Love Among The Ruins-Chapter 93

CAINE’S P.O.V

I’d been to the lab once.

My mother had just told me the truth about my father and I was pissed. I grabbed all the money I’d saved up, got on the next train and took a taxi to the lab. I remembered staring at the high electric fence in awe and disdain. He was a billionaire and we were barely scraping by. Even to my childhood mind, it didn’t seem fair.

I remembered trying to get in and having the guards send me back. They thought I was some beggar. I did everything I could to sneak in. I wanted one glimpse of him, just one and when I finally got it, I felt nothing but anger and disgust.

He saw me. He cocked his head to the side. "Are you lost, boy?"

I shook my head, unable to speak. "I’m looking for my dad. He works here."

He’d smiled. "I don’t think your dad wants to be disturbed while he works. Run along, I’m sure you’ll see him at home."

He called a guard to take me out after that. Looking back, he must have known who I was but that day, all I felt was anger that he hadn’t recognized me.

Mum found me at the train station, She’d come for me as soon as she realized I was missing. I never told her where I went or what I did. It remained my secret.

"Rowan." Nadine’s hand was gentle on my shoulder. "Are you alright."

I nodded curtly. "I’m fine. Did you ask something?"

"I was wondering if there are any bolt cutters. The gate’s locked."

"Come with me."

I didn’t give her a chance to ask any questions before I started moving. I could feel her confusion but I ignored it, walking around until we got to the back of lab.

Even though I tried to stay away, I couldn’t help but come back on the occasion. I liked to torture myself by looking at him, I liked to remind myself of who he was. I visited the lab at least once a month, and each time, I snuck in the same way.

They weren’t very concerned with where the waste went out. The fence there was weak, and it was very easy to cut through it and create a path that I could always walk in through. I pushed the netting aside and walked in.

The others stared at me in shock, their eyes wide with unbelief and suspicion.

"How did you know it was there?" Joshua asked. "Have you been here before?"

I ignored his question. "Are you coming in or not?"

It was clear he had more questions, but he chose not to ask them. Instead, he stepped in after me. Amy followed, leaving just Nadine who was watching me with an unreadable expression on her face. She finally stepped in and I felt her fingers brush over my wrist gently.

It wasn’t much, but it was her own way of offering small comfort.

"Do you know how to navigate the inside too?" Joshua asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You could’ve saved us the trip and just-"

"Stop it," Nadine snapped. "Let’s just do what we came to do and get the fuck out of here. I don’t want to stay any longer than we need to."

She left no tone for arguments and stalked off after speaking. We had no choice but to follow.

Surprisingly, the front door wasn’t locked. It swung open easily, revealing a deserted lobby. Chairs were thrown over and dried blood marked the furniture and the walls. There were a few bones piled up into one corner and I couldn’t help but wonder how many people had died here.

"We should split up," Joshua suggested but before I could speak, Amy snorted.

"Not a fat fucking chance. Splitting up is one sure way to die. We do this together."

We took the stairs, going upstairs at first. The building wasn’t that big, there were only two floors so it didn’t take long until we found Trent’s office. It took all of one minute to pick the lock and I was surprised when I saw just how bare it was. It was dusty and pristine. The chair was intact and so was the desk. There was a small dresser to the side but it was empty. There wasn’t even a laptop,

"I guess we just wasted our fucking time," Joshua mumbled, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "There’s nothing here."

"That’s suspicious," I told him but he rolled his eyes.

"There’s nothing suspicious about a clean office."

"There is if there isn’t even a single file in here."

"He must have taken them."

"When the monsters attacked?" I asked. "Everyone was fighting to stay alive. I don’t think he’d have cared about a few files. There’s something we’re missing here."

"I found something!" Nadine stood up, holding a small key in her hands. "There was a false bottom in his drawer. I don’t know what it opens."

"Probably something in this building," Amy suggested and Joshua groaned.

"Are you even listening to yourselves? There’s nothing in this building. We’ve checked the floors."

"What about under the building?" I asked and he fell silent. "Trent built the bunkers. He surely has some knowledge of building things underground."

Joshua scoffed. "You think there is a secret underground bunker here?"

"There’s only one way to find out. Why don’t we check the basement?"

He turned to the others, as if hoping they’d back him up on it. "It’s getting late. We have to get back to safety before night falls."

"We have to check," Nadine said finally.

"I agree," Amy added. "We can always sleep here. If there’s truly nothing here then it’ll be safe for the night."

"Whatever. Basement it is."

The door to the basement was surprisingly hard to find. It was a plain unmarked door situated next to two storage rooms. We almost passed it because of how unassuming it looked.

Just like the others, it was left open and we slowly descended the steps. It was pitch black and I was grateful that Amy had swiped two flash lights from our last supply run. I held the first one and made sure Nadine was with me at all times while Amy held the other. I didn’t trust that Joshua wouldn’t run and abandon us if we let him hold it.

"There’s nothing here," Joshua said as we descended the basement steps. "It’s just empty boxes."

He was right. The entire room was filled with cardboard boxes, but I couldn’t help but feel like we were missing something. We searched around, moving boxes until we were tired.

"Can we agree that it was a bust and just leave?" Joshua asked and although I hated to agree with him, he was right.

"I’m sorry," I whispered to Nadine but she waved me off. "Let’s gp."

"Fucking finally," Joshua groaned.

He pushed a box to the side and a whole stack of them went down in a heap. He held up his hands in mock surrender.

"I didn’t mean to. It was an accident."

He kept trying to explain but I wasn’t looking at him, I was staring at the wall behind him, and so was everyone else. The wall there was a different color from the rest of the wall in the basement. It was a grey color while the basement was more of a nude. I hadn’t noticed it earlier, but now it was obvious for all to see.

There was a pad next to it. It looked like one of those security pads that scanned your hand print and right next to it was a keyhole.

Joshua stopped talking when he realized none of us were listening and he followed our line of sight. "What the fuck is that?"

Nadine stepped forward, key in hand. I held my breath as she pushed it in and it wasn’t until I heard a click as the lock turned that I let out a sigh of relief.

Nadine turned to us grinning. "You found the secret room, Joshua."