WtSLB: Sapphire in Wonderland (Hiatus)

Chapter 44: MELTDOWN

C-CR-CRACK!

THUD!!

"O-ohh..."

Sapphire lifted her head from the cement floor, the room spinning around her. Shiza was laying face down next to her, Red Hood laying on top of Jeanne. Slowly they managed to pick themselves back up, their bones aching from the fall. Sapphire, still disoriented, looked up at the hole above.

The blue sky above was nothing more than a speck. They had fallen deep underground, and it was nothing short of a miracle that they survived. Shiza rubbed her bleeding head, looking around. "W... Where... Are we...?"

Their eyes adjusted to the bright fluorescent lights above, giving them a view of their surroundings.

Halls of concrete surrounded them, a variety of heavy machinery, catwalks, strange technology, and serious other things were in these halls.

Red Hood coughed as she sat up, Jeanne helping her stand. "What... I-is this place?" The knightess asked.

Neither of them knew. But they need to find a way out. Given they were in some sort of facility, there was surely an exit. Sapphire dusted herself off, taking the lead as they walked through the odd building so deep underground. Their footsteps echoed in the halls, yet no exit inside. No elevator, nothing. It was a while before Red Hood coughed again.

"Are you alright?" Jeanne asked gently. Red Hood nodded, rubbing her eyes.

"I don't feel good..."

With being so close to the castle, they knew they didn't have time for Red Hood to get sick. Shiza pat her on the back, the four continuing to walk. until finally Shiza coughed too. Jeanne and Sapphire turned to look at the caterpillar and Red Hood, the doll raising an eyebrow.

"... Are you sure you're okay?" She asked in a dull voice. "We can't stop..."

Shiza nodded. "P... Probably just withdrawals," she mumbled. "I'm okay... I think..."

Sapphire stared at her for a moment longer before they continued. And finally they came across something strange. A hazmat suit with ash spilling out lay just beyond the doorway, on a grated catwalk. The doorway looked like it once held a door, but it had been destroyed; sparks flickered from the busted circuits, and deep claw marks had nearly shredded the thick titanium metal like paper. Whatever had forced its way inside was deadly.

The catwalk creaked as the four stepped through the doorway, staring down over the edge. The floor was hundreds of feet below them. Sapphire knelt down, picking up the hazmat helmet. She squinted her eyes, dragging her sleeve against the cracked glass face shield. It looked like something was inside. And when she reached into the helmet and pulled it out, she dropped it in disgust.

It was the rotted, half-melted face of a man.

"E-ew..." Shiza murmured. "... What do you think... Happened to him...?"

Sapphire tossed the head to the side. Something else had caught her attention. She picked up the small device still clutched in the corpse's hand, staring at it with faint recognition. She hadn't seen one of these since her days in the old Cult, sixteen thousand years ago. It was certainly more modern than anything else on Twist. Only the Cult would have something like this. Jeanne coughed into her fist, leaning over the doll's shoulder. "What's... That thing...?"

Sapphire felt a cold chill down her spine. "... It's a Geiger counter," she finally said. "This place... It's a nuclear power plant..."

"N-nuclear? W-wait, so we're near... W-Wonderland's Reactor?"