Lucas felt a bolt of heat from behind and he ducked to the right, pushing the door behind him to shield himself. Subconsciously, he turned around and his soul almost left his body when he saw the door that was split in half.
If he hadn't pulled the door to shield himself, he would've been dead for sure.
Dave and Vance, who were waiting for him outside, were petrified to see what the laser shot could do. Thankfully, Lucas had acted quickly. Otherwise, the man wouldn't be standing before them anymore.
The three men didn't waste time anymore and sprinted up the stairs, towards the exit, that seemed far away suddenly. But they held on, keeping their ears trained for the rhythmic padding behind them.
Gritting his teeth, Lucas ran with all his might, ignoring the pain in his thighs.
'I need to train seriously,' he thought, making his mind to improve his stamina and strength starting from that day.
The rhythmic padding became louder, and the robots were behind them.
Previously, the myriad of equipment acted as shields, blocking the robots from finding them quickly. However, now, they didn't have many options or places to hide. So, they could only continue running, hoping the robots didn't see them.
Lucas felt a sudden adrenaline rush, forcing him into a sprinting spurt. At one point in time, he even overtook Dave, who was ahead of him.
In no time, they reached outside and looked up at the sky.
Ryker, who had been waiting for them, saw them the moment they were out and his brows knitted into a frown.
"Why are they running as if their lives depend on it?" he wondered, an ominous feeling hitting his heart.
With a grave expression, he lowered the chopper, keeping an eye around him at the same time for any signs of danger.
Lucas was delighted that they were close to their escape. A few minutes- a few minutes more and they'd be out of hell.
Alas, their luck wasn't in their favor.
A few seconds later, the four robots were out of the lab as well, and Ryker's eyes widened in disbelief when he noticed what had agitated his friends.
The sun was rising slowly, coating the sky with hues of red and orange. It wasn't dark anymore. So, Ryker could easily see the robots, and his heart almost leaped out of his chest when he noticed their red eyes.
"Fucking hell!" Gnashing his teeth hard, he increased the speed, lowering the chopper to his save his friends as quickly as possible.
However, it wasn't that easy. Since the three men's paces had slowed down considerably, the robots were close to catching up to them. If this continued, they would be dead for sure.
One of the robots shot a laser beam at Dave. But the man escaped it with his agile moves.
The remaining three attacked Lucas and Vance. Although they too managed to evade the attacks every time, their moves were slowing down as time passed. Their reaction time was increasing.
Ryker had his eyes trained on the robots. He lost control of the chopper for a moment when one of the robots noticed him and shot a laser beam at him.
Ryker's palms turned clammy, and he pushed up the collective pitch control immediately. The angle of the rotor blades increased, and the chopper ascended to the sky immediately.
He was close. So close. The laser beam passed under the chopper, missing it by an inch. If he had delayed another second, he would have plunged to his death for sure.
Ryker's entire shirt was drenched with sweat, and he had never felt so terrified before. Even though he had seen the monsters kill the other humans, ripping their limbs apart and swallowing them as if they were inhaling food, he had never experienced the near death situation himself. So, he hadn't felt that fear.
Ryker's body had turned cold, and he looked down, focusing more on the robots than his friends.
Ryker's gaze met another robot, and he prepared to maneuver the chopper again. And as expected, the robot shot a laser beam at him and he evaded it easily.
Luckily, the robots' attacks were unidirectional and their action speed was slow, giving them some leeway.
Lucas felt his body giving up slowly. His exhaustion was catching up quickly, his previous adrenaline rush dropping at an alarm rate. If this continued, he'd be dead within seconds.
Unwilling to give up yet, he clutched the rifle in his hands tight. Glancing down at it for a second, he decided to take the risk. He was already at the dead end. What more could he lose?
The rifle's build was not much different from the machine gun. So, he aimed it at the robot that was closest to him.
As if its sensors had sensed his eyes on him, the robot's eyes met his.
Lucas was frightened out of his wits. But he didn't budge and pressed the trigger.
Lucas was taken aback by the sheer amount of force he had to use to press the trigger. It was more difficult to operate the rifle than the machine gun.
The next instant, a blue laser light emerged from the rifle and hit the robot. Instantly, it was split in half.
"Freaking hell!"
Not just Lucas, but even the other three men were shocked beyond words.
Now that they had a weapon to use against the robots, Dave and Vance didn't hesitate to utilize them anymore and they aimed at the remaining robots.
Seeing one of the robots now in ruins, the other three robots were alarmed and their attacks rates increased. They aimed at the three men on the ground, ignoring Ryker and giving the man a few seconds of relief.
Like Lucas, Dave too got acclimated with the rifle in his hand and he started aiming at the robots. Although he wasn't as lucky as Lucas, he still managed to slow it down, reducing its attack frequency.
But Vance wasn't that lucky. He couldn't quite decipher how to use the rifle and he to keep diving to escape from being slit into two. At one point, he was so close to being shot that he had assumed he'd be dead for sure.
It was Dave who saved him, his laser gun taking down the robot a second before it killed Vance.
Now, they had only two robots to take care of.