Scientists—
Roamed.
Around the second floor.
The lab was full of ideas.
Experiments—
Conducted.
Vials and tubes—
Collected.
A set of clicks—
Echoed.
Heels moved across the smooth floor.
Selena—
Advanced through the hall.
Unnoticed.
She inspected the different rooms, looking through the glass as she passed by.
Pointless.
Her hands rested in her lab coat pockets.
The hall—
Ended.
Selena swiped her badge through a vertical reader.
An elevator—
Opened.
She stepped through, pressing the lowest button.
The number—
Five.
Its doors slid closed.
The elevator cascaded down its shaft.
A light bell chimed as it came to a stop.
Selena exited—
Alone.
Cubed lights—
Fashioned.
In the walls beside her.
The hall—
Silent.
Her footsteps filled the space around her.
A broken door—
Resided.
At the furthest end.
Selena stood before the rusted door.
Its center—
Exposed.
Slightly separating the two halves.
Selena lifted her badge, swiping it in the terminal next to it.
The door—
Almost opened.
Her hand—
Waved.
Forming black webs.
Selena pried the door open.
A stagnant—
Draft.
Flowed from the darkness.
A spiral staircase—
Descended.
Before her eyes.
It's…
A smirk—
Crawled.
Up the ridges of her lips.
Her stride—
Began.
Moving down the steps.
…starting.
Her movements—
Leveled.
As she stepped off the stairs.
Roots—
Protruded.
From the darkness ahead.
Her veins—
Flickered black.
Webs formed from her feet.
The dew—
Guided.
Providing her a path forward.
She continued to follow her webs, moving down the dark corridor.
Selena—
Halted.
Before a decrepit door.
A broken number—
Faded from its surface.
Moss lined the old metal frame.
Her fingers—
Pointed.
At the rusted locks.
Black webs—
Protruded from the tips.
The locks were broken, falling to the cracked ground.
Her webs—
Pushed.
Opening the door.
A green light—
Flickered.
Her glow dissipated.
Selena began walking, stepping beyond the door.
Her eyes—
Fixed.
On the path ahead.
Cobwebs lined the corners around her.
Metal faded between rusted colors.
Moss and vines grew in the cracks.
Selena—
Continued.
Pausing at a doorway.
The flickering light outlined her shoulder.
This was…
She faced the room.
An old table—
Rested in the center.
Surgical tools were laid out on the table nearby.
Her tongue—
Glided.
Across her lips.
…its origin.
Selena exhaled as she walked further into the abandoned area.
Roots began to line the floor next to her.
An abandoned park—
Revealed.
Beyond the second threshold.
The broken tree—
Centered.
Selena stepped past it.
The stump—
Lasted.
By itself.
Hmph.
Selena never faced the tree, continuing further in.
The steps—
Stopped.
At a final door.
Her attention—
Changed.
The room—
Empty.
Desolate.
Only a single bedframe was inside.
Blood stains—
Blended.
On the metal floor.
A smile—
Appeared.
Wide.
Her shoulders—
Relaxed.
Your role was fulfilled.
Selena rotated, facing a dark hallway.
The entrance—
Shifted.
As if it was trying to remove itself.
There…
A blue light—
Dimmed.
As she grew closer.
Tubes extended from a central point.
A tank—
Appeared before her.
Bubbles—
Formed.
Rising to the top.
Her hand—
Reached.
Resting the palm on glass.
The hand—
Lowered.
Returning to her pocket.
Selena's eyes—
Narrowed.
…the next piece.
…
Water flowed steadily from the fountain next to them.
The sun—
Crossed the horizon.
Orange light shone into the courtyard.
Art focused on her wrist.
"It's time."
Jean stood, pushing her chair back.
"I'll prepare the car…"
She pointed to the living quarters.
"...while you get Kane."
Art took a deep breath.
"Roger."
Jean headed for the garage as Art walked down the hall.
A light—
Flickered.
Above Kane's door.
Her body—
Paused.
Before the frame.
She raised her fist.
Two knocks—
Sounded.
Through the quiet hall.
The door—
Shifted.
Exposing the room.
Kane—
Stood.
In front of her.
His eyes—
Distant.
Looking beyond Art.
Art inspected him.
"It's time for our departure."
Kane's head—
Tilted down.
"...Ok."
Art's eyes—
Paused.
Looking at his holsters.
He should…
The magnums—
Strapped in place.
Their handles—
Dirty.
As if they haven't been touched.
…clean those.
She turned towards the courtyard.
"Let's go."
Her stride—
Began.
Kane's body—
Turned.
To follow.
It moved a moment later.
…
Art led Kane to the garage.
An engine—
Hummed below the railing.
Jean sat in the passenger seat of the truck, watching the mirror.
Art's reflection—
Caught.
By the mirror.
Kane was—
Unnoticed.
She moved her arm out of the window, hooking her thumb to the back.
Art opened the backseat door, entering the truck.
Kane—
Watched.
Then copied.
Dean pushed the shift.
The gear—
Changed.
A second later.
Jean pressed a button above her, opening the garage door.
Dean pressed the pedal into the floorboard.
The truck softly bounced across the wasteland.
Art sat across from Kane.
The back—
Silent.
There was no talking between them.
Kane was—
Distant.
As if the air was detached from him.
Art's ears—
Twitched.
While she tried to focus on the mission.
Metal shifted as Art inspected her weapons.
Kane stayed—
Still.
His core—
Shifted.
Towards the east.
The chains—
Rattled.
Softly.
A single crack—
Persisted.