Chapter 05 Hallway of Horrors

Sable keyed in the final sequence. The bunker door groaned to life, ancient mechanisms grinding as massive gears began to turn. Dust spilled from the cracks as the door heaved open, revealing a hallway stretching into darkness.

The group stepped forward. The faint light from the desert behind them illuminated the immediate area, but the hallway quickly descended into oppressive shadow. The only illumination came from a few flickering bulbs, their failing circuits sparking, casting unsettling shadows that danced across the walls.

It didn’t take long for them to notice the grim reality of what lay inside.

The walls were riddled with bullet marks, blackened and scorched in places from what must have been an intense firefight. Countless skeletons, still dressed in rotting lab coats, were slumped against the walls, some clutching fragments of what weapons had once been. Others looked as though they’d been trying to crawl away before death claimed them. The air was heavy with the metallic bite of rust and old blood.

Sable stumbled, gagging and covering his mouth with a shaky hand.

 “Oh... oh God,” he muttered, his voice muffled and weak. His face had gone pale, and he looked as though he might vomit.

 "This... this is horrifying. Who... or what could have done this?”

“Pull it together, Sable. You signed up for this.” Dune said, stepping past him without hesitation, her steel beam resting casually on her shoulder. 

Reed, however, seemed completely unfazed by the scene. He crouched down near a skeleton, inspecting the tattered lab coat and the rusted badge still pinned to its chest. With a grin, he picked up a skull, holding it dramatically.

“Well, hello there, Doc!” he said in an exaggerated, pompous tone, shaking the skull like a puppet.

 “How’s life been treatin’ ya? Oh, wait—guess you’ve been feeling a bit... boned.”

The hollow sound of his laughter echoed down the hallway, disturbingly loud against the heavy silence. He turned to the others, smiling. 

“C’mon, lighten up! It’s just a few pre-war dead scientists. Happens to the best of us.”

Mia, standing stiffly near the entrance, glared at Reed with an expression so sharp it could’ve sliced steel.

 “Put that down. This isn’t a joke, Reed. These people died horribly. Look at them. Something did this to them, and for all we know, it might still be here.” Her eyes scanned the dim hallway, narrowing at the sparks that fell lazily to the ground.

 “And you’re playing with skulls like some amateur scavenger on his first run. Focus, or you’ll end up just like them.”

Reed sighed dramatically, rolling his eyes as he set the skull back onto its owner’s bony lap. 

“Fine, fine. You’re no fun. Always so serious.”

“I’m serious because I want to stay alive,” Mia shot back, her gaze not leaving the shadows. 

“Now shut up and stay sharp if you want it to stay that way.”

Dune, who had been looking at two red dots at the end of the hallway with a half-amused smirk, chimed in, her tone dripping with sarcasm. 

“Oh, come on, Hawk, don’t be so hard on him. Let the man have his fun. He might need the practice for when he’s a skeleton himself.”

She walked up to Reed, patting his shoulder with mock sympathy.

 “But hey, if you’re gonna joke around, at least make it good. That skull deserves better material than ‘boned.’”

 She paused, tapping her beam on the floor with a loud clang that echoed ominously.

 “Something classy. Like ‘I guess he wasn’t ahead of his time.’”

But the humor faded quickly as her eyes locked back on the faint, glitching red dots at the far end of the hallway. Dune lowered her steel beam from her shoulder and let it rest lightly against the ground, her usual smirk fading. 

 “On second thought, you might want to save the jokes for later. This place stinks like rotting flesh. Usually, abandoned bunkers and other ruins don’t smell this bad unless there’s trouble ahead. Smells like one of Abominators flesh nests.” 

She glanced at the skeletal remains on the floor. 

“We probably should make it quick before we get some company.”

Sable, still pale from the gruesome scene, fumbled with his holo-device. A soft hum emitted from the projector, and a glowing map appeared, floating above his wrist. The flickering light made the skeletons nearby look even more eerie.

 “I’m afraid quick won’t be an option.” 

 He adjusted the hologram, zooming in to reveal a labyrinth of corridors and rooms.

“This bunker isn’t just some small hideout. It’s a science city. Built for pre-war scientists. It’s enormous! Over 300 labs, not to mention storage rooms, dormitories, and God knows what else. This place is practically a self-contained ecosystem.”

Dune whistled low, shaking her head.

 “Figures. The bigger the place, the bigger the mess. I hope you know exactly where we’re headed.”

“I do. I’ve got the lab we need locked into my GPS. But let me make one thing clear,” he said, fixing his glasses and puffing up his chest in an attempt to look authoritative. 

“Don’t get any ideas about raiding this whole place. My mission is the priority here. If you want to scavenge, you can come back when we’re done with my request. For now, we stay focused. Got it?”

Reed chuckled, leaning casually on his massive wrench.

 “Sure thing, boss man. Focused as a laser beam.” 

He plucked a finger bone from the ground, twirling it between his fingers before holding it up like a cigar.

 “I mean, who wouldn’t want to come back for a second date? This place has everything: fine dining, scenic views, and plenty of new friends to meet.” 

He gave the skeleton at his feet a friendly nudge with his boot. 

“A real five-star destination.”

 “Reed!” Mia shouted, smacking him upside the head with the back of her hand. 

“Will you stop screwing around for one second?”

“Ow! What was that for?”

“For being an idiot,” Mia growled, glaring at him.

 “This place isn’t a playground, and it sure as hell isn’t safe. Keep your head in the game, or I’ll knock it off your shoulders next time.”

Dune smirked, though her eyes remained alert as she scanned the hallway ahead.

 “Much as I’d pay to see that, Mia’s got a point, Rust King. This isn’t the kind of place you want to get distracted in. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up being the next set of bones on the floor.”

Reed shrugged, tossing the finger bone aside.

 “Alright, alright. Message received loud and clear. No fun allowed.”

Dune turned back to Sable, nodding toward the darkened hallway. 

"So, Sable? Were we going?"