Changed: Outbreak

Chapter 7: Beacon and the Bacon

[K's pov]

I looked around the industrial plant before spotting two shovels standing by the corner of a room. I took both shovels on my paws and returned to the area of the buried ship under sand. Scott is standing by the area where we found the ship, crouching by the part of the ship peeking out of the sand. "It's all buried in sand. I hope the electronic parts under this pile of sand are all fine." Scott states as I approach him before giving a shovel to him. "Can you dig?" I asked and Scott gave me a nod.

"Why would you ask me that sort of question? Of course I can dig with a shovel." Scott asked as he stood up and began digging through the pile of sand. "I asked because I am worried if your system will handle the amount of digging we'll both have to do just to reach for this ship. We will be out here digging for a while." I stated as I start digging along with Scott. Two of us against the pile of sand. We must be crazy. The sun has started to set, and soon enough darkness will swallow us both.

"Should I look for a bucket?" Scott asked and I looked at him, sticking the shovel into the ground. "What for? Are we using the bucket to carry out the sand outside?" I asked and he gave me a nod. "That's what I was thinking. Should I?" The Protogen asked as he digs through the sand, barely making any progress. "Go for it. I'll dig here while I wait for you." I replied and Scott quickly drops the shovel on the ground before walking out of the room to look for a bucket.

[Lui's pov]

"Whaaat? Are you sure we can eat bacons for this evening?" I asked and Puro gave me a nod. I was sitting on the grassy floor of the lobby with Colin sitting next to me when Puro entered the lobby with a tray on both of his paws. It seems the Black Wolf has discovered something while the two are out there searching for the ship. "I remembered Doctor K developing a synthesized bacon recently, but I didn't expect him to develop a tray of it. I'm sure Doctor K wouldn't mind if we tried out these bacons for the evening." Puro stated and I slowly stood up from the grass.

"So we're going to cook that one tray of bacons?" I asked, unsure of the idea with the sight to behold. "No no, we're only going to a few strips of bacon. I don't want to harm myself from too much of these. Scott did mention to me one time that bacons are slightly salty, so we should only eat a healthy amount of them." Puro explained and I nodded in response. I reached out my paws for the tray of bacons, but Puro immediately turns away from me.

"No thanks, I'll hold this along the way to the kitchen. You just have to follow me to Doctor K's newly built mini kitchen, and then we get to cook this tray of bacons." Puro stated and he gave me a wink before opening the double doors and walking through, leaving the lobby. I turned to look at Colin who is now standing up from the patch of grass. I signalled him with my paw, calling him over. The White Wolf walked over to me, and we both followed Puro from behind as he leads us towards Doctor K's not so suspicious newly built mini kitchen in a middle of a laboratory.

[K's pov]

"So Scott, do you have some powers hidden under your sleeve that you wanted to show me? Now is the best time to show it to me while we're still suffering trying to get this stupid ship submerged in sand out." I asked as I pant in exhaustion, trying to dig out more sand with my shovel. Each attempts growing weaker and weaker for my body to handle. I was too focused on trying to dig out sand when I got startled by the feeling of something grabbing my shoulder from behind.

I turned around in horror, and it was just Scott. His Protogen visor is showing a tired expression. Beads of sweat portrayed with his expression of panting. I can hear him panting lightly. "You look exhausted. You should rest yourself, and I shall do the rest. You just watch, and I'll show you my hidden power. Don't forget to feed me water after it." The Protogen held my shovel and took it from my weak grip before tossing it away at the ground. I walked over to the ground away from the submerged ship in sand and took a seat on the floor. The duffle bag is sitting beside me, containing bottles of water and cans of food.

I pant as I watch Scott walk over to the submerged ship. Scott held onto a part of the submerged ship, and I noticed him trying to pull the ship out of the sand. I reached into the duffle bag and I pulled out a bottle of water. I drank the bottle of water as I watch Scott attempting to pull the ship out of the sand, until he somehow managed to pull the ship a little.

Scott eventually magically pulled the ship out of the sand, and he laid on the ground, panting in exhaustion. I immediately stood up from my seat, running towards Scott with a bottle of water on my paw. "Scott! Are you alright? How did you even do that?" I asked in panic, and Scott chuckled at me as he pants. "You forgot that I'm a Protogen. Give me a water bottle. Go take a look on the ship while I take a rest." Scott replied and I gave him the bottle of water. I turned to look at the corroding ship.

The ship is small, and it looks to be an escape ship rather than an exploration one. The door of the ship is opened, and I slowly entered the ship. I took a step inside, and the interior is covered in dust. I noticed the control panel at the front of the ship, and I took a step closer to it. The control panel is filled with buttons and notches, obviously to control the ship's navigation. One button stands out from the rest, and it is labeled. The label below the button is barely visible, but still readable.

"Distress signal. Bingo."