Chapter 63 - Eleanor

Never turn down a warm meal.

I t took two days for Riot to heal from the bitter enough to continue our travels through Mercury Mile. We took things slow and after a week, he was just like he was before, laughing and singing into the darkness.

Finally, we hit a part of the tunnels that were filled with human remains.

"Creepies. See the mushrooms?" Riot pointed out brightly colored mushrooms growing from the bones. "These specific ones only grow on mutated decay. Don't eat them. You'll vomit blood."

"Good to know." I grimaced. It smelled horrid here. It was hot and moist and I just wanted to get out of here as fast as I could.

"Who goes there?" Riot stopped short, causing me to bump into him.

A figure stepped into our lights. He was an average man but he had no traveler's gear. And his eyes… they seemed to glow.

"Hello, I've been waiting for you two."

"Who are you?" Riot demanded, reaching for his gun.

"I'm Gary. I'm from Bunker 330. I could sense you for miles."

Bunker 330? How many bunkers were there?

"There are 1000 bunkers," he said, as if reading my mind.

Had he?

"Why were you hiding in the dark?" Riot asked. He was just as cautious as I was.

"I wasn't hiding. I don't need light to see. It's one of the side effects of the testing I was subjected to in my bunker. I was simply waiting. Now, would you like me to take you out of here?"

Riot and I exchanged looks. Could we trust him? Did we have a choice?

"If I don't show you the door, you'll miss it entirely, and you can continue your journey." Gary shrugged. "But I have a feeling you were looking for what I have."

"What do you have?" I asked.

"The key to the TEST headquarters."

We looked at each other. What options did we have, really? Reluctantly, we agreed to follow Gary. Riot kept his gun trailed on him the entire time, although it didn't seem to bother Gary even slightly. Gary rattled on like this was just another day for him.

"It's been dreadfully boring lately. I have been spending most of my time in a library I found. It had a pretty extensive collection of works the TEST leaders deemed valuable to save. I have started to write a one-man play based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe."

"Gary, what's TEST?" I asked. This man was as creepy as he was boring. I needed to hear him talk about something else.

"Oh yes, TEST. Teach, Elevate, Study, Transform. The worlds leader's most evil plan."

Gary explained what TEST was while we walked, and with each step I became more horrified.

"Were they all horrible?" Riot asked.

"Not all, but most." Gary yawned. "I think it's a scale. Bunker 237, for instance, I'd say while abhorrent, would be maybe a 3 on the darkness scale. They treated you well, didn't they?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat and thought back to my life before. I had been treated very well. I had nice clothes, a nice living space, warm, delicious food. I'd been given a good education, and never wanted for anything.

"Yes, I'd say so."

Gary nodded. "It was just the other stuff that wasn't great. There are many, many other bunkers in which they worked on all their inhabitants. And the conditions?" He shuddered.

I told him about the underwater bunker Callahan and I had visited.

"Ah yes, that is one of the worst ones I've read about. Can you imagine being spliced with a dolphin? Not even genetically. They were all created surgically. One day they would go to sleep, and the next they'd wake up with no arms, but instead— tentacles."

Riot swore.

"I'm surprised you got out alive," Gary said as we reached the door. "The area around Bunker 614 is heavily guarded. They have shoot to kill orders for anyone that manages to escape."

I was so stuck inside my mind, I didn't notice him open the door, but a moment later Riot and I were going through it. We went to the elevator and he took us up to the lobby.

"Isn't this much better than the tunnels?" Gary grinned.

I glanced at Riot. We both looked exhausted. Our clothes were filthy, we hadn't had bathed in weeks, and our food supply had dwindled.

"I have a shower and food in my area. Why don't you come in to eat and refresh yourselves?"

His mind reading was starting to give me the creeps, but the idea of a shower was too tempting. We continued walking with him. He took us through a door that opened up to a modest apartment, similar to the one I had in the Young Lady program. It was snug, the walls were lined with books, and the carpets and decor lots of reds and browns. There was a fire going, making the room feel warm and inviting. I relaxed.

"Apologies for the mind reading. I can't turn it off. Sometimes I don't even realize your words weren't said aloud."

"So you can read our minds," Riot said.

"Oh yes." Gary chuckled. "I can do a lot more than that, but it's a long list. Let's get you rested."

I showered first, savoring the steaming hot water. I hadn't had hot water since the bunker. It felt heavenly. I scrubbed the grime off my body and washed my hair. When I came out, wearing the only clean outfit I had left, the dress Riot had bought for me.

Gary cocked his head when he saw me, but he said nothing. Instead, he offered me a bowl of something thick and orange.

"It's good," Riot said from his seat at the small table. He was shoving the food in his mouth, draining the bowl completely. "Some kind of stew."

"There's no meat, unfortunately," Gary said sadly. "But some of the bunkers had plans to experiment with plants and kept thousands of seeds, so I've been able to garden. This has a squash base. I'm not much of a cook, but it's warm."

I sat down and ate my food at a slower pace. Riot took another bowl and drained it just as fast as his first one. Then, he went for his shower. He came out, and my breath caught in my throat for a moment.

He too, had put on fresh clothes.

He brushed his hair back bashfully when he saw my reaction.

"Gary gave me some of his clothes." He tugged on the yellow and green leather bomber jacket. His shirt was black, with GARY written on the front. His new pants were skin tight. The only thing remaining were his black boots.

"You look good," I said, going to him. I hugged him tightly, and he kissed the top of my head.

"You do too, brat."

Gary cleared his throat, and we pulled away.

"Well, what next?" Riot asked me.

"We need to find Cal and the others."

Riot looked at Gary. "Thank you, Gary, for the food, showers, and hospitality. I think we need to start searching for our friends."

Gary nodded, having read our minds.

"Indeed. Well, take some food and water. The doors to the outside are back in the lobby. The code to the door is 112018."

I looked at Riot, but my question was directed at Gary.

"I was kind of curious about the levels above. Should we look and see if there's anything that could help us find them?"

Gary shrugged. "Sure, everything's open. Just use the code. Although, I'd stay away from floor 23. There's a woman torturing the last group of people up there." He shuddered. "She's been at it for weeks."