Chapter 9 - Introductions

After a couple minutes of walking, I hop over the fencing, carefully making my way across metal wiring and other obstacles leading up to a strange opening leading underground. Completely open, too. Weird. Did someone enter it recently..? I sling my bag full of resources along my shoulder and carefully descend a creaking ladder that leads me to a hallway with a large metal door. The walls, floor and ceiling are thick and made of metal as well.

I push on the large metal door, expecting it not to budge, only for it to open with ease. It leads out into a long, empty hallway where multiple other rooms connect. All of the lights are on, blinding my eyes as they adjust to the sudden brightness. This place is huge… has someone else been living here? It even has power as well… I slowly walk inside, amazed at the size of this strange bunker. Strangely enough, though, it seems empty. Like this place hasn’t been touched in ages.

Even the floor is perfectly clean, not a speck of mud or dirt in sight, besides the trail from my dirty and worn boots. Any sound I make just echoes and bounces off the walls before fading away. The fact that this place still even has electricity is baffling to me, but… I feel like I’m being watched. I reach into my bag for a knife I found while searching for resources earlier, and keep it to my side as I slowly walk inside, further from the doors.

I thought I was safe until a sudden voice called out all around me, and I jumped in surprise.

“Well! What do we have here..? A human? It’s been… years…”

I 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, happily floating above the ground. He smiles and adjusts his glasses before floating around me, observing my worn clothes and the injuries all across my body with an amazed expression, like he’s never seen a human before. “W- wow…”

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

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. See?” He phases his arm through my chest to prove his point, and I cautiously slide my knife back into my bag. “...Right. So, um, is anyone else here? Like, people? Alive? I’ve, um… been searching for other survivors for quite a while now. Honestly I’m shocked that I’m even talking to someone right now even if you’re… uh, you know.”

As I say that, his holographic form seems to glitch a little, and he stands there blankly for a moment before adjusting his glasses again. “Well! Um, no. It’s… just me. I was created to help protect any surviving humans here and keep this place up-and-running, but the nuclear war was so sudden that nobody got to it. A shame. I’ve been alone here for quite a while, haha…”

“...Oh.” I pause for a moment, quietly sympathizing with him. “Well-” “You must be in search of resources, hm?” He says, suddenly interrupting me again and floating close to my face in anticipation. I quickly step back. So much for personal space… “Um– yeah, that’s what I was going to ask.” “Well then! My apologies for stalling you for too long. There’s plenty of resources here.” He takes another look at me, thinking quietly, and frowns. “I suppose we should tend to those injuries too… you look like you’ve been through a lot of trouble.”

“I… yeah. I have. Sorry, I don’t really want to get into details.” I anxiously look down to the ground, at my worn boots and the dirty prints they’ve left behind on the pristine metal floor. Ell1s notices my hesitancy and quickly springs back into his lively chatter. “Oh..! Oh no, no worries! You don’t have to tell me anything you’re not comfortable with! Here, for now… why don’t I guide you to the food storage room? You’ll feel much better after a nice, warm meal. I don’t believe you’ve had one in quite a while, hm..?”

God, how long has it really been?

“No, I haven’t…”

“Well! Let’s depart, then. Follow me!” I cautiously trail behind 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.