The Singularity: Book One In The Dystopian Apocalypse Series

Eshe

It has been a week and a half since we have escaped. The first week, we didn't really do anything but talk. We talked from since we woke till we slept. Now, however, it has been all work and we have barely even uttered hi to each other. Teddy has been missing for a majority, but he always comes back tired, so we don't bother him with where he had been. However, this time he had been gone for longer than usual and we were all a bit worried. 

Everyone else was working on their respective tasks, while I paced the living room trying to decide if I should go out and search for him or should I trust him to come back on his own.

My pacing was cut short when Jack stepped into the living room. He looked up at me curiously and walked over.

"Eshe, are you alright." He asked and my face grew hot. I nodded profusely.

"Y-yea! Just trying to figure out what happened to Teddy!" I said a little too loudly. I mentally facepalmed myself. He raised an eyebrow and laughed. 

"Is he like the vice president of this?" He joked and I found myself laughing.

"Oh, uh, no. Well, yea. If we were putting it in class government standards. I am prez, he is vice. Georgia is my secretary and Nani is something like a treasurer. Well... maybe you could just say, vice secretary?" He nodded.

"Oh alright. But seriously," He placed a hand on my shoulder and I was almost sure my face was scarlet instead the brown it was supposed to be. "I can tell you are stressed. You should maybe relax. How about this; me and some of the others are going to swim in the creek. You could come with." He smiled softly and I nodded.

"Y-yea, I would love to swim with you... and the others." He patted my shoulder and walked off and if on cue, Teddy came from the back. I looked at him in shock as he approached. "I thought you were out in the forest. When did you get back."

I could see him falter a bit. "I-uh- came back a while ago. You didn't see me?" He stammered. I shook my head slowly and looked to him.

"Teddy... are you hiding something from us? You can tell us anything." I told him. He nodded and scratched his neck.

"Yea, I know. I am not hiding anything. I swear." He said and held up three fingers. I nodded and plopped down on the couch.

"Sure..." I answered.

"Besides, why would you think I was hiding anything?  Have I given you a reason to distrust me? I am just asking because if I have then I want to right it. I want you all to trust in me fully. Besides," He gave me a smirk. "I am the vice president." I groaned and facepalmed myself.

"You heard me make a complete fool of myself? My gosh, I was a complete fool." I sunk lower in the chair. "Please kill me now. Toss me to the killer robots." 

As if on cue, Joseph came running in. "Something just tripped one of our silent alarms." He said frantically. I waved him off.

"Probably another squirrel," I told him and Teddy raised an eyebrow.

"That's like the fifth one. Maybe we should make them heavy so it can only get heavy things." He suggested to Joseph, but Joseph's eyes were still wide.

"It wasn't a squirrel." He said, looking at us. Everyone must've heard the conversation because slowly they emerged from their separate places.

"How do you know?" Georgia challenged. He looked at each of us before he muttered the words that almost stopped all of our hearts.

"Because the alarm weighs what stepped on it... it came back as 330 pounds." He said slowly.

"A squirrel doesn't weigh that much..." Jack muttered. I looked at Teddy only to see him looking in the direction of our storage room.

"Eshe?" He muttered.

"Yes, Teddy?" I asked in a soft voice. I saw his Adam's apple bob as he gulped.

 "I lied. I have been hiding something. Don't hate me and please don't ask questions. There is no time for questions. Everyone, follow me." With that, he hurried into the storage and we all followed silently, but just as quickly.

As we entered the room, Teddy was already lifting the rug... which wasn't a rug, but a trapdoor. He waved us into and we complied. He came in after and closed the door above us. He slid a deadbolt into place and motioned for us to follow him.

After following him for a few minutes, he exhales then turns to us. "This is the part where you can start asking questions." He said and began walking again.

"Where the fuck are we going, Theodore!" Georgia blurted out.

"Yea, and where are we?" Lenora asked.

"How do you even know about this place?" Joseph asked in a lowly voice.

"How long have you been hiding this from us?" I asked. Teddy sighed but continued walking.

"One, we are going to our new base. Two, we are underground a channel of underground tunnels. These tunnels empty out in all sorts of places, so if the AI's do find a way down here, there is a low chance of them actually taking this route. Three, I saw the entrance when we were starting to build this place. Four, I have been hiding this for a while. Five, cause I know you are going to ask but yes, this is what I have been disappearing to every day. I go here and work on it using the techniques I saw you all use on the old one. It is a fully furnished mini-mansion. I'll show you around when we get there. I am sure you all would love it. Think of it as a You're-Welcome and I'm-Sorry gift to you all" He answered.

After that, it was quiet. Soon, the tunnels got narrow to where we had to go in a single file line. I was in between Georgia and Jack, with Jack in front and Georgia behind. Lenora carried up in the back, but I could tell she was nervous about it from the way she kept glancing behind her.

"Almost there. Boy, am I glad I left my motorcycle back at the other end." Teddy murmured.  As promised, after three minutes we arrived at another trapdoor. This one had a dial pad. Teddy climbed up and typed in something. The trapdoor opened to reveal a dark room. Teddy ran his fingers across all of the buttons and went up. We followed him in. Lenora was the last one in, but by the time she was in, Teddy had turned on the light to reveal we were in a large windowless room with a set of stairs in the corner.

"This is such an amazing mini-mansion," Lenora said, dusting herself off. Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. Teddy rolled his eyes.

"This is just the basement. The rest is up those stairs. Come on." He guided us up into what seemed like another storage room. 

He opened the door to this room and we exited the storage room and entered an open hallway. I looked up and gapped. It was bright as there were a lot of windows which revealed a thick forest. Everyone dispersed, exploring on their own. "Everyone's room is already labeled, please don't trade! I had so much work organizing everything!" Teddy called after them all. I turned to face him. I wanted to tell him off for keeping this us. I wanted to strangle him or at curse him out, but nothing came out. Instead, I sighed and glared at him silently.

"Teddy-" I started but he cut me off.

"I know, I know and I am sorry. I just didn't worry anyone." He said. His eyes were pleading me not to be mad at him. I sighed.

"Teddy. You have earned the title of 'Vice President', just please... next time include me. I would have happily helped you." I attempted to give him a smile and he smiled back.

"Thank you." He says, smiling. I nod and walk upstairs.

~~~

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the short chapter. I just wanted to provide you guys with some content, because before last chapter, I haven't updated in a while. So I hope you enjoy. Please leave a vote, comment and please share the story, it would help a lot.