ORPHEUS - A.I.

Chapter Twenty Four: Retaliation

Selena couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was Orpheus going to murder all those innocent people? But she didn't have the courage to speak up even though she knew it was wrong- not in front of her dad.

Alan looked at the screen with his chin resting on his fists. He knew that nothing could beat Orpheus in this game. So he thought he'd let it handle this affair- he didn't care who died or lived as long as his creation was working fine. This was his testing ground- he wanted to see Orpheus in its full glory and power before finally releasing it's terror upon the real world. Nobody could stop him this time.

"I leave everything in your hands Orpheus- just keep me posted.", Alan said and walked out of the lab.

Back in the bunker Anthea was scolding Nina for letting Megan wander off. Nina simply replied that she didn't think that Megan would actually venture off so far and that she was right behind her, watching her every move. She assured Anthea that it would never happen again.

Hex on the other hand was sitting down on his chair with an old piece of paper and a broken piece of pencil. He was trying to figure a way out and was scribbling down all the events that had occured to them since they came into Purgatory. He was making a rough sketch of the place while TIm and Andre were helping him.

Everyone at the bunker knew that they had very little time in their hands, now that the drone had actually spotted the survivors. All this time they had managed to hide their faces from the prying cameras of the drones but thanks to Megan, some of them were spotted.

Anthea announced that for the next few days, only three people were allowed to go out on foraging duties- the guards would double their camouflage and change their hiding places and nobody else was supposed get out of the bunkers for any reason.

That night Hex sat down by the candle light with his piece of paper- trying to think of a way out. He had seen how this place had broken Megan's courage and he was not willing anybody else give up. Tim and Andre were scribbling something too- discussing on how purgatory had similar elements to the game that they had designed earlier.

Hex went numb as he saw two huge wolf like animals munching on a dead carcass. Megan crawled up to Hex as well as Andre. The three of them looked at the strange looking animals - they had never seen such creatures before.

"What the hell are those ?", whispered Megan.

"Santa Maria!!", exclaimed Andre.

Hex couldn't believe his eyes. There were two wolf like creatures with bodies more than a metre long but without any tail. Their heads had barely any skin on them and they had black eyes. Their jaws had no skin covering with their sharp teeth protruding out of their mouths. They growled and munched on the carcass which looked like it had been there for more than a week. There was no way they could move ahead with those creatures on the way.

"Those are mutated wolves and judging by their sizes they are the alphas. They will hunt and eat anything, even their own kind but they rarely come out of the forest and that too during the day...", whispered Anthea as she explained to the new comers what those creatures were.

"We have to turn back Chuck... or find another way", whispered Anthea.

"The opening is just beyond those trees Anthea... we can't turn back after coming so close and you know any other way will take us days...this is the only way..", replied Chuck.

"But how do you plan on moving ahead lile this?" , asked Anthea.

"We wait and watch!", replied Chuck.

Anthea thought it better to trust Chuck. After all he knew a lot about the place and knew it better. He had been in such situations before and had fought an alpha and lived to tell the tale. His military background made him a valuable asset to the team.

Just a minute later, the creatures got distracted by something and ran off towards the east. Chuck and his team stood up and watched them disappear into the jungle.

"Let's go!!", said Chuck and everyone started to follow him towards the thick jungle ahead.

"You had wolves with you when you met us... how were they ...not like them?", asked Megan.

"Those were Cedric's pets... he used to be a vet back at the city and he found them while he came to the retreat with us...they were malnourished and Cedric fed them... they had been with him since ....", Anthea replied.

"The opening is just beyond those trees...", said Chuck pointing at the huge spruce trees ahead.

"What sort of opening are we talking about...", Megan asked.

"You guys were brought here through an opening- an entry point that connects the outside world with Purgatory ... my men have seen it...and it seemed that it had malfunctioned and it's still open...", replied Chuck looking tensed.

"C'mon guys...hurry up...those Alphas could be back any second...", he added.

Megan was so excited that they would be able to get out of this place so soon- just a few more minutes- she could see almost reach the tall trees with her hands.

Anthea pointed to her left as she kept walking behind Chuck. The tall green grass swayed in the breeze silently and Megan kept looking in amazement at how far it stretched- there seemed to be no end to this place- it seemed beautiful and haunting at the same time.

"So this place is like a prison... and is guarded by giant robots?", asked Hex being sceptical.

"Hard to believe innit? Wait till you see one for yourself...", Chuck remarked from the front.

"There are thick forests to the east and west - and mountain ranges in the north and south, when you cross any of them - you reach 'the divide'... ", Anthea added.

Suddenly Chuck stopped and kneeled down on the ground, he was observing something. The rest of the group stood beside him.

"It's a drone- a soldier drone! We are close- keep moving! Pack that up after you've dismantled it !", Chuck ordered to one of his men.

Megan kept wondering where they were going. What did Anthea mean when she said they've found a way out? It had been almost an hour now, how long will it take? But she quietly kept moving along knowing that time would reveal everything. She kept observing the people leading the way. There were six of them including Anthea. Chuck seemed to be the commander of his small army while Anthea acted as the leader of the entire team. All of them seemed a bit anxious and were being very cautious as they moved ahead. They had crossed the swamps by now and were walking through a huge field. Up ahead were a row of tall trees.

Suddenly a man appeared from beneath trees with a dog following him.

"Ah! There he is...", Chuck exclaimed and ran up to meet him.

Hex recognised the man. He was the same person who had saved his life earlier.

"Who's that?", asked Megan.

"That's Old man Nikolai...we call him 'Crazy Nikolai'.. and thats 'Hunter'- his dog...", replied Anthea.