The flight lasted several hours, though I couldn’t say exactly how long, as at some point, both Albert and I, completely exhausted, eventually fell asleep. We were awakened by that sudden sensation you get when the altitude changes, like being on a roller coaster. The plane was descending, preparing to land.
"Emma, look!" Albert said in surprise, staring out the window. "Is that the sea? Or even the ocean?"
All around us was water—endless, vast, and brilliantly blue, shimmering in the morning sunlight. I had never seen anything like it before.
"Yeah, it seems so," I replied, captivated by the view. Only another jolt from the plane dimmed my enthusiasm. At some point, the plane turned, and through the window, I could see a green island, which appeared to be our destination.
The landing was far from smooth. My ears popped, but the worst part was the moment we touched down. Albert and I were scared out of our wits. It felt like the plane was about to veer off course and flip over, but eventually, we straightened out and continued down the runway.
"What kind of AI was piloting this plane?" I grumbled.
"Our pilot was human," Albert's father replied with a laugh.
I stared at him in shock.
A human pilot? Is that even legal?! Although... if there was an AI uprising, it makes sense... But that doesn’t make it any less terrifying.
As we exited the plane, we were once again met by armed soldiers who escorted us onto a bus. We drove through dense green vegetation along a dirt road. It felt like I was watching a show about a mysterious uninhabited island with its enigmatic jungles.
"Hey, Emma... Do you know where they’re taking us?" Albert whispered.
"I’m not sure... They told me it was to some safe place."
The "safe place" turned out to be an underground bunker, hidden deep within the wilderness of an unknown island. Inside, it was unimaginably vast: spacious, well-lit rooms, and a staircase that clearly led several levels deep underground. The only thing that stood out was that all the equipment and devices looked outdated, like something from around 2027, before the next leap in AI development and its subsequent widespread implementation.
The bunker staff escorted us down to Level -2 and assigned each family a living room, along with some basic items. I looked around. Our new temporary home was simple but clean and cozy enough. Light-colored panels, two large beds, and a table against the wall, with a vase of dried decorative flowers and leaves on it. The arrangement created more of an autumn atmosphere rather than that of blooming spring.
It doesn’t look too bad, I concluded. But I hope we’re not here for too long.
While my parents discussed the conditions and procedures of our stay with the staff—a young woman and a man in unusual uniforms—I noticed Albert peeking through the open door, looking a bit sheepish. It seemed he wasn’t particularly interested in listening to the briefing, and he had either slipped out unnoticed or his parents had sent him off to explore. He was looking at me, clearly inviting me to join him.
"Can I go out and see what’s here?" I asked, catching a suitable pause in the conversation between my parents and the bunker staff. From my dad’s expression, it was clear he was about to refuse, but the woman with the friendly smile answered me instead:
"Of course, if your parents don’t mind. The entire Level -2 is at your disposal. Feel free to walk around and explore."
I looked at my parents, waiting for their permission.
"Alright, go ahead and take a look around," my mom agreed, then, glancing briefly towards the door, smiled and added, "It looks like your new friend is already waiting for you."
I’m not sure why, but I felt slightly awkward. Nevertheless, the goal was achieved, and with my parents' permission, I headed toward the exit, where a pleased Albert was waiting for me.
"Did you see that? This bunker is gigantic! I’ve only ever seen something like this in movies! I bet there are secret places here where some classified documents or something even more important is hidden," he began with unconcealed curiosity.
At that moment, as we walked through a narrow corridor toward the large common hall on the floor, someone’s voice suddenly echoed from ahead.
"Oh, we’ve got newcomers!"
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I saw two girls, about my age, dressed in the local uniform. One of them, slightly taller and with a braid, was looking at us excitedly, while the other, with short hair, maintained a more neutral expression. Noticing the two unfamiliar girls, Albert, as it seemed to me, became embarrassed and almost hid behind me, slowing his pace.
"I'm Isabella. Nice to meet you!" said the girl with the braid, approaching us with a smile. Albert and I introduced ourselves as well, after which our new acquaintance continued, "And this is Anna. She’s not very talkative, but she’s still great."
I was somewhat unsettled by the way she introduced her friend... No, maybe they weren’t friends, but still, I couldn’t shake off an unpleasant feeling. Was I just overthinking it?
Meanwhile, the taciturn Anna simply glanced at us without showing any emotion and then looked away altogether. It felt like she wasn’t particularly interested in us.
Well, that’s quite the first impression. One doesn’t exactly give the most considerate introduction of her friend, and the other seems to be ignoring us, I thought.
"How long have you been here?" I decided to ask.
"Oh, about a week now. Yes, exactly a week! Anna and I arrived here on the same day and became friends right away. Isn’t that right, Anna?"
Anna said nothing and didn’t even turn in our direction.
"Don’t mind her. She likes to daydream, but don’t get the wrong idea. She’s really nice. By the way, you’ve just arrived and don’t know anything about this place yet! We’ll give you a tour and introduce you to the rest of the kids!" Isabella said excitedly.
At these words, Albert, who had been silently listening to our conversation, brightened up. His eyes lit up with anticipation.
"I’ll pass," Anna mumbled briefly and headed, presumably, toward her room.
"No worries. I’ll show you everything myself," Isabella said. "See you at lunch, Anna!"
Anna continued walking in her direction without stopping or looking back.
Isabella led us through various rooms on the floor. First, she showed us the library, where one could spend time quietly reading different books. Then we went to the children’s room, where the youngest ones were playing with their caretakers. In one corner, a little girl was crying inconsolably, stuttering and tearfully saying how much she wanted to go home. One of the staff was trying to comfort her, promising that everyone would be able to return soon. The scene weighed heavily on my heart... Why did it seem like the kind woman with the smile on her face didn’t believe her own words? Looking at Albert, I realized he was also saddened by what he saw.
"Weeeell," Isabella drew out the word, "it seems it’s not very cheerful here right now. Let’s move on and not disturb them. Have a nice day, Miss Wilson and Miss Taylor."
"You too, Isabella," the staff members replied, maintaining their smiles, though their eyes showed how tired they were.
"I know what will lift your spirits!"
We entered a spacious room where there were probably around thirty people, if not more. They were teenagers of different ages, each engaged in their own activities. Some were chatting in small groups off to the side, others were sitting at tables playing retro board games, and a few were seated in front of a TV, watching something. I realized that Isabella had brought us to the recreation room.
"Hey, everyone! We’ve got newcomers here," she announced enthusiastically, "Emma and Albert."
In an instant, everyone in the room turned to look at us, pausing what they were doing. Greetings came from different corners, and some just waved at us. After their initial curiosity waned, everyone returned to their activities. Albert immediately rushed over to examine the film library, looking for something interesting.
"Wow, what a bunch of old stuff!" Albert said in amazement, looking over the flash drives.
"Yeah, the bunker only uses old technology that doesn’t require network connections. It’s all for our safety. At least, that’s what I was told," Isabella explained importantly.
It seems everything here is really designed to prevent any external interference.
I glanced around the room once more. It felt like we were in a hobby club rather than an underground bunker; everyone seemed calm, as if they had already accepted the new reality. Or maybe they were just deliberately diving into various activities to distract themselves from reality?
"There are quite a few people here..." I noted, thinking about the scale of the disaster that had occurred. However, Isabella seemed to interpret my comment differently.
"Yeah, we mostly hang out here. What else is there to do? At least more people are arriving. I think the more people there are, the more fun it is."
I, on the other hand, had the completely opposite opinion. The more of us there are here, the worse the situation must be outside. However, I decided to keep that thought to myself.
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Isabella was right. Every day, more families arrived, and at some point, there were quite a lot of us. From conversations, I learned that among us were the families of influential people: politicians, high-ranking officials, and simply the wealthy. This category was the first to be brought to the bunker. Then, in the second wave, came scientists from various fields, like my family. The last to arrive were prominent figures from the arts.
Going through the memories of all the people I had seen in the bunker during my time there, I came to one conclusion.
I don’t remember anyone named Neight being there.
Yes, it’s possible he was one of those I hadn’t interacted with, but on the other hand, I was certain I would have remembered his appearance. At the very least, those amber eyes, snow-white eyelashes, eyebrows, and most likely hair of the same color would have been hard to miss in the crowd. And as for his face... His facial features... Thoughts started swirling in my mind, as if my consciousness was searching through its halls for a clue, going over all possible options and memories. I couldn’t shake the feeling that the answer was right in front of me, that I just needed to push my mind a little harder. And then it hit me.
His facial features! Damn, how did I not realize right away that he looks like Albert!