Chapter Three - Even Underground Burns

Old emergency maps were taped to the wall, pointing toward a medical room, water room, storage room, and communal shelter area. It was still hot, still airless, but at least the sun was gone. "Safe?" Lucy asked. Nobody answered. The first thing Elliot noticed was the floor. Water marks, dried salt trails, footprints turned white with residue. Someone had been moving through here for a while. At the end of the corridor, a metal door had a new lock on it, shiny enough that it looked out of place against the dust. "Someone's already in there," Elliot said. Carl brought the revolver up to his chest. Mara, meanwhile, was already running toward the medical room, where a pale light leaked through the glass. When she opened the door, she froze.