Rachel knew what was happening. She had seen this happen before, in her waking nightmare. She froze at first, too petrified to do anything about it, and then something snapped inside her. She grasped the gemstone around her neck, shifting to the level below.
Her heart was beating hard in her chest and her lungs felt suddenly full of oxygen. Memories bubbled to the surface of her mind. She had seen this scene before. Alice dangled from an outstretched hand behind the reinforced glass wall of the perimeter corridor, her eyes full of tears and her mouth working in anguish as she cried out with words that Rachel couldn't hear. Rachel knew whose hand was holding Alice's wrist now, and having seen Drefnig struggling on the level above, she knew his grip wouldn't last long.
She felt the strength go out of her like a sudden gust of wind. She wanted to fall to her knees like before, but this wasn't a waking nightmare that she could observe passively from a distance. It was really happening this time. Alice would die unless she did something to help her. Why hadn't she warned her about her vision before? The answer was obvious. Because she hadn't believed it would come true. She hadn't believed in her own abilities. She had ignored it, like so many other things that she hadn't wanted to face, and now her friend was going to die because of her own stupidity.
Alice kicked her boots against the glass, pushing herself away, aided by the hand that swung her from above. When she swung back in, she extended her legs at the last moment, slamming her boots against the glass. Rachel heard the thud against the corridor's glass wall, but the glass was reinforced. It wasn't going to break.
Alice twisted to one side, trying to straighten herself as she dangled from Drefnig's outstretched hand. She stared through the glass, straight into Rachel's eyes and mouthed something that Rachel couldn't make out. Rachel felt tears forming in her eyes as the hand lost its grip and Alice started to fall.
Rachel pulled her impact pistol from its holster and fired three times at Alice's head. The reinforced glass absorbed the first two shots as fine cracks stretched out from the impact site, and then the glass shattered as the last bullet passed straight through it, catching the corner of Alice's ear as she fell.
Rachel didn't wait for the glass to finish shattering. She dropped her impact pistol and thrust both hands through the falling glass, grabbing Alice's shoulders as she descended towards the darkness of the Grand Plaza below. With a sudden twist, Rachel pulled Alice towards her, lifting her upwards and flinging her across the corridor behind her.
Alice landed hard on the stone floor, and then sat upright, staring at Rachel with her back against the inside wall. Her eyes were wide, and her hands trembled on her knees as she tried to recover her breath.
'Thank me later,' Rachel said, sounding more calm than she felt. Her back hurt worse than ever and the sucker marks on her neck were burning more than she could bear. She raised her hand, grasping the gemstone around her neck, and emptied her thoughts so she could shift back to the level above.
Darkness enclosed her, stars spinning towards her from every direction but Rachel controlled the nameless place better this time. She gathered herself together before she could fall apart and reappeared standing on the shield engineering level, with her heart beating fast in her chest.
Alice might be safe now but that didn't mean the danger was any less real. The towers could still fall if she didn't take control of the situation before the Augmented overpowered them all.
Half a dozen soldiers stared at her from the middle of the corridor.
'I'm a sand lord,' she said. 'We teleport sometimes. Don't be afraid. Stay focussed. Keep your eyes on the enemy.'
Some of the soldiers nodded while others flushed with colour and turned away. Rachel was no stranger to receiving odd looks, but she was well aware that she had just given the security forces another reason to see her as different from everyone else. The rumours would travel fast when this was over.
In the corner of her eye, she saw a dozen silver arms floating out from the stairwell. A trail of electrical sparks bounced across the floor as a Squid Droid stepped out into the corridor.
Drefnig was still lying on the floor, gazing over the edge. 'Alice?' he said with increasing confusion in his voice.
'She's okay,' Rachel said. 'She's safe on the level below.'
Drefnig turned to face her with a frown. 'I don't understand.'
'There's no time,' Rachel said.
'Get up,' Parker said, standing nearby. 'It isn't safe there.'
Drefnig shuffled away from the ledge as Parker reached down and helped him back to his feet. Drefnig nodded in thanks and then turned to see what was happening as Rachel called out to him.
'Look out!' she said.
A long tentacle slapped Parker across the head, almost knocking him over the edge. Drefnig reached out to steady him and Parker scurried back into the middle of the corridor with red sucker marks down the side of his pale face.
Suzuo slithered along the ceiling, landing beside Drefnig before he could understand what was happening. Rachel reached for her impact pistol but realised she had left it on the level below. There was no time to go and get it now.
Drefnig pulled his impact pistol from its holster and fired twice before thick tentacles wrapped around his arm, pulling it upwards and sending his shots wide into the wall. Rachel rushed forwards but the tentacles swung back and forth in front of her face, forcing her away. Drefnig struggled to escape from the augmented's suckers but they wouldn't let him go. More thick white tentacles wrapped around him, flexing and tightening before throwing him up into the air.
Rachel watched in horror as Drefnig bounced off the ceiling and fell back to the floor, breaking his arm and banging his face on the hard stone floor.
'No!' she said, rushing forwards.
Drefnig lifted his head with blood spilling from his open mouth, but Suzuo was on him before Rachel could intervene. The powerful tentacles slammed Drefnig into the ceiling once more and his body struck stone with a sickening crunch. Several soldiers opened fire with their impact pistols, trying to make Suzuo release his grip, but the augmented was unconcerned by their attack, even as bullets embedded themselves in his thick skin, spilling a thick grey paste from his wounds.
Suzuo held onto Drefnig, lifting the commander over his head and staring up at him with a mocking grin. Drefnig still struggled, even though it was clear that several of his bones were now broken. Rachel found it hard to watch as Suzuo taunted Drefnig's feeble attempts at escape, tightening his tentacles until Drefnig's face was so red and his eyes had rolled back in his head. The soldiers kept firing their impact pistols but Suzuo's thick skin was like armour. He ignored their attack, seeming to enjoy his moment of glory.
Rachel rushed forwards, trying to kick Suzuo in the head but a tentacle struck her across the arm, making her stagger backwards.
Drefnig dangled from a long white tentacle above the augmented's head. He spat blood into Suzuo's black disk eyes because there was nothing else that he could do. The tentacles tightened around him, flinging him first against the inner wall and then out towards the place where the outer wall had once been. There was nothing but dark open sky to catch him as the tentacles released him at last. Drefnig flew through the air in a long graceful arc, hurtling towards the Grand Plaza, over nine hundred metres below. He made no sound as he fell, disappearing out of sight.
Rachel held one hand over her mouth as Alice screamed from the level below.