CHAPTER I

CHAPTER I

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

Loud footsteps resonated in the narrow tunnels. Each thud seemed to bounce off the metal walls, amplified ten times as it echoed. She was crouched down on the floor, the murky water reaching just above her ankles. Her back was pressed against the wall, its cold surface seeping past through her suit and making an uncomfortable chill run down her spine. She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sounds in the surroundings. Keeping her eyes open was pointless; the tunnel’s poor lighting had to make her strain them to be able to see anything. Instead, she opted to listened – she trusted her ears more than her eyes. She could hear everything – water was dripping from a broken pipe above her at a fixed tempo – the splash it caused as water met water reverberated in her ears; her own heartbeat was racing at a hundred miles per second, threatening to burst out from her chest; her rasp, shallow breathing – the suspense was suffocating her; the clattering of the gun she held in her nervous hands – she couldn’t control her trembling. Funny, she thought. She should have been used to this by now. This wasn’t the first time she was running for her life from persistent armed men in protective helmets and heavy armor. She has done this several times. Yet, every time always feels like the first time – the feeling of panic and dread, the presence of inevitable death that lurks around the corners. These things just never get old no matter how many times you have to put through with them. Close to death experiences are never fun. She scoffed bitterly at herself.

The footsteps were getting louder, nearer. She clutched her Beretta 90-TWO pistol tightly; it was capable of shooting 17 rounds of 9mm bullets – hopefully enough to get her self out of this mess alive. She took a deep breath and shot her eyes open.

They’re here…!

The shuffling of footsteps accompanied by the unceremonious splashing of water came to a halt.

“There she is! Get her!”

“Don’t let her escape!”

“Shit!” Eve cursed under her breath. She was on the run again, but this time with the bad guys closely behind her tail. Somehow, she felt like she was in a game of Pac man, running away from the resilient ghosts. Only, she didn’t have any extra lives. She turned a corner – a dead end, another curse.

Several men in black heavy suits lined up behind her. They wore tinted helmets that effectively covered their faces. Her exit was blocked.

“Resistance is futile!” the leader of the squad shouted. They aimed their massive guns at her. “Lower your weapons and surrender!”

Eve stood facing the opposite way from them. She shut her eyes tightly, the expression on her face showing one of contemplation. There was a brief moment of silence until Eve whipped around and sent them a barricade of bullets.

“Agh! Men down; fire at will!”

And with that, she had just performed the opening ceremony shot for a massive shooting frenzy. She dived and barrel-rolled to the side in order to dodge the horde of bullets headed her way. Much to her convenience, though, there were enough obstacles to provide her cover. She swiftly got behind a pile of sturdy metal pipes for protection. The exchange of bullets was non-stop. The dimly lit tunnel flashed a momentary brightness as each shot was fired.

“The target has been spotted, over.” One of the men spoke through his communicator. “Taking heavy fire; two men down! Requesting backup immediately! Location is– agh!“ He didn’t get to finish.

Eve delivered him a good headshot. He was about to call for reinforcements, which means more extra company. Unfortunately, Eve didn’t like that. These goons had already got her hands full at the moment.

She kept firing at them but their number doesn’t seem to be decreasing and her ammunition was already running low. All she had left were two magazines and there were still like about dozens of them firing at her.

She recoiled just in time as a bullet whizzed past her head, nearly hitting her if she was any more than a fraction of a second late.

If it weren’t for all of the extensive trainings I’ve been through, I would’ve been dead by now. I’d say that was too close for comfort… She still managed to muse.

Eve came up with another tactic. This time, she stayed down low but held her gun up to continue her assault. Aiming was unnecessary; she was merely stalling in her current situation while waiting for something.

I won’t last much longer like this, she thought as she expertly shelled out her empty magazine and replaced it with her last spare. What the hell’s taking her so long?!

And as if on cue, a familiar voice rose above the deafening sound of gunshots.

“Yoohoo! Eve!” From a crack on the concrete ceiling, the face of a carefree-looking young girl roughly about the age of 17 came into view. She had short, messy black hair and gray eyes. She wore a black tank-top with a gray hoody, and ragged brown cargo shorts with matching brown high-cut leather boots. She had a belt strapped around her waist that contained an array of bullets and explosives. And to complete her outfit, she had on a pair of black leather gloves that were cut around the fingers. She was on all fours while peering down from the hole above. “Bombs away!” she yelled ecstatically as she dropped down a little round object.

“What the– BOMB?!” Eve managed to shout the last part out of surprise and she instantly clung to the ground and braced herself as a bright light swallowed the whole tunnel. The earsplitting bang left an unpleasant ringing in her ears. She could have sworn that they were bleeding and she checked to see if they were – thankfully, there weren’t. She wasn’t ready yet to spend the rest of her days as a deaf agent. That is, if the Agency even allowed to take in deaf agents…

After recovering from the unexpected blast, she forced her bruised body up. The result was a sharp, stabbing pain that sent chills up her spine.

“Aaah! I should’ve brought some painkillers with me…” she said to herself under her breath while gritting her teeth.

The smoke had started to clear away. In its place was a mountain of dead bodies. Chunks of flesh were scattered all over the place. What were once arms, feet, legs, hands, torsos, and other organs mutilated beyond recognition were littered everywhere. The walls and floor were dyed in red. The stench was also starting to become overwhelming. The whole scene was vaguely familiar. A sickening feeling welled up in her stomach.

She was brought out of her disgust by a loud thud behind her. The girl from above had jumped down to join her and had apparently landed in a nice pool of blood. But the girl didn’t seem to notice – or care.

“Well, that sure took care of ‘em!” The short-haired girl said proudly as she dusted off her clothes. “And great, you managed to survive, Eve!” She gave a wide grin, exposing both of her fangs.

“Are you CRAZY, woman?!” Eve yelled in a fit of rage. “You almost friggin’ killed me!” Yep, she had completely lost her cool.

“Aw, you were already about to die when these guys were massing up on ya,” she pointed to the bodies on the floor she was referring to – or what’s left of them, anyway. “Shouldn’t you be thanking me instead for saving you?” she crossed her arms and put on a smug face. She knew that Eve hates it when she ends up getting saved by someone else, especially her. She also knows of Eve’s unworldly pride and loves to try and get a chance to step on it every so often just to provoke the older woman.

“And you thought being blown to bits was any better?” Eve retorted, a vein popping on her forehead.

“Better than becoming Swiss cheese, I guess.”

Eve gave an exasperated sigh. She knew it was senseless to argue like this – with this person, especially.

“I give up. Okay, thanks. But the next time you attempt to do another crazy stunt like that I won’t let you off that easily. I don’t find it hard to imagine myself getting killed by you one of these days.” She shivered at that thought. “Well, let’s get out of here. I already have what we came here for.” She took out the small black box which she had gone through all the trouble’s worth of acquiring and held it up for her partner to see.

“All right, then. Mission accomplished!” Seiren exclaimed while shooting her fist up in the air.

Their personalities were really contradicting. Eve is hot-tempered and serious most of the time while her partner, Seiren, is care-free and often behaved like a child. However, they are both of the same rank, being S-class agents of the Agency – the most efficient and experienced group – despite their age difference (Seiren is 17 and Eve is 20).

“But don’t let your guard down, Seiren. They might have called for backup. Stay alert at all times until we’re cl–”

“–I know, I know! Sheesh, you really have no trust in me, do you? Remember we’re on the same level here! Hmph!” Seiren complained. She crossed her arms and pouted as she walked behind Eve, although Eve didn’t see it since she was already further ahead of her. She did sense it, though. The usual image of Seiren being all stubborn appeared clearly in her mind. She just rolled her eyes like always.

They needed to head back to the headquarters and report their latest progress. Their mission was to infiltrate the enemy base and to retrieve the Lost Technology (Yes, the thing inside the black box Eve has). Apparently, the mission was so confidential that neither the two agents assigned to perform it were provided background information about the Lost Technology. The only orders were to find it and bring it back. This struck Eve with curiosity and for a moment, even questioned the motives of the Agency.

So this is the Lost Technology, eh? What does the Agency want with this…? She realized where her thoughts were leading to and she quickly shrugged it off. No, this mission was clearly declared as classified. I shall not allow myself to be interested in this matter any further... She thought, determinedly making herself clear. Eve was a patron to the Agency, one of its most faithful loyalists. She did her missions without questions asked. It has been like that for ten years now, ever since the Agency has become her replacement family after that day…

Finally, they reached the end of the unbelievably long tunnel. The sunlight blinded them momentarily.

“Ah, this feels great! I thought I’d never see sunlight again!” Seiren said happily as she stretched her arms.

“We’ve only been in there for 5 hours!” Eve started to get irritated again by Seiren’s child-like demeanor, but quickly brushed it off. “Where’d you park the car?”

“Follow me! “ Seiren led the way. They reached the car and Seiren got into the driver’s seat. She started the ignition. “All right, let’s burn some rubber!” There was a glint in her eyes as she said this. “Come on, get in!” Her face glowed with pure excitement. Eve’s, however, paled with horror.

“…”

“Huh? Why are you wasting time just standing there, Eve?”

She’d never forget the last time she let Seiren take the wheel.

“Move over, I’ll drive!”