Chapter 25: Undetected

I was cautious the entire trip, keeping my nose open for the musk of the Ursans and my eyes on the path in front of me. I could tell that the maps I’d referenced for pathfinding were a little out of date. Areas that had been clear before were now covered in thick patches of forest. Still, the topography was the same, and I knew the direction I was headed in, so I was confident I’d reach my destination, unless an Ursan found me first.

The first hour of hiking was uneventful, though I never let my guard down. I didn’t encounter any Ursans, but I did catch faint traces of their musk in the air, as well as signs of their passing. I did encounter a number of wild boar, however. Massive, slow creatures, that created little oases of muck in random parts of the forest. I found one dead, and mostly eaten, which explained how the Ursans were sustaining themselves when they weren’t hunting hapless Iron Horde patrols, or the Ren Faree.

It was another thirty minutes before I reached a landmark that indicated I was on the right track. On the map, it was a large stony outcropping that had been named, ‘dragon-claw rock’, and I’ll be damned if that wasn’t what it looked like. I climbed up to the top to get a better view of the forest around me, having only a bit of difficulty with my hat being caught in some severe gusts of wind. When I reached the top I took a look, out across the woods. It was an ocean of black, with me on a solitary island in the center of it. Unfortunately, in that sea, I saw nothing to help me gain my bearings, though I did make note of a few areas where the trees were moving against the wind and made a mental note to avoid them. I hopped down from the rock, checked my compass, and kept moving.

It was another two hours of walking before I decided to take a break. I took a deep breath to see if I could smell any ursans, then I found a spot under a small rocky outcropping and took a seat. I pulled out some Ursan meat I’d saved from the feast and started biting off small pieces to chew. It wasn’t as good cold, but it was still pretty delicious. While I ate I pulled out my notebook and checked over my directions. I was getting close. Maybe one more hour of walking before I reached the bunker. I hoped it hadn’t caved in, but considering the condition the first one I’d found had been in, I highly doubted that would be the case. These bunkers were meant to survive the apocalypse after all. If I was really lucky, there’d even still be electricity. My night vision was good, but a bit of light helped a lot when it came to making out the finer details of things.

Once I was done eating and referencing my notes, I slung my bag over my shoulder and kept walking. At this point, I was starting to find the endless rows of trees just as dull as I found the rest of the wasteland to walk through, but it also felt more dangerous. On the main roads, you never knew what to expect, but you’d know where to expect it. You could see buildings people could be holed up in, or smog telling you trouble was on the way. Here in the thick woods, trouble could appear from anywhere, at any time. It was an uncomfortable contradiction, to be visually bored, but also need to keep all my senses active and looking for trouble at the same time.

As I was getting closer to my destination, I started smelling more traces of ursan musk, and unfortunately, it was in the direction I was headed. I tried circling around, but no matter what direction I approached from, the scent only grew stronger. I drew my rifle, wishing I’d kept the automatic I’d used to kill the raiders at the last bunker, and cautiously approached.

The forest cleared away a bit, revealing a cave. Outside the cave, sleeping in a patch of sunlight, was an ursan. Its massive form heaving as it took slow, deep breaths. Going by my map, the bunker was inside the cave, and it appeared that the ursan had made that cave his den.

There was a gap between the cave and the creature that I was certain I could get through, but once I was in the cave, any escape options I’d have would become very limited. I considered killing the creature, but remembered the first time I’d seen one. It had sniffed around, and even seemed to mourn its dead. Assuming I killed this one, and that was a big assumption, its death could draw others. I hadn’t been being subtle lately, and I kept paying the price for it, so I decided to risk sneaking past.

I kept my rifle close, and crept into the clearing. I watched the ursan carefully as I moved, looking for any sign that it may have noticed me, or was beginning to stir. I made it to the small gap between it and the cave, and it moved. I froze in place, holding my breath as I did. The creature stood for a moment, stretching its powerful muscles before letting out a light roar and laying back down. It was now a few more inches away, so I slipped behind it, and into the cave.

The smell of blood and musk was thick inside, but I saw no signs of another ursan, just bones and viscera piled in the corner. I walked carefully, doing my best to avoid doing anything that might make a significant amount of noise. It didn’t take long to reach the back of the cave. It could only fit two ursans. Against the back wall was my objective. A large sealed metal door. I looked around it, and eventually found a handle to it. It was clear there had been an electronic lock attached to it, but what was left of that had been smashed to bits. I gripped the handle and pulled, careful to only slowly increase the amount of strength I was using so I could keep from making too much noise. There was a creak, and the door gave way, swinging open and revealing a well-lit stairway that descended downward. I heard a roar behind me and saw the ursan I’d left behind coming into the cave. I jumped into the bunker and slammed the door shut, comforted by the fact that even though the electronic lock on the outside was busted, I could manually latch it from the inside. I did so, just in time for the sound of something heavy slamming against it. There were a few more attempts, then nothing.

I turned around to look at the stairway I was in. Lights were good, meant things were more likely to be intact. I walked down, seeing a few long dried muddy footprints and little else. The hallway ended in a doorway. I opened it, and found myself in an all-white room with shower nozzles coming out of the wall, a row of lockers, and several drains in the floor.

At the far end was another door. I walked up to it, and found another busted electronic lock. I pushed the door open and found myself in another long room, this time with colored pathways that connected and diverged along the ground, going into different rooms across the hall. There was also a flight of stairways on the far end ahead of me. I started going through the different rooms one by one. I found bathrooms, sets of living quarters, and what appeared to be a recreation room, all of them lived in, and all seemed to have been left in a hurry.

Once I was done I made my way down the stairs. Things were very different on this floor. There was a more sterile, and less lived-in feel. The doors were more secure, and hallways were marked. The one in front of me said ‘virology lab’ and reading it immediately made my teeth itch. I searched around a few rooms, finding computers, beakers, and equipment I didn’t recognize. I tried to boot up one of the computers, but they were all full of technical information I didn’t understand. I moved on until I found an office. There was a whiteboard covered in data I didn’t understand, scattered notes everywhere, and a desk at the far end with another computer. I approached it, and read the nameplate, ‘Dr. Vincent Head of Research.’ I sat down at the desk and booted up the computer. A green display welcomed me and I watched as lines of code flowed downward until a bootup image showed. It faded into the background, and the desktop appeared. On it were three folders labeled personal journal, project journal, and correspondence. I clicked on 'project journal' and pulled up the first document.

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