Remainers

Lost Mementos of the Past, Part 7

After what must have been another hour of walking, Caleb and Rick arrived at a large open area. Rick looked around and inspected the place with his flashlight. He looked down at the ground and frowned.

"No footprints here. Multiple pathways too. Looks like we're gonna have to decide which way to go from here."

"Why don't we split up?" Caleb asked. "I know you're worried about me running off with Mina, but if she comes back from the other direction while we're exploring one path, that'd be even worse, wouldn't it?"

Rick sighed. "All right. You got me there. But take this."

He tossed Caleb a small cylindrical device. It was all black, with a small red light beeping along the side.

"What is this?"

"A tracker. I'll be able to find your location so long as you're holding that. If you press the button on top, it'll alert me, so press it if you see Mina."

"I see. Well, that certainly makes things easier."

Rick scanned the area for a bit before shining his light down the western hall. "I'll go this way, so you go down the hall heading east."

"Got it." The two turned around and walked down the opposite hallways. As Rick's footsteps slowly faded into the distance, the place around Caleb became deathly silent. Every step echoed through the hall, and the emptiness sent a chill running through his spine. He wasn't unfamiliar with exploring darkened areas like this, but it was probably his first time venturing through such a cold and lifeless place.

He shook the chill off and ventured deeper into the underground hallway. The place was littered with rubble and debris, and if he wasn't paying attention, he could easily find himself tripping over on a fallen rock. The hallway had little in the way of detours or forks, yet he still saw no sign that Mina had passed this way. Nevertheless, he had to keep moving; after all, that didn't mean that she hadn't come this way either.

Caleb ventured deeper into the underground. At some point, he reached a staircase heading downwards, and for a moment, he wondered if he should turn back. He didn't know how strong the transmitter was, and there was a chance that heading downwards would make his location harder for Rick to pinpoint. However, before Caleb decided to head back, he saw something that made him change his mind.

It was a handprint placed right up against the wall, making an imprint against the dust. It was about shoulder height for Mina, meaning she likely placed her hand against the wall here. The fact that it was so clear meant that it was likely that she made this handprint recently. She passed through here. He was certain of it.

Once that was clear, his decision was made. He descended the stairs without a second thought. If the transmitter didn't work deeper underground, he'd just have to apologize to Rick later. Finding Mina was the priority, and if his hunch was right, he'd find her sooner rather than later.

The stairs ended up leading to a lower floor of the underground partition they were in. Caleb looked around, but it didn't seem like another mall. Instead, it seemed like a large empty area filled with abandoned cars. He didn't know if Mina would find anything interesting here, but all he could do was keep looking for her.

The area was massive, but it was surprisingly easy to search through. The entire place was flat and didn't seem to have any hidden nooks and crannies, meaning he could scan most of the area just by turning around in a circle. Doing that made it pretty clear she was not around. He considered the idea that she might be crouched down behind one of the cars in this area, but he figured that likely wasn't the case. After all, he was making enough of a ruckus that he'd have to at least catch her attention, if only inadvertently.