A Visitor to the Future - 105 - A Vicious Pursuer
The metal beetle-beast was in close pursuit, moving at a speed which I could barely outpace. My footfalls were heavy - and I renewed my concentration to ensure I was moving as efficiently as possible. Sprinting in a Proxy was rarely about stamina - they could quite happily run for hours without wear - it was about technique, overriding my biological impulses to run in a certain way and take the lengthier strides that were more suited to the taller, heavier Proxy. My footfalls thudded around the corridors of the maze, and at one point I even cracked one of the floor tiles as I pushed off a wall.
The corners of the maze had become an all-new risk - if I took them too wide, the beetle-beast would gain ground and it's fearsome jaw would snap out at the empty air behind me. I cursed myself more than once - perhaps if I'd lashed out at the thing when it's back was turned, I could have dealt some damage. Now, with it's weaponized face turned towards me, trying to turn on it would just lead to damage, and I was reluctant to engage. I was beginning to worry that I'd hit a dead end, though, so I'd have to come up with a plan, and quickly.
I gave a breakdown of the beast's features to my team as I ran - it was difficult as I focused on the task of running through the maze, and my sentences were sporadic.
"I haven't encountered anything similar yet myself," said Gatecrash, "Just more maze. I've slowed down a bit more, though - if the challenges are equal between all of us, mine should in theory be a bit further ahead."
Tungsten's voice was slightly less expressive than usual, which I'd come to understand meant he was concentrating on something, "All being well I should circumvent my hazards. But that doesn't mean I can't assist you both. Could you try and get another look at it head-on? Perhaps at your next corner?"
Most of the turns in the maze ran at right-angles, but up ahead was a gentler bend, and I looked over my left shoulder as I rounded it. The beast was closer than I had realized, it's whirring jaws moving ceaselessly as it thundered forward with conviction.
"Dangerous looking jaw! Like a mix between teeth and a blender," I said, "That's all I can see."
I stumbled slightly and nearly keeled over, but pushed off the wall to save myself. If I'd gone for a heavier Proxy design, I'd have lost my balance that time for sure.
"What about the optics?" said Tungsten, pausing after the question for a brief moment, "Large, small, recessed? Could you take them out with a quick jab?"
I had to admit that my attention hadn't been on the thing's eyes. Another glance was needed as the next corner came around. Time seemed to slow as the beast drew ever closer - somehow it was now gaining on me.
"I can't see any!" I said, "No optics on the head or body."
I realized why it was gaining on me - the flat ground of this area of the maze had become a slight incline - and the thing's six legs provided it with more power and traction to pursue me.
"And you're sure?" asked Tungsten, "Sorry- I don't mean to doubt you, but I'm having to divide my attention here."
One more glance to be certain. The incline was getting steeper by the second. It'd be on me soon. I looked past the jaw, around the legs, the bulky shell of the back - nothing that looked like a camera or optics was visible.
"No, nothing!" I said, raising my voice despite myself, "No optics!"
Gatecrash picked up on what that meant before I did, "Thermals are unlikely - which means it must be using a similar trick to me! Enhanced audio! See if you can distract it!"
There wasn't much time to act, so I took the first plan that came into my head and ran with it. Up ahead was a T-intersection which would do the trick - I'd have to get this right the first time. I wouldn't get a second chance.
The intersection offered two choices - turn left, or continue running forwards. I chose left, but I'd stop running here, I skidded to a halt, stopping myself left arm against the wall, cracking it on impact, my right arm pulled back. I spared a glance backwards, the beetle-beast now less than fifteen metres away.
I then pulled back my right fist, and with all the power I could muster, punched the very edge of the intersection's corner directly.
The effect was that a fist-sized chunk of stone came loose from the wall, and bounced down the other branch of the intersection ahead of me. It bounced three times with a satisfying thunk.
I froze, unwilling to even pull back my arm to defend myself and risk making noise.
The beetle-beast reached the intersection - and kept going, in the direction that stone chunk had clattered down from, ignoring me entirely, now that I was no longer making noise. It continued a little way down the path but with no further sources of noise to follow, it slowed down, spun on the spot a few times, and began walking back the way it came.
"Any luck?" said Gatecrash.
It took me a second to connect that the beetle-beast would not be able to hear me speaking in the pilot's room, hundreds of metres away, "Yes, it worked! It only reacts to sound."
"Nice! Full disclosure, I did just realize it actually could have been using electromagnetic sensors too - but hey, things worked out!" said Gatecrash a tad sheepishly.
I laughed, and began to carefully remove my Proxy's arm from where it was still embedded in the wall. My sudden stop hadn't been without a little collateral damage, but it was mostly superficial. A far better outcome to the alternative.