the pod, sending a chill down everyone's spine. With over 200 people aboard Talos, the gravity of the situation hung heavy in the air, stifling any semblance of conversation. The pod sat in silence, a somber atmosphere enveloping its occupants, until finally, it launched off into the unknown.

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[Congratulations on completing your stint in this world and escaping Talos 1 in your own way!]

[Your rank in this world is C.]

[Note: What did you expect? Your rank is only this high because you slayed your nightmare! Do better!]

[Reward: 1 random scorestreak from Black Ops 3]

[Transferring user to the Inbetween Tavern. Keep pushing forward!]

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As the sudden notification flashed before Owen's eyes, his world transformed in an instant. The clean, sterile surroundings of the escape pod dissolved, replaced by the dark, dim, and dusty interior of a wooden, aged tavern. The vibrant figures of the people from the pod faded into ethereal light, leaving Owen alone at the bar in this mysterious, dark tavern. The air was heavy but comforting something owen found strange as he found himself focusing on a new notifcation that popped into his vision.

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[you may now travel to your next world from here, out of the 3 available options]

[Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress]

[Jeepers creepers]

[Devil mans crybaby]

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"Interesting," Owen mused to himself, his thoughts swirling as he contemplated his options amidst the silence of the empty tavern. Each world held its own allure and challenges, and Owen found himself weighing the possibilities before making his decision.

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I already chose the world but please try to convince me on why I should send mc to a certain world. Sorry if this chapter was lazy