Chapter Seventeen: Headed Down

The elevator door slid open and we stepped out. Like the last floor, this one was set up much the same, save for the amount of doors. There were a total of four, the elevator and stairwell both being amongst them. The two new doors were labeled development and testing respectively.

I noticed, perhaps for the first time, a third door, one exactly like a door above, but never paid any proper attention toward. Stepping closer, it was the stairs door. This time, however, when I observed the smooth surface, I found a small sign, hidden behind the push bar. Etched into the metallic protrusion was a short message: Stairs, Use in Emergency Only. For whatever reason, I get a bad feeling from these doors, as if I should avoid them at all cost.

"Mr. Kyle, is that really pertinent?"

I turned to see Anton staring at Kyle, his lips were smiling but his eyes weren't. What did I miss? "Of course it's relevant. Figuring out which door to take, or how to split is bound to be a good thing."

When did this start, exactly? I've noticed that these two aren't getting along as much, but when did it start becoming like this? And why? Back then, perhaps they just never interacted much, so it wouldn't have been avoided. Could that be it? Or is it because something happened between them?

"Hmm. While I can't say you're entirely wrong, you certainly aren't right." Anton raised his hand, showing the palm to Kyle, then waved in a circular pattern, "We just have to get through, find what little Addison is looking for, and then get out. All while avoiding the danger, hmm? Which means, ultimately, that so long as we cover each room on each floor, we'll eventually find what we need to find." He lowered his hand, resting it on his hip, "If there are two rooms, then it would be quite simple – one person stands in the hall, as a coordinator, while the rest split into pairs and explore the rooms simultaneously."

Blake and Addison looked on passively, likely not intending to interfere. Frankly, I don't see much reason to intervene either; while slightly harsh (kinda), Anton hasn't said anything wrong. But how exactly did this discussion start? Was I really that absorbed with a door...?

Kyle, apparently cornered – or frustrated, perhaps – clicked his tongue and sat down near the elevator door, his rifle in-hand. "Whatever. I'll watch this room, you guys can search them."

Anton shrugged, turning toward me, his faux-smile still spread casually across his countenance, "Well, which room would you like, Miss?"

Glancing toward Blake and Addison, I got the feeling they didn't have much care about the room choice. So I pointed toward development and then Anton, motioning for him to follow. He just kept with the faux-smile and followed me into the room. The others said something, but I couldn't make anything out of it.

Inside development, it was like an explosion had gone off – metaphorically speaking. Rather, desks and tables were turned on their sides, while other objects were stacked against them forming pseudo barriers; most of the walls were peppered with small cylindrical holes, likely from a hail of bullets; yet, to top it all off, things littered the floor – from spent casings to the actual guns, or papers and blueprints. It was a mess.

"Wow," Anton remarked behind me, taking in the room in full. At least, that was my impression.

I nodded and set to looking closer. It didn't take long before I found my way to the other side of one of the makeshift barricades, where I found three skeletons huddled together – each with a similar injury: a significant blow to the head (likely a result of a bullet, given the size). With one other knocked over table, I took a gander behind it and found three more skeletons, but these had no discernible injuries – at least, ones that I could find.

Not far from the second trio, next to the wall, was a terminal. It was covered with dust and, like the others in this place, had a crack in the screen. With a single push of the power button, it began to hum to life, and after running through the initial start-up I was greeted to the interaction main screen. There were few options; eject holotape, Lieutenant Crank's journal, and the same warning present on the other terminal.

I started with the journal. It talked about a few of the days Lieutenant Crank worked in this facility, and the odd things he noticed within; mostly smaller things about missing papers and the like. But one entry, near the end, was the most intriguing. It talked about a visit by some high ranking officer and the odd results from an inspection, both occurring during a week's period. There was one final entry, but it was inconclusive – cutoff at the end.

With that, there wasn't much else to do on the terminal, so I ejected the holotape and stashed it in my bag; before shutting the system down. "I think I found something you'll like," Anton called from the opposite end of the room.

I rose and took a couple steps to clear the distance, hovering over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. In his hands was a large paper with a blue tint. Blueprints? Why would he want to show me that? As soon as I saw what was present on the papers, I immediately understood. These were the blueprints for an experimental explosive, as well as several research notes about the math and estimates behind the thing.

"Think this will come in handy?" his tone sounded as if he already knew the answer, but felt like asking either way. I could only nod simply. In one smooth motion, he furled the blueprint and papers together and handed them to me. As I took them in hand, he seemed a little reluctant to speak, but after a short moment he handed me some sort of keycard too, "I found this in the desk over there while you were fiddling with the terminal. I'm not exactly sure what it goes to, but I bet it would be best if you hung on to it."

The blueprint and research notes dropped into my bag without issue, and I took hold of the keycard. My Pip-Boy immediately marked it as a 'security keycard'. I flipped it over a few times, but couldn't gleam anything extra; which meant it had to open the security door on the other floor. No matter. I dropped it into my security vest, securing it so it won't accidentally slip.

"I'm sure you plan to ask, but, no, there is not anything else in this room worth mentioning." Am I that predictable? With that, he stood, stretched, and then headed for the door. I followed after, as we left I came face to chest with Blake.

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled an apology, before stepping aside.

"Did you two find anything good in there?" Addison inquired, her figure slouched slightly, as if she were tired.

I shook my head, but Anton spoke up, "Mostly just skeletons."

"Yeesh," Kyle stood up from beside the elevator door, "That's rather poor."

There's something about Addison that's upsetting to me. After feeling my face downturn slightly, I shook my head, righting myself once more. In less than a second I stepped closer to Addison and spread my arms, giving a weary smile. She took a half step backward, likely startled, but with a tired sigh moved back and acquiesced to the embrace. As soon as my arms wrapped around her, I felt my heart rate hasten and all the tension in my body flowing out. I couldn't help smiling a little, despite my best effort to keep my expression more neutral.

Addison, for her part, seemed to relax a little, but it didn't seem like it helped her as much as it could have. Even after I tried squeezing a little tighter, at most, it just seemed to give her a small bit of a happy feeling. As we stepped away from one another, releasing the hug, and my failing to suppress giddy expression staring back at her.

Why am I feeling this way?

"Better?" I found myself shrinking under her inquiry, but nodded nonetheless. Her weary smile warped to a relaxed form, "I feel a little better now myself. Thanks, Muna."

"We found an experimental gun," Blake brought up.

"Oh? Was it dangerous?" Anton asked, his voice sounded a little too cheery.

"Negative," Blake's reply came quickly. It might just be me, but he seemed a little irritated; but was doing a very good job at masking it – going off this feeling I've been getting. I very well could have been wrong, and I probably was.

I took out one of the fresh pieces of paper I picked up earlier and began to scribble on it; after a moment I showed the results to Addison, whom I wished to address: What are you looking for down here exactly? Why did I pick the single piece of paper, when it would obviously prove a little more difficult to write on? I should really go with the book next time.

"Um..." she pondered a response, obviously thinking about how much she wanted or could share at this juncture. But after a moment, she seemed to reach some form of a conclusion and said simply, "It's a machine."

A machine? I wonder what it does, but something told me that if I asked, I wouldn't get an answer. That's fine. This at least tells me that she isn't after the blueprint I picked up. Yet, why do I get a tickling sensation in my core?

Never mind that.

I motioned with a circle and then directed everyone's attention toward the elevator. They were quick to pick up the meaning. With that, we wordlessly boarded the elevator and the door slid closed with a hiss before the contraption groaned to life as it carried us deeper within the recesses of the earth.

By the time the door dinged open, we were greeted to an L-shaped hallway. The long hall held three doors on either side and one on the end. The smaller hall held one door not far from the elevator itself – the ever-present stairs. We moved to the first door on the left, no one said a word as Addison reached for the knob and gave it a twist.

It clicked.

Rattled.

But alas the door stayed shut. "Damn," remarked an apathetic Blake. If I had to guess, it was closer to an inconvenience for him than anything.

"Hmm." Anton murmured, stepping closer to the door to inspect it. After a few seconds of observation, he released a slight gasp and produced a card from his pocket, slid it above the handle and then turned the knob. This time the door swung open without resistance. He then stretched the card out toward Addison, "Perhaps this would be better with you, Miss."

"Uh, thanks."

With that we all headed inside. The room was, for a lack of a better term, overgrown with life. Plants and vines stretched across nearly every surface, and colorful petals of various flowers bloomed to life across all the multitude of plants. It wasn't until I was a few paces inside that I noticed something else in the slew of life: human forms, tangled and trapped within the vines.

Easing my way closer, I was able to garner a greater understanding of the forms. It was as if something had nearly drained all the liquid out of another, then lit the thing on fire; and then packed it with several stimpacks to cure most of the bruising and burns, leaving the skin torn and shedding in places. Small patches of skin peeled before my eyes. It happened momentarily, but it was still slow enough for me to take notice. My eyes drew wide as my mind registered the event.

It took a breath.

It was alive! It was alive?!

I poked it once, twice, then thrice, but at most it wiggled briefly. It didn't bother attempting to get free, nor actually escaping. Resting a hand on its chest, around where the heart should be, I noticed two things: a low heart-rate and then my Geiger counter faintly tick. I could, thus, conclude that the thing must be asleep – or that was the only conclusion I could deduce – and that it held small traces of radiation. It made me curious about what was on the inside – and exactly what this thing was.

I knelt, retrieved my boot knife, and then gently pressed the tip against the things gut and pushed. It held some resistance, but after a moment the blade sank deep. A deep red liquid began to pour out from around the knife, and trickled down, splashing against some roots that had covered the floor beneath the creature.

A hand planted itself on my shoulder and a voice quickly followed, "That's a ghoul: a human who absorbed too much radiation. It's an oddly common occurrence here in the wasteland. Most have lost their mind, though, and are nothing better than cannibals."

I pulled my knife out and then noticed something spill out with an extra squirt of blood. Leaning down, I saw a few bottle caps – absolutely covered in the viscous fluid. Admittedly, I left those alone; despite the potential monetary gain.

At that, I stepped out of the room and waited in the hall. Deciding that waiting like that wouldn't be productive, I set to trying each door, but they all held tight. The doors themselves seemed to have built-in locking mechanisms and the unlocking tool was placed not far above the handles. I didn't have the wherewithal to determine whether that was convenient or an overcomplication of what could otherwise be a practical, simple system.

The others came out moments later, Kyle smiled as our eyes met and he closed the distance. But Anton was the one who spoke first, "Real creepy in there." Kyle shot him a glare, and then handed me a keycard. It was to access these labs.

"We were going to check the lab across from this one. Are you staying out here?" Addison inquired, already unlocking the door.

I looked at Blake, but as soon as we made eye contact, he averted his gaze. His back, the picture of disciplined and upright, somehow managed to grow ramrod straight. I found myself giving him an inquisitive gaze, but couldn't do anything about it at this point. Maybe I could get him alone again and have a proper chat – see what his grievances are with me. I'm not that naive.

Then my gaze met Kyle's, and his kind eyes nearly sucked me in. Reaching for a paper, I quickly scribbled something down and showed him: Let's take this room, Addison and Blake likely won't find any problems with theiir room. As his eyes scanned the wording they began to sheen with a particular sparkle that I just couldn't place.

As I turned to Anton, Addison and Blake had already disappeared inside the room. "And me?" he asked. I didn't have an answer, so I just shrugged. He sighed, but tramped back toward the elevator.

With that, I slid the keycard into the slot and unlocked the second door on the right. The knob twisted without any resistance and the door yawned open. We stepped through and Kyle remarked, likely absentmindedly, "Wow."

This room was, indeed, another lab; decorated with all sorts of tools and supplies. Smaller versions of the plants in the other room were also present, as if these ones were just beginning to sprout. The tables were aligned neatly – and I dare say logically – about, leading to an efficient scan and walk between differing stations.

Kyle had already crossed the room while I was still taking in the sight, and began to fiddle with a medical box. I stepped toward one of the closer tables and examined the tools. But quickly gave up, as I didn't have the specific knowledge required to understand them. It didn't help that Kyle cursed at being blocked from the contents within the box. As I neared, I found out why: it was locked.

I poked his shoulder and puffed out my chest, closing a loose fist and tapping my breast – a smile pulled tight, hopefully oozing with my confidence at the coming task. He took one look...

And sighed?

He looked to the ceiling for a moment, then planted a palm atop my head and ruffled my hair. What was he doing? I couldn't stop my features from reflecting my curiosity and confusion. But his lips tugged into an almost sad smile. As his hand stopped moving, my expression (and mind) turned to that of worry.

Then, as if a realization struck him, he removed his hand and looked at it, scrutinizing it intently, "Ah... sorry."

What's wrong? Could it have been because he'd been fighting with Anton? Was he still upset that I shot him? Actually, did I ever apologize for that? Did someone hurt him?! Such were my thoughts. But before my mind could get away from me, he sighed, "It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He took a step, then another, his back now showing to me.

Without a thought, I reached out and touched his back, then dug my fingers into the flexible material that made up his vault suit. He took in a deep breath, his back straightening through the inhale; then he released a controlled, slow breath. Turning his head slightly, I saw a half-smile spread his countenance, and he asked, "Yes?"

After a moment, I released him, turning toward the medical box. He wasn't ready to talk and I wasn't going to push. Eventually, whenever he's ready, he should come to me and we could take all the time in the world. Until then, I'd just have to wait.

Producing my screwdriver and a bobby pin, I set to work. I'm not exactly sure when the thing unlocked, but it eventually clicked and I could open the thing. Inside was a few medical supplies, as one would expect; yet I didn't pay the slightest attention as I simply dropped them all into my bag.

The rest of the time in the lab remained a haze as I gathered objects and stacked them near one of the walls, on a table. Kyle, for his part, didn't say a word after that. After some time, he stepped out, but I paid it no heed.

After I had moved everything, not even bothering to actually see what anything was, I moved out of the lab and was greeted by Blake and Addison. Addison cocked her head and asked, "Where are the others?"

Curious, I scanned the hall. They weren't there. They definitely weren't in the room with me. I hesitantly pointed at the lab across from her, as the door was still open, but she shook her head after peeking inside.

Then we heard it, "Unf!"

We rushed toward the smaller section of the L-hall and peaked down. There we saw Kyle smash into the wall, moments later he howled and charged Anton, delivering a mighty left hook to his cheek. Anton flew back and smacked into the door for the stairs, depressing the push handle.

Immediately a deafening alarm shrieked and the lighting faded to a dim red. My hands found my ears, but it wasn't enough as a single word entered my ears – barely penetrating the noise.

"Fuck!"

-Transmission in Progress-