30:

The first floor hall is quiet. Light enters from a window at the end, creating a nice glow. I look around, waiting for 1.5 to meet me. Just then, as my thoughts begin to drift off, I hear light footsteps coming down the stairs. She walks up to me, greeting me warmly and with a big smile on her face. The light hits her just right, giving her an angelic glow. I take a moment to appreciate all that she is.
I return her greeting. 1.5 asks me if everyone already left, looking around. I tell her they all already walked to the meeting.
"Aw, damn." 1.5 jokes a little. "I needed to ask V for something. Ah, whatever. I'll ask her later."
She tiptoes a little so she can hug me. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her in a little.
"Thanks for waiting for me, by the way," she says quietly. "I didn't feel like walking by myself."
She gives me a quick peck on the cheek, and then stands normally, letting me go. She then nods, and I put my arm around her as we take the walk to the meeting. She's so... comfy. Being with her always feels so nice. We've grown a lot closer in the last month or so. I think I'm starting to feel really strongly about her, but I don't think I should tell her just yet. I think there's a time and place for it in the near future, especially once the monster is dead (hopefully).
It only takes a few minutes to get where we need to go. Doctor H has a whiteboard set up on the opposite side of the room, along with some blueprints and lots of scribbling on several pieces of notebook paper. Doctor S looks on, but it's clear that he's thinking about other things, and that his mind is wandering off. Doctor V sits quietly, sketching out her own blueprints. As she minds her own business, we approach the others and find a place to sit and listen.
"Alright, here's how this is gonna go." She directs our attention to the diagram she's been drawing on the whiteboard. "Oh, well, actually, first of all, let me explain how all of this started. So, back a few years ago, I think 2020... was it 2020?"
Doctor S confirms the year she was wondering about.
"Yeah, so, in 2020, the whole world reached peak tension. The government started engineering these sort of robotic soldiers, because so many people were opposed to war at that point. Some people experimented to make this skeleton that was more animal-like, but you know the usual... it went wrong. They brain they wired the monster itself with, which is about the size of a small ribcage, got too self-aware or something. It broke out of the facility, causing mayhem. The longer it was out, the more it adorned itself with defenses and taken lives."
"Dear me..." 14 says quietly. I decide to speak up.
"The last time we all saw it, it had artillery wired onto both of its sides. It was covered in bones, and sheathed with torn fabric, and what looked like rotting skin." I inform the others.
"Ugh." Doctor H mutters. She recollects herself and starts drawing on the whiteboard.
"Okay, so, here's what we came up with - the beast resides in a pharmaceutical factory in Waterloo Village. It's been traced there countless times in the past, at least before the bombs and whatnot. That town's not too far away, about an hour or two walk for you guys. You'll all bring backpacks and weapons with you in case things go wrong. The beast sleeps mostly during the day, and is active between sunset and sunrise. When you get there, it should be asleep. Carefully and quietly climb onto its back, and take the tiny explosive - that we're going to explain shortly - and drop it down the vent on the back of the monster's head. It should explode on impact, destroying the brain, and making the beast sleep forever."
Doctor S claps, and then stops when Doctor H shoots him an angry look.

"I... suppose that'll work." 1.5 says. "Sounds like it could be more difficult than it is... not that I want this to be any tougher."
"I can agree with that." 14 chimes in.
15 adds in that we still have to be really careful, especially if the beast happens to wake up. We all nod and discuss.
I'm sure that inside, despite our calm, ready surfaces, we're all at least a little bit worried. Yes, this is a dangerous task to take on. But if the beast finds us first, it presumably will be just as bad. There really isn't much of a middle, other than hiding in fear for the rest of our lives. It seems that no matter what we do, there will always be danger. It's probably better that we end this now, or sooner than later.

"So, the explosive I mentioned - It's just a hollowed out flash drive, filled with sensitive chemicals. Someone has to hold it in their bag, but they have to be careful. No bouncing around or anything, we don't want it to blow up by accident and kill somebody."
"We should just give them a padded bag to put it in." Doctor S says. "That should eliminate some worry."
Doctor H just looks at him and sighs, probably having had enough of him for the day. Doctor S dismisses us, giving us a message as we leave the room.
The doctors have decided that they'll sleep on the plan for a week or two to make sure the plan doesn't have any holes in it, or that there's not a lot of room for things to go wrong. We all agree that that's fine, but we just need to get this done.

It took them a while to initially find a plan that could work. I personally think it was the research that took up most of their time, and then implementing the information they'd gotten into some kind of scheme that had a chance. I'm okay with the fact that it took awhile, I'd much rather be safe than sorry. I think this is a shared opinion with most.

We all return to our home, taking it easy and thinking about the plan for the rest of the day. Big changes are ahead, and I'm both nervous and excited. As I lay in bed that night, I barely sleep, thinking about what's to come. Not a lot races through my head, but what does is hitting me pretty hard. I am nervous about the fight, but I'm nervous about something else... I think I've completely fallen for my girlfriend. The thought of her doesn't leave my head, and every chance I get to spend time with her is such a joy. All I do is think about her smiling face, her kindness, and her laugh. I must've thought about her a thousand times today. We hang out together all the time, and I've gotten to know her really well. I know her favorite things, and those that she dislikes. I know her birthday and all of the details that go along with her. I believe she knows the same things for me, and I hope she is as comfortable and happy around me as I am with her.
As I lay awake in bed, smiling, I wonder when it would be a good time to tell her the truth.