HUMAN

Chapter 3 - Nascent

"What the hell is taking you so long there?!" Abigail banged through the bathroom door. I was still in the middle of drying myself with a towel. The dust that stuck on me was a pain in the ass to get off, which eventually led me to take a shower for almost 2 hours.

"Give me five more minutes!" A grunt was heard, and she stormed off to her room. Putting on my shorts and shirt, I quickly shoved the comb in the drawer and opened the door, letting the collected steam out of the bathroom.

"Alright, I'm out already. You can stop sulking now." She swung the door open, staring daggers at me. "Now, why were you covered in so much dust? I had to vacuum wherever you walked!" She pointed to the vacuum that was set aside.

I rolled my eyes. "I accidentally found some abandoned place after falling through a tree. I decided to venture to this place, but I was practically breathing in a fog of dust." I answered.

"What's all the fuss about then? I saw some of the SIU vehicles passing through town, and not to mention you were questioned by one of the agents?"

She glared at me suspiciously. "Oh, well, you know. It isn't every day you discover an abandoned human structure." Her eyes began to widen. "Of course, I'm going to bring some attraction. After all, I'd be in the books for discovering that place." I said with a snarky tone and grinned widely. "What?! How- really?!" She began firing multiple questions at me.

"I'm lying dimwit. I don't know if I actually did." I gave out a laugh. "Ugh! I'll find it out myself then!" She slammed the door in my face, hitting my snout. "Ah, crap. It's probably just some old government facility or something." I muttered, then rubbed my nose.

- - -

Four hours ago. . .

"Team Otelin, this is Red Flag. Can you hear us loud and clear? Over." The radio crackled. "Red Flag, this is Otelin; I can hear you loud and clear," I replied.

"Once your squad is prepared, you are clear to descend the bunker and report any environmental hazards and fallout if there is imminent danger. Over." I strapped my gas mask on and reloaded my rifle, then turned on the flashlight. "Copy that. Out."

"Alright, squad! On my lead, watch your six and look out for each other. Anything fishy, report to me immediately." We descended the spiraling concrete stairs to face a busted metal door with burn marks on the handle.

"Angus, take note of that." "Yes, sir." He then pulled out a small camera and photographed the door. We began to sweep each level, each decreasing our visibility, and we couldn't see much.

Other than a copious amount of test tubes, chemicals spilled, stacks of files and technology we don't necessarily recognize. The bullet marks all over the wall were a few things that got my attention. "Interesting. . ." I muttered.

We reached about the 5th floor before I could barely see my team through the dust floating around. "Do we have a visual for everyone?" "Negative sir." I decided to conclude this short mission and called my teammates to head back up.

I waited at the entrance to the 5th floor for the rest of the team to show up. About 5 minutes later, we were all gathered. "Red Flag, this is Otelin. Our visibility is minimal, and breathing is becoming harder. I've concluded the mission for now, and there aren't any major hazards that we have to deal with. Over."

We waited for a few minutes before a reply crackled on the radio. "You are clear to go. Out."

We reached the surface and could finally breathe easily, although we covered ourselves in dust. "Far out. I already want to take a shower." Bill said. "Not yet. I'll request special equipment and better gear like hazmat suits to fend off the dust. Who knows if it will arrive today or tomorrow?"