Chapter 32 Text from Rudy
The moment Professor Claude handed me the neon-colored gun, I knew immediately that this thing wasn’t something anyone sane would play around with. Its edges were rough, unfinished, like he had soldered pieces together five minutes before we walked in. At first glance, it looked like a slightly bulkier Glock, same basic frame, same silhouette. But the moment my fingers wrapped around the grip, I felt the difference. The weight dragged my arm slightly downward, heavier than any standard firearm I had handled. And beneath the metal… there was a hum. A low, barely-there vibration, like some dormant creature breathing slowly in its sleep.
I felt a strong energy pulsing. Raw, unfiltered, and definitely dangerous as it sent a strange chill down my spine.
“Ah, wait! Wait!” Professor suddenly shouted, his voice cracking with that familiar blend of panic and excitement that always surrounded him. “I forgot something extremely important!”
My heart sank. Only Professor Claude would remember something “extremely important” after handing someone an unstable prototype weapon.
“What is it?” I asked.
He pointed frantically at the left side of the gun. “The switch! Yes, yes, that one! Lower it. All the way down. If you fire that thing as it is right now, we’ll be redecorating the lab with a nice, smoking crater.”
I blinked, then raised the gun. He wasn’t joking, the switch was cranked to maximum, sitting right on a red danger dot.
“Professor,” I muttered, “you really need to stop giving people weapons set to ‘obliterate the room’ by accident.”
He waved his hand dismissively. “Nonsense! A good scientist always tests the limits. But preferably not with the lab still intact.”
I sighed and turned the notch down to the lowest setting.
Once it clicked in place, I lifted my right arm and aimed at the training dummy directly across from me. The dummy was old, patched up in multiple places from previous tests, and honestly looked like it had been through war.
I steadied my breathing, aligned my aim, and squeezed the trigger.
Boooom!
A burst of neon energy exploded out of the barrel. It wasn’t a simple muzzle flash, this was a full-on wave of concentrated light. The beam shot forward with terrifying force and slammed into the dummy’s head.
Which promptly disintegrated into glowing fragments.
Pieces of it scattered across the floor like colorful confetti.
“Bravo!” Professor Claude clapped enthusiastically, nearly jumping. “Marvelous! Excellent execution!”
Anna and Eric, who had been standing off to the side, exchanged amused looks. I could tell they were surprised but they still seemed entertained watching me blow something’s head off with a weapon.
I stared at the gun in my hand. “Professor… this thing is insane. It’s so powerful.”
“Oh, you have no idea,” he chuckled. “Trust me, you do not want to turn those notches up and see what it can do at full power. The recoil is practically nonexistent, the energy output is magnificent, and the stabilization mechanism—oh, don’t get me started! This may be my most exciting invention yet!”
He put on and adjusted his glasses and then pointed behind me. “Now then! Face backward, eyes turned away, and shoot ten targets.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Backwards?”
“Yes, yes, backwards.” He grinned like a madman. “But wait!”
He pulled out a tiny remote from his coat pocket and pressed a button.
Every dummy in the room jerked to life, moving in strange patterns: zig-zagging, darting sideways, pausing at random intervals like drunken robots.
“Now that’s more interesting,” he said.
I smirked. “So we’re doing it like that, huh?”
I turned around, facing away from the moving targets. Slowly I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. The lab noise faded. All I focused on was the shifting sound of the dummies dragging across the floor, the mechanical whirs, the subtle movements of their joints, and the rhythmic pattern of their steps.
I lifted the gun behind me and locked in on the sounds.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Energy shots fired one after another in smooth, semi-automatic bursts. Each shot felt like a pulse in my palm, each one traveling exactly where I intended.
I didn’t need to look. I trusted my instincts.
After about ten shots, I opened my eyes and turned around.
Ten dummies lay motionless on the ground, each with a fresh hole burned through them.
Professor Claude clapped loudly. “Spectacular! Absolutely spectacular! You haven’t lost your touch at all. Although…” He leaned forward and squinted at me. “You do need to work on your reaction speed and reflexes. A little more sharpness, a little more edge. But that’s for another day! For now, consider this a successful prototype test.”
He took the gun from my hand, running his fingers lovingly across its neon frame. “I’ll need some time to finish refining the structure. It’s still a prototype, and the energy core needs further stabilization.” Then he glanced toward Anna and Eric. “And as for you two, I’ll prepare something delightful next time. A good accomplice deserves good equipment!”
Anna beamed. Eric nodded with interest.
Before I could respond, my phone buzzed in my pocket.
I glanced down, expecting a casual notification or random message.
But the moment I saw who it was from, my entire body froze.
Rudy.
The message was short, direct, but it hit me like electricity.
\[Meet me somewhere private. I’ll be waiting.
Address attached.\]
I clicked the link.
A Five-star hotel?!
My face immediately heated up. Memories from last time surged into my mind—his hands, his breath, the way he held me like I was something he didn’t want to let go of.
My pulse spiked.
I swallowed hard and locked my phone, trying to steady myself. But the warmth in my chest and the anticipation curling through my stomach refused to settle.