The building of the Communication Centre was shaped like a Cube, but with edges slightly curved. It had no windows which made it seem more like a prison than anything, but I guess that’s the design they went with.
The walls were rough as if they had been beaten by sand for years. The pathway that led from the main door was shattered into more pieces than I cared to count, with sand and soil creeping up from between the cracks.
Walack strutted ahead and I followed. He pushed the door open and it folded back. Grime, dust and sand flowed into my nose, making my tongue sizzle from the taste.
The ground floor of the Communication Center was desolate as I had expected. The floor was cracked matching the pathway on the outside. In the foreground, they were three flights of stairs that led to the first, second and third floor, highlighting where each staircase went.
On the left side of the bottom floor was a pile of broken furniture mounted into the form of a pyramid. If anyone added any more wood, it would surely topple over.
“Why are we here?” Walack asked.
“I’m trying to verify if any more signals are left.”
“Pfft, doubtful, all the consoles here have been destroyed.”
“Highly doubtful.”
“Why?” Walack scoffed.
“Think about it, if someone retreated underground, do you think they’d destroy the only form of communication they have?”
“No…” Walack said rubbing his chin. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“Exactly.”
“Is there something specific you’re looking for?”
“No…nothing specific, but if I see it, I’d know.”
“I see, need any help?”
“I’m fine, if you wanna take a break, go ahead”
Walack sucked his teeth for what I thought was the hundredth time and shrugged. He turned right, leaving me on the bottom floor to my machinations. I stalked myself up the first floor and browsed every inch of the floor looking for a booster relay.
The first floor proved to be a waste of time. All the essential equipment needed to support the transmission conduit was ripped from the outlaying consoles leaving a trail of scavenged metal and silicone.
My X-Ray Vision found nothing worth scavenging for myself. Not like I needed anything, I mused. I switched to thermal optics hoping to discover some form of heat, but I was only met with the cold embrace of the room.
I trotted back down to the bottom floor and then skipped up to the second floor. The staircase spiralled up which led to the left side of the building.
Once I reached the second floor, I was met with a long corridor with holes in the wall, six of which were doors two of which were made from explosions.
The ground of the second was steel beams, something I should’ve picked up whilst I noticed all the concrete boulders scattered across the first floor. there was a floor but nothing but steel beams.
The concrete walls were marred in bullet holes and smoke stains as if multiple explosions had been detonated in the corridor during a firefight.
I stepped onto the steel beam frame, feeling it wobble from my weight. My eyes trailed down and I saw the shattered pieces of concrete that fell to the first floor below.
The steel beams led me to a room to my left. The moment I entered I stimulated my SMB to switch to X-Ray, nothing stood out within the room, so I switched to Thermal. Nothing again I said to myself.
That was my routine for the next fifteen minutes as I scowered through the entire floor hoping to find a repeater, but that was all for nought.
I began to think that my hunch was off by a long shot, but as I had no proof I was wrong…or right, I forced my negative thoughts out of my mind.
As I made my way down the spiralling stairs, my knees began to feel as though they were chalk rubbing together.
I wanted to quit, but as I was already here, I could as well finish. Also, I had to take into account that no one was shooting at my ass, so that’s a plus.
My feet scraped against the ground as I touched the bottom floor. I made a hard right onto the staircase heading up to the third floor.
I stomped my right toe against the first step of the staircase sending a wave of pain up my shin whilst I gnashed my teeth. It didn’t stop me doe, but It felt like my toe had been shot off.
The three flights of stairs made me feel as though I’d been dragging cement bags with my ankles, but at least I made it.
Two hours' worth of rest didn’t mean shit. I needed real rest, but with the situation deteriorating fast within Sceleratus rest would have to wait, sadly.
The third floor was pristine, compared to the first and second floors. The floors were recently repaired, and that was based on the cement patches that were filled in on the floor and the walls as well. Unlike the first and second floors, it was chilly here, but not enough to steal the warmth from my body.
I sift through the entirety of the third floor, finding nothing but dust, grime and sand accumulating throughout the damn floor. I checked for hidden compartments, dislodged rooms and of course, nothing. It left me confused for a bit, and then it hit me. Modular Communication Systems I thought bitterly, fuck! They had a contingency for something like this!...but they still need to connect to some form of outlet which would provide an uplink to the satellite dish or one of those towers. I thought they’ll have it hardlined instead of a static interface.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Maybe I should check the roof.”
I darted down the corridor, making a right and heading towards the emergency exit. The door spat openly after my fifth kick and wind gushed inside as if it’d been freed from a furnace. I ignored its trepidation and stepped outside, grabbing the ladder with my left and began my ascent to the floor.
The Communication Centre wasn’t as big as one would’ve expected, but an abandoned base such as this. This was a perfect size. To my right, I could see the Motor Pool we passed filled with abandoned vehicles and parts scattered around the lot.
To my left, was an abandoned Mess Hall, one I hadn’t recognised on my way here. It was bigger than the two we’d pass, making this the main Mess Hall whilst the other two were auxiliary Mess Halls, which were easier to run due to their smaller sizes.
I grabbed the edge of the roof, pulling myself up feeling as if my body screamed of fatigue. I ignored it naturally, as much as I have been for the past couple of days. I pulled half my body up and the three satellite dishes cemented to the roof came into view. One was pointing South, West and North.
My leg scrapped against the rooftop as I pulled myself fully. My toe was still singing the song of pain, but it had dissipated to feel like a prick instead of a hole.
The roof of the Communication Center was newly built. The ground was freshly paved cement, with a few patches stitched in between, showing that some remodelling had been done.
The majority of the new cement patches circled the satellite dishes. Which made me wonder, so I initialised my thermal sight. A dozen cables exploded into existence, snaking through the roof as if it were a jungle. “Gotta love technology,” I said aloud.
My X-Ray sight and thermal optics fed off each other. The reason I could see through concrete walls and sand was all thanks to Rex. I hate to admit it, but when I lost Nova, he melded functions I normally wouldn’t need as Nova would infiltrate any system, I needed access to.
She might’ve been an Artificial Assistant, but she was damn effective!
My eyes drifted back to the networking cabling, which left me confused. Six cables snaked from the base of the satellite dish pointing to the north. My eyes tracked each cable, which led to the West and South pointing satellite dishes.
The reminding cables flowed into a conduit jack, which had twelve outlets, with double the cabling output. How the hell does this thing keep warm with all these cables? I thought, confused. “Unless they’re in use and are dummies!”
I shifted my attention to the cabling on the West-pointing satellite dish, realising its cabling was double that of the northern satellite dish. The longer I inspected it, the more I began to believe that these cables were just a dummy set-up, with a reason behind them.
Not wanting to waste any more time on the west-pointing dish, I shifted my attention to the south-pointing dish. It was the smaller of the three when I realised it after inspecting it fully.
Just like the west and north pointing dish, this one had multiple cables snaking through the roof. I tried deciphering which outlet the cables were designated to for the satellite dish, but my SMB clutched my brain, sending a cold tingle down my neck. “Yeah…I need a break.”
I scuttled to the side of the roof, where the small hut had been located. I scanned, ensuring anything of value was there, but nothing was inside, so I propped my back up against it and hid from the sun’s rays as I allowed my body a reprieve. “This is bullshit,” I said aloud, “Complete utter bullshit!”
My plan was simple, find it despite me knowing it could be a dead end. A small base such as this always had a backup antenna set up for those locked within a bunker.
The Communication Centre was one of the few places that would have its place, or I could check the former Administration Office. “It would’ve been easier if I had a blueprint of the damned place,” I scoffed.
I closed my eyes, letting my body rest and dozed off for an hour. Once my body felt it had enough rest, my eyes opened, only to meet the sun hitting its highest point and my shade from the hut disappearing completely. “That’s fine,” I said pushing myself up.
I switched my vision back to thermal optics, changing and negating the roof’s heat with a thought. It went from orange to blue in an instant and I continued my search.
A powered line appeared on the left, close to the west-pointing satellite, I walked up towards it and knelt. I zoomed in on the orange line, noticing that it was barely noticeable. “It’s under one of those cables.”
I lay on the surface of the roof, face first, feeling the heat bounce off the rooftop hitting me in the face. The line of power didn’t follow the other cables. The powered line went down into the building. “I need to find the real antennae!”
I slid down the ladder, scanning the entirety of the third floor, and finding the powered line heading to the second floor. Not caring, I charged to the ground, floor scanning the entirety of the bottom floor, realising the line went to the bottom floor and into the pyramid of broken furniture.
Tossing every bit of furniture off, within a few seconds before Walack appeared behind me. I didn’t look back, but I could feel the questions within his tongue before he’d even spoken.
I tossed one final table off and found a square box with a black plastic bag around it. I ripped it free, and five distinct lights began blinking intermittently. They went from white, to red and yellow for two seconds, but in the third second, the lights turned red and stopped blinking.
FUCK!
I leapt off the pyramid of broken furniture, in two quick steps. I’d already reached Walack, I pushed the bastard to the side, watching his gapping eyes turn to pain.
Walack flew through the door as if he’d been hit by a truck, and hopefully, I would soon follow. On my fifth step heading to the door, I felt my feet begin to singe from the flames of the explosion that was about to ignite.
A loud bellowing explosion roared behind me sending me flying through the door, passing Walack in an instant. Walack’s face was filled with pain and frustration. Hell…I’m pissed too, I thought bitterly.
The steel beams of the building began groaning in the form of strained metal. I watched the ground become bigger and tucked my body in. I hit the pavement with a loud smack, feeling my cybernetic struts dig their way into my intestines as I grit my teeth hoping the pain would stop.
It didn’t.
I crashed into the jeep after my eight rolls, feeling waves of pain reverberating through my right side. I tried quelling it with my mind, but that was a fool's thought. The worst part of all, I couldn’t hear shit, my ears were still ringing from the explosion, despite my ear plugs.
The pain in my side had started slow, but it began galloping into waves I couldn’t suppress. I placed my hand on it, and the tenderness of my side exploded whilst I gnashed my teeth.
After a minute of rolling in pain, I finally turned to the building hoping to see Walack. “WALACK!” I groaned out in pain, but no one answered. “WALACK YOU BASTARD SAY SOMETHING!”
Nothing again.
I dug my left hand into the ground, nursing my right side and pulled myself up. The Communication Centre was tilting towards the tower.
My heart sank to my stomach as continually scanned the perimeter trying to find Walack. I found him lying, head slumped over one of the remaining sidewalks. I turned left, charging toward him.
The ground shook with each step I made, reminding me the building was ready to collapse. “WALACK!” I screamed, hoping the scavenger would wake but it was evident he was out cold.
I snatched him from the back, curdling my hand around his shoulders and tossing him over my shoulder. The building bellowed a groan as if it were a titan beast falling to its death after being shot.
The ground rumbled and when I made my eighth step I wobbled, then fell scrapping my hand's knees. Walack dropped to the ground and hit the ground with a loud smack, I followed suit feeling the waves of energy within the ground.
A dust cloud puffed all around filling the entire air with its mustiness. I held my breath and prayed this wasn’t the end, because the moment I closed my eyes I fainted from fatigued, hoping I’d rise again.