--- Hunter ---
Hunter made her way downwards using just her hands while her tail was wrapped over her shoulders to keep it out of the way. It was just simpler then ssing around with balancing on her tail and moving it down, probably slower to do it that way as well. Hunter was also using this chance to check out the elevator shaft itself.
The doors started further down, so light was shining through the cracks in the elevator doors indicating there were at least six floors to explore but they were all a good distance downwards, much further then Hunter would've expected just based on the compass. The rest of the shaft was empty.
*It seems the power is still on. Not completely strange… sturdy solar panels or so sort of magical generator would do it and we've already seen a smaller one on the outskirts… but the fact that the lights are still working is a bit strange. Perhaps they have a fancy skylight setup that moves natural light downwards with magic? Enchantnts do wear out as well though… hmm…*
Taking the chance to look around a bit more Hunter found that the elevator cables had snapped a long ti ago and she could just barely make them out in a pile at the bottom resting on top of the elevator carriage that was probably as low as it went.
There were a few vents in the shaft as well as electrical wiring that had been routed through the elevator for so reason though it was all covered in a thick layer of dust showing that nobody had been in here for a long ti.
*I wonder if the elevator fell down or if it was resting at the bottom of the shaft when the cable snapped. It seems like a silly question but the elevator DID make it all the way to the bottom instead of getting caught up above and I don't see any scraping along the edges. What does that an though?
Did the scientist here survive the fallout before slowing dying out, trapped here in the mist bubble? Or is it simply coincidence.*
It didn't take long for Hunter to get to the top floor of the basent facility, but before cracking open the doors she pulled out the compass to check which floor was correct... only to see the needle wobbling quite a bit. It was still pointing in the sa direction but it was no longer giving her an accurate depth as it wobbled up and down.
Hunter quickly put away the compass and slid down the ladder until she reached the bottom floor, or at least the lowest floor she could get to using this elevator shaft. Sitting on top of the elevator itself she pulled out the compass… and it was wobbling just the sa.
Frowning Hunter shot upwards until she was past the first floor, roughly halfway between it and the hatch at the top and finally she had sothing.
The compass was still wobbling, but it was firmly pointing downwards. How far down was inconsistent and ranged from what seed to be slightly above the first floor all the way to a couple of floors below what was visible. With that at least proven Hunter made her way back to the first floor and got started.
It wasn't the most likely to be on that first floor but it was better to start there and work her way down.
Hunter looked around the door and found a vent but it wasn't designed with sneaking in mind, clearly inconsiderate. With that out Hunter looked for the manual override for the door and eventually found above the door for so reason. She had no idea how anyone was going to be able to reach it if they were inside the elevator but perhaps there was another one inside.
Enjoy new stories from empire
Hunter pressed the button in, there was a hiss and then the doors flung open.
As Hunter slid inside the facility the first thing she noticed was how clean it was in comparison to the elevator shaft. She hadn't been in there long but already she was dropping dust onto the ground and leaving visible marks. *Not good. I knew the elevator was dusty but I falsely assud the rest of this place would be as well.
I was worried about stirring up too much dust with my movent but it seems I've leaving more. More importantly why is it so clean?*
Hunter was very suspicious about that part, the floors had been cleaned so thoroughly that she could see her reflection in the gloss of the floor tiles. The walls were made of tal but had a matte finish that stopped reflections. Another odd detail was a board set into the wall.
Even as clean as it was, there were clear rectangular outlines of sothing else that had once been there, likely direction but there was no debris on the floor from the place they'd have to have fallen.
They also hadn't been replaced. Which stood at odds with how clean everything was. *Robots? Or just people that don't need the signage? Perhaps they didn't have a way to replace it or they no longer knew how? If a few generations of people lived here I could see the signs lasting one or two… but then why not spread out to the surface?
The ladder was right there. Then again, if they thought the surface was destroyed from the blast perhaps they remained inside for safety and then future generations didn't know to check? But then where are the signs of people?
This place is unbelievably clean. Unless the people inside have OCD or perhaps hypochondriacs… then I see no reason for them to keep it this clean, and it would be a difficult task. Unless this first floor is rarely used? I suppose I'll withhold my judgent until I've had a chance to look around so more.*
Hunter glanced at her three choices for which way to go. Forward, a path with quite a few doors along it and a pathway at the end, left which quickly split off into a T-junction and prevented her from seeing further, or right which had a solid looking door with a keypad reader. Quickly discarding the right path, Hunter didn't take much longer to decide on simply going forward.
Trying the doors, Hunter found them unlocked and she found herself in an office. It was… sowhat clean. Not as crazy as the outside and there was a bit of dust inside but nothing crazy. There was a computer at a desk, a few bookshelves a main office chair and two lounge chairs and a footrest that was sitting up against the side of the desk.
Hunter noticed as she moved inside that there was a trash can near the door. Empty.
Moving her way over to the computer Hunter pressed the power button… and nothing. No boot screen, no fans starting up. Nothing. Quickly checking around for the power socket, Hunter found that the wires simply vanished into the wall. Not standard, but the wiring looks intact. Doesn't tell if the computer is dead or the wires are fried sowhere and I don't know enough about the topic to check.
Deciding this computer at least was a dead end Hunter started going through the drawers primarily to look for a access card to get into the door on this floor. It seed however, that the drawers had been cleaned out. None of the ones she opened, even the one with a shitty lock even she could pick, actually had anything inside of them except for a bit of dust. *So what does this an?
The desk looks much newer then the age of the facility would suggest… but the signs outside fell apart. So what's keeping this together?*
Hunter made her way across the hall and found a similar office in essentially the sa condition. The books on the bookshelves weren't all the sa, but quite a few of the titles were. Hunter debated checking a few out but decided it just wasn't worth the ti so she checked the computer, and once again it failed to turn on. Moving from there she opened the next door. Another office.
Another test of the computer, another disappointnt. There was a pack of unopened gum in one of the drawers though.
Hunter winced at the thought but picked it up anyway and checked for the best by, or created on dates usually listed on such packaging… only to realise that she had no idea what date system these guys would be using anyway. Even if Bower knew what the 'current year' was, the people that may or may not be trapped the in the bunker definitely wouldn't know.
So Hunter continued down the hall, checking each room and confirming it was an office before moving on. One had nothing in it, at all, which was sowhat noteworthy but nothing too crazy. Perhaps it was storage or perhaps the person it was ant for never arrived. The computer continued to remain silent and no keycards were present by the ti she'd cased the hallway.
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