He was right... There was no use in begging or asking politely... She was alone. She could count only in her own strength and intelligence.
But before she could open her mouth to answer, something caught her attention, immediately making her stand up and completely change her expression. Naeemah became much more alert after detecting separate heat signatures beyond the door. The forms of this heat took the shape of ten armed Maximation soldiers. To make matter worse, the large metal doors began to slide open.
Naeemah changed her expression immediately, they wouldn't ask any questions. They were coming in to kill them all. Instantly, she seemed almost like a different person. "Soldiers on the door. Ten." she mumbled. Anyone paying enough attention to her would probably hear her talking. They were too many to face, especially armed. Sure, Naeemah would be able to get at least some, but not without risking her life. Being an ambush predator, Naeemah was in a severe disadvantage if she stood behind to fight against them.
Running her eyes through the room, quickly searching for an escape route, she saw Poppy going near the vents. Darting towards the vents, Naeemah quickly opened the face-plate with her powerful tail. "Poppy, Noelle, If you want to live, come with me! Naeemah said with her forked tongue coming in and out of her mouth every second. Her eyes had now, instead of her normal pupils, vertical, slit pupils. Her piercing stare quickly darted from Noelle, to Poppy, Claudia and then the vents.
"Quickly They won't ask you any questions. They are coming in to kill us!" she hissed, before standing on her tail to reach the vents and slithering inside the vents. Without making a sound, she put her hand out of the vent, to help them to get up.
Poppy felt a shiver run down her spine, whether from the snake lady coming out of no where like a bat out of hell tearing the face plate off like it was tinfoil or the imminent cold blooded slaughter of a dozen mostly innocent hybrids, who knew? Turning around to make sure Claudia was headed this way she stuck her fingers in her mouth whistling loudly, "Move it or lose it, mother fuckers! She turned around and grabbed Naeemahs hand, the poor snake woman had to basically drag Poppy in due to her wing span being too wide. It had nothing to do with the dark, nothing at all. Neither did the fact that she was full body hugging Naeemahs tail, with her eyes squeezed shut. She wasn't scared of the dark, the dark was her bitch.
First it was the barrels of the M4 assault rifles, piercing through this now open space, and then it was the rain of the bullets, gun fire in an out pour, all directed for the next whom dared to climb for an escape through the vents. In otherwords, Claudia was the first to breathe differently- inhaling and exhaling through rapid short gasps in reaction to the bullets trailing from her right foot up to her ankle. She proved successful in her retreat to the vents, though it took the sacrifice of three bullet wounds.
Those in the vents could hear it below them, the gun shots, the hell beneath, and how, just by the skins of their teeth, they were able to dodge it. Well, all of them in the vents except Claudia. Her rabbit's foot did not prove quite lucky this time.
"I'm sorry, but we're not going back to help anyone." Naeemah said, slithering by the vents, with Poppy still hugging her tail. Despite the loud sounds of the blazing guns below, Naeemah was calm. In fact, calm would be an understatement. She was literally showing no emotion, as cold as ice. "From now on, we're alone. Its either kill or be killed." she said, continuing navigating through the vents. "I do not condone unnecessary bloodshed, but if you have any qualms about killing someone, i would suggest you to get rid of it as soon as possible. The soldiers won't think before killing us." Naeemah said, her forked tongue getting in and out of her mouth."I don't wish to alarm you, but some of the hybrids cannot be trusted." she said, turning her head back, her piercing eyes glowing through the darkness. Dante was the most immediate threat, but Naeemah was sure that there were other cold blooded killers between them. She didn't care about who she killed, she didn't care about who was a psychopath or a self proclaimed "hero"... She only cared about Todd and her own safety.
Claudia had made a mad dash for the vent. That's what she got for not paying attention. She hissed in pain touching her foot. Lucky rabbits foot her ass. The bastards had really got her. She looked up at the crowded area, not enjoying the closer proximity. She slide away as the snake started her speech. No way in hell was she staying in a group. They would be a higher sought target. Not to mention her rodents heart beat frantically being so near to its natural predator. She maneuvered down the vents slowly, nursing her foot. She used her ears as a sort of echo location, she was going to find a nice isolated spot in the vents to hide in until this bull shit blew over.
Poppys gut twisted as they moved deeper into the darkness. But it was nothing compared to what the hybrids down below must feel. She listened to Naeemahs words, they distracted her away from her fear of the dark slightly.
To Kill or be killed? Was she ready for that responsibility. No. There was a damn reason she hadn't chosen a predatory strain of DNA to be spliced with. She was still numb with betrayal. This program was supposed to make her life better. To fulfill her need to be enough. But no. She wasn't enough. And they were going to kill her for it.
She swallowed heavily, "Do you even know where we are going?" she asked the snake woman as she continued to cling to her.
"I'm going to find Todd." Naeemah answered. "Don't worry. I can sense thermal radiation and my sense of smell is incredibly sharp." Naeemah said, her forked tongue kept going in and out of her mouth as she tried to feel Todd's smell. "That's why if there is someone who can sneak past the soldiers, its me." Naeemah said, confident on her own body. "I need to find Todd... After that we'll see what we will do." She said, continuing to search for Todd's scent.