Tempest: The Renegade

Phase 3, part 3

One more swing is enough to make her lose her grip. Due to the centrifugal force, she flies several meters away and hits one of the concrete pillars supporting the whole structure. However, she already caused enough damage. The "door" leading into the hollow is damaged - that means my contraband is in danger.

Once again, I sprint towards the car, but the numerous injuries slow me down. My groans echo through the hall and the droplets of blood dripping on the concrete indicate my journey through the garage. Finally, I reach one of the vans and try to unlock it with the access chip that, fortunately, remained undamaged.

"DON'T DO IT!" I hear Valentina shrieking behind me.

...

It takes me a while before I set the card to the right position with my shaky fingers. Finally, the scanner on the car's front door turns green and a victorious click gives away the vehicle is unlocked.

Now I only have to get inside.

"You are NOT leaving this place!" I hear. I turn around just in time to see Valentina charging at me, her hands raised, ready to claw my remaining eye out.

Then I realize.

Valentina's usually beautiful face is twisted in a deranged grimace and the pupils in her eyes are now nothing more than pinheads. She's letting out inhuman growls and rushes straight towards me without any signs of strategy. It seems she completely lost her mind.

In fact, she has been possessed by the same blind rage I used to greet regularly. And it's not a nice sight. She doesn't care if she lives or dies, she doesn't care about anything except stopping me from leaving the city. Now, when I see the effects of the rage with my own eye, I promise myself I will never again let it consume me.

If I can stop it.

She ferociously attacks me like she was a wild animal. I protect my remaining eye, but still, she manages to make several long gashes on my face using the claws on the tips of her fingers. If my left eye wasn't already lost, she would most likely claw it out successfully. This way, I only end up with sliced, bloodied face before I shove her away and stun her with a kick into her stomach.

Without hesitation, I finally get into the car.

When attempting to close the door, Valentina sticks her hand through the gap, relentlessly trying to claw me. I slam the door several times, deforming her bionic hand more and more with each hit until she finally withdraws and lets me close the door.

I insert the employee's card into the slit next to the steering wheel. The computer screen on the dashboard comes alive and the letters Initializing... shine there for way too long. Finally, it gives me the message Welcome back, Aaron Llewelyn and offers me the main menu.

There's no time for the technological mumbo jumbo. All I need to do is to drive away.

I hit the gas and the engine comes alive. The problem is I can drive only theoretically - I studied it just a few hours before I started to realize this plan. But I think it's enough to get me out here... I hope. It seems simple enough and there are various driving aids implemented in the car's software.

However, the problem named Valentina isn't settled yet.

As the van finally starts to move, the woman climbs on the car's bonnet and, with her furious expression still on, tries to break the windscreen with her undamaged hand. Even though the glass is hardened, a thin crack appears on it after a few hits.

I skid the car all around the garage to shake her off, but she's holding on tightly. In the end, she manages to break her glass and her arm invades the inside. She causes me several more scratches before I grab her wrist with my biological hand and then use my artificial arm to break the bone in her forearm.