A Different Lighthouse

Chapter 3

The sound of Armitage's shotgun echoed off of the walls, and Ben pushed himself up to assist. He sat up on his knees, gritting his teeth as he fired off a couple of shots at the Splicer, who was already reaching for another grenade. One of his bullets buried itself in the Splicer's shoulder, and he stumbled with a harsh cry. Armitage took the opening, blasting two holes in his chest and sending him crumpling to the ground.

After a moment of listening for more company, Armitage sighed, reaching out a hand which Ben used to haul himself to his feet.

"Nice work, Ben," Armitage complimented, actually smiling at him. Ben blinked, a little dumbstruck. Damn it, if he wasn't easy on the eyes. "You're catchin' on quick."

"I'm a man of many talents," Ben told him casually, though he couldn't help his heart fluttering a little.

He was a little put out when Armitage clapped back,"...and master of none, aye?"

They continued into emergency access, the room dimly lit with steel staircases on either side. The emergency tunnel resided on the far wall, closed off by a grate with thick bars. Armitage led the way up one of the staircases, their footsteps unavoidably creaking as they climbed. They emerged onto a platform, a security console at the front with monitors on either side.

"There we are," Armitage murmured, reaching for the switch in the center. He pushed it forward, and Ben jumped as alarms began to blare overhead. The monitors on the security console flashed ACCESS DENIED in blood red letters.

"Fabulous."

"Shit. We need a key," Armitage snapped, running his fingers through his hair agitatedly. "Christ. Let me think."

Ben looked around helplessly, not really sure what he was looking for but feeling useless otherwise. The noise blared in his ears and set his teeth on edge, forcing his shoulders up near his ears. He paused, his gut clenching when he heard telltale shrieks and scraping against concrete.

"Splicers, Armitage."

"Alarms drew 'em," he huffed, brandishing his weapon. "Come on. Let's keep to higher ground, they'll funnel in on the lower level. Easy pickins."

As he'd said, Splicers began to file in from the door they'd come through down below. Armitage took out the first two in quick succession before they could reach the stairs, and Ben hurried to assist as their friends took their place.

The two of them made quick work of the small group that had been drawn by all the noise, and Ben smiled down at Armitage as they both stowed their weapons.

"We make a pretty good team."

Armitage grunted his agreement, not looking at him. Ben couldn't help the slight pout.

"Alright," Armitage said eventually, letting out a heavy breath and placing his hands on his hips. "We need to head to Dr. Dameron."

"What do we need him for?"

"He's got a key. That's the only way we're gettin' through emergency access," Armitage told him. "Won't be as simple as it sounds. The guy's spliced to hell and back. Not even sure he's still human."

Ben frowned to himself as he followed Armitage back down the stairs, stepping over corpses and avoiding slipping in blood.

"Armitage?"