With You Always

[Electra]

Empire City, Anti-Earth

Singularity woke when the lights rose in her compartment, but she didn't move from her bunk. It was impossible to tell what might be lurking in the brilliant white light that stung and dazzled her eyes. Still motionless on her stomach, she opened her eyes to slits and waited for them to adjust. The voices were quiet for now, which was a welcome relief. When it was quiet and she was alone, she could remember what had happened to her, that her family was dead and her world was dead and she was trapped here in hell. Those were the good days. She could think on those days, make rudimentary plans for escape or for suicide, though nothing had worked out so far. She couldn't remember how many times she'd tried or how long she had been here. There was no time in hell. For now, there were no other people either, so she sat up in her bunk and wiped her face.

[Electra]

Her black and red uniform was covered with blood, but she couldn't remember where it had come from. She had vague recollections of a fight with zombies, like usual, but there was no way to tell whether that was a real memory or just a nightmare. Her windowless compartment had a toilet, sink and shower in one corner, which she made use of while things were quiet. Those items, the bed, and a plastic dresser were the only furnishing in the 10x10 compartment. There was no door. When she was let out, half of the wall opposite the bed opened out to release her. That segment of the wall was covered in dents from her repeated batterings, but now it was also covered in electrified wires as well. She'd knocked herself unconscious a few times trying to break through anyway. It hadn't had any effect on the wall, or ultimately, on her. It hurt, though, so she didn't try it today.

[Electra]

Instead, Singularity went to the dresser and opened the top drawer to see if there was any food there. She couldn't remember when she'd eaten last, and she was starting to get hungry. Sometimes the dresser had food in it, but not today. That probably meant she was going to be let out soon. That was an unpleasant notion. Outside was a very dangerous place, full of voices and frantic violence. It was never a good day when she was let outside. Still, it paid to be prepared. Walking to the open space in the center of the room, she began to stretch her muscles, keeping a sharp lookout for any signs of the door opening. Halfway through her workout, she was jolted into a backwards roll when the entire compartment started moving. Apparently she was going somewhere today. Useless information to be sure, since she didn't know where she'd been to start with, but it was better than not knowing anything. And she could be ready.

[Electra]

While the compartment was in motion, Singularity hurried back to the bed, crouching down in the space between the bed and the dresser. If she could spring out the instant the door started to open, she could take whoever was out there by surprise! A leap, a quick twist and snap, maybe a few, and she could make a run for it! She didn't know where to, but she was fast and strong and she would find some way out of here. There had to be a way out, even from hell! She tensed her muscles and stared at the door, waiting for her chance.

Erin... The voice in her head was familiar, the most familiar thing in hell. Singularity clamped her arms against her head and fisted her hands in her hair. “No, no, you're dead, I can't hear you!â€

[Electra]

Erin, help me! The voice was stronger now, with a sharp edge that couldn't be ignored. I'm so scared! They're everywhere! Images crowded into her head, Her sister surrounded by zombies, her mother being ripped apart by them, endless armies of the undead bearing down on her. Her knowledge of the world as it was began to splinter under the weight, the reality of the white room and the wall she'd been watching slipping away in the face of immediate, overwhelming threat. “Megan,†she moaned, still clutching her head, “hold on, I'm coming...â€

A five-foot section of wall folded out silently and unnoticed, forming a ramp down to the ground. A girl's scream ripped through the air, and suddenly Singularity was in motion, a bolt of speed as she raced through the opening and headed into battle, ready to destroy anything that presented itself. There were handlers in the bold colors of the Tyranny Syndicate there, and beyond them an open door leading to an empty corridor, but she ignored them entirely. Escape was no longer on her mind.

[Electra]

In just seconds she encountered the first group of moving targets, faceless creatures in her mind that were surely zombies. Everything was zombies until proven otherwise, and Megan was in danger and she didn't have time for any of this! Opening out the double-ended blade that had somehow come to be in her hand, she made short work of the first group of targets, then wiped the blood off her face and raced onwards. More and more of them appeared as she rushed onward, shrieking with the wails of the damned and flailing their rotting limbs at her as she mowed them down. They hardly mattered, they were no challenge, and most importantly, they didn't have Megan. She kept running.

[Electra]

Now the zombies began to fight back harder, now some of them seemed to have superpowers that let them hit her back! She sensed more than saw people she recognized around her, but they didn't matter either and she ignored them. Sometimes the monsters fell without her touching them and she knew that was the other people. For a moment, through the press, Erin caught a glimpse of Megan! “Hold on, I'm coming!†she screamed, racing towards her threatened sister. She arrived just in time to shield Megan from several devastating blows with her own body, but by the time she'd regained her feet, Megan had disappeared again. She had to still be alive, Erin told herself, she had to be close by!

[Electra]

The monsters kept getting bigger and hitting harder, but Erin ran on, fighting and slashing and destroying as she went. They were hurting her badly now, and the other people were falling back, but she wouldn't stop, couldn't stop until she found Megan. Several of the monsters dogpiled her and she ripped her way free, even as she felt her own bones snapping and trying to reknit. These zombies were too big and too tough, she realized, she couldn't fight them. Something inside her breathed a sigh of relief, even as she charged heedlessly into the mob. She wouldn't get out of this one. Screaming incoherently, she went down fighting, pulled under by an overwhelming tide of monsters.

[Electra]

The light woke Singularity as it rose in her compartment, bathing the bare walls and floor in its harsh glow. She startled awake, jerking herself upright as though she were about to be jumped on by an enemy. There was no one there, though, friend or foe. She put up a hand to wipe her face, and realized she was covered head to toe with blood and couldn't really remember why. When she thought hard, she remembered a fight with zombies, but couldn't remember if it was real or just a nightmare. Whatever it was, it was gone now. She went to take a shower, and hoped that there was food in the drawer for her. She couldn't remember when she'd last eaten, and she was pretty hungry today.