NOVEL NEXT Chapter 3: ESCAPE [ 1 ]
The air in the facility was sterile, cold, and heavy with an oppressive stillness that made Shinichiro's chest tighten.
The narrow corridor he stood in, encased in stark white porcelain walls and flickering fluorescent lights, felt suffocatingly narrow.
He was surrounded—trapped like a cornered animal. Guns were pointed at him from every angle, their black barrels glinting ominously under the harsh light. Each soldier's gaze was cold, devoid of mercy.
"Crap…" Shinichiro muttered under his breath, his mind racing. How the hell am I getting out of this? His heart thundered in his chest as panic clawed at the edges of his mind. No plan. No weapons. No reasonable escape route.
A gruff voice pulled his focus. "Sir, we've made contact with the package. Preparing for extraction," the captain barked into the comm device clipped to his ear. He turned to Shinichiro, his face a mask of professional menace.
"Listen to me closely," the captain growled, his voice cold and measured. "You're going to hold your arms out, nice and slow. No sudden moves, or you're getting a face full of lead. AM. I. CLEAR?"
Shinichiro hesitated, his instincts screaming at him to do something, anything, to escape. But the rational part of him held firm. Play along for now. They're expecting you to resist. Don't give them the satisfaction.
Swallowing his pride, Shinichiro raised his hands in mock surrender.
••••••
The soldiers moved in, one of them stepping forward with a strange pair of glowing cuffs. The device radiated an unnatural energy, pulsating faintly with a sinister rhythm. The sight of it sent a chill down Shinichiro's spine. His body tensed, a primal instinct warning him of danger.
"Don't move," the soldier barked, inching closer with the cuffs.
Shinichiro's jaw clenched. Something's wrong with those cuffs. I can't let them put those on me. His muscles coiled, his fight-or-flight response kicking in.
The soldier reached out, but Shinichiro's body moved on its own, his instincts overriding his reason.
CRACK.
His kick connected with the soldier's chest, sending him flying backward. Chaos erupted instantly.
"FIRE!" the captain shouted.
The soldiers didn't hesitate. Gunfire filled the corridor, a deafening cacophony of violence.
••••••
In the split second between the first shot and the inevitable onslaught, something changed. Shinichiro's vision blurred, and a strange sensation coursed through his body—electric and alien. The world slowed.
It wasn't gradual. One moment, everything was chaos: bullets hurtling toward him, soldiers charging with brutal efficiency. The next, everything moved at a snail's pace.
"What… the hell?" Shinichiro whispered, his voice echoing in the eerie stillness. He turned his head slowly, his eyes tracking the bullets creeping toward him in the air. The soldiers, mid-lunge and mid-yell, moved as though they were suspended in molasses.
Shinichiro's mind raced. Am I… stopping time? No. The world's still moving, just… slower. I'm perceiving everything faster.
He wasn't going to waste the opportunity to figure it out.
••••••
With the world moving in slow motion, Shinichiro had the advantage. His body felt weightless, his senses razor-sharp. He darted forward, weaving between the bullets with an agility he didn't know he possessed.
The first soldier froze mid-lunge, his expression locked in a grimace. Shinichiro delivered a brutal uppercut, his fist colliding with the soldier's jaw with enough force to crack his helmet. The man crumpled to the ground, his body folding like a marionette with its strings cut.
Shinichiro turned to the next soldier, his movements fluid and deliberate. A swift kick to the shin sent the man to his knees, followed by an elbow to the temple that knocked him unconscious.
The captain barely had time to react as Shinichiro's fists found their mark. A series of precise blows left the leader clutching his stomach, gasping for air.
But Shinichiro wasn't done. The bullets suspended in the air caught his attention. A wicked idea took shape in his mind.
He reached out, tapping each bullet with his fingers, redirecting their trajectories. He angled them carefully, ensuring they'd ricochet off the walls and strike each soldier in the legs. The bullets moved in slow arcs, their paths recalculated with precision.
Finally, Shinichiro made his exit. He glanced back at his handiwork—the soldiers groaning in pain, the message carved into the wall by the ricocheting bullets: RUN.
With a satisfied smirk, he bolted down the corridor, the wind whipping past his face as he moved with superhuman speed.
••••••
Dr. Kyudai Garaki slammed his fists onto the control console, his face contorted with rage. The monitors displayed scenes of chaos: soldiers incapacitated, alarms blaring, and the so-called "special package" running wild through the facility.
"This is a disaster," Garaki growled. His mind raced as he tried to salvage the situation. The suppressants should have kept Shinichiro's Quirk dormant. The boy shouldn't have been able to tap into his abilities, yet here he was, turning the facility into a warzone.
"Damn that boy," Garaki muttered, pacing the room. "And damn Robotnik for raising such a defiant brat."
The intercom crackled to life. "Dr. Garaki, the soldiers are requesting reinforcements. The subject is moving too fast to contain!"
Garaki cursed under his breath. "All units, use lethal force if necessary. He's too dangerous to let loose."
He stared at the monitors, his hands trembling. This isn't just a Quirk. This is something far more dangerous. If we don't stop him, the entire facility will fall.
••••••
Shinichiro sprinted through the maze of corridors, his senses still heightened. The walls around him seemed to blur as he moved, the sterile environment a stark contrast to the chaos within him.
The facility was massive, each turn leading to another identical hallway. "This place is like a damn hospital," he muttered. "Endless white walls and nowhere to go."
His mind worked furiously, piecing together a plan. This has to be underground. A place this big couldn't exist on the surface without anyone noticing. If I can find a control room, I can get the layout and figure out how to get out of here.
Despite running for what felt like hours, Shinichiro didn't feel fatigued. If anything, he felt energized. His muscles burned, but it was a satisfying burn, like he was pushing beyond his limits.
Is this my Quirk? he wondered. Whatever it is, it's keeping me alive.
••••••
Shinichiro skidded to a halt as he rounded a corner. Ahead of him, a group of children was locked in a desperate struggle against a team of soldiers. The kids—barely teenagers—were fighting with everything they had, but they were outmatched. Some lay injured on the floor, their faces pale but determined.
Test subjects, like me, Shinichiro realized.
One soldier raised his rifle, aiming at a boy who could barely stand.
"No!" Shinichiro shouted, his body moving before his mind could catch up.
He launched himself forward, closing the distance in an instant. His fist connected with the soldier's helmet, the impact sending the man flying.
The other soldiers turned, guns blazing.
Shinichiro ducked, weaved, and slid under the barrage of bullets, his movements a blur. The transition into "bullet time" was seamless, his perception sharpening as he redirected the bullets.
Each shot found its mark, disarming the attackers and sending them crumpling to the ground.
••••••
But victory came at a cost. A sharp pain tore through Shinichiro's chest as a stray bullet found its mark.
"ACK!" he gasped, stumbling backward. Blood seeped through his shirt, staining the pristine white floor beneath him.
The soldier who fired didn't hesitate. He aimed his weapon for the kill.
Not like this.
Shinichiro gritted his teeth, his vision blurring. With a final burst of strength, he lunged forward, disarming the soldier and delivering a devastating blow to his jaw.
The world spun as Shinichiro collapsed to the floor, the energy that had carried him this far finally giving out.
The children surrounded him, their faces a mix of awe and fear.
"Who… are you?" one of them whispered.
Shinichiro forced a weak smile. "Just… someone trying to survive."
To Be Continued...