The Answer at the X

Chapter Four - The Answer at the X : 4.3

The further they made it into the mountain, the harder it became for Simon to breathe. His eyes were burning now, shirt drenched in sweat, and he could tell Isobel worried for him. She wasn't doing much better, body ravished by trembles every few minutes, and had her face seemed to be a darker shade that the rest, but it didn't make her stop. Nothing could make her stop now, could make either of them stop. Not even their bodies slowly but surely shutting down on them.

He was leading her through yet another door when the sight on the other side made him stop so fast Isobel didn't have time to react and walked right into him. Only the grip she already had on the doorframe kept her on her feet. He could tell she was about to say something, could hear the sound of her lungs fighting to breathe in enough air to form a sentence, and then she saw what had made him stop.

They weren't in another hallway but a massive room. Red lights lined the walls, and the ceiling was so high above them they couldn't even see it. Directly in front of them, about a hundred yards or so was a massive staircase leading up to a glass door the second level, above which it said HEAD OFFICE, L73, GLOW. Whatever it was they were looking for; it had to be in there.

It took them a while to get up the stairs, for it seemed like their legs were no longer willing to cooperate with them. The glass door opened with ease, and as they stepped through the room lit up completely, red lights replaced by white and yellow. Black shining boxes covered the left wall, a massive map on the right, and a huge table at the center of the room, empty save for a single sheet of paper and a gun. In the only chair still standing around the table sat the body of a woman, surprisingly well preserved compared to the rest of the bodies there. There was still some meat on her bones, flesh on her face, eyes in her sockets. Moving closer they could see half her skill seemed to be missing. One of her arms was laid on the table, fingers touching the paper in front of her. The paper was partially crumpled as if she had been gripping it with her hands when she died.

Isobel leaned heavily on the table as they approached, Simon behind her ready to catch her if she fell, uncertain if he'd be able to hold her if she did. As they got close enough, she leaned out and pulled the paper from the dead woman hand. There was something written on it, faded but still readable. She noticed there was writing on both sides and was about to turn it over when Simon put his hand over hers. It as trembling, and at first, she didn't understand, but then she was what he was pointing at. There, at the top of the page.

We tried too hard to save the world.

Her legs finally gave out, and Isobel let herself slip to the floor, hand still gripping the paper. Simon sat down heavily beside her, one hand trembling, the other turned at an awkward angle, but he ignored it. His eyes fixed on the paper. His eyes scanned the words, vision hazy, but he was still able to make out every word. Isobel turned the page, read the other side, and turned again, reading the first page once more. Letting the paper fall to the ground next to them she tried to laugh, but no sound would come. Simon felt his vision fail, eyes burning so badly not even closing them helped anymore. His hair lay flat on his head, drenched, and unable to keep himself sitting straight he slumped against Isobel. She leaned her head on his, closing her eyes, hands trembling in her lap. Another seizure took her, and he held her until it all stopped. The seizure, the trembling, and her breathing. He moved his head so he could kiss her forehead before he let the darkness take him as well.