Christmas Cat-astrophe
markzris:
It was dark in the areas Mark hadn’t gone through yet, and he couldn’t see too clearly down the hallway at first. He’d heard a noise, realizing he’d stepped on some papers that had somehow been tossed to the ground. Whatever knocked the hole in the building must have jostled some other things around the building. As he bent over to pick up the papers at his feet, he looked out, realizing that there were sparks occasionally flying out of ruined office equipment, lighting up a scene of wanton destruction. He unconsciously tried to take a step back, slipping on the loose papers and falling on his ass. He heard an impact above him and felt something dust down onto his head. He quickly stood back up and hit the lights. He saw several sharp looking things deeply embedded in the wall.
He also saw that there was a robot of some sort that had apparently been wrecking the place. Mark turned and ran.
Pluto’s eyes were very good in the dark. They were also good in light, but he hadn’t expected the lights to go on, or for them to be quite so bright so fast. It only took a moment for his eyes to adjust, but when he looked again the human he’d tried to hit had vanished unscathed.
He could hear the frantic panicked footsteps as Mark tried to dash for safety. Could track him as he raced down the hallway. Pluto tried to nail him through the walls, but punching through so much material ruined his aim. He’d have to catch up first. Looping around the floor the other direction would be a bit longer, but Pluto was still faster.
And he could take shortcuts if needed.
The building didn’t normally feel as big as it did right now, as he was sprinting down the hallway. Fearing that at any moment, the droid was going to round the corner and shoot him. He could see the elevators at the end of the hall, if he could just make it to there he might have a chance.
--Pang!--
There was a noise, and Mark saw something burst out of the wall near his legs. It narrowly missed him, and he had been too quick for him to react to, but he stumbled in surprise. The next two soared through the air about where his head would have been had he not tripped. Somehow he managed to avoid being shot and he reached the end of the hall. He slapped the buttons on the elevator, accidentally hitting up and down, calling two lifts.
Realizing the lifts might take too long, he opened the door to the fire escape emergency stairwell. This set off the alarm, loud noises and bright lights flashing. He was about to head down when a lift opened. Second guessing himself, he turned back, got in the lift, and hit the wrong floor. The door slid closed before he could get back out. He’d meant to go down, but he’d told it to the third floor by accident. Now he’d have to go up a floor before going back down, and he’d be easy prey trapped in the lift if he rode it back down.
His best bet at this point would be to leave the lift and try to lose his pursuer on the top floor and find a different way back down. He’d see if I could get an emergency call out for help while the lift went up.


















