I moved over to the Undertakers corpse. Their yellow eyes were open and afraid, I took a mont to close them, then searched through their belongings. I found a data-square, a necklace with a pendant of a Bloodmane carved out of stone, and a rifle with a fair amount of ammo. I looked around until I saw a soft patch of ground, and dug it up with my hands, tearing through roots and ground until I had a good sized hole. I then rolled the body into the hole, and buried it. I didnt need to, but I didnt like the idea of sothing else coming along and eating her. My stomach grumbled at the scent of death, but I cut a slab of at from the Ursan I killed to satiate it, enjoying the strong taste as the fresh blood of it ran down my throat.
I made my way into the bunker. I couldnt be sure whether or not the Undertaker had yet been inside herself, and so had no idea if the data-square had been filled with the information shed been sent to retrieve. It wasnt as if the data made it heavier, at least not in any way I could detect. I made my way into the cave that the bunker was housed in, then into the bunker itself. Things were much as I left them, I saw no reason to do another search for loot since Id already done so the first ti Id been there. I instead went directly to the main terminal, downloaded all the information onto both the square Id brought, and the one the undertaker had with her as a backup, then left. I wasnt sure of what Julian would do with the data. Perhaps create a vaccine against the one the Remnants were developing? Or perhaps he had bigger plans. I hadnt had the ti to ask him about its exact purpose, but I was certain it would be for the good of Potts either way.
I shook my head to return my focus to the task at hand. The lack of sleep was starting to affect my attention. I made my way further into the black woods. Deeper into it than Id been before. The other Undertaker that was missing was at a bunker nearly twenty miles deeper in, and I didnt have high hopes that theyd survived based on the state in which Id found his compatriot.
I walked through the brush quickly, but carefully. Unlike the area around the rEvolutionary Virus bunker, I was unfamiliar with this territory, and while I had maps that depicted the region, I couldnt be certain that things hadnt shifted since the bombs fell. I used my newly enhanced sense of sll to avoid several Ursans, and to catch an injured mutant turkey that I tore into while moving. There was a part of that wanted to stalk the Ursans for a while, confront them, and eat them. The ti and risk involved was, of course, too high though.
It took well into the night to make it to my destination. When I was near it, I took a particularly deep inhale, and was gratified not to sll a deadman corpse. That ant that either theyd already left, or had died in the bunker. Either way Id need to find out for myself.
I made it to the entrance shortly after. It was a trapdoor, with the brush recently cleared from it, and the lock blown off with so type of explosive. I lifted the door, and found a familiar set of steps leading downward. The bunkers layouts were fairly standard, and this one reminded of the entrance to the Ozymandias project bunker. I made my way to the bottom, and found the massive main door to be already opened. The circuitry controlling the door control had been tampered with and rewired. Whoever this Undertaker was, they seed to have impressive technical abilities.
I could sll the traces of a deadman in the bunker, but no direct scent. It was possible he or she had made their way to an airtight room. There could be all kinds of things interfering with my ability to find them considering the strangeness that went on in bunkers. I passed through the main security checkpoint and saw a sign above the main hallway that read, Edison Project. I moved deeper inside and found the layout to be slightly different from what Id expected. There was the usual living facility first, which I decided to save exploring until after I determined the other deadmans fate, and beyond that was a long hallway that branched off into multiple smaller labs, rather than one or two larger ones. The first one was labeled, Havana. I walked inside and saw three or four computers arrayed around an open space, with a strange dish-like device pointed at a far wall that was heavily padded.
With no sign of the Undertaker, I moved onto the next lab. The door above this one was labeled Doorway. I went inside where I found a similar setup to the first lab, but instead of a dish, there were two circular devices facing one another with a wall between them. There was a skeletal foot protruding from the wall on one side, and nothing else.
The third lab was labeled, Excalibur, and I found my interest piqued in spite of myself. Inside were the usual sets of computers, but there were also a number of mannequins that appeared to have been sliced perfectly in half. There were also chunks of wood, tal, and all other manner of materials that had been similarly cut, leaving perfectly smooth halves. On a table in the center of the room was a sword. It was nearly a foot longer than the one the Rens had provided to , that Id broken in my fight with The First. It had a thick black handle, and a simple crossguard. The sword was sheathed, and I took a mont to draw it. The blade was a perfect unblemished silver, except for the edge, which was black. I squeezed the handle, testing the grip, and felt a vibration begin. The edge turned a bright red, and I could sll the air burning around it. I gently pressed the blade against the table it was on, and it sliced through it as if it were butter. I slackened my grip, and the edge turned back to black. I slid the blade back into the sheathe, and placed it on my back. Id missed the sword Id gotten from the Rens, and was certain they wouldnt forge another one, but it seed Id found a worthy replacent. I looped the Ursan tooth charm Id kept through the small hoop on the bottom of the sword's grip.
Having the weight of a sword on my back felt right. The absence of the one Id received from the Rens had bothered , and while I still had my knife at my hip, it wasnt the sa. I broke myself from that line of thought, my mind was still drifting too much. I moved out of the room, and further down the hall, there was a final lab to my left, and then the hall went forward to so double doors. The final lab was labeled, Nirvana. I opened the door, and found a slightly different lab from the others. There was still an array of computers, but half of this lab was sealed away with glass. Through that glass I could see a number of speakers, as well as so kind of padding on the wall. I also saw, sitting in the corner, leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, an Undertaker. I moved to the door, quickly, and swung it open concerned he was in trouble.
Once the door was cracked, I wondered why I had been so worried? Everything was fine. There was nothing to worry about, nothing to be afraid of. A kind of warm contentnt perated every inch of , and I started to walk through the door, looking for soplace comfortable to sit down.
Why was nothing wrong? Ca an alternative train of thought. You could die at any mont. Dont let your guard down. How many rounds do you have for your rifle? Dont stay still, you need to keep moving. What will happen while youre away from the war? The mont you stop moving, the whip is going to hit your back. The warmth is a lie, it will kill you.
I slamd the door and stepped backward. My heartrate had slowed to a crawl, but now it was rapidly speeding back up. I took a mont to calm myself and think through what happened. It had felt familiar, that sense of contentnt. I sotis felt it when Id been on my boat for more than a day or so. When it happened I would almost imdiately start to feel an intense sense of unease, as if that kind of contentnt wasnt sothing I could handle. Id just experienced the sa thing, but at a much faster pace.
I looked back through the glass. The Undertaker was breathing steadily, and seed to be okay. I just needed to find a way to shut off whatever was active in that room.
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