Damnation Code (William Massa) - William Massa Page 0,50
out of Hockney’s office, one hand clutching her gun and the other nervously palming her phone. She was calling for backup but so far failing to get through. How was she not getting a signal in one of the most wired places on the fucking planet?
Dawson stared at her wide-eyed. “What’s going on?”
“Phone’s dead and something is messing up the Wi-Fi, if you can believe that. We better get the hell out of here and call for backup. Hockney and his assistant are dead.”
“Oh shit.” Dawson craned his neck to catch a view of Hockney’s office and shuddered at the sight.
Nice to see that the man has a pulse, Serrone thought crazily.
“Let’s go.” She grabbed Dawson’s arm and pulled him into motion. Dawson fell in step with her, both glad to be leaving the eerie cubicle area behind.
All the engineers remained frozen in tableau as they surged past them, hypnotized by their machines and oblivious to the officers’ presence. How long before they snapped out of their unnatural trance and turned into a murderous mob? Serrone couldn’t explain it logically but she sensed that the program must be the source of this madness. Somehow it was exerting a terrible pull on these people.
Guard up, Serrone and Dawson crossed the vast atrium. The previously idyllic setting was now filled with hidden horrors and dark potential. What other dangers lurked behind the cheerful facade?
They had almost reached the front security desk when a strange whistling sound cut through the air, followed by a thump. Serrone whirled. A body lay sprawled on the lobby floor in a broken, bloody mass, face planted in the floor and features caved in. At first Serrone didn’t quite grasp what she was staring at. How had this person died? She trailed Dawson’s gaze as he tilted his head up at the upper floors.
Omicron workers loomed on the second and third-floor catwalks. They were in the process of climbing over the glass railings. A frightful realization hit Serrone. The pulped worker beside her was a jumper and these other tech professionals were about to join the first suicide.
No… Don’t do it…
Serrone mouthed the word “no” but her trembling lips produced no sound. She averted her gaze as two more cultists hit the hard lobby floor with a wet splat and the sickening crunch of bones breaking.
Oh my God…
She spun toward the security guys. They’d all drawn their guns. One man fired, hitting Dawson before pointing the pistol at his own temple and pulling the trigger. He went down in a spray of red, his brain savagely splattering the terminals of the security desk. Two more pops followed in quick succession as the other two guards blew their brains out and collapsed.
Terror flared in Serrone. She wished with all her heart that she’d never come to Omicron today. Wished she was at home, feeling the warmth of her daughter’s cheek against her own and tousling Casey’s soft hair instead of clutching the cold grip of her pistol.
She struggled to suppress her mounting panic. One look at poor Dawson told her that any help would come too late. She was still rooted in place when approaching footfalls rattled the blood-clotted lobby. Three engineers were zeroing in on her with quick, determined strides. They all wielded blades in their outstretched hands and were closing in fast. Even more disturbing, the incoming horde was cutting off the main entrance, her one way out of this madhouse.
Serrone fired away and the three cultists spun around in an explosion of brains and blood. Their bodies were still twitching as six new cultists took their place. Serrone knew she was doomed. She wouldn’t be able to hit every one of her pursuers before they reached her. The unstoppable throng surged forward and she started running.
They were herding her toward the assembly hall located at the other end of the lobby. No choice but to play along. She kicked open the wooden door and powered into the auditorium, determined to blow away anyone lurking in the shadows. To her relief, the narrow aisle leading into the assembly hall was deserted.
She slammed the door shut and moved deeper into the vast space. She soon recognized that she wasn’t alone in the cavernous chamber. An audience of engineers hammered away on their laptops while images of the progressing mass suicide filled the screens before them.
A snapping sound behind her made her spin away from the screen. A programmer had closed his laptop lid. The scene repeated itself as