Loop 486: The Definition of Insanity

"Well, that didn't work."

If ever there was a time when the phrase, "Easier said than done," was applicable, this was it. Escaping the facility without being blasted, carrying around someone who has no idea what's going on, bypassing security doors and maneuvering around guard patterns, all in less than an hour and a half, was no simple task. I can't believe I thought I could escape just like that.

I think by now I've been shot in just about every spot in my body at least once. It's the stomach and the knee that hurt the worst, from my experience at least. Head shots are the lucky ones, at least they're quick. Sometimes I've managed to get to a point where I knew that I wouldn't make it out in time and I shot myself. I was going to die either way, so there was no point in delaying the inevitable.

I know this place like the back of my hand. I've got door codes, know where elevator access passes and top-level security cards are, and am usually aware of where just about every single one of the attackers will be at any given time. It wasn't just them that I had to worry about, though. Why would this be that easy, right?

It turns out that Nuvision really doesn't want their secrets getting out. So, when a catastrophic level of attack is happening in their facility, they make sure that no one leaves, friend or foe. That was a fun message to stumble upon on one of the security terminals. I've been killed by Nuvision security as many times as I have by attackers. Another very important, and horrifically tragic, thing that I've learned along the way is that I can't take Sarah with me.

She's the only variable that I haven't been able to account for in the whole thing. I know how the guards will react, because I've seen it hundreds of times. I know where they'll be, and what I'll need to do to get around them. I've almost made it to the surface at least fifty times, but Sarah would always manage to get herself, or both of us, killed along the way.

I care about her a lot. She was one of the first friends that I made college, and we've been working together on something or another ever since. She's taught me more about my own field than a lot of teachers, and she's always been there for me, but I'm sick of this. I'm sick of dying. I'm sick of the pain. I'm sick of this endless horror-show, again, and again, and again, like a rat in a maze with no cheese to ever be found. I just can't do it anymore. I'll always remember Sarah, but I have to try and get out without her. I'll make it worth something.

As soon as I hear the words come from her mouth, that phrase that I've heard nearly five hundred times, I sprint out the door. I run right past Sarah and into my dorm room, grabbing my ID card and a screwdriver from my personal work desk. I'll need them both later.

From there I rush to the elevator and enter the code "110848" on the keypad. It's an emergency override that will take me to any level below the surface. I learned it a while back from someone who was trying to leave with me when we were running from one of the guards. I had hoped then that we would beat the drop of the elevator. I was wrong. It wasn't all for nothing though; that code saves me a lot of time.

I head up four floors and hop out. I have nine minutes before the attack starts. I'm actually making pretty good time. I'm on the Hologram R&D floor. I'm not after anything that they make here, just a keycard from the manager's office that will get me into the stairway that runs between here and the next six floors up.

I run into the office, past the confused looking researchers, grab the card from the second drawer in the desk and sprint out, swiping the card quickly on the door to the stairs and heading straight up. By the time I get out on B14, the attack has already started. They make non-military microchips on this floor, so guard presence is at a minimum. It's already chaos, as the armed men are going floor-by-floor, looking for the mirror. It's no wonder it takes them so long to get down to where we were. They have no idea where the thing is, so they have to sweep every floor.

Fights are breaking out, and the security is starting to take out the workers as I sneak by. I know that in approximately two minutes and twenty seconds, the armed men will move on, leaving (usually) all but two of the security guards dead. It gives me a chance to snag a pistol off of one of the bodies and get another keycard from the head of security, who happened to have survived this time, but not for long.After he was dead, I went to the security elevator, which would take me up to B9, where the head security office was, along with one of the hardest parts of my mission.

The elevator put me right in the middle of all of them. I had died here maybe sixty times or more. They're all on high alert, and if I'm even seen even for a second, they'll kill me. I can't wait for them to clear out, either. I have less than forty minutes to make it up another nine levels and out of the building. I don't know how big the explosion from the mirror is going to be, but I want to make sure I'm as far away as possible when it happens, so I have even less time to waste here.

I watch as a set of two guards walk past the elevator before sneaking out. I hide behind one of the desks and wait for another to go by. Exactly thirteen seconds later, he'll turn around and walk back this way towards the door before leaving. That's my time.

As soon as he walks through, I go after him, quickly rushing across the narrow hallway into a storage closet. This is where the screwdriver comes into play. I need to shut down the power here to give me a diversion to hit the stairs to the next floor, but I can't break through the module on my own. I tried shooting it a couple of times before, but it's too noticeable and even if I get away, I never make it far before they catch up to me.

I take off the exterior plates and jam the screwdriver into the module as hard as I can. The last time I was here, I forgot the screwdriver and used something that wasn't grounded without thinking first. That was one of the more painful ends for sure. This time, thankfully, the screwdriver slams into place, sparks fly, and the power goes out.

Within seconds, I'm making a full sprint towards the door. I've got to clear a pretty good chunk of space, and have less than twenty seconds to do it. Thankfully, luck is on my side, and I make it through.

I rush up the maintenance stairwell to the next floor and look down at my watch. I've got thirty-four minutes to go. I'm making good time, but it might not be enough.

Security is still thick on these floors, most of them just mopping up the employees and dealing with the losses that they'd had. There really wasn't much sneaking around this level. I've never been able to make it through unseen, so it's best to just blast through them. There are only seven or so, on average, so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

I hide behind a pillar and take my first few shots. I take two of them out before they realize what's happening. I switch over to a shotgun from one of the security guards and fire off a few more shots. I manage to take one of them, but I get clipped in my left leg as I go for cover. The pain is immense, but I didn't come this far to let it take me down. I keep firing as I run across the room. I get down in the maintenance office to reload and grab another keycard.

This one has been tough to find. Sometimes it's on one of the maintenance guys' bodies. Sometimes he isn't dead and I have to convince him to hand the card over. This time, like a few others before, it was left behind in the chaos. Good for me. I look at my wrist, twenty-six minutes left.

With my shotgun loaded, I press out of the maintenance room to be greeted by three of the guards waiting for me. I duck behind a desk as they open fire, and end up taking a bullet in my shoulder. My leg was bad enough, now I had this to worry about. I blind fire, but the push-back from the shotgun is too much for my shoulder to handle. I drop it and bring back up the pistol. I feel every wasted second ticking by.

"I'm just trying to get out of here!" I yell. "Everyone's going to die in less than half an hour! You should save yourselves and get out too!"

I'm not expecting much, but it's worth a shot. I'm starting to get desperate. No response.

"Goddamn it, I'm trying to save you assholes!" I yell again. "Just let me go and we don't have to fight anymore!"

I wait. Now that I'm sitting still I can feel the pain from the bullets starting to burn through me. If I stop for too long, I'll lose the rest of my energy and won't be able to get to the surface. It's time to make a move.

"I'm getting up and getting out of here. I'm not going to shoot if you don't."

I stand up with my gun raised and scan the room.

There are three of them left, staring me down, but not making a move. I back up slowly towards the door, not taking my eyes off them. There's no reason to let my guard down now after all of this. I manage to back up to the door and, after giving them one last look, rush up the stairs.

I almost fall as soon as I start running, doubling over in pain. My adrenaline is kicking up, but it isn't doing a great job of covering the pain. I push through it and keep going. I've only made it this far three times. There's a lot ahead that I still don't know, but I have to give it my best.

I finally made it up to B3, where the stairs ended, and staggered out. The last time I was here, I was carrying Sarah. She had a bullet in the chest, I had one in my gut. We didn't get more than a few steps. That was when I knew I couldn't keep going with her. This was the only time I'd only made it up with minor wounds.

Sixteen minutes left. It's barely enough time. The general service elevator was here. No keycard required, and it hadn't been blown by the attackers. Everyone else on the floor was dead, including all the guards and plenty of attackers. I never figured out how so many of them managed to storm the building. None of that matters now, I'm finally home-free.

I step into the elevator, push the button for the ground floor, and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I hear the ding of the elevator and step out slowly, the pain in my leg reducing me to a stagger.

The sunlight coming in from the massive windows in Nuvision Tower's grand entryway blinds me for a moment. It had been almost a month since I'd seen the sun, and that was well before the first time I died, and it was almost enough to bring tears to my eyes. I look around and see that everyone on the ground floor is dead. It's mostly receptionists and some men and women in business suits, no doubt about to start their day in the tower above.

It's almost too much for me. I've been so used to doing the same thing over and over again that I don't know what to do now. The pain is starting to come back, and I remember the time limit. I start heading for the door when I notice what's just behind it.

The light still hurts my eyes, but I can see police in their cars starting to gather outside. I need to warn them all to get out of here as quickly as they can. The explosion would be coming soon, and it could sink the whole building if it's big enough.

I stumble out to tell them to run away, but then I notice what I must look like to them. I'm covered in blood, have a pistol in one hand, and am surrounded by dead bodies. The realization of what's about to happen hits me like a truck. I hear myself mutter something just under my breath.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Fitting last words.

Then the barrage of bullets come flying at me. They must hit me at least thirty times before I even hit the ground. I don't feel much of it, though. It's already fading out. I laugh to myself at the cruel joke that my life has become, and bitterly let the darkness take me again.