Catalyst Chapter 6: The Assembly Line

Read chapter 6 of Catalyst by dumbhd on NovelPedia.

A glowing green rat scurries past Dash, Dash flinches and takes a step to guard-rail, " RAT! " Terra steps on it, green fluid explodes out in every direction. Dash stares at the stain on his pants for a second too long.. `` " I DESERVE TO.. " `` He clutches his head, trying to forget, trying to move on just as Terra said. He stares inbetween the holes of the walkway down to the abyss below, " Terra..? " Terra stops as they get to a metal grated platform cross section, " Tewwuh! " He says in a mocking tone, " Tewwa Tewwa Tewwa! Oh my god shut the fuck up. " He turns quickly to the side, Dash's finger already pointing shakingly. The dim lights that covered the walls were no longer a dull yellow, but now red. Alarms started blasting from every direction, the entire complex of the power-station illuminating one set of lights at a time, a loud sound reverberating after each light is turned on. " Huh. I expected something less.. Y'know, cliche? The red lights, alarm noise..- " " Terra uhm! I think we should be running right about now?? " Dash picks up the pace, walking past Terra, " Running where, huh? I'm talking, Shroom. " Dash looks around frantically, " Out.. Out.. OUT! " He sees a metal door covered in stickers, graffiti and worn yellow tape, words faintly written on it being read as ' Co__rol _oom ``, " TERRA COME I FOUND A HIDING SPOT! ", He quickly points at the door. Terra turns, his eyes narrowing, noticing the door. " Guess you're not dead-weight after all. " He starts marching over, a smirk slowly spreading across his face, Dash's eyes seemed to widen in glee, " You-- You mean it?! " " Yeah, you're not dead-weight.. You're as useful as the water that builds up on the bottom of a trashcan after it rains! " He rubs his nose and snickers. Dash frowns, his shoulders slumping. " I'll... take that as a compliment? " He pushes the door handle down, but it's locked. " It's jammed! " " Jammed? " Terra scoffs, nudging Dash aside with his hip. " With my impressive mental computational power of 1000 iq, i can easily get through problems like this, so watch and learn. Shroom. " Terra lifts his leg and slams the heel of his boot into the lock mechanism. The metal screeches, sparks flying as the door bursts open, hitting the wall inside with a deafening CLANG. " Honey, I'm home! " Terra yells into the room, stepping over the ruined frame. Inside, the Control Room is a relic of the past. Monitors the size of microwaves line the walls, most of them smashed or displaying static. The air smells of stale coffee and ozone. A single, rotary fan spins lazily on the ceiling, casting moving shadows over a desk cluttered with blueprints and half-eaten donuts that look fossilized, stale jam stuck onto the worn wooden desk. Dash scrambles in, immediately trying to push the heavy metal door back into place, but the lock is decimated. He resorts to leaning his back against it, panting. " Okay... Okay. We're in. Maybe there's a back exit? Or a map? " Terra ignores him, walking straight to the main console. He spins the swivel chair around and plops down, putting his feet up on the dashboard. " Ooooh, buttons! " " Don't touch anything! " Dash shrieks, pushing himself off the door. " This is a power plant! You could blow something up! " Terra’s finger hovers over a big red button labeled 'EMERGENCY SHUTOFF - SECTOR 4'. He looks at Dash, grinning mischievously. " You say 'blow up' like it's a bad thing. " " Terra, please! We need to hide! What if an even more dangerous agent comes! " HHis yell choked into a harsh whisper, trying not to alert anyone of their location. " Hide? Hiding is for people who owe money. I owe money but I'm a celebrity! There's a difference. " Terra leans forward, spotting a microphone on a flexible stand. He taps it. Thump. Thump. Crackle. The sound booms through the room's speakers—and based on the echo, through the entire facility. Dash’s face goes pale green. " No. Don't you dare.. " Terra presses the 'TALK' button, slowly glan