chapter 9 The Dangerous Encounter and the Broken Trust
The stale air hung heavy in the mecha training grounds, a metallic tang clinging to Alice's tongue.
Every shadow seemed to writhe, every distant clang echoing like a death knell.
This wasn't the usual boisterous arena, alive with the roar of engines and the clash of metal.
This was… different.
Creepy, even.
Goosebumps prickled her skin, the fine hairs on her arms standing at attention.
She pressed on, each step measured, her eyes scanning the dimly lit space.
The usual bright training lights were deactivated, replaced by an eerie, pulsating red glow emanating from some unknown source.
The silence, broken only by the drip…drip…drip of something viscous, was more unsettling than any noise.
She moved forward cautiously, her hand brushing against cold, smooth metal.
One wrong move, she knew, and…
*SNAP*
The ground beneath her gave way.
A net, almost invisible against the dark floor, sprung up, ensnaring her like a spider's prey.
Alice yelped, the breath knocked from her lungs as she was hoisted into the air, suspended upside down.
The sharp metallic edges of the net bit into her flesh, drawing blood.
Panic seized her.
She thrashed, the net tightening its grip, the metal digging deeper.
Pain shot through her arms and legs.
"Help!
" she cried, her voice a strangled whisper in the vast emptiness.
The only response was the mocking echo of her own desperation.
She twisted, trying to find a purchase, a weakness in the net's unforgiving embrace.
Nothing.
She was trapped.
The blood trickled down her arm, warm and sticky against her skin.
Her head throbbed, the world starting to swim.
Just as her strength began to fail, she spotted it.
A glint of metal, a sharp edge protruding from the netting near her hand.
With a surge of adrenaline, she stretched, straining her aching muscles.
Her fingers brushed against the cold metal… a knife.
Hope flickered in her chest, a tiny ember in the encroaching darkness.
"Just… a little… further…" she muttered through gritted teeth.
Finally, her fingers closed around the hilt.
With a desperate yank, she pulled the knife free.
Suddenly, a voice cut through the silence, cold and hard as steel.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Ethan emerged from the shadows, his face an impassive mask.
The faint red glow reflected in his eyes, giving him a chilling, almost demonic appearance.
He didn't rush to help her, didn't offer a hand.
He simply stood there, arms crossed, watching her struggle like some macabre performance.
"What do you think *you're* doing?
" he repeated, his voice dripping with suspicion.
Alice, suspended and bleeding, felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.
The knife slipped from her numb fingers, clattering against the metal floor below.
"Ethan!
I… I was trapped!
" she gasped, her voice laced with pain and disbelief.
He didn't believe her.
She could see it in the rigid set of his jaw, the coldness in his gaze.
He thought this was some kind of act, another one of her… what had he called them?
*Dramatics*?
The word echoed in her mind, a cruel mockery of her genuine fear.
A searing pain, sharper than the bite of the net, tore through her chest.
It wasn't the physical wounds that hurt the most.
It was the look in his eyes.
The utter lack of trust.
"Trapped?
" A new voice, laced with sarcasm, joined the scene.
Leo swaggered into the light, a smirk plastered on his face.
"Looks more like a poorly executed escape attempt to me.
" He glanced at Ethan, seeking approval.
"Right, boss?
"
Ethan's silence was answer enough.
Alice felt the world tilt.
Two against one.
Trapped, bleeding, and judged.
The perfect storm.
The air grew thick, suffocating.
She could barely breathe.
The blood roared in her ears, drowning out the throbbing in her head.
It felt like the whole world was closing in, crushing her beneath the weight of their accusations.
She was alone.
Completely and utterly alone.
"So," Leo continued, his voice laced with a cruel amusement, taking a step closer, "care to explain the knife, *doctor*?
" He emphasized the last word, turning it into an accusation.
Alice opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
What was the point?
They wouldn't believe her anyway.
She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the inevitable onslaught.
"Or maybe," Leo leaned in, his voice a low, menacing whisper, "you were planning on using it on someone?
"
The knife slipped in her grasp, the sudden sound and the precariousness of her position causing a spasm in her hand.
It clattered to the floor below, the sound echoing ominously in the cavernous training grounds.
Alice looked up, her heart sinking into her stomach.
Standing in the pulsating red light, silhouetted against the darkness, was Ethan.
His face was an impassive mask, his eyes like chips of ice.
Behind him loomed Leo, arms crossed, a sneer twisting his lips.
"Ethan…" she breathed, relief warring with a fresh wave of despair.
Relief that someone had found her, despair at the look on his face.
It wasn't concern she saw there, but… suspicion.
Accusation.
"Explain yourself," Ethan commanded, his voice devoid of any warmth.
Dangling upside down, blood dripping from her arms, Alice felt a surge of anger.
"I think the question is, what is *this*?
" she gestured to the net, her voice laced with frustration.
"Someone trapped me!
I was investigating…"
"Investigating?
" Leo scoffed, stepping forward.
"Investigating what?
How to sabotage the training grounds?
We found you here, alone, in the dark, with a knife.
Doesn't look good, does it, Alice?
"
"I was looking into the missing medical supplies," Alice insisted, her voice rising.
"Someone's been stealing them, replacing them with diluted, ineffective substitutes!
This is sabotage!
"
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"And you have proof of this?
"
"I… I was close," Alice stammered, her mind racing.
She'd been so close to finding something concrete, something to prove her suspicions.
Now, dangling helplessly, she felt her carefully constructed theories crumble around her.
"Close isn't good enough, Alice," Ethan said, his voice cold and final.
He made a gesture to Leo.
"Cut her down.
"
Leo, with a smirk, sliced through the netting with a flick of his wrist.
Alice landed on the hard floor with a thud, the impact jarring her already bruised and aching body.
She looked up at Ethan, her eyes pleading.
"Ethan, you have to believe me.
I wouldn't…"
"Save it, Alice," he interrupted, turning away.
"You've had your chance to explain yourself.
I'll have Mike escort you back to your quarters.
Consider yourself confined until further notice.
"
He turned and walked away, his silhouette disappearing into the shadows.
Leo lingered for a moment, his eyes narrowed.
"Don't try anything funny, medic," he hissed, before following Ethan.
Alice sat on the cold floor, the metallic tang of blood heavy in the air.
The glimmer of hope she'd felt earlier had been extinguished, replaced by a chilling sense of isolation.
He didn't believe her.
He hadn't even given her a chance.
And as the heavy footsteps of Mike, the security captain, approached, she knew she was in more trouble than she'd ever imagined.
The truth, it seemed, was further away than ever.
And now, she was trapped, not by a net, but by a web of lies and suspicion, woven by someone she couldn't see, someone who was clearly determined to frame her.