The team moved quietly past the final marker, the same type of monolith they had encountered at equal intervals since they found the first one. Their destination was just beyond it.
The prison loomed ahead, walls battered but still standing, fences wrapped in vines and scarred with rust. Here and there, broken trees and greenery stood out while the other half was swallowed by dust and sand. No one spoke for a while. Even Lume's usual commentary was muted by the mood.
Despite the building looking like shit, there was a stillness to it. A sense of heaviness that made you believe it was not going to succumb. Despite being situated between the territories of two biomes, there was nothing that would consume it.
Mira's scanner glowed faintly in her hand. "No signals. It's like the place is a blackhole, everything points towards a void," she whispered.
Eira frowned, studying the locked gate in front of them. "Don't lose focus now. Remember why we're here."
Taren shifted around the team, analyzing the area around the gate and the fence. "No tracks. No movement in the nearby area. Not even birds. The area around the fence looks too clean" He sounded more unsettled than bored.
The sixth member, silent as ever, paused and touched the top of the partially buried stone monolith, tracing the old markings as if looking for reassurance,,, or warning.
Dr. Korr gestured at the group to keep moving. "Let's not camp outside the gate."
They advanced slowly, walking past the last of half-grass and half-sand path they had been trekking. Just as the fence was right in their face, a figure appeared in the distance, past the fence and the gate,,, emerging from the prison gates. Black combat gear, metallic arms that stood out, chains wrapped around his body and a compass and a radio hanging from his waist. It was an unusual sight.
The team stopped as one.
Lume swallowed and let out a shaky breath. "That's him, isn't it?"
No one answered. The figure looked much like a scary villain right out a Halloween killer movie.
The chained figure began walking toward the gate, slowly, as if measuring every step. Chains glinted on his body even in the dimness, and the world seemed to grow quieter as he approached. Everyone in the team held their breath. At his approach, life itself turned bleary. Almost as if he sucked the color out of everything. Black, white and gray. Only those remained.
Eira raised a hand calmly, trying to reassure her team and bring back control. Now was not the time for them to start panicking. Everyone let go of their breath, as they looked at their leader for reassurance. But she simply gestured at them to stay calm and still.
Nobody stepped forward yet. The prison, and its lone guardian continued to observe them back in silence.
For a heartbeat, nothing moved at all.
"State your purpose."
His voice was heavy but hoarse. Like he hadn't spoken in a long time. And from the look of this place, that was definitely the case.
The team looked at Eira, waiting for her response. Everyone in the team only knew parts of the mission. They were privy to information that had to do with their own role in the team and did not know where their end destination lay. Eira was the only one who was briefed entirely upon the tasks they had to complete.
"We require your assistance, Specialist. The world has suffered for long, forty years everyone has suffered. In the name of immortality, we have lost everything else. Humanity is facing a slow death. And we need your help to set things right."
Her words slowly echoed in the place, which was strange. Everyone who was present there, listening, had shock on their face. The Specialist was silent, his expression hidden behind his mask, but the little jerk he had on listening to her request displayed his surprise as well.
Lume tried his best to reign in his curiosity, while Taren looked in Dr. Korr's direction, throwing him a questioning look. Mira on the other hand was still shell-shocked, unaware of her surroundings.
But the most affected was definitely the Specialist.
And Eira knew why. Unlike what her team believed, Eira knew the Specialist quite well, having worked with him closely on a number of missions and tasks in the past. But it had been a very long time since she had associated with her identity as the Doctor. And 'He' did not actually know her. Since they had only ever communicated via codenames and holograms.
Despite the years that had passed, she was able to identify him instantly.
But right now was not the time to reveal her identity. Not when she also understood the reason's behind his self-imposed imprisonment.
The world needed her right now, to correct the wrongs that her pursuit of science had caused.
She waited for him to respond to her request, understanding his own need to make things right again.
After all, both of them suffered from the same trauma,,, the guilt of surviving.
Nobody spoke for a long moment. The Specialist's silence lingered. Only the light beep from Mira's scanner and Lume's shallow breathing broke the quiet.
"Is he… just going to stand there?" whispered Mira.
Taren didn't answer, his hand tightly clutching his weapon. Eira remained calm on the surface, but her hand was clenched tight, as she observed the man before her. Everyone was tense, waiting for a fight to breakout.
The sixth member hadn't looked away. She stared at the chained figure, wondering if this was the person who she was looking for, to confirm her doubt, or perhaps hoping he would look her way. Anything.
Finally, Korr broke the silence with a low mutter, "I hope you know what you're doing."
It wasn't clear who he was addressing, but that finally broke the tension.
The chained figure continued to maintain his silence, but he gestured at them to approach.
Everyone on the team became alert, looking towards Eira at what the next move was going to be.
"Let's enter. He has agreed to hear us out. It would be for the best if he agrees." She did not turn around, but stepped forward to let them know the next move.
Taren seemed slightly reluctant, but everyone else did not put up any resistance.
'Fools, all of them. They don't have the slightest sense of danger.' The retired army major could only shake his head as he followed after the group. He had been hired to be responsible for security of the team, but so far, he had only been disappointed in them.
As they crossed the fenced prison gate, every one of them felt a shift in the atmosphere. The humidity from the swamp and the cold sand from the desert that had been harassing them suddenly disappeared within the confines of this space. It was magical.
They all had their thoughts, as they followed the chained figure make his way to the prison complex, his steps silent as before, measured and equal.
"Are we sure this is the same Specialist, the one from the rumors? Because I don't remember the glowing chains from the description I heard of him." Lume murmured, unable to hold his curiosity any longer.
Dr. Korr, surprisingly was the one to answer him.
"From what I remember, before the cataclysm, he was widely recognized by his metal arms. That and his attire, which both seem to match the rumors. Maybe he upgraded his aesthetics after the genesis?"
The sixth member scoffed at his remark, but even she was unsure. He looked so different from her memories. It was like watching a puppet, controlled by some cruel fate she had no knowledge of.
"I believe Eira has some way of recognizing the fugitive, she won't have so bravely decide to enter his den otherwise." Taren sneered. The group chose to ignore his comment, as they were used to it.
Being a military man, it was only normal for him to disdain the Specialist. Before the cataclysm, when he had become famous for his hundred percent success record, a rumor had started flouting, that the Specialist was actually an ex-military man himself, someone who was discharged dishonorably. No one knew the truth, but it was normal for every military personal to go after him from then onwards.
"You will stay here for two days. Convince me." The hoarse voice cut their chit-chat short, as the group looked at the bare room they were presented. It was empty, no furnishing, windows or even a door. A completely bare room.
"Signal here is weak, don't the leave perimeter to use equipment." The man seemed to treat his words like gold, as he left them soon after, with no other explanation. But maybe he was just struggling since it seemed he hadn't spoken to humans in a very long time?
Taren paced the bare room, walking from one wall to another. "Two days. Two days to convince him?" He asked in frustration. "We crossed a living swamp for this,,, a ghost who treats words like gold and gives us nothing."
Lume shifted uncomfortably. "Maybe he just needs time to consider-"
"Time?" Taren's laugh was harsh. "We don't have time. None of us know what we're even doing here." His looked towards Eira. "Do we?"
She met his gaze, calmly. "We wait." Despite how much racket Taren made, her decision was final.
The silence afterwards settled around the group, pressing down on them like a blanket. Outside, something metallic clinked, chains perhaps or maybe it was just the wind.
Mira glanced toward the doorless frame. "What if he says no?"
"Then we will have to make the journey without him, a risk I am not prepared to take." The sixth member spoke up, her words revealing her stance.
"WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THAT CHAINED FREAK??" Taren was losing it, as he did not expect the team to fracture before it could even commence on their mission.
A breeze flew past the team members instantly, targeting the military man. Before he could react, everything was back to normal. The team looked towards Taren, enquiring if he was fine.
"What was that? It felt so creepy, like something just crept through my soul." Lume panicked, holding his backpack tightly.
Eira pulled her glowing orb out of her pocket out of instinct, while Mira pointed out in surprise, "What is wrong with Taren? I can't hear him guys."
All of them turned towards him, as they watched him move his mouth, but no voice came out. Feeling weirder, Eira scanned Taren with her orb, while Mira brought out more tools from her backpack. But the hoarse voice interrupted their actions.
"I appreciate the peace I have created in this place. Don't break it. I've muted him for an hour."
The clink of the chains let them know who was responsible, as they all huddled closer, suddenly aware of how thin the line between guest and captive had become.