Bomb Shelter

While carrying a half conscious, overly exhausted Hina on my shoulders, I led the group further into the hallway.

As we half walked, half sprinted in silence, I took this chance to use [Identify] on the pale faced girl. It turns out that Hina was currently suffering from an abnormal status effect known simply as [Mana Exhaustion]. It was an obvious enough demerit that should more than likely disappear the moment she recovers a bit of her mana pool.

I briefly contemplated whether or not to feed her one of our spare mana potions, but in the end, I decided against it. We were currently out of danger for the current moment, so we could afford a bit of laxness. After telling Cielle to heal Hina (since she received a few 2nd degree burns from her own fire magic), I pushed the thought aside and continued ahead.

We walked further ahead for little less than 7 minutes before we arrived at a pair of hinged, metal doors. Purely appearance wise, the doors looked sturdy enough to block a minotaur’s charging rampage. A somewhat stained steel hue adorning its surface glistened rather menacingly as the light of the flashlight shined over it.

“The bomb shelter, huh…”

I unconsciously spoke out as I looked over it once more. Of course, despite the noise that escaped my lips, I couldn’t hear a single thing. Even now, my sense of sound was still completely deprived.

Just as those words, which reverberated in my head alone, escaped my throat, I noticed that Cielle had looked over towards me, as if reacting to my noiseless words. I locked eyes with her for a moment, before she began mouthing something out.

I stood there, a bit confused, while she continued to actively flap her gums. It took me a while before I finally realized she was trying to talk to me. Apparently, the loss of sound had left me somewhat disoriented and askewed my own sense of normality…

I deactivated [Sensory Remapping], and my scattered senses finally reorganized themselves. My hearing, sight, taste, smell, all of these varying sensations finally returned to normal, a feat I hadn’t enjoyed in a surprisingly long amount of time.

“- ..should we go in?” The first thing I heard was the indistinctly soft patter of Cielle’s voice. Her head was slightly turned towards my direction, while the rest of her body continued to face forward, towards the door.

“...” I opened my mouth to respond, but after realizing something, the words remained stuck in my throat. I quietly stood for a second, unmoving, as I focused.

“... they stopped buzzing…” the somewhat hoarse tone of my own voice surprised me as I once again worded out my obvious observations.

“Yeah,” Cher suddenly responded from besides my left shoulder. “You hadn’t noticed? They stopped after we neared the bomb shelter.”

I vaguely nodded my head as I turned to stare back at the abyss of darkness we had walked out of. The receding hallway was lightless, and, for an ephemeral moment, lifeless. A void of darkness that no living thing could exist in… of course, I knew better than this. First hand experience was enough of a reminder as to what type of creature lurked behind those shadows.

“They stopped following us…” I quietly spoke.

“Nnn.” Cielle quietly murmured as she bobbed her head up and down.

‘Why did they stop following us?’ This question was one which silently fostered within me, but ultimately remained unspoken. After all, just thinking about it a little would lead you to a reasonable enough conclusion.

I turned my attention back towards the doors in front of me and focused. Briefly, I amped up each of my varying senses, before diverting them towards the room that lay hidden behind those doors. After a while, I once again disabled [Sensory Remapping]. Suffice to say, whether it be sound, smell, even temperature, I did not get a reaction from within the bomb shelter. If my word was any credible, then the room before us was empty.

I turned around to meet everyone else’s stares, before nodding in confirmation. I quietly handed Hina over towards Cher’s receiving arms. Cher shouldered the majority of her weight, while Hina tried to remain upright on wobbly legs. Hina never really passed out, just that, [mana exhaustion] made her too tired to talk, much less walk.

I then slowly placed my hand onto the door’s cool surface, before I applied a fair bit of pressure and pushed. Contrary to my expectations, my hand did not meet any resistance. In the contrast, the door deftly swung open, revealing an open room encased in familiar darkness.

I could hear the tense gulping sounds from behind me. For a moment, while staring off into the room, I played with the idea of turning back around. The recent experience with the Gilas somewhat cooled my rather hotheaded self. It once again reminded me that caution, before anything, came first, and the room before me was definitely more than just a little suspicious.

In the end though, I dismissed the idea all together. You can’t make any real progress if you’re always tucking your tail between your legs and running away. Besides, I’ve already confirmed that the room was empty, and if any type of monster capable of hiding from each of my varying enhanced senses existed, then we’d have been dead the moment the door opened.

With that sort of reaffirmation in place, I boldly took the lead and stepped forward.

I was bathed in momentary darkness, before a ray of light pierced the path ahead. From the farthest wall back, I could now see a somewhat dusty and neglected shelf, one stocked to the brim with canned preservatives.

From behind, the others soon followed, taking tentative steps into the room. Cielle was the one who held onto the flashlight. She kept pace with me as we delved deeper into the shelter, while Cher and Hina followed shortly behind.

As Cielle’s light revealed more and more of the room, we discovered that it was unexpectedly large. A sort of open hall with its walls covered with shelves containing varying emergency supplies. The varying supplies were all haphazardly strewn about in the room, with a large majority of them located along the shelves that lined the walls.

The most plentiful of these supplies was undoubtedly food. From canned goods, dried milk, and even several bags of rice… Ah… rice… a luxury I haven’t enjoyed in close to a month. To have that sort of thing for a meal would simply be… I got it. I’ve decided. The next time I eat rice, I’ll make sure to max out my taste. To fully enjoy it’s pleasant flavor… hehe, I can’t wait…

Ah, no, I got sidetracked.

I pulled myself together, and forcibly walked away from the stacked bags of rice located in a rather nondescript corner of the room. With a will as strong as steel, I began taking inventory of the rations within the room.

An assortment of products.

Canned fruits, canned meats, several dozens of bags of flour, beans, rice, potatoes, dried fruits, preserved meats, dehydrated milk, there was even a collection of MRIs, all with varying flavors. For me, who only ate scavenged granola bars and monster meat, this diverse collection of food is just… especially the rice….

Ah, focus.

Aside from the food, there were other things mixed in here as well. Close to a dozen 200 gallon water tanks, all filled to the brim with water, were lined up against the left wall. Next to it were several empty 5 gallon buckets. Other things too, like clothing, sleeping bags, non-prescription drugs, first aid kits, bandages, varying medical supplies, bleach, plastic trash bags, light sticks, portable toilets, fire extinguishers, rope, a whole collection of items were stockpiled within this shelter.

Naturally, I [identified] every single one of them. It was a good way to level up my skill after all.

Among the objects within the room, a one thing in particular caught my attention. Off to the side, in a corner blocked by shelves of canned goods, was a simple generator. It wasn’t particularly big, probably only had enough juice to power up the room, but still, it caught my attention. More specifically, the object next to it did- It was a radio.

I’m not particularly very good with radios, but from what little knowledge I had, I came to the conclusion that it was a HAM radio. The radio was propped up against a wooden table next to the generator, and was adorned with varying cables, microphones, headsets, and an inoperable lamp.

My first instinct was to mess with the contraption, but luckily, I was able to restrain myself. I didn’t have any particular experience with radios, so I was a bit fearful that my reckless touching might somehow damage the whole thing. In a worst case scenario, the radio might break. That was obviously something I’d like to avoid.

Letting out a quiet sigh that only I could hear, I prepared to turn around, just as something else caught my eye. There, hidden underneath all the jangled up cables, was something extremely valuable. Something so useful, that I’d trade half the kids in the cafeteria for it. I almost missed it too, if it weren’t for the slight glare its screen reflected when Cielle shined the flashlight down onto the table.

That precious object was a walkie talkie.

Scratch that, 3 walkie talkies.

In a situation where we can’t readily communicate long distance, something compact that was capable of transmitting and receiving signals without the need for internet or radio stations was undeniably valuable. What’s more, they were relatively simple enough to use that even an amateaur wouldn’t have any trouble.

Without a moment’s hesitation, I quickly gathered the three walkie talkies and distributed them amongst the group. In the end, Cielle, Hina, and I received one. It would have been better had there been 4, but unfortunately, being the latest member of our group, Cher was left out this time around.

She looked a bit dejected at this, but it couldn’t be helped. I guess in the future, she’ll have to stick with one other person, but like I said, that can’t be helped.

More importantly, with these walkie talkies, our range of activities have expanded. We can do things like solo, or maybe even split our group up, if the situation calls for it. Although, honestly speaking, I already do a lot of “solo” missions, but let’s overlook that. Among other things, finding separated team members has became easier. In the future, my scouting range has also grown. The value of the walkie talkie is truly amazing.

Shortly after everyone (everyone except Cher that is) received a walkie talkie, we began fiddling with it, in hopes of getting it to work. Luckily enough, when we turned it on, it had plenty of battery life left. Although even if it didn’t, there were a few spare batteries amongst the pile of emergency supplies within the room.

[zzz...Hello…?..zz.]

[Is it working?]

[.....zzz…]

[Ah, it worked.]

After a few minutes of idle button pushing and knob turning, we finally got it to work. My own voice, along with Hina’s and Cielle’s clearly transmitted through those small dotted speakers. I unconsciously jumped in excitement at the sudden success. Of course, I wasn’t the only one. Hina with a happy, but tired smile, Cielle with a clear change in her usually neutral expression, even Cher showed a bit of joy in our success.

As expected, Walkie talkies are well received.

***

We decided to set up camp here for a while, so that everyone can get some rest, and for Hina to recover from her [mana exhaustion].

Cher found a few Kerosene lamps lying around, so we were currently using that for light. As expected, the lights don’t really work down here, and the generator isn’t set up properly. Kerosene lamps were a good alternative.

We also ate some of the food we found in the room. It goes without saying, but I ate rice. Rice with leftover boar strips…it was delicious. No-, it was more than just delicious. It was truly a heavenly experience.

I had on a contented smile, as I took on the first rotation.

Beforehand, I arbitrarily decided that we would sleep in shifts for a couple of hours. While, at this point, it was certain that the Gilas were keeping their distance from the shelter, it was always good to be extra cautious. That’s why we were sleeping in shifts.

The first rotation consisted of Cielle and I, while Cher and Hina took on the 2nd shift. Don’t ask me how the groups were decided, that sort of thing was out of my control.

Like that, we were finally able to take a break. Lit by the faint illumination of flickering flame, the somewhat tense atmosphere from before slowly wafted away, although the undeniable chill of danger still remained.

****

A few hours later, we prepared to leave the basement. At least, that was the original plan, until…

“Are you sure it’s here?” I asked, with a somewhat tired voice.

“Y-yes! Like I’ve told you before, the wall over here looks weird…” Cher’s let out a strangely squeaky voice. A tone that almost indicated that she herself was dubious to her own claims.

“Ugh… So tired…” Cielle groaned, but dutifully continued working. She was moving the various canned goods, and packaged supplies out from the shelf on the wall and moving them over to the side. This was all in order to clear out the shelf and hopefully, prevent any of the precious supplies from damaging. Having recovered from [mana exhaustion], Hina was also clearing out the shelf alongside her sister.

Meanwhile, my eyes were directed between the small, slight gap in between the shelves that were currently aligned along the westernmost wall. Upon further inspection, I came to a similar conclusion Cher held.

“It’s true… something about this wall looks… odd…” I quietly mumbled to myself as my eyes once again scanned the almost indistinguishable wall.

It was hard to make out, even with the assistance of the flashlight, but a section of the wall was discolored. A shade of pale white that varied slightly from the rest of the walls surrounding the room. It was so slight of a difference, that even if you were purposely looking for it, you’d still be hard pressed to actually find it. It was an amazing coincidence that Cher noticed the slight discoloration when she was rummaging around the shelves for something to eat.

While I was intently observing the wall, the girls finally finished emptying out the shelves.

Making use of my enhanced stats and the boken’s inherent boost, I moved the metallic shelf. It was a bit difficult at first, mostly because there was next to no traction on the shelf’s surface, but after a couple of seconds, I noticed a few indentations along its surface. It was unusual, like someone had chipped the shelf’s exterior with a cutting knife, but nonetheless, the indentations created allowed me a firm grip on the shelf.

A spine tingling squeak resounded as the shelf scraped alongside the tiled floor, but nonetheless, with a little bit of effort and grunting, I was able to clear away the obstructing piece of furniture, revealing the wall behind it.

Without the shelf blocking the way, the slight discoloration on the wall was now much more obvious. What’s more, there were obvious ridges on the wall, as if someone had hastily painted over it, and ignored the obvious discrepancies present.

“This… isn’t this a door?” Hina was the first to make this assumption, as she leaned over onto the shelf.

Now, that she mentioned it, the bumps and ridges on the wall did somewhat resemble metallic screws, much like the screws that dotted the outline of the bomb shelter’s door.

I cautiously felt the surface of the wall. I confirmed that the ridges were indeed just painted over screws. What’s more, despite the overcoat of white paint, the unmistakable texture of cool steel was still present. When I felt around the wall some more, I could make out a familiar rectangular outline. Without a doubt this is a-

“Door. It really is a door.” My voice rang out, as if to confirm what everyone (myself included) was currently thinking.

“Why would there be a door here?” Hina’s question was left unanswered as we continued to wordlessly stare at the discoloration on the wall.

I could make out what looked to be the start of rust along side the edges of the door’s outline, although the paint made it a bit difficult to precisely tell. Upon closer inspection, the paint that camouflaged the door was chipped, and fading. In fact, some sections of it looked clawed out, but that type of thing was more like a vague resemblance at most.

“Should we try opening it?” Cher’s sudden proposition once again broke the stagnant air that had began to form in the air.

“““... ”””

It would be a lie to say I didn’t hesitate. In fact, all of us hesitated. The mystery of this door, where it exactly led to, what type of thing waited behind it… those types of things were dangerous. The type of mysteries that incited the human curiosity…

A part of me wanted to investigate, despite the dangers which came with it. The others were the same. Hesitation, built on by tonight’s experience was obviously present, but stronger still, a burning desire to know the truth. Something like that pushed us forward.

After I did a preliminary search of what lay behind the door using a combination of enhanced hearing, and smell, I confirmed that I couldn’t ‘feel’ anything, and we began our earnest search for a handle of sorts.

It took a while, infact, 15 minutes, before one of us found a small indentation within the wall. It was more of a grip that concaved inwards, as opposed to traditionally jutting out. The search was somewhat delayed since the handle itself was covered over by a layer of plaster and paint, making it hard to distinguish from the rest of the door.

After I scooped out a fair bit of the plaster, I was finally able to get a good enough grip on the handle. Obviously, I expected some form of resistance. After all, what type of secret passage would be kept unlocked. Despite my initial expectations, the door itself, with a simple tug, was pulled open rather casually, revealing a somewhat narrow corridor that disappeared further into the darkness.

As the metallic door squeaked open, I reflexively gulped down. From behind me, I could hear similar noises as we held back the growing tension.

With the door out of the way, I once again used [Sensory Remapping] to do a quick scan of the corridor. Be it sound, smell, temperature, or eyesight, I once again confirmed that the corridor was, for all intents and purposes, empty.

After I confirmed the lack of danger, the growing sense of curiosity swelled within me, my body moving automatically, I couldn’t help but take a step forward. My first step into the corridor was met with the nostalgic crunch of dried dirt and loose pebbles.

Seeing me move, the girls quickly followed. In no time, although the door was wide open, with a mere 2 feet separating us, we could say, without a shadow of a doubt, that we were firmly [inside] the corridor. I once again couldn’t help but use [Sensory Remapping]. Once again, it confirmed that nothing else besides us was inside this corridor.

“Then…” A hopeful voice from an unusually optimistic Cher.

“Yeah…” The curious glance that Hina sported was plainly written on her face as well.

“Nnn…” A slight bob of the head flicked away a few strands of loose hair from Cielle’s face, revealing an out of character expression.

“Let’s go.” And with me rounding things up, I took another decisive step forward, leading the way for this corridor expedition.

It was unfortunate, that only later did I realize that I had overlooked something vital.

The desperate scratches on the wall, masked in darkness and metallic rust that had escaped my vision, the unnaturally messy setup of the shelter that, in the dim of light, became next to impossible to make out, even the strange coincidence that the doors, both the bomb shelter’s and the corridors, were strangely open… it would only be later that I noticed how truly out of place all of this was.

*****

Author's Note: Thanks for reading. Although I can't promise as frequent chapter releases like in August, I will try to post a bit more frequently, after all, I'm sure the month long hiatus was painful.

If you liked this chapter, or this story in general, please try to rate or review if you can, I appreciate that sort of thing.