𝐎𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 [Venable X Reader]

2 | Refuge or Nightmare?

A/N: Let me know what you think so far and feel free to tell me if there are any errors. 😊

⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙

I followed the leader of the outpost through an iron door that closed automatically behind us until we stood in a larger area with another iron door ahead of us. At a second iron door on the right hand side were two guards stationed. The two men dressed in black were standing there like statues, eyeing me suspiciously with their intense gazes. I wondered what was behind that door.

Miss Venable noticed my curious gaze and stopped abruptly in the middle of the area, causing me to nearly bump into her. "This door leads to another sector of the Outpost you may never enter so you don't have any business there", she simply stated and motioned to the other iron door without giving me the chance to ask or say anything.

The ambiance behind the door was a huge contrast to the tiled sector behind us. Miss Venable lead me through a small corridor which was partly wainscoted with Wenge wood and lit by several candles on each side of the walls. She came to a halt at the end of the corridor where an iron winding stair lead upstairs and turned to face me. "This outpost was built long time ago by the Cooperative, visionaries, to enable life for the fortunate few after the end of the world. It used to be an exclusive boys school until it was converted by the Cooperative into a refuge" I shyly nodded, grateful she broke the awkward silence. Miss Venable slowly ascended the stairs and I followed her. Despite using a cane, she was walking faster than I'd expected. I wondered why she had to use the cane but I didn't dare to ask because I feared I could annoy her with that topic. "Our system consists of Purples and Grays, a natural order as it should be", she continued, "Grays are our worker ants, still a necessary component and grateful for the opportunity to serve"

Having reached the top, I saw the wide open area in front of me. Like a huge balcony the upper floor with the railing was arranged in a circle. Candles were illuminating the area from everywhere. A few chandeliers were evenly distributed along the ceiling. Further corridors were leading in different directions. Two people dressed in gray headed for a corridor near us, a girl in a gray dress was scrubbing the floor on the other side without lifting her head as we walked past her. I once again scanned the huge area with my mouth parted a bit in admiration, still being overwhelmed by its sight. I scurried to the handrail and admired the view of an open crackling fire downstairs. What a huge subterranean building ...

Miss Venable cleared her throat and my head automatically jolted in her direction, simultaneously withdrawing my hands quickly from the handrail while blushing a bit. "The Purples on the other hand are the Elite, the worthy" She kept eyeing me with her dark, brown eyes for another moment before turning on her heel and approaching the next corridor, her cane hitting the floor with every second step. "You've got the privilege of being one of them since the proper woman who'd purchased the last ticket hadn't made it to the Outpost"

"A ticket? I don't quite understand..."

Without coming to a halt Miss Venable continued: "Resources in the Outpost are limited, Miss (Y/N). So is the number of residents. Everyone who's currently staying at the outpost knows their place and had to pay for a ticket earlier. Everyone except you. We'll have to rethink about how to cope with that in detail but for now I'm seeing you to your room" She opened a dark wooden door and walked in. There was a big bed with light gray bedsheets and a black bed frame in the middle of the room. Plenty of candles on the bedside table as well as a small fireplace were illuminating the room. Admittedly, the room had a modern touch and a calming impact on me.

"How come this outpost doesn't use any generators?"

Miss Venable turned around and fixed me with her gaze. "Technology is what destroyed the world but that's all swept away. The natural order will restore itself. Our way of live here might seem a regression to you but you're dead wrong"