The Omega Existence

Chapter 8

Diana led Ben and the others further into the strange labyrinth of industrial bins and storage units she had taken them to. The large warehouses they were surrounded by had made Ben feel like an ant in a child’s ant farm. All around them stood industrial plants and similar buildings, which they escaped from by bending the lock off the door to a particular warehouse Diana had been looking for. Once inside, they were greeted with rows upon rows of stock shelving, some boxes had fallen splaying large metal poles over the ground. Ben ignored the biting cold as they were led past walls of equipment, past a large manufacturing line and down into yet another lower floor.

An uncomfortable silence had developed amongst the group as they made their way further down. What had seemed like a warehouse had now changed entirely. Ben walked past control rooms filled with electronic equipment, large, sealed room’s with glass walls revealed advanced medical equipment and chemical stores. They walked past men who seemed utterly occupied in their tasks, talking quietly amongst themselves. Somehow, a single glance at Diana seemed confirmation enough that they were all meant to be here.

The strange bunker seemed to be a strange covert lab of some sort. Ben was just about to break the silence when a middle aged man wearing what looked to be a constant frown on his face appeared, striding up to them with a few other men following close behind. His dark, brown eyes almost hidden under thick, bushy eyebrows looked over at the group as if their mere existence was a personal insult to him.

“What are you doing here and who are these people?” He bellowed gesturing wildly to Diana.

“Oh stop being so hot headed Marcus.” Abigail rebuked as she walked out from behind Daniel and Andrew. Marcus recoiled and seemed to evaluate the situation differently in a split second. It made Ben wonder just how well connected Abigail was within this so called terrorist group.

“I have to be careful Aby, what if these guys were possessed? They could bring down everyone!”

“Well they’re not, believe me.” Diana replied staunchly. Marcus gave her a long look before realising he had a small group of men still hanging around close behind, watching his backpedalling. He waved them off before gesturing to Diana and the rest to follow him.

“So how can I help? I assume you’re here because you want something from me.”

“We need to use the link” Diana replied. The answer halting Marcus in his tracks. Ben didn’t think the man’s frown could get any darker, but it did. Abigail nodded as he glared between her and Diana before continuing with his powerful strides.

“And why should I risk using the Link?” He asked after they passed through another corridor of rooms, glass walls revealing men behind computers working on unknown tasks.

“I need access to the CWA’s databases, I’m searching for someone” Ben interrupted.

“And who are you?”

“Ben Hastings.” Ben replied, now expecting his name to be recognised.

“So who are you looking for?” Ben smiled knowing Marcus had just given him the okay to use the link, he could imagine the smirk painted on Andrew’s face right now.

“I don’t know.” Marcus stopped again, and Ben waited for his next outburst, when it didn’t come he looked around to see they had entered what looked like a large meeting room. Wooden doors highlighted each wall of the room giving the impression that the room was central to the entire complex. The table in the middle of the room seated eight chairs. To Ben’s right a small staircase led to a lower room with four small desks, a man sat at each one, staring at multiple computer screens.

Marcus invited them to sit down as a well-dressed, business woman appeared and began whispering words with Marcus. When she was finished, Marcus made his way to the opposite side of the table as they all took a seat. It was relieving to sit down after all that walking, Ben relaxed in the chair as Marcus seemed to inspect them further. What a strange motley group they had become Ben thought. He wondered what was going through Marcus’s mind.