Young Writers Society

A blob but sentient...

"That almost sounds like a slime," Ryder commented, resting his chin in the cup of his hands as he stared into the fire. "The only problem is that slimes aren't shaped like humans - they're more simplistic."

"It didn't smell like anything slimy either," Lasan said, looking from Ryder to Briar. "And it kinda looked shorter than everyone else here? But it also looked like it could get a bit bigger if it wanted to - whatever it was made of didn't look all that stuck in place."

Ryder crossed his arms.

"This doesn't make any sense," he said, staring in the flames.

"...It almost sounds like an alchemical creation," Lust suddenly said from nearby. Her brother was leaning against, a peaceful expression on his face despite the situation. It was only when he heard a soft snore that Ryder realized Gluttony had fallen asleep in front of the fire.

Briar turned her attention to Lust, "Would you explain what that is?" she requested.

Her eyes flitted to Gluttony. She was hit by the urge to mimic him. To fall asleep and deal with this new problem well-rested. Today had been trying in most every capacity. She would need to get to sleep sooner or later anyway. She scanned the rest of the group. Could she trust them like that?

She didn't know.

"I'm not sure how well I can," Lust admitted. "I only know a little of alchemy from a...friend of ours. Alchemy is the process some in our world use to create what you would call miracles. From my understanding, there's something called 'equivalent exchange that says you can't make something out of nothing, but I do know of an exception to that rule."

She glanced in the direction of the stairs.

"Alchemy isn't meant to be used to create life," she continued. "But I've heard stories on what happens when it is. Not too much - just snippets of conversation. But enough to know that those creations rarely look as human as they're supposed to."

"If it was supposed to be human, whoever made it definitely didn't do a good job of it," Lasan said, shaking his head. He paused, staring at the ground and frowning. "I know some magic that could sorta make something like that blob, but it either wouldn't last that long in the cold or would break apart really quickly. But, if it's that second thing, it could always have gone away by now? That'd be great."

Ryder had been silent for the past minute. His mind had wandered from the conversation at hand - starting with Lust's comments about it being a creation of some kind. His mind flashed back to the skeleton in the lab coat, the existence of the bunkers, and the ash mixed in with the snow.

"...What if it was caused by whatever happened here?" Ryder quietly suggested.

Briar stared at him. It made sense. She said as much.

"But should we do anything about it?" she asked, not knowing where she would place her vote just yet. If it wasn't bothersome and they didn't see it again, she didn't see a reason to seek it out. But if it was something to worry about, then preemptive measures might be called for.

Nubes, the feeling back in his paws, stood up. He tugged at one of his ears, but he couldn't quite get rid of that very faint noise at the edge of his vision. Which didn't unsettle him at all.

"I really hope not," Lasan said. "I'm pretty sure it has something to do with whatever killed all those people, so I'm not really in the mood to go looking for it."

"We should rest here for a bit," Ryder suggested. He gestured at Gluttony with a nod of his head. "One of us is already asleep, so I don't think we'll be leaving too soon."

Briar nodded. She was tired. If she stayed up to keep a lookout, as she would usually, she would likely fall asleep. Such a scenario would be pointlessly dangerous.

She took out her gun and checked that the safety was on, then she kept it in her hand as she curled up around it. A familiar position.

Even with her eyes closed and her body relaxed, it would take a while for her to fall asleep, partially because of the cold, and partially because she didn't quite trust the people around her.

Scooting away from the fire, Lasan flopped down on his back. "Sounds like a plan," he said as he stretched, crossing his arms behind him to rest his head on them

He turned his head to the side to catch Nubes, ear pressed against the wall. "Something up?" Lasan said slowly.

Nubes shrugged. "Just the wind," he said. "It sounds a little, off. Almost like I can hear it coming from somewhere that isn't over our heads."

"Could be another bunker nearby?" said Lasan, frowning.

After a brief pause, Nubes said, "Maybe."

Briar listened to that exchange, then the wind. There was something off about it. It wasn't a good idea to dismiss it.

She kept listening, accepting the fact that she wouldn't be sleeping half as much as she wanted to.

"If we're hearing it from here, it must be connected to this bunker somehow," Lust guessed.

She glanced around the room.

"It sounds like it's coming from somewhere on the other side of this wall," Nubes said. He tapped a fist against the metal, frowning. "But it doesn't sound hollow, and I'm not seeing anything out of place."

Leaning up close, the leopard peered into the smooth, shiny surface of the metal. His back to the flames, the wall was a tad more shaded than he would've liked. However, he could still see his own reflection, and the sudden appearance of a tiny ring on his cheek told him all he needed to know.

Nubes peered at the small circle etched into the wall. Almost invisible, something that you would have to know was there, and too perfectly round to be an accident. It had to be a switch of some kind; he pressed it.

A section of the metal wall immediately slid back, revealing yet another staircase stretching down.

Lasan quickly pulled himself up, making his way to the edge of the staircase and peering down into the darkness. "I can't see anything," he said after a minute. "Should we go down there?"

The leopard shrugged; despite his good eyesight, he could only catch the bottom of the staircase far below. It seemed to lead to a closed door. Locked or otherwise, he figured the group could probably break it open. In any case, Nubes was reasonably sure that the wind had to be coming from the other side of it. "Well, I'm not sure we have any other choice," he said. "I'd rather we go down instead of letting something come up."