Chap.6

The room Ryan found himself in was a room he had been in before. It was the control room. It was the room where he had busted a window, and taken a dive out the window. The window wasn’t broken anymore, but Ryan couldn’t help but notice that the room was still missing a chair in front of the control panel.

Ryan didn’t stay long enough to see everything. He just pushed through the other door in the room, the one with the keypad, and found himself in the gymnasium room, still set up like a coliseum, but this time the seats were filled. There were the eight Ragnarök scientists, closest to the edge, but behind them were what seemed like thousands of other people Ryan had never seen before, but he guessed they were employees.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Alpha Double Oh, the Human/Avian Transfer. Today he will be fighting Omega Double Oh, one of our more enraged subjects!” Dr. Baker called out to the crowd.

Omega Double Oh? Wasn’t that Bob? Ryan asked himself as the doors on the other end of the room swung open, and the gigantic person walked in. Even though Ryan could tell it was the same person, Bob looked different. He was bigger, that was for sure. He had to duck down to walk through the door, and his arms looked like he could pick up a bull elephant. His scraggly blonde hair was gone now, leaving a baldhead. His eyes were what startled Ryan the most. Before they had been bloodshot, but Ryan could tell they were blue. Now there was nothing but black pupil enveloping the eyes.

“What did you guys to do him?” Ryan called up to the doctors.

“We did nothing,” A doctor Ryan had not been introduced to spoke up, “The steroids disconnected the sensible part of his brain. The pills we were giving him were creating the connection. We did, though, run out of pills, but he would have been fine for at least a month. It was a hard hit to the head that disconnected the brain again. That hit came from a book, a book held by you. You did this, Alpha Triple Oh.”

Ryan felt like he had been punched in the stomach. All of the air rushed out of him, and he felt like falling to the ground. I did this to Bob? That question kept repeating itself in Ryan’s head. Bob didn’t give Ryan much time to think about it. He rushed forward, swinging the mighty branches that were his arms.

Ryan started running towards the wall. If he could dodge a werewolf with flight, then he could dodge Bob. Ryan jumped onto the wall, and pushed off, unfolding his wings. They were still sore from his short flight, from four days ago. He flapped down, and felt the air dig into this wings, feeling for a short moment the freedom of flight, before the fight came back into his mind, but the short moment was too long. Bob had run up to the wall, and using it like Ryan had, Bob jumped off and grabbed Ryan’s right leg, pulling him down towards the ground.

Grunting as he hit the ground, Bob swung Ryan, throwing him across the room, where he smacked into the wall. Somehow Ryan knew, as he stood up and shook off some of the dust, that nothing was broken, and that Bob was just playing with him. With the muscles he had, Bob probably could have thrown him through the wall.

Bob was on the far side of the room, so Ryan tried his flight again. He ran and jumped off the wall, and flapped up until he was near the top. Bob was smarter than the werewolf, though. He stayed near the wall, so if Ryan tried to dive bomb him, he would fly straight into the wall. Before Ryan did anything else, he decided one thing. He would stop thinking everything through, and act spontaneously. Which is why he dived down, so that he was a yard above Bob’s reach, and hovered there, flapping only enough to stay at one height.

Of course, there was one thing Ryan didn’t think about when he did this. Bob had massive steroid use, which affected all parts of his body. A yard was a small jump for Bob. Ryan, being spontaneous, didn’t expect it, and got pulled out of the air, for a second time. Bob didn’t throw him, though; he went with a different approach. Instead of tossing him away, Bob hugged Ryan close, squeezing the air out of him. When Ryan thought he was going to pass out from lack of air, Bob dropped him on the ground, and kicked him in the side hard enough to send Ryan flying.

Ryan didn’t stay down long, only long enough to catch his breath, than he was back on his feet. Before rushing back out to meet Bob, Ryan patted his stomach and ribs, making sure there was nothing broken. When his right hand touched something warm and sticky, he looked down. The linen bandages had fallen off, and the wound was bleeding freely again.

The scientists noticed, too. They were on the edge of their seats, leering down into the stadium, watching the battle of freaks.

Ryan looked back to see Bob running towards him, one arm pulled back ready to pummel Ryan to death. Ryan didn’t prepare himself right away; instead he took a second and mentally prepped himself.

You can’t think of him as Bob anymore. He’s Omega Double Oh. It just like the werewolf, it’s either him, or me. And I’m not gonna die, not yet. Ryan looked back to see Omega Double Oh gaining ground, almost close enough to smack him.

Ryan backed up, putting his back against the stone wall, “Come and get me.” He said calmly. Omega Double Oh seemed to come faster, and pull his arm back farther. Ryan braced himself. This would either hurt himself, or hurt Bob.

Just as Bob was bringing his fist forward, Ryan dived to the side, leaving a small trail of blood under him. Bob’s fist slammed into the wall, and stayed there. Bob grunted, tugging at his fist. Ryan ran back, and started hitting Bob in any place he could, but mostly in the head. If his theory was right, then a hard hit could cancel out the pills and knock out the part of the brain that controlled everything rational, then a second hit should be able to knock it back into place.

Ryan’s job wasn’t easy. Even with one hand encased in the wall, Bob was still swinging with his other, tying Ryan hit for hit. I’m not doing anything to this guy! The only thing that could would be a freakin’ elephant… That gave Ryan either the smartest or dumbest idea he could remember. He jumped up on the wall, and grabbed Bob’s arm, helping pull it from the wall. After a few minutes it slid out, and Bob fell to the ground, dazed. Ryan ran to the side, out of reach from the giant. It didn’t take long for Bob to stand up again and continue the onslaught.

I only have one shot at this. Ryan thought.

He ran behind the giant, and jumped up. Ryan got what grip he could with his legs, and covered the huge man’s eyes with his hands, “Come on! I’m right here!” He yelled in Bob’s ear. The giant tried to swing his arms around his back to grab the smaller person, but seeing that approach fail, Bob went with a much more direct approach. He reached up and swatted at Ryan’s head, which was right next to his own.

Ryan jumped off and smiled as the monster smacked himself. The force of the blow made Bob fall to the ground.

“That better have worked…” Ryan muttered to himself, running over to the body. Bob looked peaceful. His eyes were closed, and his arms were drawn to the side of his body. That didn’t last long. As soon as Ryan got close enough, Bob jumped up, and closed his gigantic hands around Ryan’s neck.

“…Crap…” Ryan managed to squeeze out.

“…Ryan?” The one word made Ryan’s blood run cold, “That’s you, isn’t it? I’m sorry. I can’t see. The new medicine took away my sight.” The short speech was followed by a cough, which came up with blood.

Bob dropped Ryan to the ground, and started coughing.

“Bob, what’s going on?”

“The antidote…only meant to work…ten minutes…” Was what Ryan could discern through the coughing, “I’m…dieing…you...escape…” The giant walked over to the door that had let the other competitors in, and grabbed the handle. Ryan could see the veins in his arms bulging. Within a minute, the doors broke off of the hinges, and Bob just threw them off to the side; “Through here…just keep going straight…can’t help you…with next door…”

“What? I don’t understand. What’s going on?”

“I…can’t come…with you…” Bob wheezed, running over to the other door. Ryan looked up to see the people up in the observation platform were gone, probably to come and storm the place. Bob walked over, and hit the door along the edges, denting it.

“What are you doing? I can get you out of here! We can find a cure!” Ryan shouted, running over to the behemoth.

“Bending…track…can’t slide open…” Just then a window in the door broke, and something flew in. Bob picked it up, and threw it back, “They’ve started…with grenades. You have to get out of here.” Bob said, his voice becoming clear. Outside there was a loud explosion, accompanied by a scream.

“Bring out the guns!” Someone from the hallway shouted.

Bob’s speech instantly cleared out, and he started to shout, “GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!” Bob grabbed Ryan by his shoulders, and threw him across the room, into the darkened door way. Bob was over in a flash, covering the gaping hole with the broken doors, “RUN!” Ryan heard Bob yell from the other side. The yell was accompanied by gunfire. It sounded like a baseball hitting a player. Only each sound was within milliseconds of the next.

A mighty roar came from the door, and Ryan knew it was Bob, running into battle. Ryan started to panic. Bob was dying, and gunfire would speed up the process. Ryan took one last look at the door, and muttered, “Bob…I’m sorry…” Then he took off running down the hallway.

The hallway was dark, and as he ran Ryan couldn’t see very far in front of him, but he kept running. The energy wasted from the battle with Bob was taking its toll on Ryan. After just a few minutes, his pace was slowing. Soon he was reduced to a slow walk.

“Ryan, you need to run!” a voice called from the intercom.

“Michael?” Ryan asked, leaning against a wall panting.

“Who else? You need to keep running. If you get out, I’ll be right behind you. The door up ahead, it has a loose window, if that helps. Now run! They’ve gotten through the door.”

As Michael finished, Ryan heard hurrying footsteps behind him. Without a thought, Ryan took off running again, finding new strength in knowing that the hallway did lead to an exit. The darkness seemed to stretch on for miles, but Ryan kept running, only a moment ahead of his pursuers.

Bob and Michael said there was a door… BAM! Ryan ran into the door, hidden in darkness. He felt a stinging pain in his head, that couldn’t have been caused by simply running into a door. Ryan felt his face. The first thing he noticed was blood, and a lot of it. Then he noticed a bunch of small, needle like objects.

Great, I broke the window… Ryan didn’t think about it, but instead felt the door, and found the broken window. It was big enough for Ryan to squeeze through, and the whole pane of glass must have fallen out, because there were no jagged pieces around the edges. Ryan stood still and listened. The scientists sounded like they were only a few yards away.

“Now or never.” He muttered to himself, than climbed through the hole. The drop on the other side seemed more than it should have, but Ryan’s legs held, and he took off running the minute they touched the ground. The tunnel seemed brighter, and as Ryan ran, he started to notice a bright light at the end. As he started to get closer, Ryan noticed a small black dot in the center, which gradually grew bigger.

“Chelle? Is that you?” He called down the tunnel, remembering his dream.

“No. But you vill vish it vas.” A voice called down. Ryan stopped dead in his tracks.

“I heard zhe message from…who vas it? Michael? I knew you vould come here some time.” Dr. Evans walked closer to Ryan, “Thiz time I have a reason to kill you…” The doctor pulled something out of his pocket while he walked. Ryan couldn’t help but notice him limp.

“Old wounds die hard, don’t they?” He asked.

“Vhut?”

“Nothing. I only asked, did you have to go to school for zhat accent, or vere you born vith it?” Ryan asked, trying to sound as snide as possible.

“Laugh it up now…” Dr. Evans pointed what he had pulled out at Ryan. Even in the dark Ryan could see it was a gun, “You von’t get a chance later.”

There was a soft thud from behind the doctor, “Yes he will. By the will of Brother Michael, he will.” The statement was followed by a sickening crack, and the doctor fell to the ground. Ryan didn’t need to be able to see to know that the man was dead.

“So, we finally meet in person, my friend.” A dark shape said.

“Who are you?” Ryan asked, moving closer, hoping to get a better view.

“I am Brother Michael, of course. It is a pleasure to meet you, though I hoped it would happen on lighter terms.” The figure said, “Now, I must go, but we will meet again.” The figure turned, and started to run. Ryan followed Michael, but the other boy ran faster.

By the time Ryan was out of the tunnel, Michael was already by the trees. It was a dark, moonless night, so Ryan couldn’t be sure about this, but he could almost swear that the figure had outstretched wings. But the boy was only visible for a second, then he was hidden by the trees.

Next Chapter: Chapter 7