Radioactive

Chapter 10

The metal door closes behind us with a weak, metallic clunk. We walk in silence to the end of the tunnel where we had to jump down on a pile of mattresses. A ladder leads straight up into the gas station through what looks like a crumbling sewage drain. Alex goes up first, then Amy, then me.

It looks like early morning outside the gas station. Amy sits down at the edge of the sewage hole, and Alex stares out the window. I shake my head and run my hand across the stubble growing in.

"C'mon guys. Lets get going." Alex says pushing open the doors slightly.

"Where are we going?" Amy asks while standing up.

"Anywhere but here." Alex says and steps outside.

We reluctantly follow.

We walk aimlessly for what seems like hours before we get to another old epicenter of activity. Cars are scattered through out the cracked and weathered streets. Buildings slowly decay around us as we navigate our way around the many dormant cars on the street.

"Guys. Look." Amy says pointing to something off in the distance, "It's the mall. Bound to be a bunker in or around there."

"Right. Or there could totally be more ghouls in there." Alex responds solemnly.

"Or there could be enough fresh air in there for it to be our new home." I say and walk to the front of the group.

We reach the mall in about an hour. The front door into the mall is completely broken off its hinges. Shattered glass litters the ground. We step inside and look around in awe. The huge skylight in the center of the mall looks like a giant punched a hole through it. Glass shards are spread out all over the ground. Shops look stripped and bare. Their neon signs busted. Besides the many over-turned chairs, and the curious brown splatter on one of the shop counters, the mall looks strangely peaceful.

"These shops look like they were scavenged. Do you think that means there's a bunker around here?" Alex notes.

"Could be. Let's keep looking." I say.

We move through the mall at a steady pace, looking for any clue that would lead us to another bunker. Amy's rad meter is still in the green and hasn't beeped once.

We walk into one of the old clothing stores and find it almost completely ransacked. Clothes and their racks are either toppled onto the ground or not there at all. There are shelves that are broken and/or missing.

We walk further into the store and come to a barrier made out of clothing racks and shelves. Bright red blood trickles through a gap in the barrier and into a small pool in front of the barrier. A pained moan comes from the other side of the barricade.

I look at Amy and Alex who have brandished their weapons and then slide my rifle in front of me. I step toward the barricade and peer over it. I recoil at the sight.

A man lays on the ground covered in blood and dirt. His gas mask sits next to him but looks completely destroyed. He wears a bullet proof vest that apparently didn't help him very much. The man is clutching a wound on his stomach that is bleeding heavily. His eyes lock with mine and then go wide.

"H-help me," he chokes out, "They-shot me with some-thing that-that ripped cl-clean through my-vest. Y-you've got to h-help me."

I step over the barrier and kneel down next to him. Amy and Alex step over as well and stand around me and the injured man.

"Tell me who shot you." I say and swing my gun onto my back.

"They call themselves- The Tainted. They-they used to be-be..." the man takes a deep breath and then shuts his eyes.