The elevator groaned as it slowly descended down below. Arthur held to the railings for dear life, afraid of the elevator sending him to the ceiling and back while the others gripped the straps of their tanks. "Now, from what Gena gave us, there's a path up to the street level just straight ahead," Matt recalled what Gena told them on the way through the homeless camp. "And when we get up to the street level, the DataPad should update automatically and we'll find our way around."
"You don't suppose it's another one of those things that tried to get at us before, doing all this, do you?" Arthur harkened back to the night a tiny woman became something frightful within minutes and how fortunate they were when the police box sprung to life after Ripley touched the console and how there was only one of those that they saw. He was happy they didn't get to see the tiny woman's true form, as he could only dread what she looked like, and it frightened him at the thought more like her existed. The idea of seeing another one in its true form frightened him immensely.
It was always something that bothered the group; nobody knew where the monster came from and how it got his hands on the police box. The sheer idea that something like the monster that turned itself into a tiny woman daunted the group as they had no idea if any more like it existed and what other sort existed and they hadn't come into contact, yet. Ripley seemed to have a theory, but she withheld it from them as she had done since they know her.
Knowing that the sort existed and can come into their world, sent chills down their backs, they were all aware of the alien culture perpetrated by the media and how much trouble there'd be if any credence lend into the idea the unknown existed. Nobody in the group wanted mass panic stemming from the idea that aliens existed in other worlds and there was no telling how many were friendly or how many wanted to lay eggs in their chests, at least what Ripley feared.
There was talk of the possibility the police box originated from their world after all and that aliens did in fact exist in it, but Ripley dismissed this by saying that if there were, then the monster that attacked them that night would've been the least of their problems.
"I don't think so," Ripley shook her head, her dark hair bobbed in the breeze.
Karen pointed out, "If it was smart to find the police box, how smarter do you think the others are?"
"Come on, now, we don't want to psych ourselves," Matt waved his hand. "As long as we avoid confrontation and try to be diplomatic as possible, we'll be just fine."
"Sure, until an alien pops out of your chest," Ripley muttered under her breath.
The elevator slowed before coming to a complete stop. Metal groaning as the abandoned elevator came to the bottom of the shaft and the elevator doors sliding open to reveal a desolate area shrouded in darkness. With the provided torchlights, the area lit up easily and revealed benches scattered around the area, most overturned and others in shambles.
At one point, the area served as means to reach Topside for everyone. For only the price of a bus pass, people came back and forth, with friends, coworkers, and family. There used to be officers posted to keep an eye on the goings every day and at one point, there used to be a giant tree in the center for Christmas that lit brightly throughout the night. Every Christmas Day, there used to be presents that went to every employee who worked at the Wetzel Station.
Every New Year's, when the station closed, a grand party took place where employees and their families joined in merriment as they celebrated the New Year.
Now, the Wetzel Station became destitute and dark, the echoes of time stilled, and only rubbish covered the ground. Dead pine needles littered the center of the station, turning into dust as the four walked over them.
Latent graffiti covered the walls, some were tags, others were pleas for help, and dates of deaths of those who died in the smog or never seen again. There were a few picture frames lining the bottom of the walls of those dead or missing, the pictures deteriorated from age and the conditions of the station. Toys scattered at the few the four walked by, coated in dust, and a deflated toy ball, a piece of ceiling tile stabbed it when the ceiling deteriorated.
"How can anyone still be alive down here?" Karen grimly asked as she glimpsed around with her torchlight. No one replied to her question, as they were afraid themselves of what the answer would be.
"Do you think whatever's causing the smog can be stopped?" Arthur pointed out as he walked behind Karen as they ascended the broken staircase. "I mean, what if there's nothing we can do about it?"
"Doesn't hurt to try, Art," Matt motioned with his hand holding the torchlight.
Reaching the top of the staircase, Matt looked down to the DataPad and it updated to show the map of the area around them, as they moved so did the icon on the DataPad.
"It says here the Hole's twelve blocks from where we're standing, but there are roadblocks and areas where they're patrolling," Matt furrowed his brow as he looked at the map shown. "We'll have to do some zigzagging to get to it."
With the DataPad in hand, Matt guided them throughout the streets. Empty, quiet, dark, and with the smog, Ripley commented on it reminding her of something she was familiar with, but didn't share much more of it other than to remain cautious and keep any radios that they find.
"You think anyone's still down here?" Arthur wondered as he walked with them. They haven't seen anything or anyone, nothing that'd say there were still people down below Prudence. Far as they seen, it was just them and the cold. He heard in response, "I hope they're friendly."
"I doubt it," Ripley muttered under her breath.
Matt continued to lead them until he saw in the distance a pinprick light. It moved slowly and the smog didn't obscure it. It was moving down Bez, Matt wanted to follow it, but Ripley reminded him to remain cautious. It could've been an officer checking the roads for stragglers or something they didn't want to encounter.
"It could be someone," Matt pointed out. Ripley reminded him, "We aren't sure."
"What if is someone," Karen sided with Matt. "They could help us."
"What if it's a monster?" Arthur balked at the idea. Ripley had Matt check the DataPad and nothing showed up when the pinprick light appeared in front of Matt. She didn't know what to think of it, but became concern.
Karen pointed and they saw another pinprick light moving along the stretch of smog in the distance, going in the same direction as the first. No one of them saw any shadows, anything that showed that people were carrying lanterns. It stumped the four as they stood idly, looking where the lights appeared and disappeared.
"What do you think it is?" Karen asked Matt. Matt blinked as he pondered. He shrugged lightly as he responded, "I don't know."
"Do they have drones here?" Arthur mentioned. In their world, drones were relatively new for consumers. Militaries attempted to use drones prior, but the technology hadn't been kind to them and they ended up discarding the idea of drones. Now toy companies used the blueprints to make small drones that didn't work if they went too high, a precaution to keep drones from interfering with airplanes. They were all the rage, but nobody really cared, the price point was too high and the technology wasn't easy to work with.
Arthur assumed from what he seen in Prudence that if hovercrafts were commonplace, drones weren't too far off. Yet, as they walked towards the road the lights floated down, he came to realize that there was a discrepancy. Though this world had hovercrafts, the technology for drones either didn't exist or weren't applicable for Prudence. If there were drones, they wouldn't waste them down below because of how impossible it would be to retrieve them if something happened.
Matt marched with the three closely behind him as they neared the three-way and looked down to the DataPad. If they followed the road, it'd put them on track to the Hole.
Ripley flashed light on the ground and found no footprints where the lights were. The ground muggy and coated in debris, if anyone walked, there'd be impressions in the rubbish.
Matt pointed his torchlight where the lights went and the smog, thick, made it impossible for him to see through it. The only way for them to know the source of the lights, was to follow them.
