Robin: by Robin

"The Hole"
​

Well, I shot Kleio's boss, the other night. Not that I meant to. The guy is signing Kleio's paychecks and drumming in the band I'm in. Also, he's a pretty good person. I feel terrible about the whole thing. I guess I got what I deserve, in the end, but still. I wish it didn't happen.
It went down on Fernbrook. I was at the lake again with Morgan and Kleio's boss. I guess I'll just call him Asterick, from now on, for the sake of the story. That's his name, anyway. Asterick had been working on renovating the boathouse there to be… something. I don't know what. I read over the blueprints and I still couldn't figure it out. As he worked on the roof, Morgan and I talked on the ground floor. We stayed there for a while but, as night came along, Morgan decided he wanted to head out to get the last of his liquor from his apartment on Refract Valley. I said it was a good idea and let him go. That same night, I had planned to visit Kleio at her work. Asterick (or 'Six' I guess is what Morgan calls him) needed to come with me to ensure I had the proper whatever to get there. I was taking a taxi, after all, and had only been to that location once before. So, a few minutes after Morgan had left, we made our way out too. We got to the clock tower that the teleporter was kept in but, since I was ahead of Six, I got to see the scene that was taking place inside first. There was a standoff. Morgan had a gun pointed at a Novakid with an assault rifle. They were both on either side of the teleporter. I ran back out and shut the door, frantically digging through my backpack for the pistol I kept in there. A while back, Morgan got shot at that same place. We talked about it, once he was out of the hospital, and he revealed to me that there might be a hit out on him. I won't get into his past here but there are some who consider him a threat, because of what he had done prior to coming to the Fringe. We thought it was over, once he talked the guy who pulled the trigger into sparing his life. However, in case it wasn't, I told him I'd keep him protected. I made it a promise. Now, the time had come where I had to follow through.
I got my gun out and asked Six if he was armed. He said he wasn't. Or, rather, he showed me. Six couldn't talk. He was like those cyborgs you see in movies with human and robotic parts. I guess that got rid of his ability to speak or something. I don't know. Never asked for the story. In any case, I realized it was just going to be me in there. I told Six to stay outside before I circled around the building, hoping to ambush the gunman. I dropped my backpack, as I was doing so. Didn't need the extra weight on me. Once I was on the other side, I crept into the lounge area, pistol still in hand. I could see them again. They were talking, both taking aim at each other, the Novakid with his back turned to me. He was unaware I was there. At that angle, I couldn't make out any real details regarding what the Novakid looked like. There were two Florans in there too, for some reason. Maybe just bystanders that came in at a bad time. I snuck in and hid to the side of the door the was between the lounge and the hallway, pistol ready. I was just one move away from saving a friend's life and coming out a hero. Then, it happened. I don't know what caused it so suddenly but I just froze up. I had so many thoughts rush into my head, at that moment, it was hard to comprehend them all. Fifteen or twenty feet away from me was a threat that was very much capable of ending my life. If I didn't act soon, though, he'd be ending Morgan's. I didn't want to risk getting killed too but, at the same time, I had promised Morgan to keep him safe from exactly this. Maybe it was too late for him. Maybe he had the situation under control. I slumped down to the floor, now sitting against the wall, just staring at the gun. I thought about Kleio and how she'd react to me getting killed like that. How would Luis react? I didn't come out all this way just to get offed by some rent-a-gun. I really couldn't say how much time had passed. It felt like a long while, though. Finally, something pushed me to make a decision. I came back to a standing position and, slowly, pushed the door to fully close it. I had never been so disappointed in myself. Once it was shut, I leaned my back against it, making sure it stayed that way until I heard something. I guess I was expecting a gunshot. Then, after the smoke had cleared, I'd either be apologizing to a friend for the next few years or breaking out in tears. I still wish I hadn't been such a fucking coward. I lowered the gun and just stayed still, trying my absolute best to be quiet. Then, another thought crept into my head. What if the gunman heard me close the door? What if he was looking back and saw that the door I was hiding behind was closed now? If he knew I was there and felt surrounded, he'd panic like a cornered animal. "He's going to kill me, after he's done with Morgan.", I thought. My heart rate spiked. I didn't even hear the footsteps as someone made their approach from the hallway. I just felt a force trying to open the door, my body being the only thing keeping it closed. I jolted and jumped away, raising the gun again as I whipped around. I fired off a shot before I even had a target, I was so scared. It went straight into the floor. The second shot, though, was aimed right at the door, penetrating it. I was hyperventilating and my hands were shaking. I didn't know what had happened. All I knew was that whoever had pushed on the door wasn't trying to get it open anymore. Apart from the ringing in my ears, it was silent.
I waited a good few seconds before I made any sort of move. I listened for a sound on the other side of that door. After a moment, I could hear talking. Not even yelling. Just talking. I also heard footsteps. They indicated someone was walking back down the hall away from me. As they got further away, I moved in closer until I was back up against the door. I pressed my eye against the newly-created hole in it. It was no good. I couldn't see anything. So, somehow, I summoned the courage to open it just enough to look to see if anyone was still there. I didn't like what I saw. Morgan was gone and Six was in his place. He was walking away, clutching his side with his hand. I don't know what the hell he was doing in there. I don't think it connected that I had shot him just yet but, still, he looked very injured. I almost opened the door completely and ran to him to see if he was okay but, then, I saw the gunman again. He looked like he hadn't moved. Except, now, he had his rifle pointed at me. Eyes down the sights. Finger on the trigger. He probably could have killed me then and there but I guess he was much more trigger-disciplined than I was. I slowly pushed the door closed, inching over to the side of it again, going back to square one. I couldn't worry about saving Morgan or, now, Six anymore. I was the one in danger. Before I could think of a plan, the door started to swing open. Someone on the other side had turned the knob and just pushed it. I kicked it shut and ran over to one of the armchairs. Thinking quickly, I propped the thing up against it, buying myself enough time to run out of there without being shot at. I dashed out of the building faster than I thought I was capable of going. I didn't even look back. I just ran. Headed west, I soon passed the stores and inn and animal pens. I had only been that far out once before and I certainly wasn't familiar with the forest on Fernbrook. Either way, I ran out of town, not thinking of when to stop. I went by caves, lakes, hills, and whatever else you could think of. I wasn't even keeping track of where I was going or of my surroundings. After maybe four or five minutes of running, I was exhausted. I felt like I had made it far enough to a point where the gunman wouldn't try to chase me. Yet, I was still running. Eventually, I came to what could only be described as a roofless underground bunker. It was a single square-shaped room with nothing in it, probably twenty or so feet deep and fifteen wide. The only thing I saw was the plank that was placed across the hole, bridging the gap. Without thinking, I tried to run across it. I ended up losing my balance and falling in. The fall hurt my foot. Broke my ankle too, if I remember correctly. Keeping the weight on one leg, I got up and looked around for an exit door or a ladder or something. There was nothing of the sort, down there. I was trapped. There was no way out but up.
For a solid day, I was stuck down there. No way of calling for help. No one around to hear me scream. No food. No way out. Nothing. Just me, a metal box, a lantern, and my pistol. I fired it a few times, after a couple of hours went by. No response. My foot was getting worse, as time went by, and I was getting ill and hungry. Luckily, it rains all the time on Fernbrook. The room had a drain to keep the rainwater from filling it up but I covered it with my jacket. It also came in handy to have a floor drain when it came to taking a piss. The lantern kept me warm, during the night, but only enough to keep myself from freezing. I tried pushing the big metal box over to the corner of the room and using that to help elevate myself out of that hole. It was no good. I would still have to jump an incredible height to grab the surface with my hands. Given my foot, jumping at all was an impossibility. Instead, I just sat there, contemplating the decisions that brought me to that point and how it could have ended differently for me. After daylight had come and gone, things really started to feel grim. It wasn't until Nate of all people came by and found me, the next night, that I got out. I don't know what he was doing out there at that time but he came by while I was sleeping up against the box. I was a goddamn mess. I felt like it too. I jolted into consciousness, after hearing Nate call my name out, and shouted for help. Using a rope, he helped pull me back up to the surface. He had to carry me to his campsite, since, by that point, I could barely even stand anymore. After eating some of his canned food, I told him a brief version of the story. He demanded I go to a hospital and, after several coughing fits and nearly passing out, I agreed. However, not before I checked to see what had happened to Morgan and Six. My PDA was in the backpack I had left to the side of the clock tower the day before. He carried me all the way back to town. The place was empty now, for the better. We got to the clock tower again and I limped to the spot I left my bag at. It was still there, protected from the rain, leaning against the building. I sent messages to them both, on my way to the hospital. Morgan replied first. Then Six. I was relieved. Everything was okay again. The only thing I was really mad about was that I missed my date with Kleio because I was stuck in that fucking hole. I hope she understood.
The Caelestis medical staff took me in, very familiar with me, by then, and fixed me up. I had a fever, a bad headache, and a broken ankle. A cast and some medicine solved that problem. I owe a lot to Nate for the help. That's become a trend with these experiences; me owing someone something because of how they helped me. I need to work on bettering myself. I can't rely on all these people to get me out of the situations I put myself in. Morgan certainly can't rely on me, apparently. As for what happened to Six, later that day, I found out he was staying in the adjacent room at that hospital. I went to see him with my cast and crutch. I didn't want him getting mad at what I did taking it out on Kleio. I didn't even know if he knew. We had a good 'talk' and I learned a lot more about the guy. At the end of it, he revealed one final piece of information; the fact that he knew I was the one who shot him. I apologized for it again and again. I truly did feel awful. He shrugged it off. The guy was a pacifist and told me that Morgan's enemies weren't his. That's why he had gone in there. I told him about the promise I made to Morgan about keeping him safe, hoping to justify my actions a bit more. He said there was no need to do so and dismissed me so that he could sleep. I let him. It was the least I could do for him. It's not often you shoot someone and they not only forgive you but keep your girlfriend under their employment. I'll make it up to him, though. I'll have Kleio bake him a cake or something while I pick up an apology card and the cake will read; 'Sorry about your bullet wound.' We'll even sign it 'love: Robin and Kleio'. This is the first time I'm seeing those two names typed out together, actually. I like how it looks.