--Point of View: Katie--

Last night was almost a disaster. I let myself get so obsessed over the recent discoveries that I forget protocol. If it was not for Crim giving me a ride back, I would have surely aroused some suspicion. The higher ups did not like anyone to fall out of line. They liked all their good little soldiers to behave and follow orders and were known to take drastic measures to ensure the status quo was kept. We were all just mindless drones doing our jobs to them. The fewer people who knew my name the better.

After running like mad to return to my bunk for the night, I just laid there for a few hours as people shuffled back in from their weekly prayers, everything still so fresh in my mind. I wanted to go back right away and continue but it would have to wait. Sneaking out during the week would be impossible with everyone around. Also, I had plenty of paperwork and tedious tasks to complete in the lab. The scientists were not known for their patience. I guess I fit in better than I thought.

Before I knew it, I was opening my eyes to a new day. A groan escaped me as I sat up, still in yesterday’s uniform with my hazmat suit lazily tossed over a chair. I looked a mess and felt even worse. We covered a lot of ground yesterday and it was just now catching up with me. Hopefully a shower would fix at least one of my problems.

“Katie, you in there?” called a familiar voice from outside my room followed by a quick knock on the door.

“Yeah, one second!” I called, looking down at myself to ensure I was decent before rolling out of bed and hobbling over to the door to unlock it. “Come in, Come in.”

Who waited on the other side of the door was nonother than Tom. It had been a while since I had seen anybody from my old squad so it was a welcomed surprise. An occasional passing comment or two when I was back in the tower was not too uncommon but seldom here in the field. Scouting had been postponed after the discovery, so they were stuck doing odd jobs back at the main base. He gave a smile and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

“It’s been a while. How you been Katie?” asked Tom, taking a seat.

“I’ve been fine for the most part. Scientists keep me pretty busy with all the jobs they can’t be bothered to do. Glass cleaning, report writing, you know. The shit work.” I responded, giving a small shrug.

“That sounds about right. Glad you’re well though. Everybody back at the tower misses you. They have us unloading cargo all day. I managed to find an excuse to come out here and accidently got lost in your room here.” Snickered Tom, a sly grin on his face.

We both laughed as I walked back over to sit on the bed, making myself comfortable. I was worried for a moment he was going to tell me something horrible had happened.

“So, you just came to talk then?” I asked, just to double check he was not just prolonging the inevitable.

“And because I was bored of moving boxes all day. We don’t even get to look inside of them.” Explained Tom, a genuine look of annoyance on his face. “And Robert, my god is he more insufferable than ever. I like the guy but if he tells me how to move a box one more time, I’m going to lose my mind.”

Tom and I talked for a good hour, neither one of us caring if we were supposed to be somewhere right now. It was still early and nobody would miss either of us yet. He rambled on about everything happening back in the tower and how everyone is gossiping about the reactor we uncovered. I was glad to know most people saw it in a positive way. A lot still shied away from old technology after the incident.

“There was one more thing I wanted to tell you.” Tom eventually added, leaning back on the chair. “And its important. Robert wanted you to know right away.”

“Oh? Well, what is it? Should have told me from the start if it’s so important.” I replied, a little agitated but more worried if anything. “If Robert is concerned enough to break protocol than it must be bad.”

Tom dropped the chair to the floor with a thud, glancing around the room for a brief second. “Robert overhead one of the higher ups talking about tightening security because they suspect someone is wandering when they shouldn’t be.”

“Do they suspect me?” I blurted out, my lips moving faster than my brain.

“Not you personally but they have been noticing tracks, door openings at odd times and various other snippets of information they managed to put together. Luckily, they didn’t want to spend the time or money to install surveillance down here. Didn’t think anybody would be dumb enough to wander around an eradiated wasteland.” Rattled off Tom, counting on his fingers as he listed everything.

“Well, that’s a relief at least but that will make it a bit more difficult from now on.” I commented, contemplating how I could sneak out while leaving fewer traces.

“Robert thought you would say that. He knew it was you from the start. Only person down here stupid enough and curious enough to go looking for even more trouble. My god Katie you are going to get yourself killed.” Tom sighed, obviously concerned about me. He was a great friend.

“Tom, you don’t understand. I’ve found something far greater than the reactor and more. It’s just incredible.” I exclaimed, jumping to my feet, “When you see it!”

“Then just report your findings, receive your smack on the wrist and go back to playing it safe. Why would you hide it anyway? You reported the reactor straight away. Why is this any different?" he inquired, making a good point.

I stopped and thought about it for a moment. Why was I hesitating. The right thing to do would be to report what I found so the entire team could examine my findings. What was holding me back? A furry red face popped into my head. That’s right, I did not want to expose Crim. That was one of the reasons, but I felt like there was more. My gut was screaming at me to keep what I saw a secret and I had no idea why.

“Well, it’s complicated.” I answered finally, looking down at my hands, clenching them nervously. “Can you pass me my suit there, behind you on the chair. There is something I want to show you.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Tom arched a brow as he twisted himself around to retrieve my suit, sliding it off the back of the chair and handing it to me. I held it up and watched it unfold, stretching down to my feet. Reaching into the front pocket, I pulled out the photographs before tossing the suit aside. I flipped through them with shaky hands, Tom now eyeing them curiously.

“Whatcha got there?” Tom asked, leaning forward in his chair.

“These are pictures of, well,” I gulped, trying to force myself to say the words, “the old ones and the person who led me to the facility where I found these”

Tom’s eyes were huge with surprise as he looked first to me and then back at the photos I held in my hand. After an awkward silence, he rose from his chair and took a seat next to me. I held the evidence firmly in my hand, not wanting to release it but would eventually present them to Tom. He hesitated but did accept them. The air was tense.

“Well, aren’t you going to look at them?” I asked after a few long seconds. “They aren’t that weird or anything. I promise.”

“Uhh, yeah, sorry. I’m still just trying to process everything you just said in my brain. You’re not one to make up stories, especially about things as serious as this. I believe you and that’s what scares me. I could be holding an artifact that changes everything. It’s kind of surreal.” Tom said with a small tremble in his voice. It was not often I saw him so worked up over something.

“Oh, come on, don’t be such wimp. We’re scavengers, not philosophers. Just look at the bloody pictures before we are out of time.” I said with frustration.

“Okay, okay! Calm down. Let’s have a look.” Tom sputtered.

Tom quietly looked through all the photographs, a few dozen in total. Not much was said between the two of us besides a small exchange every so often. I could tell he was both very excited and very scared. And with good reason. With every old one discovery, huge change was brought about. Most good but not always.

“Woah, what are these? They look like dogs but they are huge!. And Red.” Asked Tom, confused at what he was seeing. “Maybe pets?”

“It gets even weirder, believe me. Keep going.” I replied, motioning for him to continue.

So, we kept looking and to Tom’s amazement, it got stranger. He paused on the scene showing all the red beasts standing in formation in front of what I assumed was a gate. Tom must have thought the same thing because he gasped when he saw it.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asked quickly, whipping his head around to look me in the eye.

“A red dog? Yeah, a few of them.” I joked

“Oh shut up, you know what I mean. The gate. That’s a gate, isn’t it? Does it still work?” he asked eagerly, his excitement growing with every second passing.

“I’m pretty sure it is. It looks just like the ones in the past reports. As for if it’s still standing, well. I don’t know. We never got that far into the lab.” I remarked, noting to myself where we left off last.

“We? You did mention somebody showed this to you. Who is it? It’s hard to imagine a recruit as crazy as you. Or as dumb.” He smiled, his nervousness gone, having been replaced with curiosity.

“Well, you see. You thought that I had already told you the weirdest part. Well, it goes even further.” I stated, interlacing my hands as I fidgeted a little. “I guess the best way is to just be blunt about it. Those dog things you see in the pictures. One is still alive, and he can talk.”

I would have thought I had two heads with the look Tom just gave me. It was obvious he was waiting for me to finish my joke and get on with the serious talk again, but he was in for a world of surprise.

“That’s not a joke by the way. I’m completely serious. I also know I sound crazy. You should be used to that by now.” I said, standing up to try and walk off the awkwardness.

“Okay, so let me get this straight. A red dog, who speaks, led you down into an underground facility where you found these photos and much more I presume.” Asked Tom, an eerie calmness in his voice.

“Yeah, that about sums it up. He’s also like a thousand years old apparently. I don’t really have any proof of that, but I don’t know why a giant dog I just met would lie to me.”

“Mhm….I see.” Mumbled Tom, his eyes now closed and had started rubbing his temples.

“I know you don’t believe me but,” I started to say before he put up a hand to silence me. I waited for him to speak.

“No no, I believe that you’re telling the truth. I know you wouldn’t lie to me but damn is it hard to believe. Old ones, ancient beasts, and the fact one of my best friends is risking her damn life for it all. What am I going to do with you?” he asked finally, looking up at me with a pained expression.

“Help me?” was all I could think to say. I honestly could use his help along with the rest of the team. They were the only people I trusted on this planet to have my back. Robert, my literal boss, even supported me most of the time. He was going to yell at me a lot for this one though.

Tom rested his head in his palms. I gave him a hearty pat on the back and said. “You’re not going to leave me hanging, are you?”

“Of course not. You know that. I’m just trying to figure out how we are can help. I suppose Robert could probably pull some strings. I wouldn’t trust Chris to tie his shoes. I’m sure I could do something.” Tom ranted, throwing himself back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. “Why is it never something simple with you? I knew it was going to be a long day. I just knew it.”

I could not help but laugh and apparently neither could he. We chuckled back and forth briefly before getting back on the topic at hand. The fact that they, the higher ups, were going to tighten security made things very difficult. It was already a little sketchy sneaking out as it was but if they resorted to putting up cameras or leaving extra guards around, I would be in trouble. There had to be a way.

“I’ll be honest. I don’t have any ideas at the moment. Hell, I probably won’t have one in a day either. This is a sticky situation you’ve wiggled yourself into. That’s like you.” Said Tom, swinging back up to his feet to pace around.

“I know it is. I thought I was doing such a good job too. Well, besides this last time. I had to ride Crim to make it back before the other members started to shuffle back in from prayer.” I said, scratching my head.

“Crim? Is that what you named it? That red wolf dog thing?” asked Tom, rather perplexed.

“Well, he needs a name and doesn’t remember his. Plus, don’t call him it. He’s just as smart as either of us. It is a little weird though, a talking animal. I was horrified the first time we met.” I explained, giving Tom a quick retelling of the day Crim saved me in the collapsing subway station and then our second meeting down in the reactor room.

“He sounds more responsible than you are actually.” Snickered Tom, “Maybe he can teach you a thing or two.”

“He already has but that’s another story all together and we can discuss it later. If we don’t wrap this up we are both going to get written up. Not to mention us both being late probably looks a little suspicious.” I said, turning to look up at the clock. I was supposed to be at the lab an hour ago. I’ll just make up some dumb excuse. Being late was not new for me.

“Good point. Okay. I will relate this to Robert and maybe Chris, I’m not sure yet. He gossips too much. You play it safe, don’t do anything dumb until you hear back from us. I’ll get in touch somehow or Robert will.” Said Tom quickly, patting his pockets to make sure he had all his things.

“I know, I know. I don’t want any more trouble than you do. I’ll be a good little scientist and file my paperwork. Do hurry though, we are scheduled to return there again in six days” I told him, not wanting him to take too long. I would rather not miss a day. Crim would surely worry.

“We will do our best. I can’t promise anything but yeah, I have to go. Take care!” whispered Tom, slowly opening my door, peering outside quickly before slipping through quietly. I hoped they would be able to help.

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a long, deep breath. Everything will be okay. Tom and Robert would find a way to help me, I know it. First things first though, I need to get ready and head into the lab. I’m already later than normal. With that, I threw on a clean lab coat, tucked all my gear away safely in my trunk, and hurried out the door myself.