Chapter LXXVIII: Descent Into the Lair of Madness

 On the wall of lab X-16, a single lamp spun around. Its warm, yellow light illuminated the decrepit antechamber, barely holding after years of neglect from maintenance. Three stalkers in ebon and crimson coloured uniform stepped from the shadows of the staircase into the light. One of them, in a customized SEVA suit, let out a long sigh.

• Well, here we are again... Third time is not any more charming than the last one, right Boris?, Dima asked, his voice absolutely filled to the brim with disinterest.

• Can't say you're wrong, if I don't have to see another lab in my life I can die happily, Boris replied, swapping a magazine into his trusty RPD.

Dima's visor glimmered as he crouched to inspect a body on the ground. A Sinner in their typical blood-red and dirt-brown uniform, 12-gauge sized hole in his forehead and finger still pushed against the trigger of his Chinese knock-off M14.

• Looks like someone else got here already, Zakarov perhaps?, he pondered.

• Whoever it was, they need our help most likely. Shall we head in, gentlemen?, Sanyok replied, receiving a nod from his two companions in return.

They descended the long set of emergency ladders, the elevator having long since rusted to oblivion. At times, the low booms of distant gunfire bounced off the grimy walls of the lab. Someone was clearly fighting the Sin strike force. Boris jumped down from the last platform and immediately regretted doing it when his body protested, setting him ablaze with pain. He couldn't stop a small growl from escaping his lips, much to the dismay of Dima.

• I'm fine, just need to adjust to not being the limber chap I used to be, Boris said to him to soothe his friends nerves.

• You being limber? Hell, pseudogiants look like acrobats compared to you, Dima jested. Sanyok chuckled at this, and even Boris couldn't help grinning a bit at the thought.

The hallway ahead was emptier than the Western section of a Duty armoury, and thus the group moved through it with haste. The cracked floor hissed with foul-smelling gas, and the walls let out odd noises, as if some restless spirit had made it their home. Sanyok eyed the walls but calmed down when Boris told him that this was normal. Part of the security system of these labs was trying to make you paranoid. It definitely helped with rookies.

They rounded the corner and found a scientist in SSP-99 suit crouched on the floor, holding his head with both hands. He was surrounded by bodies of ecologist guards and Sin troopers. Boris ordered Dima and Sanyok to wait and point their weapons at the survivor. Slowly, Boris closed in and placed his hand on the man's shoulder. This close, he could hear the man whimper to himself.

• Zakarov, you still among the living?, Boris asked, his voice full of compassion.

• Boris... Is that you? I... I lost myself for a moment. The Sin leader has some sort of psi-power. He calls himself Ira, the scientist stammered weakly, rising up with difficulty.

• Don't worry, we'll deal with him. Sanyok, Dima, let's go, time to put some lunatics in the coffin.

Boris rushed forward, leaving the startled scientist behind, and his two companion followed suit. Their night vision gear hummed as they entered the chamber of the Miracle Machine, where the Sinners had now gathered. A large group of zombies and snorks was hampering their operations however. On every level of the spiraling walkways, one or two Sin members were furiously dodging the nimble snorks and spraying down the shambling husks. Luckily for the three men, the cultists seemed to be too focused on their battle to notice them.

Using the distraction of mutants to their advantage, Dima stayed behind to make full use of his silent but deadly Val rifle. Boris and Sanyok quickly moved upwards, stopping only temporarily to dispose a particularly nosy or brave snork. Their acrobatic leaps could be easily ended abruptly through the appliance of buckshot. The melee and close-quarters use of large-calibre guns on the upper levels thankfully masked their approach, and the Sinners only noticed them once Boris had set up his RPD on the railing. It was too late however, as a hail of the venerable 7.62x39 bullets crushed into their ranks.

The initial shock soon wore out and the Sinners begun a determined assault. Boris ducked to cover behind some large blocky machinery, hoping to draw the fanatics close. They moved forward, but a wet crack revealed that Dima had claimed yet another victim, part of his skull penetrated. It made the Sinners disperse. This gave Boris enough time to lean out and fire a quick burst. Sanyok rose up the stairway as well and his Swedish rifle bursted to life.

On the cramped stairway, the cultists had nowhere to run, the last survivor screeching in horror when he got hit and fell down to the very bottom. Dima grimaced as the body crushed to the floor below him, rushing up to help Boris and Sanyok. Only the Sin leader Ira remained, a massive bearded man in a cloaked exoskeleton. Mechanic voice boomed in the intercom system, announcing the launch of the brain's power system.

• Too late, heathens, I've got the machine powered up. The Holy North shall once more be safe from the presence of pagans, Ira gloated, pushing up the final lever.

An all-consuming humming begun, the whole facility creaking and wailing under the pressure of the activation. Boris could see the lunatic smile with harmful glee. They needed to act fast, or face the consequences. Sanyok raised his AK and begun firing, striking the glass of the control centre. It did little damage but distracted the maniac enough that Boris could close in. He rushed into the control centre and leaped out of the way of a burst from Ira's rifle. His RPD replied, and the cultist leader collapsed to his knees. Before he could even raise his hands for cover, Boris' kukri sunk into his chest. He looked at Boris in disbelief, and as life left his eyes, Boris slid the blade out swiftly.

Quickly, Boris turned his attention to the lever next to him. Perhaps the machine could still be stopped. A mechanic voice informed them that the brain was 90% operational now. Boris practically threw himself over the switch, and it groaned under pressure but gave in. An earthshattering creak sounded inside the facility, but Boris did not even notice it. The brain was almost operational, and it had noticed the intruders. As the machine died down, it sent a psychic blast towards Boris, similar to a controller but thousand times as powerful. The world around Boris turned black as night, and the last thing he heard was Dima and Sanyok rushing towards him. And then, the visions begun.