While the road around the mountains was much longer, it was also a lot less dangerous. Aside from the snow, which was now starting to beco a small problem, they didn't run into any cannibal cults or bandits.
Rayne spent most of her ti in the driver's cabin with Julian, while Jonah was engrossed in reading.
They mainly all t together during altis, where Jonah would slowly tell them about his experience during the initial earthquakes.
Rayne felt that Jonah was a decent guy and was more comfortable around him than she had been before, making the journey overall more pleasant.
It took them four whole days to make it back to the valley where the bunker was located.
Julian parked the RV on the side of the highway that was adjacent to the forest where the bunker was located.
Noah and Ian scouted the surrounding area regularly, ensuring that Damien's n weren't lying in ambush, and updated Julian on the situation.
Before they got off, Julian sat down with Jonah to begin the oath-taking process. If Jonah was going to stick around with them and even visit the bunker, Julian needed to make sure he was officially part of their team.
Jonah was a little nervous but happily accepted and took the oath, swearing loyalty and secrecy. These last few days he had spent with the couple had been refreshing, to say the least.
All of his needs were t, and he even got to watch TV shows! He could tell that there were many benefits to joining up with them. Rayne and Julian were also very kind people; they went out of their way to save him from the gang and settle him into a new ho.
He had no regrets about joining their team and swore to work hard for them in the future.
"So from here, we're going to need to go on foot," said Julian, peering out of the window.
Rayne walked over. "We do have two snowmobiles. Are you comfortable driving one of them?"
Jonah nodded. "Yes, I've gone snowmobiling in the past. I should be able to handle it."
"Okay, great. Then you will ride one, and I'll ride with Julian. Just follow us and try not to hit any trees on the way," said Rayne.
They bundled up as best as they could and t Rayne outside, who had already taken the snowmobiles out of a storage compartnt on the RV.
If Jonah looked closely, he would realize that the storage compartnt wasn't large enough to fit two snowmobiles, but thankfully he was too focused on the snowmobiles themselves to think it through.
The snow was already knee-deep, so walking through the forest would have been very difficult.
After Rayne climbed to sit behind Julian, placing her arms around his waist, the three of them drove off into the forest.
The snowmobiles were the most recent models and were very easy to use. They quickly made their way through the dense forest, weaving through the large evergreen trees.
A while later, they finally approached the area where the bunker was located. But just as they got close, a big group of hooded figures jumped down from the trees.
"Stand down," Julian said, lifting his head.
The hooded figures quickly raised their arms to their chests to salute him. "Boss!" These n were all that remained of Alpha Team and were currently monitoring the periter of the bunker, keeping an eye out for Damien's n.
Jonah was a little startled by the sight but stayed quiet, watching as they respectfully addressed Julian as "boss."
Rayne got off the snowmobile and led Jonah inside, telling him to leave the keys in the ignition of the snowmobile. She knew that Julian would ask the mbers of Alpha Team to use these snowmobiles to patrol the forest and create false tracks in the snow to delay the inevitable discovery of the bunker.
Rayne entered the much-missed bunker, greeting Noah and Ian as she entered.
"Ms. Weston, welco back," greeted Noah. He turned to Jonah and smiled. "You must be Jonah. Welco. Unfortunately, ti is of the essence right now, and we can't afford a proper introduction."
Ian simply gave his signature curt nod as a greeting and walked outside to et with Julian.
Rayne turned to Jonah. "Let bring you down to the lab so that you can get started." Figuring out the substance was currently the highest priority.
Rayne led him down to the lower levels, pointing out any points of interest along the way. When they finally made their way into the lab, Jonah couldn't help himself and let out an astonished gasp!
"Such an advanced laboratory! I thought I would be given a simple microscope and that'd be it!" he said happily.
While the lab was not chemistry-oriented, it still contained most of the basic equipnt that Jonah required for his testing.
Rayne pulled a vial of the red substance out of her pocket and passed it over to Jonah. "Feel free to use anything you need in this lab. If there's sothing you require, don't hesitate to ask. I can't guarantee we can provide everything, but we will do our best."
Jonah accepted the bottle and quickly got to work after putting on so protective lab gear. Rayne took the ti to slip out to the kitchen so that she could prepare more hot als before they lost access to the bunker.
After a while, Julian finally ca down from his eting with Noah and Ian.
"We decided that we will begin making preparations to move out. I was hoping I could enlist your help with storing all of the sensitive items, such as the high-tech weapons and prototypes," said Julian. He placed his arms around her and kissed her gently on the forehead.
Rayne could feel his exhaustion and defeat from having to move out and abandon this bunker. She hugged him back, trying to comfort him silently.
"It'll be okay. Don't worry, I plan on storing everything. Damien won't get his hands on a single crumb from this place," she whispered.
Julian kept her company for a while longer, sampling all of the freshly cut fruit she was preparing before setting off to the lab to check on Jonah.
That night, Rayne prepared a scrumptious dinner for everyone, even sending so over to the Alpha Team dining room for them to enjoy.
She made a delicious, from-scratch lasagna with garlic bread and a fresh garden salad. Julian ca up with an elaborate story about how they helped out an old farr couple in the mountains, who rewarded them with a load of fresh fruits and vegetables they grew in their greenhouse.
Thankfully, everyone bought the story, even complinting Rayne and Julian on their heroism. Rayne could hardly keep it together and spent the entire ti with her face pointed downwards so that she wouldn't give it away.
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