Blushing Bride: A Rough Sci-Fi Romance by Sara Fields

Author:Sara Fields [Fields, Sara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stormy Night Publications
Published: 2022-09-07T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11

Ryker

The outer façade of the lab was not what I’d expected it to be. On the surface, it appeared to be a lodge of sorts, or maybe a solitary wilderness research station at one point, but I knew it to be more than that.

All the evidence that Naomi had uncovered, along with the logs that Pacifica had revealed, indicated that this facility was once one of the top government research labs in the country. This didn’t look like that. The whole structure was overgrown. The vines were so thick in places that I would have to cut through with my machete.

“This doesn’t look big enough,” Naomi whispered.

Cautiously, the group made its way forward. The front door had fallen off its hinges, so I just walked through it, hearing the soft crunch of fallen glass beneath my feet. Water dripped from somewhere further inside. Somewhere off in the distance, a bird sang, and another cheerily answered.

I’d been on many acquisition missions before in search of old materials, much of it tools and resources that we’ve since lost the technology and knowledge to produce, but every journey was different. Each one an adventure of its own. This place had been completely overtaken by nature and I didn’t really know which way to turn or go next.

For a long while, I wandered through the first floor. I didn’t dare climb up the stairs due to the state of decay of the upper floors of the building. There were holes in the ceiling and whole sections of the second floor had collapsed, making much of the first level completely impassable. Eventually, Naomi shouted that she’d found a door. When I joined her, we found that it was locked.

At one point, it might have been powered by hydraulics, but it looked like it hadn’t seen electricity in a very long time. It was thick steel, but it had regular hinges like any other normal door.

I reached into my pocket for my multi-tool. I took my time and removed each screw with painstaking care until the door hung completely off its hinges. When it was ready, the other men and I pulled it out of place, tossing it to the floor with a deafening bang.

There was a steel staircase leading down into the ground behind where the door had been. The water damage was less here since the door had sealed much of this off. I leaned over the stairwell and looked down, careful not to put too much weight on it.

I wasn’t sure how many levels it descended, but it went far deeper than I’d expected. With my hope of finding the fusion cell once again intact, I turned back to Naomi.

“Nice find,” I grinned. Her face lit up as she joined me. I threw my arm out to stop her when she went to grab the metal barrier. Immediately, she pulled back and looked to me.

“I don’t trust it to hold anyone’s weight,” I explained.

“So, they hid the important parts of the labs underground,” she murmured.

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