After the End

Chapter 6

"Y'know," Emma says, her voice echoing through the bunker. "They aren't so scary like this."

"Really?" I reply. "They are to me."

She stands in front of one of the tanks, her hands clasped behind her back. Inspecting the creature like it's a decoration piece.

"Hmm, yeah, still a little scary," She says.

I laugh, and she does too. It's good to have a moment to calm down. Even if we're surrounded by bloodthirsty monsters.

She starts pacing again, biting her nails as she walks. "Do you think he found anything?"

Levi went off on his own a few minutes ago, exploring the bunker and looking for another way out.

"Maybe, it's a pretty big place."

The desk by the entrance doesn't yield much useful information, even so I've been rummaging through it for most of our time down here. At this point anything could be useful, I just want to know exactly what this place's purpose was. The bottom drawer on the left end of the desk has a lock, I wonder..

"Hey, Emma. Do y'know how to get in a locked drawer?"

"Ha," she say mockingly, returning to the desk with a smile on her face. She kneels in front of the drawer and takes a pin from her hair, then another from her boot, sticking both of them in the lock carefully. She slowly twists and adjusts them for a few minutes, until finally.. Click.

I sit down next to her, and watch as she slowly slides the drawer open. Yeah, it's empty.

"Oh come on," I say, climbing off the floor angrily.

Emma laughs, sliding the drawer shut in a smooth motion, then standing and returning one pin to her boot, and the other to her hair.

BANG

Both of us look the direction Levi went, the loud noise echoing from the bunkers far end.

Goosebumps form on my arms. "Was that?"

"A gunshot?," Emma says. "Yeah."

She takes a deep breath, then storms off toward the gunshot, the thumping of her boots echoing throughout the large room.

I stay by the entrance as she continues on, but one look at the Stalker in the tube beside me convinces me to follow.

The room really does seem to go on forever, tubes lining the walls as far as I can see. This bunker is massive, heck I can't even call it a bunker anymore, more like an underground compound.

After a few minutes of walking we reach an area where the tubes become slightly smaller, these ones containing Lurkers instead of Stalkers. Both of us gravitate towards the center of the room, as far as we can get from the tubes.

Soon after, the end of the room comes into sight. At the end is a wall with a single door at the center, above it is a sign that says 'R&D'. Emma reaches the door a few seconds before me, she pushes and watches as it swings open.

"It was already open," she says. "He's been here, come on."

She steps through the doorway, and then I do.

It's colder in this area, and slightly darker. More tables and counters have been set up here too, covered in abandoned tools and equipment.

"Levi!" Emma yells, her voice echoing.

"Hey!" Levi yells back. "In here!"

We jog deeper into the room, but see no sign of him yet.

"Where?" I yell, my voice echoing too.