Chapter 60 Section fifty-ninth

Garcia watched as the circle of light from Allen's flashlight slowly shone through a row of lifeless control instruments, and then turned back.In the middle of the room, Nesbitt, the guard on duty, sits listlessly on a coffee-stained "emergency table."Waters sat next to him in the computer room with the skinny, goofy programmer.Ten minutes ago, they knocked on the door of the security control center, scaring the three men inside to death.The programmer sat quietly in the dark, biting his gnawed nails and sniffling from time to time.Waters put the police revolver on the table and turned the gun restlessly.

"What's that?" Waters said suddenly, grabbing the gun half-turned. "What is what?" Garcia asked sullenly. "I seemed to hear movement in the corridor just now," Waters swallowed hard, "like footsteps passing by the door." "Waters, you can always hear," Garcia replied, "otherwise we wouldn't be stuck here." There was an uneasy silence in the room for a moment. "Are you sure you heard Kofi right?" Waters said again. "If that thing kills a SWAT team, aren't we a piece of cake?" "Don't think about that," Garcia said, "and don't talk about it. It happened three floors up."

"It's unbelievable that Kofi just left us to die." "Waters? If you don't shut up, I'll throw you back in the computer room." Waters fell silent. "Call Kofi again," Allen said to Garcia. "We have to get out of this place, right now." Garcia shook his head slowly: "Impossible. He sounds like he's talking nonsense. I guess he can't bear the pressure. We won't be able to get out until the power is restored." "Who's his boss?" Alan still didn't give up, "Give me the walkie-talkie." "No way. The emergency battery will die soon."

Allen was about to argue, but suddenly stopped. "It smells weird," he said. Garcia sat up: "I smell it too." He slowly picked up the shotgun, as if he was haunted by a nightmare. "It's a murderous monster!" Waters yelled.Everyone jumped up immediately.Several chairs hit the wall behind them simultaneously.Someone slammed into the edge of the table, cursed in pain, and a monitor fell to the ground with a loud crash.Garcia grabbed the walkie-talkie. "Coffey! Here it comes!" There was a scratching sound outside and a soft click of the doorknob.Garcia felt a rush of heat between his legs and realized he had peed in his pants.The door buckled inward suddenly, and a blow shattered the wood.In the oppressive and cramped darkness, he heard someone praying behind him.

"Hear that?" Pendergast said softly. Margo shone the flashlight along the corridor: "I heard movement." Down the corridor, and around the bend ahead, there was the sound of splitting wood. "It's trying to break open some door!" Pendergast said. "We have to get its attention." He yelled loudly, "Hey!" Margo grabbed Pendergast's arm and said in a low voice, "Remember to express anything you don't want him to know in a way he can understand." "Miss Green, this is not the time to joke," Pendergast shouted, "it can't understand English."

"God knows, but you can't take any risks. In short, please believe the results calculated by the extrapolator. This thing has a highly developed brain. It has lived in the museum for many years. It is hiding in a dark corner and listening to people. It is very likely that it can understand certain things. words. We must not take any chances." "As you wish," said Pendergast softly, and then raised his voice: "Where are you? Can you hear me?" "Yes!" Margot cried too. "I'm lost! Help! Anyone hear me?" Pendergast lowered his voice. "It must have heard it. Now we can only wait." He knelt down on one knee, raised his . When I see the monster, I will give you an order. You turn on the miner's lamp, and aim at the monster anyway. If it is angry, hunting now is just for revenge, then we must slow it down by all means The corridor is only a hundred feet, and if it runs as fast as you say, it will cover the distance in seconds. You can't hesitate, and you can't panic."

"A few seconds," said Margo, "I see." Garcia knelt on one knee in front of the row of monitors, the butt of the shotgun lightly pressed against his cheek, and the muzzle of the gun was pointed at the dark front, he could hardly see the outline of the door.Waters takes a fighting stance behind him. "Shoot as soon as it comes in, don't stop," Garcia ordered. "I only have eight rounds. I'm going to buy as long as possible, and you'll be able to reload at least once before it's in front of us. Turn off the flashlight." .Are you trying to expose our position?"

The others in the security command center, Allen, the programmer, and Nesbitt the guard, retreated to the innermost wall, squatting under the extinguished museum security force display. Waters trembled, unable to speak. "It took out a SWAT team." There was another boom, the door creaked, and the hinges finally snapped open.With a scream, Waters jumped to his feet, stumbling into the darkness behind him, dropping the shotgun to the ground in a panic. "Waters, bastard, come back to me!" Waters tripped under a desk against the wall, banging his head on the leg, and Garcia heard the horrific sound of bones hitting metal."Don't let it eat me!" Waters screamed.

Garcia forced himself to turn and face the door.He struggled to steady the shotgun.The stench of the monster filled the nostrils, and the door trembled and withstood another blow.The last thing he wants to know at this moment is what is about to burst into the room with brute force.He swore and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.The only sound in the room was Waters' sobbing. Margot picked up the flashlight and shone into the corridor, trying to imitate the panicked movements of the lost.Lights flashed across the walls and the ground, providing faint illumination for each showcase.Her heart was pounding and her breathing was short of breath.

"Help!" she yelled again, "We're lost!" falling in her ears, her cry was unusually hoarse. There were no more sounds from the other side of the bend.The monster listened quietly. "Hello?" she forced herself to speak again, "Is anyone there?" The shout echoed in the hallway and faded away.She waited, looking into the darkness, nervously looking for any movement. In the darkness beyond the beam of the flashlight, a dark figure quietly appeared.It stopped suddenly and seemed to lift its head.Pendergast and Margo heard a strange sound: a wet sniff.

"Not yet," Pendergast whispered. It moved slightly again in the direction to go around the turn.The sniffing became louder, and the stench wafted down the corridor and invaded her nostrils. The monster took another step. "Not yet," Pendergast whispered. Garcia's hands were shaking so much that he could barely press the speak button. "Coffey!" he said through his teeth. "Coffey, by God! Got it?" "This is the forward command post. I'm Agent Slade. Where are you?" "This is the security command center," Garcia gasped. "Where's Kofi? I want to find Kofi!" "Special Agent Coffey is temporarily unwell. I will be the on-site commander until the regional director arrives. How are you doing?" "Our situation?" Garcia's laughter was piercing. "Our situation is that we're screwed. It's just outside the door, breaking in. Please, send a team in." "Damn it!" Slade yelled over the intercom, "Why didn't anyone notify me?" Garcia heard someone talking in a low voice, "Garcia? Do you have any weapons?" "Shotguns are a shit," Garcia whispered, on the verge of tears, "You've got to bring bazookas. Please, help us." "Garcia, we're trying to piece together the clues. The command and control system is a complete mess. You hang on a little longer. That thing can't punch through the security command center door, can it? The door is metal, right?" "It's wood, Slade, just an ordinary door!" said Garcia, tears streaming down his face. "Wooden? What the hell kind of place is this? Garcia, listen to me carefully. Even if we send someone in now, it will take twenty minutes to find you." "I beg you……" "You're left to figure it out. I don't know who your enemy is, Garcia, but you have to stay calm. We'll be there as soon as possible. Keep calm and aim—" Garcia sat slumped on the ground, and released the speaking button with his fingers in desperation.There's no hope, we're all dead.