Post Apocalypto, day 3.
I went back in. I've done some more research.
Turns out, the OT government wasn't exactly forthright with what had happened in the thread. I'll get to that later on. It'll be in one of my upcoming articles.
I refused the requests to submit for any sort of escort. Of course, if I did that, how would I find any of the good stuff? Ridiculous. It's obvious they just don't want me snooping around.
I was a bit concerned about some other health issues I heard - some kind of classified substance. Potential remnants of a virus.
But dammit, I wanted answers.
Backpack, check. Water, check. Rations, check. Binoculars, flashlight, camera... Anything else I thought I would need on the journey. Baseball bat? Check. At least there's something to protect myself with. Back to the wasteland. This time, I was going to go in deep. I wanted audio. I wanted video footage.
I went in. Trecked the same way I went last time. My footprints were still there - looks like there wasn't much wind blowing around.
About 10 minutes into the hike, I noticed something a few feet away. A trail of footprints next to my own. Those weren't there yesterday.
I walked over, leaned down - checked it out. The same type as before. Big. Three-toed.
Something had been following me. Or at least, my footprints. It looks like it had tracked me for a bit, then turned around and went home after a while.
My stomach did a few flips, but I stood up and kept moving. Where was home?
So I started following the set that had followed me. It wasn't long until I arrived at - and passed - the area I had gone to before.
Silence, this time. No noise. Nothing. Just me. By this time, I was on high alert again - you know the drill. Adrenaline. Fear. Heart pumping. Frightened of every little noise, most of it imagined.
5 more minutes I followed those footprints. 10.
Then I saw something. A building. I pulled out my camera. Snapped a few pictures. Then I did a little stakeout. Watched the place for a good 20 minutes - no movement. Nothing.
Why hadn't the bomb destroyed this place? And why did those freakish footprints lead to it?
So I did what any other insane person would do. I went in.
As far as I could tell, there were no cameras. Nothing else that could spot me going inside. The walls were some sort of slick metal and glinted with your classic metallic sheen in the sunlight. Probably steel, though I'm not really familiar with different types of building materials. They were also smooth and featurless. No defining traits - just a straight, imposing wall of metal. Maybe 3 stories tall. Really big, diameter wise. I'm not really sure how big - my best guess is 100 yards.
There was a door. No handle. It was hard to spot - but the footprints led to it. The only way you could see it was via thin lines creating a rectangle in the metal - just a small indentation. I would have missed it if it weren't for the footprints. I tried pushing on it - it swung right open. Didn't even creak.
Well oiled hinges.
At this point, I was terrified. There were no lights. It was pitch black inside. I wanted to turn tail and run very, very badly. But it was like something was compelling me. This feeling of needing to know.
I stood in the doorway and dug around in my pack while I could still see - grabbed a flashlight, and pulled out my bat. Then I delved in.
The walls looked much the same as the outside. No defining features or traits. Just solid, slick and silver metal. My footsteps echoed slightly on the inside, which was more than enough to make me shiver. Anything nearby would be able to hear me going in.
And it was damp. Humid, and a bit chilly. Not that the temperature stopped me from sweating like I had just ran 3 seperate marathons.
I walked slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. Checked for possible doors. There were a lot of hallways. I decided to go straight, not trusting myself to remember the way out if I took a few turns. Besides, the dark halls were creepy.
After a few minutes of wandering around, I began to hear something - echoing through the halls.
The same sound as yesterday.
I slid myself against a wall - it made me feel safer to have my back against something solid - and stowed the flashlight in my pocket. No sense in giving myself away. I replaced the flashlight with my camera - and then I inched forward.
And I inched forward.
And I inched forward.
The sound got louder. I started recording.