DISCORDIA

[ 42 ] white hand

       "More like a tomb," Octavia said, sniffing the air and scrunching her face up in disgust. The air was mouldy and stale, with the unmistakeable added stench of death. She immediately traded her sword to her dominant hand.

       "Hey, Jinny. Thanks for having my back out there," Scanlan told her quietly.

       "No problem," she replied with a hint of a smile.

       "Look, I'm sorry for getting you stuck in here," Bellamy said to the guards. "But we need to find an access door to Mount Weather."

       "Hey, not so fast," Scott called to him sharply as he turned to venture down the garage.

       "Sir, that fog will keep us pinned down for another—" Bellamy stopped short in surprise when he saw Scott unholstering his handgun and offering it to him. He had dropped his rifle outside during the acid fog attack. The thought prompted Jinny to re-adjust the strap of her rifle around her shoulder. Failing that, she still had her knife hidden in her boot.

       "We'll split up," Scott told them. "Meet back here in fifteen." He nodded towards the gun and Bellamy took it. "Be safe."

       "You too, Scott," Jinny said.

       He gave a brief smile before turning around to the right side of the garage entrance with Scanlan and Barker on his heels.

       "Come on, let's go," Bellamy urged, taking the opposite direction with his gun and flashlight held high, crossed at the wrists.

       They started down the row of vehicles, carefully inspecting the deep shadows that held the possibility of lurking dangers. Jinny could hear the dripping of water from further inside the garage, and the faint acrid scent of the acid fog stole through cracks in the grim building. They peered curiously into several cars, finding nothing but old leftover possessions. Jinny saw a fluffy white teddy bear with a pink heart on its foot inside a small red car and she looked around furtively before slowly lifting the handle of the door.

       There was a soft click before she pulled it open wide enough for her to climb onto the back seat. She reached forwards to grab the toy's arm when the glove compartment suddenly fell open with a loud snap. The sound was like an explosion through the buzzing silence that permeated the garage, almost sending her into a cardiac arrest. Jinny quickly grabbed the bear and got out of the car with her heart racing in her ears. Bellamy and Octavia looked over at her, and she attempted to hide the bear behind her back.

       "Seriously?" Octavia reproached and Jinny shrugged, quickly stuffing the toy into her pack.

       She caught up to them and resumed their search for some kind of entryway into Mount Weather. The chill and damp inside the garage reached deep into her bones. Bellamy signalled for them as he darted towards a corner where there was a light switch next to a door. Just as they were about to pull it open, they heard music start to play on the other side of the garage—a childish tune.

       "That is super creepy!" Jinny hissed, pointing her gun in its direction. "I hate this place!"

       "Could just be the others messing around," Bellamy said, before a strangled yell echoed around the garage. He exchanged a concerned glance with Octavia and they started back from where they came from.

       "You're going to the creepy music?" Jinny asked in disbelief. "Do you wanna be killed?!"

       "You wanna hold my hand?" Octavia snickered, turning around to her with an outstretched palm.

       "I would but I wouldn't be able to shoot if I did," she replied, hurriedly catching up to them. "And I am going to shoot the first thing that jumps out, I swear to God."