Chapter II – Terrible Weather

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BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Hellooo? Anyone in there?" Newman banged on the door to the bunker. It was on what looked like a grassy dome resting atop a hill, with a massive stainless steel door facing outward. The flora around the mountain wasn't too dead. A few trees were standing alive among the many dead ones. Smidgens of grass and ferns cropped up here and there along the ridge-line overlooking the bunker.

Calliope put her hand up, stopping Newman, and she said, "Stop for a minute. I don't think there's anyone in there. We have to get the door open another way. Jade, can you look at the schematics of the bunker? Are there any other entrances?"

Jade walked up to Calliope and Newman and pulled out a large sheet of paper, the schematics of Mount Weather. "There's an underground entrance, one that needs a four-digit code. The problem is, it's not well-marked, and we're not even sure if it's breathable down there. The cave system below us runs for miles," Jade explained, stumbling over their words, "we can use a lighter to test if it's breathable; if the flame is snuffed out, there's no air, and we'll turn back. For the cave system though… that's a gamble. Too many dead ends and crevices, nottomentioncaveins—"

"The underground route is super dangerous, got it," Newman cut into their rambling, he looked at Calliope expectantly.

"Okay… I'll go with you in the underground route, Newman. If everything turns out fine, we can get into the mountain, and open this door from the inside," Calliope decided, "Jade, you'll stay with August. Go to him for more orders." Jade nodded and walked toward the Tree Crew camp a few hundred feet away from the bunker.

"I'm going into the cave with you?" Newman stammered.

"Anything wrong with that?" Calliope asked.

"No, it's just… what if there are people down there? Like in the cave? It might've not been hit by radiation…"

"They'd be dead by now anyway. Two years is a long time for radiation to settle in, not to mention they'd probably starve."

Newman didn't seem very satisfied by that response, but he let it go as to not complicate things more.

"Be ready in an hour," Calliope said as she walked toward base camp. Newman gulped, beads of sweat formed around his hairline.

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"You're going where?" August interrogated.

"I'm taking the underground route with Newman. We need this mountain, August," Calliope answered.

"Then send someone else, fuck, you're the commander!"

"What kind of commander just sits back while everyone else does the dirty work? That's the kind of people that we had before the apocalypse. The rich that shut off people's water supply so they could water their front lawns. That is not Tree Crew."

August rubbed his temples as he paced around the tent, "Come on. We cannot lose you. You don't know what's in there! The cave could just fall on top of you two! We don't know what the nukes did."

"Then we die. Y'know what? You're second in command, then, if I die."

"What? No, what the hell are you doing? You're the commander and you have the Flame. If you die, Tree Crew dies with you."

He sighed, "Fine. If you're gonna do this, at least take a radio," he pulled out a walkie-talkie and gave it to her. She took it and put it in her pocket.

"I'll be back soon. Hopefully with the mountain."

She left the tent only to be met with the other Tree Crew members, and about a million questions.

"Why are you going down there?"

"What happens if you die?"

She looked at the crowd for a while, looking at one person asking a question, and then another, and then another, until she got tired of it all, pulled out her pistol from her waistband, and fired two rounds into the air.

The crowd fell silent.

"Me and Newman will be trying for the underground entrance to the mountain. We might not make it back, and in that case," she explained, "August is my second commander."

She gestured at August, who was glowering.

"Any questions?" She asked, then waited. No questions, she continued, "Good. Come to August for any orders. I'll see you soon."

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Reese loved what he was hearing. Calliope alone with Newman? He and Tristan could easily take the Flame for themselves. "We might be able to go back home soon after all," he told Tristan.

They spotted Newman and Calliope trekking to the base of the mountain, near the opening of the cave, and followed them, a hundred feet or so behind the duo.

"We'll wait until they get into the cave. You can neutralize Newman. I get the Flame from Calliope," Reese explained, and Tristan nodded.

They followed and followed until Reese stepped on a twig.

SNAP!

Calliope and Newman whirled around to find the source of the noise, "Anybody there?" Newman yelled. Reese felt his stomach drop, the two froze as they waited for the all-clear. After a beat, the two continued walking. The Disciple duo breathed a sigh of relief.

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Calliope and Newman entered the mineshaft. They crept along the dark corridor, along the tracks and past a mine-cart.

"Creepy…" Newman muttered.

There were numerous tunnels that branched off from the main entrance that the two had gone through. Dust floated through the air, the flashlights that the duo used showed how thick they were, the light turning into a distinct beam cutting through the air because of it.

"It doesn't seem like any of this was touched for years, even before the apocalypse," Newman hypothesized, and then continued, mostly to himself,"I just hope there's no one down here. This place gives me the willies."

She didn't feel like responding at that point. Newman and Calliope traversed the mine, following the tracks, staying poised with their rifle and machete, respectively.

CLINK!

"What was that?" Newman whipped around and sprayed his rifle at the source of the noise, stopping when he realized there was nothing there.

"Wow, you really killed that pebble. Good job, Newman," Calliope snapped. She was starting to regret taking Newman of all people. After the incident after she took the Flame, she wasn't exactly sure what his deal was. He scratched his head, embarrassed.

The sunlight that illuminated the tunnel was totally gone at that point, the only thing the two could see was what their flashlights allowed them to.

Then the worst happened- the railroad bifurcated.

"Which way do we go?" Newman asked. Calliope didn't respond, opting to go down the right side instead, and Newman followed.

"If it leads to a dead end, we can just turn back," she explained. Newman gulped, his hands were starting to shake, the grip of his rifle started to get coated in sweat.

"Is now a bad time to say I'm scared of the dark?" Newman half-joked as they trawled the corridor.

"I think it is," a third voice came out from behind the duo. Newman whirled around and pointed his rifle at the source of the voice.

"Show yourself right now!" Newman stammered.

It was Reese and Tristan. That time, no one would be able to save the two.

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"Sir? I think you'll want to see this," a man dressed in camo waved over a tall man dressed in a suit, "there's people on the surface, congregated near the entrance."

The tall man thought for a moment, then asked "How many of them have you seen, soldier?"

"At least two hundred, sir. And they don't seem to be suffering from any of the effects of radiation."

"At least a dozen of them look like they have weapons."

"And they were banging on the door earlier. I think they are hostiles, sir."

"Turn on the inter-com. Let me speak to them."

"Yes sir," the soldier pressed a button, and he nodded at the tall man for him to speak.

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"Attention outsiders!" the speakers on the entrance started.

Tree Crew congregated near the speakers, the crowd full of questions.

"This is President Wallace of the United States of America! Vacate the area or you WILL be eliminated! You have been warned!" the speaker warned, and then cut off.

"Eliminated? Eliminated how?" Jade asked, mainly to their self.

"President Wallace? Fuck President Wallace!" a Tree Crew member started. The crowd got rowdy and started banging on the door.

"You destroyed the Earth! Go fuck yourself!" another member shouted. The mob started ramming itself against the door.

Hiss…

"Guys… what is that?" Jade stammered. A faint yellow gas rose from the ground. "Huh…" Jade touched it with their finger, and then yelped as they felt the searing pain of the acid and red sores spread out along their finger.

"ACID FOG! RUN, NOW! SAVE YOURSELVES!" Jade warned as chaos ensued.

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"Why are you doing this Reese? I'm your sister for god's sake!" Calliope continued, "Why do you care about Dad's approval so fucking much!?" The four of them were in a stand-off, Newman's rifle pointed at Tristan, Tristan's rifle pointed at Newman, Reese and Calliope sizing each-other up.

"You wouldn't understand, Callie. You can do no wrong in his eyes," Reese explained. When he said that, Calliope's eyes flickered, as if she were having a lapse in concentration, and he seized that window of opportunity— he closed the distance between them, and then stabbed her with his knife. She jumped back and brandished her machete once again.

You have to try to calm down, Calliope heard Becca Franco's voice in her head, definitely a feature of the Flame, if you panic, your heightened senses from using the Flame get dulled.

"That was a cheap move," Calliope quipped.

"Not as cheap as you putting a bullet in my shoulder. Some fair fight that was," Reese snapped back at her.

Calliope spun her machete around and then attacked Reese during his small bout of anger. She raised her machete over her head and then swung it down, but was met with Reese's knife. The two struggled for a bit, Calliope wanting to lob off Reese's head, Reese trying to push her off. She took advantage of that situation by kicking him in the groin, causing him to double over in pain.

"Tristan, some help over here?" he demanded. Tristan aimed his rifle at Calliope and got ready to fire, but was interrupted by his head getting cracked open by a bullet from Newman's rifle. Newman panicked. Tristan dropped to the ground.

Reese looked resigned as he stared at Tristan, taking care not to let his guard down fully, though. Newman was shaking. He wasn't even fully sure if Tristan deserved to die.

While Reese was distracted, Calliope did a haymaker across Reese's bicep, his skin and muscle flayed open. He did a shrill scream and then held his bicep closed it was bleeding profusely as he retreated a few meters. He shook with rage.

"You're going to die here. I tried to be nice to you. I tried to remember that you were my sister. Now all bets are off. I'm going to kill you," he snarled, and then charged at Calliope.

Everything slowed down for Calliope as she finally started to calm down. The colors became fuller, the intentions of Reese and Newman became more clear, more obvious to her. She relaxed and made eye contact with Reese, almost taunting him with her ease.

"Newman, stand back," she warned, and he took a few steps back.

Reese lunged at her with his knife, almost jumping at her, leaving an opening near his armpit.

There, she saw the opening clear as day. She whipped out her taser and electrocuted him. He fell to the ground, stiff. Newman's jaw went ajar, he had never seen Calliope fight that well, even when he watched her spar in the bunker.

"Woah…" he uttered in amazement after he snapped out of his stupor, "when did you get so good at fighting?"

"I'll explain later, but for right now, help me tie him up," she gestured to Reese. The two bound his arms and legs together and wrapped up his bicep wound with some gauze, "We'll get him once we come back," Calliope declared.

"What- you're just gonna leave him here?" Newman asked incredulously.

"We can't just take him with us. Leave them here. We'll get them back later."

Calliope started down the corridor once again, and Newman followed.

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That acid fog was trouble. It had caused chaos among the camp, burning tents and supplies alike. August and Jade were sprinting away from the wall of acid fog that was threatening to envelop the area around the mountain, avoiding the few trees that were left, and the rocks and boulders. The two crossed a riverbed and the acid fog made a sudden halt at the shore, almost as if there was an invisible wall.

Jade sighed in relief, "The fog probably has a boundary. If we stay behind this riverbed, it can't get us." August asked, "How did that even happen? Did Mount Weather have some kind of automatic defense system?"

Jade walked to a decently size rock and laid the schematics about its surface. There were a few trees that littered the mostly dead ground around the church and near the riverbed, which had smatterings of green grass growing out of the ground. The two looked over the schematics. Nothing about any acid fog.

"I'm thinking it's one of those secret weapons the government had. They might," Jade drew a rather imprecise circle around the mountain on the map, "be able to deploy a powerful acid through an underground dispersal system." Then Jade straightened suddenly, and looked at August, "we need to tell Calliope about this. What if there's something else in the mineshaft?"

August cursed and then pulled out his radio, "Calliope, come in! Calliope, where are you?" For a few seconds, there was no response, and the two were afraid the worst had happened, until there was a response.

"I'm here, I'm here, what's up?" Calliope's voice came through the radio as a scratchy, barely audible sound.

"The mountain is armed. We were just hit with a wall of acid fog. We're mostly fine but be careful. We don't know what else is here. Is everything okay down there?"

"We're fine now. We got our first kill: Tristan. We tied up Reese. We're going down the mine-shaft now."

"You guys…killed Tristan?" Jade asked.

"I'm sorry. We had to. I'll talk-"

"The transmission must have cut out. I'm guessing there's a radio jammer somewhere," Jade explained so August wouldn't panic.

"They'll be fine. They'll be okay," August said, mostly to himself.

August was angry. Not just because Calliope went down there, but because he let her go down there with only a gun and Newman of all people. If she died it would be his fault.

"She'll be okay, August," Jade reassured him.

August had no more time to worry, anyways. More and more stragglers were crossing the river bed and congregating, and he decided that if Calliope was going to handle things underground, he'd handle things above ground, grudges and worries be damned, he started, "TREE CREW! Sen op! Here's what we're gonna do…"