DISCORDIA

[ 61 ] death trap

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       DEATH TRAP

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       JINNY JABBED HER GUN into Dante's back, urging him to walk faster as they made their way towards the command centre. Their feet pattered lightly across the cement floor as they traversed the winding corridors of the mountain facility. She was amazed at how expansive the bunker was, a construct that was truly built to withstand the test of time. It came as no surprise for Jinny to find out that Dante had been carrying the office of 'President of the United States' throughout the entirety of their three generations since the nuclear apocalypse. That must have been a tiresome burden to bear, especially when the title held little meaning in their world now.

       According to the annals that had been kept on the Ark, Alpha Station belonged to the Americans. They could still see the faded star spangled banner painted on various facets of the station. As she glanced around quickly and took in the interior of the mountain, she could see the resemblance in the design. On Factory Station where she was born, there was a hint of the Indian architecture that it used to belong to, as well as some aspects of the Japanese that docked beside it.

       "I told you, no one's here," Dante said as Clarke stepped out cautiously into the adjacent hallway with her handgun drawn.

       "Sorry if we don't take your word for it," Bellamy retorted.

       "Some of your men were cured, they could be on the look out for us," Jinny responded logically.

       Monty quickly darted pass her towards the command centre, reaching its key card mechanism. They came to a halt beside him and she glanced at the blue sign on the wall that read 'Level 7 Restricted Access'. Bellamy continued to look around warily beside her as they waited for Monty to manually unlock the door.

       "Why aren't you with your people on level five?" Clarke asked.

       "After what I've done, they can be free. I can't," Dante replied. "Deliverance comes at a cost. I bear it so they don't have to."

       Jinny scoffed at his words, finding them to be wishful thinking of an old man who was too stubborn to give up. "You weren't the one who killed our people, it was them."

       "It wasn't Cage," Bellamy started. "It was your idea to make the deal with the Grounders."

       Dante looked to him and gave a nod of confirmation, accepting the responsibility for Lexa's betrayal. Jinny frowned angrily. "We were only using Lexa's army as a distraction to get our people back from you. Her betrayal just made things a lot worse for everyone," she seethed.

        There was a digital beep as Monty rewired the panel. "We're in. Got it," he announced.

       Bellamy unholstered his gun and stepped up to the door, opening the handle and pushing it open with his weapon raised. He stepped inside, sweeping his gaze around the room before straightening his posture and grabbing hold of Dante's arm. "It's clear," he announced. "He's telling the truth."

       Jinny entered after them, taking in the control panels and computers that were arranged in neat rows along the length of the room. "Let's get the monitors up," Clarke said.

       Monty dashed up next to Jinny who had already started to wake the operating system from its power saving mode. Their fingers worked dextrously across the keyboard as they figured out how to use its interface. It was definitely a lot different from what she was used to handling, as the Ark's software had continually been updated by its generation of software engineers. The mountain didn't seem to have that kind of luxury and their programs were archaic. Monty slid his finger across the track pad and pressed a few keys. The screens flickered on to life and they turned towards them.