Snow assaulted the ground and the buildings around us, piling against walls and creating deep drifts of powder. I was thankful for my thick coat and gloves, which, combined with my body heat, warded off the worst of the cold, protecting my dark scales from frostbite. Regardless, my snout and tail suffered the brunt of the frigid winds despite the coverings I wore, and freezing gusts nipped at my ears. I coiled my tail close to myself and looked over my shoulder at Ava, who was securing the ATV under a collapsed portion of the roof.
“Ava, c’mon! We haven’t got all day.” I sighed in frustration as she waved a hand dismissively before pulling a small device out of her pocket. “No one’s out here, dude. The chances of someone finding our ride are close to none. ”
My words fell on deaf ears as Ava fiddled with the device, which glowed a turquoise blue. She placed it on the hood of the ATV and pressed a button, and the device spun to life. Ropes of blue energy sprung out from it and wrapped around the vehicle before fading away.
The scent of Ether lingered in the air as Ava pulled a piece of sheet metal in front of the place where our ride was hidden and dusted off her hands. She strode up to me, putting her hands in her pockets. “That’s right, Kéron—the chances are close to none, which means there’s still a chance. You can never be too careful.”
“But–”
“So, that’s our target, huh?” She said, turning to face outside of the dilapidated storefront. I followed her gaze to a sprawling, deteriorating building. Faded letters above the collapsed double doors read “Mt Rockwell High School”.
I double-checked my tacwatch, which showed us right across the street from our destination. “Looks like it,” I nodded. Wordlessly, the both of us went ahead and double-checked each other’s backpacks to make sure we had all the gear we needed. Satisfied, I clapped Ava on the shoulder. “All set?”
“Sí,” she responded. Even through her mask, I could tell she was grinning.
“Fantastic. Now, let’s go and find an entrance.” Without another word, we exited the store through the hole in the wall and waded through a deep snow bank. I tried to keep my tail from dragging through the powder to preserve what heat I still had. We crossed the street, and into the school parking lot, which still had various cars and trucks littered throughout. I brushed the snow off an SUV’s window and looked at my masked face in the reflection. Underneath all the clothes, it was hard to believe I was made of scales and bones.
“Hey, Narcissus!” Ava called from ahead of me, cupping her hands in front of her mouth. “Be careful kissing yourself, your tongue might stick to the glass.”
I flipped her the bird, which she returned enthusiastically. I sighed, rolled my eyes, and marched up the slippery steps to where she was standing in front of the doors, which were a mangle of glass, concrete, rebar, and steel. Bullet holes peppered the walls around the entrance. “You know, you only weigh like, a hundred and seventy pounds, right? I could throw you,” I teased.
“Man, who’s the guy in charge of construction, huh? This place is falling apart,” she quipped, ignoring my comment. She placed her hands on her hips and scanned the length of the building to our right, staring at the various signs of damage. “Well, I suppose we should find an entrance.” Ava turned to look up at me, her eyes visible through her goggles. “Did the Contractor give you any info on a possible entrance?”
Once again, I looked at my tacwatch. I swiped on the screen, pulling up a message from the Contractor. I skim-read it, squinting at the small text. I glanced up at Ava, who was watching me expectantly. “Nope. Just a general schematic of the school, and an objective.”
“Well, isn’t that great?” She huffed, tapping her foot frustratedly.
“Looks like we’ll have to find it ourselves,” I muttered, shoving my hands in my pockets. “Shouldn’t be too tough, honestly. Just gotta walk through the snow a bit more.”
“Hopefully the other entrances haven’t collapsed,” Ava said as I led the way down the steps. I trudged along with hunched shoulders, the crunch of snow under my boots barely audible over the howling winds. My backpack and rifle bounced against my back rhythmically, in time with my footsteps.
The Contractor is an odd guy, I thought as I scanned the shattered windows and caved-in walls of the school. Tells us all this stuff about ‘important materials’ and ‘high-value equipment’ and doesn’t elaborate, sending us in the middle of a blizzard to get whatever the hell it is he’s talking about. I huffed, a cloud of vaporized breath getting ripped away the instant it exited my nostrils. At least the place looks like it hasn’t been touched since the 2040s.
Ava and I rounded the corner of the building and found the bus pool. Several faded yellow school buses sat in their spots, rusting away. I glanced to the left and felt my heart skip a beat. There was an entrance, completely unimpeded—aside from a massive drift of snow. I swatted Ava’s shoulder with the back of my hand and pointed. She batted my hand away, clenching her hands into fists before following my finger. She gasped quietly. “Fuck yeah!”
The two of us hurried up the steps, pulling the collapsable shovels off our belts. I extended mine with a satisfying shunk and got to work removing snow. I huffed as I flung snow over my shoulder, my shoulders burning slightly as the weight of the powder strained my muscles. In a matter of minutes, we had cleared enough snow to be able to pry open the doors. Ava did just that with her crowbar, stumbling backward as the doors were wrenched open.
“Ladies first,” I said with a mock bow, motioning toward the entrance. She rolled her eyes but went ahead, wading through the snow that had drifted inside. I stayed outside for a moment, brushing snow off my shovel before placing it back on my belt. I cracked my knuckles and began entering the school.
A faint howl tickled my ears, causing me to turn around. It sounded like the wind, but… wrong. I scanned the collection of buildings and buses nearby, trying to see if anything stood out against the white sheets of frost descending from the sky, but even my more powerful eyes were unable to make anything out.
“Hey, dude, vamos! ” Ava called, snapping me back to reality.
“Yeah, yeah. Hold on,” I said.
Wasting no more time, I followed her path into the building, shaking excess snow off my boots and dusting flakes off my shoulders and sleeves. I glanced at my wrist, scanning the schematics. “So, the foyer or whatever should be down that way,” I stated, pointing directly ahead of us. “At least, it would be if the hallway existed.” The corridor we were facing was caved in, similar to the entrance of the school. “So I guess that means we’re going right.” I slung my backpack off, and rummaged through it, finding a headlamp. As I fastened it on, Ava did the same.
“So,” she said, “where exactly are the pieces of equipment we’re looking for?” The light from her headlamp cut through the darkness ahead of us, illuminating dust that hung in the air, as well as highlighting the state of decay the school was in. Ceiling tiles had fallen out, and debris littered the floor.
The place looked like it hadn’t been touched since the war.
“According to the Contractor’s message, they’re somewhere in the school. So we haven’t got a clear-cut direction,” I responded.
“Great,” Ava muttered. “So where do you suppose we go?”
I glanced inside an abandoned classroom. There was nothing except thrashed tables and chairs, and a thick layer of dust and unfinished graffiti. “The second floor sounds like a good idea to me, personally.”
“Any particular reason?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Not really, honestly. Just feels right.”
“Whatever you say, O’ Pathfinder Kéron.”
I shoved her lightheartedly, and continued forward, glancing at my tacwatch occasionally. Lockers hung open, granting me a glimpse into the lives of the people who had once lived here. Stickers and pictures littered the inside of one, but all the images were too faded to make out much. The dark hallway was silent, aside from the faint howling of wind, the crunch of our boots, and the occasional skittering of bullet casings. “This school’s built weird as hell,” I muttered. “Who the fuck puts the stairs at either end of the building?”
“God, that sounds miserable. I don’t envy the kids who had to go here.”
You can say that again. “At least they’re not here anymore, I guess.” I glanced into another classroom, which looked like it had been shredded by a grenade. The faint, sweet smell of Ether lingered in the air. My gaze lingered on a patch of carpet that was significantly darker than the surrounding fabric. A shudder shook my body, and I smacked my face lightly. Stay in the game. Gotta focus.
I led the way through the school, trying not to focus too much on the bullet holes peppering walls, and sandbags littering the entrances to hallways. It surprised me that they had even been trying to take this place in the past. I guess when the fate of the country’s in jeopardy… A scent tickled my nose, causing me to stop in my tracks. I took a deep whiff, a sense of uneasiness settling over me like a blanket of snow over a tree, weighing me down.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
“What’s…?” Ava started.
I glanced down, following the beam of light from Ava’s headlamp and my eyes widened. A dark streak of blood stained the concrete, smeared as if it had been dragged through the building. “That’s definitely not a hundred years old,” I muttered, the faint smell of blood finally reaching my nose, mixing with the scent of Ether into a sickly sweet stench. Wind howled faintly, causing the back of my neck to tingle. We stood in silence for a long moment, staring at the blood stain.
“Do you think whatever caused this is still around?” She asked.
I put my face in my hands and groaned, hunching over. “You just had to say that.”
“It’s an important question!” She protested indignantly.
I took a deep breath and straightened up. “You’re right, I guess. Whatever, or whoever, did this… I don’t think they’re still around.” I slung my rifle off my back, and flicked on the flashlight, granting yet another light source. Having my weapon in my hands made me feel safer, even if it was just by a little. “But you can never be too careful.” I noticed a little jauntiness to her motions as she unholstered her weapon, apparently happy that I had parroted her line back to her. “Let’s keep our heads on a swivel, alright? I don’t wanna be caught with my pants down by whatever may be here.”
Ava gave me a mock salute. The both of us made our way through the school, our guns at the ready. I continued checking my wrist, muttering words of direction as I led us to the south side of the building. The journey took longer than it would’ve if the building had been in good condition—and if we weren’t going slower—but walls had crumbled, creating impassable snow drifts, and ceilings had caved, forcing us to crawl.
We had almost reached the stairwell, but one final obstacle blocked our path. I groaned as I pushed a slab of debris, straining to hold it up as Ava hurried underneath it. She scrambled to find something to help hold it up so I could come through and decided on a bundle of rebar. She jammed it into place and motioned for me to come along.
I took several quick, deep breaths, psyching myself up, and jumped through. My tail cleared the area just as the rebar snapped and the concrete came crashing down on the space it would’ve been just a second prior. I sighed in relief and dusted myself off. “Well, we’re finally here. Now, let’s get upstairs and–” I turned around to find Ava staring at a collapsed stairwell. The wall had been sheared away, offering no way up. A pair of elevator doors sat beside it, swamped in snow.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I cried, my voice drowned out by the howling of wind.
“Kéron,” Ava said.
“How are we gonna get upstairs?” I paced in a circle, cradling my head in my hands.
“Hey, Kéron!”
“Do we have to go all the way to the north side of the school?!”
“HEY, DIPSHIT!” Ava shouted.
“What??” I turned back to her, my hands splayed in frustration.
“There’s a fuckin’ elevator right here, enscalas en la cabeza,” she said snarkily.
“Yeah, but–” I facepalmed, angry at myself for not seeing it sooner. There wasn’t any need for that freak-out, I thought, embarrassed. You can just use the elevator shaft. I trudged over, unhitching my shovel. It extended with a less satisfying shunk and I got to work without saying another word.
“Oooh, how’re we gonna get upstairs? ” Ava said quietly. I could hear the smirk in her voice. I opted to ignore her, shoveling the snow furiously. “How’re we possibly gonna get– ”
“Shut up,” I hissed, stopping to glare at her.
“Ah, shit,” she muttered. “I’m sorry, dude. I just thought it was–”
I waved my hand and got back to shoveling. “It’s fine,” I huffed between shovels. “Nothing to cause a fuss over.” Within minutes, the snow had been removed. I tapped my shovel against a wall to get rid of the majority of the snow from the blade and then brushed the rest off with my hand. I flexed my shoulders as I strode up to the doors, and gripped one side with both my hands. My muscles strained as I pulled with all my might, leaning to the side. I grunted as the door jerked open, causing me to stumble backward. A blast of wind escaped the elevator shaft, smelling faintly of oil and dust. Stepping inside revealed a derelict compartment, with several ceiling tiles drooping downward thanks to water damage. I poked at one of the tiles that looked more intact with the tip of my rifle, and it moved upward. I shouldered the rifle and turned to face Ava, lacing my fingers together and widening my stance.
She understood immediately and stepped onto my hands and then onto my shoulder. I gritted my teeth as the rubber sole of her boots ground into my scales. I straightened up, lifting her higher. I heard the sound of her messing around with the ceiling, which was followed immediately by the metallic squeak of a trapdoor being thrown open. The weight from my shoulders was relieved as Ava pulled herself up, grunting. I stepped back and watched as her legs disappeared through the hole in the ceiling. I glanced around, looking for another way to get up. As I was piling up slabs of debris to make myself a makeshift stool of sorts, a rope dropped down in front of me.
Oh. Why didn’t I think of that? I thought, shaking my head. I grabbed the rope and looped my feet around it, pulling myself up. Despite the short ascent, my muscles burned. I grabbed the edge of the roof, and Ava took my hand, helping me up the last little way.
“Y’know, climbing would probably be easier if you didn’t have that tail attached to your ass,” Ava mused, her voice echoing through the elevator shaft. “How much does it weigh, like, fifty pounds?”
I ignored her, looking up the elevator shaft. Dust hung in the air, and no light entered from the very top. A rusty service ladder went up the wall opposite the opening of the elevator shaft, which meant we’d have to do a bit of jumping to get across. Don’t like the sound of that one bit, I thought. “You should go up first,” I said, “considering the state of this ladder.”
“Is this payback for me making fun of you earlier?” She asked dryly. “If so, I understand.” Without waiting for a response, she began climbing, her boots clanging on the rungs. I rolled my eyes and waited a few moments before following her up. I didn’t like the way the ladder felt under my hands; it had an odd feeling of weightlessness to it, which didn’t do anything to help ease my nerves. I paused as Ava turned around and leaped across the chasm, rolling onto the second floor. I watched as she stood and dusted herself off before flashing me a thumbs-up.
I turned back around and climbed to the point on the ladder Ava had been, and prepared myself to jump. The ladder felt looser here. Let’s not waste any time, then. My nerves were ablaze as my muscles tensed and—
Bolts snapped, causing the ladder to drop down. “Fuck!” I cried, jumping haphazardly as the ladder continued to fall away from the wall. I felt like I was suspended in the air as I leaped across, my entire body feeling weightless. My chest slammed into the edge, winding me. Ava scrambled forward and grabbed my arms, bracing herself against the doorframe, preventing me from falling back inside. Metal crashed below my dangling legs, my ears flattening against my head.
I groaned as I pulled myself up, my muscles straining once more. Slowly but surely, I was dragged back onto solid ground. My arms and shoulders felt shaky, and I gasped for air, my entire body trembling. Holy fuck—that… that… I didn’t finish my train of thought. I didn’t want to imagine what would’ve happened if I had jumped too late, or if Ava hadn’t been able to catch me.“Are… are you okay?” Ava panted.
I offered a weak thumbs up as I recovered my breath. I lay on the ground, waiting for my nerves to settle down. Slowly, I stood up, stumbling away from the elevator shaft. “Thank Umbra I’m alright,” I breathed.
“Yeah,” she responded quietly. “You able to move?”
I nodded, ignoring the hammering of my heart. “Let’s go.” I glanced at my tacwatch, which told me there was a long hallway ahead of us and a large room at the very end. I glanced in the direction the schematic told me and saw two things: a bright light illuminating the entirety of the room at the end of the corridor, and a machine gun nest in the corner settled behind sandbags. I glanced behind us and gasped as I noticed a pile of skeletal bodies strewn across the ground.
I stepped backward, feeling sick. I recognized the horns of Dragonborn among the bodies, as well as several Furfolk skeletons scattered with the humans. Poor bastards, I thought. I wanted to turn away, but my curiosity won over. I crouched down, inspecting the helmet of one of the soldiers. Wiping the dust off of a rectangular patch revealed a blue, red, and white flag—the flag of the USA. My expression shifted from pity to contempt. Traitors. I stood up and kicked the helmet, which disintegrated the skull wearing it. Ava stared down at the skeletons, her expression hidden by her mask.
“Come on,” I muttered, “they’re not worth our time. Bunch of backstabbers is what they are.”
I led the way, vaulting over the sandbag barricades. Bullet casings were scattered by my footsteps, skittering across the floor, as I strode toward the room at the end of the hall. A grin crept across my face as the contents of the room became clearer—the computer lab. The back wall was missing, and snow had entered the room. I clapped my hands excitedly, the bodies of the US soldiers forgotten. This is what the Contractor must’ve been talking about! I crouched in front of one of the computers and wiped snow off it. It looked almost perfectly intact, aside from the wear and tear of over fifty years worth of neglect. I pried the front of the case off and laughed giddily. The Ether and electronic components were still there! If every computer is like this… My mind almost couldn’t imagine the amount of money this would earn us.
I glanced up and found Ava staring out of the place the wall used to be. Snow swirled around her. “Ava, what’re you doing? Let’s gut these computers, and get out of here!” My words fell on deaf ears. “Hello?” I stood up, my excitement slowly being replaced by frustration. “We haven’t got all day, you know. It’s not even midday and it’s getting dark out, we’ve gotta hu–”
My voice died in my throat as I approached Ava. Below us, a mangled fighter jet sat in the center of what appeared to be a basketball court. Despite its condition, it seemed to be in relatively good shape. Its shields must’ve protected it from the worst of the crash. Ava reached out blindly, grabbing my shoulder. “ This is what the Contractor was talking about, isn’t it?” She asked, her voice just barely audible over the howling wind. Her grip was tight, but I didn’t move to ease the discomfort.
“Yeah,” I said simply. I had nothing else to say. The fact that it seemed to be untouched was a miracle. If we could gut the jet, it’d bring us so much money that… We could leave the Sprawl. I shook my head, confused. Where did that thought come from? We’ve got it good, here in Utah. The PRA isn’t nearly as heavy-handed here as it is in other places.
I shut down that train of thought since it was hurting my head. I looked at my wrist and marked our location on the school’s schematics. Zooming out, I mapped a path to the northern stairway. “Alright, let’s figure out a way to get down there,” I announced, clapping Ava on the shoulder.
Once again, I led the way, turning to the right, away from the elevator massacre. The hallway ahead of me was dark, just like the countless other hallways we’d passed through. I didn’t pay the state of decay it was in any mind until I heard a cracking sound under my feet. I stopped immediately, my blood turning to ice.
“What is–” Ava didn’t get to finish her sentence, as the ground underneath me crumbled. I cried out as I fell and hit the ground. Air was expelled from my lungs as chunks of debris landed on me, further winding me. I covered my head instinctively. Everything was a blur. I coughed as dust billowed around me. My mask didn’t help at all. It was over as soon as it began.
“Kéron—oh, my god—are you okay? Can you hear me? Kéron?!” Ava cried, panicked.
“I’m–” I choked on the dust-ridden air. “I’m alright!”
“Thank fuck,” she breathed, her voice shaky.
I decided to not include the fact I was buried in rubble, to try and ease her nerves. “Do you–” Cough “Do you know how to find your way to the northern stairwell?” I called out.
“Y-yeah,” she responded.
“Go and do that.” I glanced at my tacwatch and groaned. The screen was shattered, preventing me from using it. “I’ll meet-” Cough “Meet you there.”
“Okay…”
I listened as her footsteps faded away, and I laid my head down on the ground, choking quietly on dust-filled air. The rubble on my back crushed my lungs and prevented me from getting the air I needed. Maybe I’ll just lay here a while, I thought. Just for— A faint, inhuman scream pierced my ears. My head jerked up, and my ears flared to listen better.
It was too far away to be Ava, but it was far too close to be the wind. The scream sounded incredibly familiar, and yet, it was so strange. I couldn’t identify what it belonged to. I groaned and propped myself up on my elbows, and cried out in pain as I dropped back to the ground, my left arm giving out from underneath me. Spots danced before my eyes, and I gagged after a glance at my arm. From the elbow down, the limb was twisted at an odd angle, clearly broken.
Just my fucking luck, I thought through a haze of agony. I gritted my teeth and reached behind me blindly, trying to push debris off my back. I panted as I shoved, eventually removing enough rubble to free myself. That hurts like a bitch, I thought, groaning, as I dragged myself out. My entire backside felt like it’d been tenderized.
The moment I could stand, I unslung my rifle carefully and inspected it. Parts of it were dented, and the stock was bent slightly, but the worst of it was that the sights were mangled into oblivion. With the sound of the horrible howling echoing in my ears, I pulled the sight off, trying to ignore my left arm. The bloodstain from earlier flashed in my mind, and I grit my teeth. Whatever had made the horrid sound had to be responsible. I’m not gonna let that happen to me, or Ava, I thought, determined, stepping over debris gingerly.
Umbra help me, I prayed.