Chapter 17 - Fireplace

Vito carried me for god knows how many meters before the ants had enough of our presence, and just as the ants were about to catch us, I grabbed one of the grenades that I'd saved, in case of an emergency and threw it at the horde of ants. In such a tight corridor, the pressure wave from the explosion slammed into my ears, deafening them for the moment, and leaving behind a subtle whistling sound that went on and on. Shaking my head out of this state, I managed to see a glimpse of what remained of the ants, and what I saw almost made me throw up. Lumps of burned flesh as well as raw ones covered the tunnel behind us, with pieces stuck everywhere. Hearing the explosion, Vito ran forward a little faster than before, stumping over the eggs or even some ant that was on the ground, not caring even a little that his action might poke the hive, more than we did already.

The ants continue to chase after us, however, they didn't approach us, instead they chase after us almost lazily, as if they were escorting us, not even trying to attack us. For me this looked exactly like how a predator was toying with his prey, giving his prey the illusion of a chance of escape, before striking and killing it.

No more than a minute later, the tunnel walls covered in some kind of goo, slowly become clearer and cleaner until we made it out of the deep parts of the tunnels, away from the predator ants' nest. As soon as we reached the upper parts of the tunnel system these ants made, the dwellers from below left, leaving us alone as if it wasn't worth the effort to chase us outside of their burrow. Nevertheless, it was still too soon for us to stop, especially when we had a little less than four maybe even three minutes left until the bomb goes off and the tunnels explode.

"What happened to them, ants the ants still after us?'

"No, however, it's kind of strange. When we reached these tunnels, they stopped before going back down for some reason. Has this happened to you before?"

"No, usually these things would chase us until we reach the surface or if we kill them. As you said it's strange that they simply let us leave. Something must have happened down there for them to leave, also they didn't attack us after you threw the grenade right?"

"No, the ones in the front got blown up, while the rest stood there watching everything as if they didn't even care for the ones that just got killed. Do you think we have time to get out of these…"

"There is only another a hundred meters . . . We have to get out of these tunnels one way or another. The important thing is to get out of the tunnels before the bomb goes off since I reckon you don't want to die burning."

However, even after we run those one hundred meters, and even after another hundred, we were still in the tunnels, with no apparent right way out of this place.

"What if we got lost, Vito? We have run more than two hundred meters and yet we are still down here. We don't have any time left, my friend. This might just be our end."

"It's not possible . . . We must . . . Yes, it's not that far, c'mon Dante, we have just a little bit of walking to do and we are out!"

By some stroke of luck, Vito somehow managed to find the exit just in time for the bomb to explode. Just as we run out of the tunnels the whole area shook, as if an earthquake was taking place and a few seconds later a wave of flames scorch the tunnels and the entrance behind us. We made it out just in time, and now we could get our breath back. While I didn't run as much as Vito, I for one couldn't run any longer in any case, everything hurts even more so after we literally cheated death today in those bloody tunnels. This must have been the worst nightmare I've ever been forced to go through, not even the experiments or fights were that scary, and yet here we were barely alive after being chased by predators ants. Thankfully, now, the Mojave and the NCR would have an easier time going through these parts, without having to fear that some ants would ambush and kill them.

"Look at that, it's beautiful."

"It resembled a fireplace, Vito what's so beautiful about it?"

"Kid, there was once a time when standing in front of a fireplace was the most comforting thing someone could ask for. That's why for me, that small aftermath of the explosion looks so beautiful."

Hearing his response, made me roll my eyes, at him before looking around us to see where in god's name we arrived, since, I don't recall being anywhere near an encampment, especially not anywhere near a train station.

"Vito, this ain't not Mojave Outpost, right?"

The green giant got on his feet, grabbing his trusty rifle before slowly walking towards the station.

"Hey, is there anyone there? Hey lads! Is anyone there?"

Seeing that no one was answering we slowly walked towards the only building that might have someone inside of it. There was nothing worth the attention in this place, other than a few mattresses and some caps on them. Once, someone must have slept here, but now? This place looked as deserted as the desert itself.

Vito knocked on the door as hard as he could and yet no one answered, however, he didn't despair and carried on calling cheerfully. Obviously enough, the people that had stayed here either run away from something or left because there was absolutely nothing they could get from the station that was worth salvaging. Meanwhile, I kept looking at the mountains and hills, hoping to god that no one was looking at us through the scope of a sniper rifle. A few minutes later, it become obvious that no one was in this forgotten hell of sand and rust, so like any other smart people, Vito and I decided to break into the building and see what was left inside.

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