They run with me on Maeve’s back until we get to the bunker Sako and I explored the day before. We’re apprehensive about going down there after what we saw, but with the rumbling continuing and getting closer every second, we have no choice. We must hide underground and hope there’s nothing in those depths.
Back into the darkness, Sako winds up the crank flashlight and leads the way down the stairs. We hear trees tumbling in the distance as the abyss of the earth quakes from within. I don’t know what the others are thinking, but I’m sure they’re all praying that the whole thing doesn’t collapse. If it does, we’ll be buried alive with no way out.
They descend the steps slowly. Because of the ever-increasing shaking, they have to hug the walls to keep their balance. I feel Maeve press herself against the bedrock to ensure that my body doesn’t rub against it. I tell her I’m fine and can walk on my own, but she just smiles and keeps going.
She's really considerate of others, isn't she?
We take our time until we’re finally at the bottom. It’s still colder than the Arctic, but it’s better than being up there.
“Whew, I thought we were gonna die!” Sako says, taking a seat on the couch around the table from before. The one with the notebook that I took.
Maeve walks over as well and gently places me next to Sako on the couch. She then reaches into her satchel and pulls out a cloth. After wetting it with a water canister, she hands it to me.
“For your head,” she says.
“Thanks,” I say, taking it. I can’t really see what I’m doing, but I try to wipe my forehead where I’m pretty sure I was bleeding.
“Hey Riley, I think she’s still a bit disoriented,” Maeve says. “Can you take the towel and wipe her head down for her?”
I almost forgot he was with us. He still hasn’t said a word since we’ve met. Maybe he’s mute? Regardless, he does as he’s told and takes the cloth from me, gently wiping the wound on my head. It stings a bit, but I don’t react since I don’t want to scare him. He definitely feels like the shy type.
“What happened?” I ask. “Were we attacked?”
“Kind of,” Maeve says. “A giant branch fell on your head when those things came and clonked you out.”
How lame. I kind of wish she lied to me and told me I got knocked out fighting a bunch of HET, or something like that.
“I was so worried!” Sako says. “The way you went down, I thought you died!”
“You shoulda heard her! She wouldn’t stop calling your name over and over again!” Maeve laughs. “She just kept going until you finally woke up. She’s so adorable when she’s worried.”
“Um, yeah, thanks for carrying me, by the way,” I say. I really hate being a burden, so I keep it in the back of my mind that I have to repay her one day. I don’t know how, but I will.
“It was no problem!” Maeve says. “I’m fit as hell, and you’re super light, so it was like I was back in boot camp.”
“You were in the army?” I ask.
“Yep, Marine Corps! Ooh-rah!” Maeve chants. “Although, I feel kinda cringy saying it now, haha.”
“Wow, no wonder you’re so strong,” Sako says. “But don’t they rewire your brain in the military? Like, change the way you think?”
“I guess, but isn’t that the case with everything?” Maeve asks. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a corporate slave, a military personnel, or just doomscrolling on TikTok; human beings are always being influenced by external factors. I feel like once we embrace that fact, it’s easier to retain agency, as you’ll be more receptive to new experiences. The world might have shifted, but I think this holds true, even now.”
Receptive to new experiences? That sounds like the opposite of how I used to be. Now, everything is new, but also horrifying. Maybe that’s why Sako seems to be okay with all of this; as someone who was never scared of trying new things, the unknown is much less frightening for her. Familiar, even.
“You guys saw the HET, right?” I ask. “Were they really as tall as skyscrapers?”
“Hm? Were you conscious after all?” Maeve asks. “Could it be that you were just pretending to be unconscious so you could cop a feel of my boobs?”
“H-huh? Of course not!” I stutter. “I-I’m not like that!”
“Really now? Cause you were holding onto them so tight that they’re bruised now,” Maeve says coyly.
“I’m sorry,” I say sheepishly.
“Don’t get so flustered, I’m just messin’ with you!” Maeve laughs. “You know, trying to lighten the mood.”
“I really was out at first,” I say. “Angel told me about them. Like, in my mind.”
“I figured it was something like that,” Maeve says. “To be honest, we couldn’t see them all that well from where we were.”
“But they were huge!” Sako chimes. “Big, black, human-like bodies that stretched all the way to the sky! A whole bunch of them, stomping through the forest. They were so big we couldn’t see their faces, either. They were hidden in the clouds.”
“Did your angel say anything about them in the database?” Maeve asks.
“No, apparently that was the first sighting of them ever,” I say. “Right, Angel?”
Angel then appears in front of me alongside Titania.
“Yeah, I’ve just added them to the Cloud’s database as ‘giant HET’ for now,” Angel says.
“Did you get their EP rating?” I ask.
“Are you talking to your angel?” Maeve asks.
“Yeah, I guess you can’t perceive them yet, can you?” I ask.
“Nope, but Riley can transfer what your angels are saying through his telepathy ability until we’re neurolinked,” Maeve says. “His power to talk to other people through their minds extends to AI companions, too. You may have conceptualized the ability, but we perfected it!”
“That’s pretty neat,” Sako says. “So he’s like a little radio station, then.”
“Something like that,” Maeve laughs. “Anyway, Riley, if you don’t mind.”
Riley nods his head and seems to shift around. Nothing happens visibly, but I can only assume that he made it so that they can hear our angels. That’s a pretty convenient skill he’s got, though I doubt it would be very useful in battle. Unless he can use it like Charles Xavier, which would be pretty cool.
“As I was saying,” Angel continues. “They were too far away to get a real reading on them, so their threat rating or EP gain is still a mystery.”
“Thank god they were, or else they would have caught up to us and made us into pancakes,” Sako says. “I can still feel the rumbling, even all the way down here.”
“It’s kind of jarring, though,” Maeve says. “I don’t understand what the HET could possibly hope to accomplish with strains that big, or why they haven’t unleashed them until now.”
“Oh yeah, Angel did say that the HET likely have a purpose for invading,” I say. “Maybe humanity poses a threat to them in some way?”
“Doubtful, considering we were many centuries away from interstellar travel,” Maeve says. “Additionally, organic life that large is functionally impossible, at least from an evolutionary standpoint. If it were bioengineered, then maybe…”
“What, are you a scientist or something?” I ask.
“Biomed, yes,” Maeve says.
“Wow, that’s so cool!” Sako says. “You’re really something, aren’t you, Maeve? I kind of wish we met before all of this! I could have shown a model like you off on Insta.”
“Ha, well, I doubt that would’ve happened since you're a bit younger than me,” Maeve says. “But if I could have had a cute girl like you dote on me, then I would’ve been pretty happy! As long as you were legally an adult, of course.”
“Are... are you a lesbian?” I ask.
Oops. I didn’t mean to ask her that flat out. I mean, I was curious, but I didn’t intend to be so rudely blunt. I understand that some women are just naturally flirty, often as an ironic joke, but for some reason she feels like she might only be half-joking.
“What, are you interested in me or somethin’?” Maeve asks slyly. “To be honest, I don’t know. I love who I love, and that’s that. Confining love with defining boundaries kinda defeats the purpose, doesn’t it? I mean, girls are waaaay cuter than guys, but I wouldn’t mind settling down with one if he was my type.”
“What’s your type, then?” Sako asks.
“Nobel Peace Prize winner, hot, smart, and a great personality,” Maeve says, obviously jokingly.
“I cannot believe you guys are wasting time talking about these trifling subjects,” Titania retorts.
“To be fair, it’s not like they can do anything else,” Angel says. “Not until those giant HET are long gone.”
“I kind of want to see them,” I say.
“You’re free to step outside and take a gander,” Angel says.
“No, I think I’m good,” I say.
“Alright, I’ve got you!” Sako says. “First, imagine a super tall dude. Now imagine he’s naked, but doesn’t have junk, muscles, or any defining features. He’s also black. And I don’t mean African-American or anything like that. I mean pitch black, as in their bodies don’t retain light. Now, imagine their heads are in the sky, and they don’t have arms. That’s basically it. I mean, I think.”
“Really? I thought their legs were more like tentacles,” Maeve says. “And they looked more like a really dark navy than black.”
“No, they were definitely black,” Sako says. “Purple?”
So basically, none of you actually got a good look at those things.
The earthquakes grow more intense the longer we wait, but it seems the integrity of the structure is solid and won’t come crumbling down on top of us. There is, however, a good chance we’ll have to dig our way out if they destroyed the entrance. I guess we’ll have to overcome that hurdle when we get to it. All we can do now is twiddle our thumbs and wait.
“Say, didn’t you say there was a body down here?” Maeve asks.
“Oh, yeah,” Sako says. “I didn’t really want to think about it, but yeah, there is. In the rightmost room over there. We blew the lock off it, and it’s also where we found the gun.”
“I think I’ll go take a look, then,” Maeve says.
“Why?” I ask.
“I’m curious about something,” she says. “Don’t worry, you guys can stay here. I have my own flashlight.”
Maeve then gets up and walks to the other side of the basement to the door where we found the body. I watch as she slowly puts her hand on the broken handle and creaks it open. She peers inside cautiously at first, then swings it around. Right after, she comes right back to us.
“Was that the right room?” Maeve asks.
“Yeah,” Sako says. “Why?”
“Because there was no body in there,” Maeve says.