Секреты Sanctum 2

                                                                               THE RENFIELD INCIDENT                                                                                                 The otherwise dim and bleak hospital room was now brightly lit by an eager camera crew.Technicians with large microphones gathered like flies around a corpse and that was not so far from the truth.Beside the bed stood a high backed chair and the general sat down with his usual strict dignity.The light hit him perfectly, showing his angular face.His age only accentuated his air of strength.Across from him lay his exact opposite.A pale shadow of a man.Plastic tubes coiling like worms from his every limb. Everything about him seemed broken, but his gaze was fixed upon the general without blinking. Despite the large amount of people in the room there was a silence so heavy that each breath made an impact. A signal went off and all of Elysion One would now bear witness to the tragic scene. Live entertainment for the masses.                                                                                                                                                               "I trust you know why I am here Mr. Autumn." General J. Whalebrook spoke calmly. His voice didn't give any hint of what might be going through his mind. The man in the bed simply looked at him and showed the same lack of emotion.                                                           "Of course General. We’re going to talk about Renfield."                                                                                                                                "Aye, so far the details concerning the Renfield incident has been classified information. The public needs to know what happened out there. You and me both know. You have sacrificed everything for the safety of Elysion One and as a last favour you have been asked to tell your story to the world."                                                                                                                                                                           Autumn's blue eyes seemed to catch a strange glow in the unnatural light of the room and for a fraction of a second they flashed with something that might have been fury. He responded calmly. His voice cracked by an obvious difficulty to breathe but his words would reach every ear across LOEK III.                                                                                                                                                         "Sacrifices, yes. Still I am not the only one. If anyone should hold the honor of being remembered as heroes it would be the young Guardians who lost their lives out there."                                                                                                                                                 "Who were they?"                                                                                                                                                                                           "The Renfield operation had a designated team of four Core Guardians with the mission to re-activate a Core recently demolished by Lumes. A standard mission in the field. I lead the operation accompanied by Evan Gale and two new recruits. This would be their first real battle. It seems it became their last..."                                                                                                                                                   Autumn fell silent and looked at the general as if daring him to comment on his last sentence. Whalebrook didn't even blink.                   "What went wrong at Renfield Mr. Autumn?"                                                                                                                                               "We were unprepared for the size of the attack Sir. The Lumes reacted at the first hint of Core activity and the size of their horde was bigger than anyone could have anticipated. We had no other choice but to fight in order to get back to base and gather reinforcement." "You have been raised to the status of a hero Mr. Autumn. How did you earn it?"                                                                                       "There was nothing heroic about this. Sacrifice doesn't make a man a hero. There is nothing heroic about being a broken man in a hospital bed while another Guardian lies rotting in the ground and two recruits slaughtered like cattle and unknown to the world like irrelevant foot soldiers."                                                                                                                                                                         "Humble... But the people wants to hear about your actions."                                                                                                                     "When the Lumes came we had already set up preliminary defences. One of the recruits was put in charge of repairing and planning the defence. She was on the outside of the grid when she was crushed. There was nothing to be done to save her. An irrational impulse to protect her gripped the second recruit who met a similar fate. Evan attempted to contact base but Renfield lies far from the facility. No help would have arrived in time."                                                                                                                                               "You fled?"                                                                                                                                                                                               "We fought."                                                                                                                                                                                            "And did you win?"                                                                                                                                                                                      A machine connected to the hospital bed gave off a subtle beeping sound and a doctor quietly walked to the side of the bed. Her hands were trembling. Something that would go unnoticed by everyone. All eyes were fixed on the broken Guardian. The conversation came to a brief pause before Autumn slowly and with much effort leaned just an inch closer to the general to look him square in the eye.                                                                                                                                                                                                         "Tell me, Jackson old friend...Does this look like victory to you?"                                                                                                         Picture                                                                                                                                                                                                      The girls face was illuminated by the cold blue light of the screen in front of her. The rest of her cell was drowned in darkness. Perched on the edge of the bunk she kept her focus on the screen as if in a trance. Her posture gave off no sign of how she felt but in her lap her hands had formed fists. Knuckles white. A recently healed scratch started to bleed again but she paid it no mind. The interview came to it's end and the screen flickered and the broadcast ended.                                                                                                 "Victory..." She mumbled, staring blindly down at her own hands. She bit down on her lower lip hard. She refused to blink. Even when her eyes stung of tears she wouldn't allow.                                                                                                                                                  In a sudden burst she hurled herself across the room and sent her fist slamming into the thin glass screen. It's shattering set off an alarm that drowned out the raging screams coming out of her mouth. The door slid open and two guards ran in to hold her down. It didn't matter anymore. Her knuckles were red with blood from bashing them at the wall when there was nothing left of the screen to destroy. The guards seemed tense and nervous as they tried to hold on to her arms. If they shouted any orders it would have been impossible to tell over the shrill alarm and the girls coughing curses. After a few moments of struggling her strength seemed to leave her. The alarm was shut off and the room was quiet again. Slowly she looked up at the men holding her. Her unexpected calm seemed to scare them more than her uncontrolled fury. The one to her right looked away awkwardly as she glared at him with wide blue eyes.   "She's shaken by seeing her father like that. Leave her be..." He was obviously worried and tried to avoid looking directly at the girl he held by the shoulders.                                                                                                                                                                               "We can't let her out of solitary yet. Top student or not. After what she did to Royce in training I'm surprised if they let her graduate at all."                                                                                                                                                                                                            "It's not exactly any of our business though, is it? I mean look at her!" He nodded his head towards her small figure. "What will it help to keep her in a cell? The damage is already done. Besides, Royce kind of had it coming the way he runs that training facility like a stuck up dictator."                                                                                                                                                                                       “Whatever, our orders were-"                                                                                                                                                                        "(Нецензурное вырожение)  the orders! She'll break her way through the concrete wall if we try to keep her in here."                              There was an uncomfortable silence where the guards kept their strong hands locked around her. The girl stood completely still, not moving a muscle while the men seemed to battle with who would have to make the decision. They were talking over her head as if she didn't even understand their language. The battle of their unwillingness to take the initiative ended when the one to her left looked down at her with some kind of concern.                                                                                                                                                           "Skye?"                                                                                                                                                                                                    She ignored him. The tension was unbearable. He shook her slightly and repeated the name a little louder.                                             "We understand what you must be going through right now but... Uhm." He paused and the other man spoke up with a stern, condescending voice.                                                                                                                                                                                 "If we let you out of here, will you behave? Promise to be calm?" "Calm?"                                                                                               Her voice was hoarse from the screaming but she looked up at the man with a grin. "Seriously?"                                                           Her sudden laugh made both guards flinch. That tiny moment of their surprise was enough for her to twist away from their hands. A single brutal punch to the jaw sent one directly to the floor. The other reached out to stop her but it was too late. Skye was gone out of the door before he even had a chance to call out. Instead he turned to help his partner up from the floor. The guard wiped blood and spit from his chin and grunted. Despite obvious pain and annoyance he had a hint of a smile on his beat up face.                                   "Shit man. That girl knows how to pack a punch.”                                                                                                                                         “If she can do that now just imagine what she'll be able to do once she gets her                                                                                   Guardian glove..."                                                                                                                                                                                          02