Imaginary Friends tend to make not so imaginary enemies.
*****
In an ever-populated area once open to the outside lies The Apex, a domed fortress separated into 7 Sites. Running low on resources in their safe haven, The Apex introduces a program tha...
"Remember, once we enter this door, we only have four minutes to get the dreamcatcher and get out, got it?" Eli pulled out a fleshy, bruised index finger from his trench coat pocket, just as Flinch soared down from the roof and into the group's huddle. "Let Operation Homewrecker commence!"
"Roger!"
Eli placed the dismembered finger to the smooth face of the scanner. After a few moments, the entrance opened, and the group entered in a slow silence. Jazara perched herself on her butt against the chilled wall just outside the door, lifting one leg to her chest to pull her bat from the confines of her gravemark—ready to bludgeon anyone who would challenge her.
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Before they entered the room, the first thing they noticed was a device that overlooked the vault with a skinny glass tube that snaked from one side to the other, slithering over openings in the ceiling and ending at a strange ventilator-like contraption. On its face was a screen that read a constant 629 degrees in red and 715 in green with the word 'to open' beneath it. The lower temperature must have been the trigger that set off a barrage of horrors from the ceiling.
The Techromancers had warned them of the breach prevention mechanisms in place at this old facility, but no one expected the technology to be so sophisticated—so specific. Everyone's eyes flit to Flinch. He was the only one with a manifestation that could maintain the 715 degrees, but he looked uncertain—more so than usual as he ran a nervous hand over the gravemark on his neck.
"I know you guys think I'm the only one that can maintain the temperature, but I used up a lot of my energy before we came in and I don't know if I have enough left to keep a steady heat going for a long time," Flinch rambled, eyes darting from the screen to the team. "And I mean, what if someone comes in? What is Jazara can't hold them off outside and I have to stop to keep them from attacking me? What if-"
"Ok, Flinch just fizzle out," Winfrey said. "I'll be right behind to watch your six, remember?"
Flinch released a smoky sigh of relief through his nostrils and grinned up at Winfrey as he ruffled his hair. With a short nod, Flinch lied on his stomach, aligning his mouth with the tube end connected to the heat source.
"The second I detach this tube, you guys need to move as quickly as you can to get to the dreamcatcher, ok?" Winfrey said, and both Eli and Rhoawyn nod. "3... 2... 1..." Winfrey grabbed the heat repellant grip on the tube and quickly pressed it to Flinch's lips.
With an obnoxious puff of his cheeks, Flinch puckered his lips to the mouth of the tube. A ripple of flames curled through the tight of the tube, its heat brushing against every sensor. The door to the next room unlocked, but the blaze wasn't powerful enough. In seconds it faltered and flickered like a flame to a candle that's run short on wax.
"Get out of here," Winfrey shouted. "I'll hold them off."
Eli and Rhoawyn hurried through the unlocked door while they still had a chance.
