Freegans part 51

Matt

The Tower produced some helmets, and tossed five to us.
"You'll need these if you want to blend in. It's part of the standard dress code." I decided that I liked the Tower. The helmets, I was not so enthusiastic about. It felt like my friends and I were being swallowed up by the black evilness of the consumerists. I felt kind of claustrophobic with the thing on, even though I could breathe just fine. I looked through the viewing lens at my friends, and couldn't even see them. I just saw soldiers; rather small ones, but soldiers nonetheless. It creeped me out.

The one closest to me turned its helmeted head in my direction, and said, "For a group of people obsessed with fashion, these guys sure are negligent when it comes to their soldiers' outfits." Never had I been so glad to hear Cara give a smart-alecky remark.

Ox gave us a final briefing.
"Whatever you do, you MUST not give us away. To do so would be fatal. Do not speak unless you absolutely have to. Try to avoid being seen at all costs. And keep an eye out for Drones."
Then, slowly, he turned the wheel to the submarine door. With a loud, ominous creak, it swung open.

We filed out in a neat, orderly fashion, trying to act as natural as possible. My palms were sweating, and my mouth was incredibly dry.
You are not a spy, I kept telling myself. You belong here.
Yeah, right, my brain replied.
The Prison Sanctum was really big and metallic, kind of like a hospital. Or, at least, like I imagined a hospital to be, never having actually been in one before. I wondered why the consumerists were so fond of long corridors and metal walls. The Ox gave us a silent message with his fingers, splitting us up into three groups. His group headed off one direction, the group led by Le Masque in another, and our group, led by Kestrel, went the third. Our mission was to find the Computer and ATM of Light, and have Madiza type in the KillCode. I was sure it was much easier said than done. For one thing, how would we know it when we saw it? I had seen computers and ATMs in books before, but never in person.

I looked around the corridors as we walked, searching for any clues. I don't know what I was expecting; maybe a sign post with an arrow pointing in the right direction. No such luck. It seemed like we had been walking around for hours upon hours, and my feet hurt. Suddenly, Madiza reached out and yanked on the Kestrel's sleeve. He turned, and she pointed to a passage on the left eagerly. Nodding, he turned our squadron that direction. We walked along, looking confident and self-assured. And then, we stopped short. The Computer and ATM of Light was there, all right. It looked like the two machines morphed together somehow, which was pretty weird. However, we had a small problem. The entrance was being guarded by a Drone.