--Point of View: Katie--

Visiting the crimson wolf became a weekly event for me. While everyone else was off saying prayers, I was out in the ruins with what any onlookers would describe as a vicious monster. On the contrary though, he was actually quite the conversationalist. Our talks, that seemed to grow longer with each passing session, were something I looked forward to now.

I was learning so much. He was filling in gaps of knowledge that our researchers did not even know were missing. Runes, magic, and several other interesting tidbits of information, were making me think in ways I never thought possible. We had greatly misunderstood a lot of what we assumed was just advanced technology but was in fact a combination of tech and magic. I would have called you crazy to even throw around the word magic up until a few weeks ago. Science was what we focused on, not fairy tales. Here I am though, learning about magic and how it was utilized through runes.

The best example we had to show this combination of machines and magic was the reactor. After our first discussion, I had returned to the base late into the afternoon and searched the device for any runes we had previously ignored, assuming at this point they were simply cosmetic. The ones Crim pointed out originally, I decided to call the beast Crim for convenience’s sake, were still visible near the center of the machine where the sphere rotated at great speeds. After a few pain staking hours of crawling all around the reactor, being careful not to get caught in all of its spinning gears and various pieces, found a total of four additional runes. I careful traced them into my notebook and took them with me the following week to have Crim inspect. I had hoped he would know what they meant. My assumption was true, or at least mostly.

He explained as best he could what everything I had scribbled down meant. He explained he had a very basic understanding of magic, or enchanting as it was officially known, and only knew the most basic of runes. Anything more complex would be him guessing at the true meaning. There are enchantments for durability, reducing weight, and a plethora of other attributes. A lot of stuff started to make sense when you considered the fact magic was involved. What we thought was impossible suddenly became feasible. The puzzle was slowly coming together, piece by piece. The only problem that was slowing us down now was the fact I could not just come forward with my new findings. They, the scientist, would never listen to me and I do not blame them. I am not exactly a researcher and a lot of what goes on here flies clear over my head. I will need to discover a way to subtly introduce my discoveries into their work. I could potentially plant information for them to find.

Convincing everyone else could wait though. It was Sunday so the rest of the team would be gone for the day like usual. I was preparing to venture out into the wasteland and meet up with my furry benefactor. Much like the weeks prior, I had a few new sketches to show to him along with several hours’ worth of questions to ask. I packed up my tools and supplies, pulled on my protective suit and made my way out of our research settlement. It had really grown over the past couple of months, evolving from a simple ring of trucks and tents to a fully-fledged base. Permanent walls were constructed, facilities setup, and even living quarters were provided to us now.

I unfortunately could not leave the base by traditional means because every entrance to the base was heavily monitored and required a passcode to travel through. This normally would not be a problem for me, but I did not need the higherups questioning why I was still wandering around outside now that I was relieved of my scouting duties. I could come up with an excuse a few times I am sure, but they would eventually catch on. It was for both my wellbeing as well as Crim’s. Though, if I am being honest, Crim could probably ravage this entire encampment if he had a reason to. He was a beast. A friendly beast thankfully.

As for escaping from here undetected, that turned out to be easier than I had originally thought. The reactor’s main room, while very important, was not the most secure of areas. Because we had to be so careful when excavating, there were several gaps I could easily squeeze myself through with enough persuasion. I would have to crawl a little way but I would eventually come out into the old subway where I would then just leisurely stroll down a few exits and immerge into the city. Today was warm like any other day in this barren wasteland we once called a city. Glancing up, the sky was overcast, and our weather readings reported some light rain. A welcomed edition whenever it graced us with its presence.

The meeting location for today was actually down in the subway at a station further down the line. I could have walked underground the whole way, but it still gave me the creeps. I avoided the dark if I could. I was not a fan. Walking under the new morning sun was much preferable. As I walked, I ran through all the questions I was going to ask today as well as opened my notebook to review the runes I had scribbled down the night before. Before I knew it though, I was descending another set of stairs into the underground and turning on my flashlight. I wish I had insisted on meeting above ground, but Crim was very stubborn about this particular day and would not budge.

It would not take long for me to spot my red companion, sitting patiently much like a dog waiting for its owner to return home after a long day of work. He of course noticed me first, his golden eyes reflecting in the darkness.

“Glad to see you could make it. I hope you did not have any issues finding this place. Though I did expect you to come from the other direction,” he said, turning to look down the train tunnels. “I am going to assume you did not wish to travel underground for long.”

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“You guessed right. I would much rather travel above ground if I have the option. I always felt like I was being watched down here and I suppose now that I know of your existence, was right on that regard.” I gave him a knowing look as I spoke.

“Well, I will admit I have stalked your group for some time now. It gets pretty boring here and I have to entertain myself.” He replied.

“That’s fair, but more importantly. What are we doing down here? You were pretty pushy about meeting here when we could talk perfectly well above ground, in the sun, where I do not have the constant feeling of dread.” I said, my hands flailing around as I spoke. I did tend to talk with my hands quite a bit.

“Ah, yes. I suppose I should explain. I wanted to show you something that may interest you. I came across it several years ago and only just now remembered. My memory is not the most reliable thing after a century or two.” He said slowly, rising to his feet and doing a little stretch. “It’s a room very similar to the one we first met in but on a much larger scale. I figured it may contain another one of these reactors you were looking for.”

I suddenly found the subways very inviting as a smile formed on my face.

“Well, why didn’t you say that in the first place! Hell, I would have came earlier if I had known and with more supplies.”

Crim chuckled, or at least that what I would have called the noise he made. “If a reactor is here, I don’t think it will be leaving anytime soon. There is no need to rush.” he explained, turning to walk down a hallway, the heavy steel door already ripped from its hinges.

I agreed and we headed off down the walkway. Everything seemed pretty similar to what we had seen before but as we kept walking, I noticed we were slowly descending and the amount of security doorways we were passing through started to raise my suspension. It had almost been twenty minutes of straight walking before I decided to question just how much longer we had to go.

“How far away is this room you want to show me. And is it just me or are we going further down?” I asked, stopping for a moment to look back the way they came. My flashlight shined into the darkness, the entranceway long gone.

“We are almost there. Just a bit further. As for your other question, yes. This room is deep underground. I can’t quite tell how far but its definitely the deepest part of the city I’ve explored so far.” He responded, pausing to look back at me for a moment before resuming his slow trot.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better. I probably shouldn’t have asked.”

As promised, a short five minutes later and we arrived at another security door but this one stood twice as tall as the others and despite looking like all the others, was unscathed. In fact, it looked pristine. Even more surprising was the fact this door lit up by a large light centered in the ceiling above. If there was light, then there must be power down here. Another reactor for sure!

“Crim, there must be another reactor here! If there is light then there has to be something powering it. This is just like the other room. Can you get through this door?” I asked eagerly, wanting to discover what awaited them beyond.

“Unfortunately, I cannot. I have made several attempts to get through into the next room but even I can not break through. It’s been enchanted.” He said, a hint of annoyance in his voice as he gave the door a quick swipe of his razor-sharp claws. His claws left a huge gash in the door but as soon as soon as he withdrew it, something quite amazing happened. The metal itself started to ripple like water and the deep grooves that had been cut just moments before had filled in, returning the door back to a smooth finish.

“The door just repaired itself. How is that possible!” I asked but as soon as I saw Crim open his maw to speak, I quickly interjected, “Yes I know. Enchanting, magic, blah blah blah. I meant how does this door work and how can we get past it?”

Crim simply motioned for her to follow him into another room situated next to the large door. It too, had light and besides the endless layers of dust a debris scattered on everything, seemed to be fully functional. Endless rows of terminals, computers, and monitors. I legit gasped and ran over to the nearest lit computer terminal to see what I could find out.

“This is incredible. You have no idea how big of a deal this is. There could be countless years of information for us here. We could learn so much.” I exclaimed, rambling on and on as I scanned everything in front of me. Crim appeared to be listening, but it was hard to tell at times.

The screen in front of me now showed an assortment of information that I could not make heads or tails off. I moved down the row to the next computer, wiping away a layer of dust in the process, and looked for anything I could understand. It would take several more attempts until I found something I could at least read. About halfway down the row of terminals, I found what looked like door controls. It was a start! While it was a struggle to navigate the commands on the ancient keyboard, I did eventually fumble my way through the prompts. With a triumphant press of the enter key, a loud click followed by the sound of gears whirling could be heard from outside the room.

I shouted for Crim to follow as I ran outside to witness the colossal door starting to rise. As it ascended, it revealed even more gates behind it, all of which were sliding out of the way to clear a path for us. In total, at least a dozen, foot thick plates had guarded the entrance. Whatever they kept in here was important.

“I don’t know what they have in there, but they must have wanted to protect it.” I said in a hushed voice, the hairs on the back of my neck starting to stand. I found myself growing nervous for some reason.

“Or it's incredibly dangerous.” Commented Crim, taking a seat beside me and staring down the long hallway that had opened up. It was fully lit but extended far into the distance. “I don’t know about this time-period, but back in my day we would keep anything that was potentially lethal to us deep underground to reduce casualties if something went astray.”

I could not argue with that logic and I was starting to wonder if it was safe to go any further. As I started to weigh the odds, Crim had already started to walk down the newly opened path, leaving me behind.

“Hey, wait up! Don’t just leave me back here alone!” I shouted, forgetting my worries in that instant as I ran to catch up with him. I was this far already, and I was not about to back out now. Being brash had found us the first reactor so I was willing to take the risk.