“Is there a GPS or something on our suits?” Liam questions. Again, almost immediately, a holograph pops up from his glove, showing the layout of the base as a diagram. A dark blue arrow showed where he was, along with a purple, green, and black arrow.

“That’s probably us.” Calvin pokes the arrows, making the holograph flicker slightly. I spin around, making the purple arrow whirl around on Liam’s glove.

“Sweet! Where’s the closest exit then?” Liam asks. A red line snaked out from where we were standing to a corner of the base, which then illuminated a small sign saying “Exit”. Jacqueline, Calvin and I also pulled up the map on our gloves. We stopped and stared for a moment, marveling at the ability. The base itself was shaped like a semi circle, with hallways and doorways forming a maze.

“We should probably minimize the map somehow…” Jacqueline mutters. As if in response to her words, her visor slips down and her holograph disappears. She pauses, and then her voice crackles to life in my ear.

“Hey guys. Apparently if you say minimize, the map will go from your glove to inside of your helmet. You can see it as a map in the corner. Also, to talk between suits, say ‘Message’ and the color of the corresponding suit. To message everybody, you say ‘Message All’. And yes Calvin, I can still hear you even though my visor is down.” Calvin, who was making faces at Jacqueline and blowing raspberries at her, paled and shut up. Liam and I nod in understanding, and I press the button to let the visor slide down over my face.

“Minimize map.” I mutter, and the holograph from my glove flickers away, and I see a small map with arrows appear on the screen of my vision.

“You guys all got it?” Jacqueline’s voice says. Liam gives her a thumbs up, while I nod.

“Um, not to alarm you guys too much, but what is that red dot heading this way?” Calvin asks through the helmet. Sure enough, on the map, there was a blinking red dot heading directly towards the cluster of arrows.

I turn around, and to my horror, see a giant robot humanoid looking thing, with one huge blinking red light at the center of it’s head, swiveling and focusing. It must have been about three or four meters tall, with wicked looking claws at the end of its arms. 

A sinister looking symbol, with some sort of abstract triangle that was dark red, glared from it’s chest. I freeze up as it turns towards us, and the light in its eyes seemingly focuses.

“Targets acquired. Must exterminate.” A robotic voice said.

“I have a good idea.” Liam says.

“What?!” Jacqueline exclaims.

“Run.”

Without needing further instruction, the four of us sprint down the hallway, following the red line towards the exit. I hear the mechanic monster behind us crashing and tearing through the hallway.

“I hate running.” I mutter to myself.

“12 minutes left you guys!” Jacqueline’s voice comes on. Glancing at my wrist, I note the time.

“Is there a way to figure out how much farther the exit is?” I ask the suit. The map zooms out slightly, the arrows still moving along the red line, but there was small text next to it.

“600 meters? That’s not too bad I suppose.” I think.

“But still hell to run.” I pant, already slightly out of breath. Fortunately, the sudden shock sent adrenaline coursing through my veins, so I wasn’t completely wiped yet.

Liam and Calvin were ahead of Jacqueline and I, Liam’s lanky legs taking long strides, and Calvin being physically fit so this was a no sweat for him.

“Yo, Calvin! Can’t you just blast that thing into space or something?” Liam’s voice crackled in my ears.

“Not exactly a good idea since I don’t know how to control this yet! What if you guys get hurt?!” Calvin replies.

“Awwww, so nice to know you actually care about us!” I interject.

“IF YOU DIDN’T NOTICE THERE’S STILL THIS GIANT ROBOT CHASING US.” Jacqueline yells. I wince and take a sharp left, trailing behind Liam slightly. Jacqueline was behind me.

“IT’S OKAY THERE’S ONLY 400 METERS LEFT.” Calvin says encouragingly.

“EASY FOR YOU TO SAY.” I wheeze out. I see our different colored arrows nearing a gap in the hall. There was a wide open space, like a circle. The hallway continued on the other side. We were about halfway across when a piece of debris was flung in front of us. 

It crashes, sending up dust, blocking the hallway opening. Instinctively I raise my arms to my head, blocking the bits of debris flying about. Ahead of me, Calvin and Liam skid to a stop. Turning back, my eyes widen as I see the robot blocking the other opening.

“So… What do we do about the robot?” I ask, backing up into Liam. The robot which was chasing us had rounded the hallway, and had slowed down, as if enjoying the fact that we were trapped.

“Ooookay. Calvin, now would be a good time to, I don’t know, use your telekinesis?” Liam suggests. Calvin hesitates for a moment, and that was all it took for the robot to leap at us. 

I tackle Jacqueline as a metal arm swings at us and we go crashing down the hallway, behind the robot. Liam ducks the other arm, but the tip catches Calvin and he crashes sideways into the wall. 

I hear him groaning. The robot, apparently deeming Calvin as an easier target, turns away from Liam in the corner and goes after Calvin.

“Jackie! Are you okay?” I turn to Jacqueline, worried, having roughly tackled her to the ground. She nods, standing up and brushing herself off quickly.

“I’m totally fine. But Calvin…” The robot, looming over Calvin, slams one of its arms onto the ground, but he manages to roll away. The robot proceeds to then slam its other arm, which then forces Calvin to roll away again. I could see him start to tire out, and the fact that he was clutching his left side was no comfort.

“Hey Jacqueline.” I point to a concealed panel on the robot’s back. She looks to where I pointed, and to me, and her eyes widen as she realized what I was going to do.

“What? You can’t do that! You’re crazy!” She exclaims. I nod, rubbing my suddenly sweaty hands together semi-calmly.

“I’ve been told. Get Liam and Calvin.” I say offhandedly before taking a running start. I crouch, and mustering as much strength as I could, leap onto the robot’s back. Scrabbling for handholds, I manage to secure a grip on its shoulder grooves. 

Immediately, I had gotten its attention. It whirls around, clawed arms barely missing Calvin’s legs by a few inches. I cling on to dear life on its back, all the while searching for the concealed panel.

‘Where is it?!’ I furiously claw at its back, hoping it would show up. My gloved hands scratched the smooth back of the robot futilely. Finally spotting a slightly upturned corner—probably due to its crashes in the hallway—I grab hold of it and yank it open. 

Feeling its ‘brain’ exposed, the robot flails around even more. My foot slips, and for a heart stopping moment I thought I was going to fall and die. Then reality kicked in, and I hold on with all my might to the panel.

“You know, a distraction might be nice.” I yelped over to the others. With the help of Liam, Jacqueline had dragged Calvin to nearby the blocked opening. Liam heard me and turned, visibly frustrated. After a few seconds of debating, he decides.

“Screw it.” Liam runs towards the robot, grabbing a small piece of debris on the way.

“Hey robot!” He called, and flung it with scary accuracy into it’s one blinking eye. The debris bounces off the robot’s eye. The robot is confused for a moment, and I take this opportunity to secure a solid foothold. Then the robot closed in on Liam, but he stood his ground.

“Hailey! Any minute now!” Jacqueline screams from the corner with Calvin. Sweating, I glare at the mess of wires and electric paneling in the robot.

“I don’t have time for this.” I decide, before taking a handful of wires and yanking. The robot goes lax, the light in its single eye flickering before blinking out. I drop the wires as it stumbles backwards, losing control of its limbs.

“Oh shit.” I had time to think before I slip and fall.