Phoenix

Detectives Hunch

I pulled the SUV into one of the parking spots at the abandoned gas station. The place looked like it hadn't been used in decades. As I looked at the building I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. I had been in a few abandoned buildings before and they never made me feel uncomfortable, but something about this place made me feel different. It could have been from knowing that this place could have chemicals, or possibly a bomb that could kill anyone at any moment.

The sound of Hibanas voice snapped me out of my thoughts and brought my attention to her. "We don't waste any time here. If you find something don't be afraid to share it with the class. Now let's go."

Everyone climbed out of the car without hesitation. A cool breeze greeted me as I climbed out of the driver's seat and grabbed my weapons. I could feel myself starting to get a little nervous about going into the building, and I couldn't figure out why. There's nothing to be afraid of. I told myself. Swiftly I made my way into the building along with my team.

Broken glass covered the floor of the entire building. Chunks of the walls had fallen and shattered the blue and white checkered tiles. Viles and grass had taken over most of the outside of the building and was now pouring in. All the shelves that once stood in the center of the small shop were bent, thrown to the side, and rusted. The main counter looked out of place. There were a few cracks all over the top and the side of the counter, but there was no rust on any of the metal. It looked almost new, or like someone was keeping in good condition.

After looking at the main shop area of the building I decided to go search the storage area. I tightly gripped my AR and didn't look away from my sight as I pushed open the door to the storage room. The door opened only about half way before stopping. I tried to push the door all the way open, but something stood in the way of the door. Carefully, I slipped through the doorway and glanced at what was keeping the door shut. A large, rusted and bent shelf layed on the ground. I could tell that the shelf had been there for a while from all the rust that consumed the metal shelf.

I looked away from the shelf and looked around the small storage room. There was little to no light in the room. The only thing that gave the room light were the freezers that lined the back wall of the room. I instantly knew that something wasn't right as I looked at the freezers. "How the hell are they on?" I whispered to myself as I slowly, and cautiously made my way towards the freezers. There were five freezers in total, and the first four had everything you would expect to see in the storage room of a gas station. Water, energy drinks, soft drinks, and beers, filled the freezers top to bottom.

Except for the last freezer.

There were at least twelve boxes that sat in the freezer. All of them had different labels on them. Some were ice cream labels others were dairy products, and the last few were labeled as different microwavable meals. Before I opened the door I checked to make sure that there wasn't any trap or alarm system. Once I knew that I was in the clear I opened the freezer. I was met with a wave of ice cold air. A shiver flew through me as I held the door open with my foot and examined the boxes. Each box had a normal shipping label on them, but each address was different for every box.

As I looked at the addresses I noticed that each box looked like it had been opened, but was glued or taped shut. Carefully I grabbed a box that sat on the middle shelf and gently set it on the floor. I knew that I had to be very careful with the box. Anything could have been in there, and I had no way to find out unless I opened it. I pulled my knife out of its sheath, and looked at the box a little more. After thinking for a few seconds I decided to cut along the lines that were already on the box.

Once I finished cutting open the box I put my knife away and very slowly opened the top of the box. Part of me felt like an explosion would have gone off, but nothing happened. A wave of relief went through me, as I peeked inside the box. There were a few dividers within the box and what looked like bottles in all the spaces. "What the hell." I said to myself, as I pulled out one of the bottles. The bottle looked almost identical to Smokes gas grenades. I quickly and carefully put the bottle back into the box. As I put the bottle down I didn't realize how heavy the bottle was. The bottle must have been completely full, but when I picked up the box it didn't feel very heavy.