Chapter 11 - Introductions

I jump at the sudden voice and grip my weapon tight. “Shit- Hello? Who’s there?” I look around, confused, until I see it. A green light shines in my eyes before me, and he appears. A green holographic figure, standing before me. He adjusts his glasses before floating around me, observing my worn clothes and the injuries all across my body, studying me like he’s never seen a human before. “Hmmm.”

I step back a little, dumbfounded. “Who- ?” I say before he interrupts. “Oh! That’s right. Where are my manners...” He floats back in front of me, dusts off his lab coat and adjusts his tie before speaking. “My name is Ell1s! I’m the AI who controls this whole nuclear bunker facility!” I grip my weapon tight in my hand, still on alert.

He gives me a concerned look. “You don’t need that silly weapon, you know. I’m a hologram! It’s of no use to you.” He phases through me to prove his point, and I cautiously slide it back into my bag. “...Right. So, um, is anyone else here? Like, people? Alive?” As I say that, his holographic form seems to glitch a little, and he stops talking for a moment before adjusting his glasses again. “Well! Um, no. It’s… just me. I was built to assist humans here and keep this place up-and-running… but the nuclear war was so sudden that nobody got to it. A shame.”

“...Oh.” I pause for a moment, a little upset. “Well-” “You must be in search of resources, hm?” He says, suddenly interrupting me again and floating up close to my face. I step back again. “...Yes, that’s what I was going to ask.” “Well then!” He pats my head (despite his hand just phasing through it) and floats back in front of me, gesturing me to follow him. “You’re in luck! Just follow me right down this hallway!”

I cautiously follow him, my footsteps echoing against the metal flooring as I tread deeper into the facility. Occasionally, his hologram seems to glitch a little, and he’ll quickly look back at me to make sure I’m following him. If anything, he’s terrible at hiding how anxious he seems.

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