223 Exploring

This wooden building was rather grandiose in build and with three stories tall not counting a possible attack. At the very top of the building, there was what appeared to be a radio tower that extended just over the canopy of the dense forest on either sides at the top of the ravine. The tower itself was rusty with the metal turning a color of brown due to oxidization, causing me to doubt whether or not it would still actually function.

"What the hell is this place?" Zaksus muttered as we approached the front entrance of the building, finally escaping the world of snow as the veranda of the building prevented any snow from falling on the ground underneath its protective covers.

I am actually quite surprised that this place did not crumble based on the material that it was built from. On a mountain where the weather is so unpredictable, it's rather hard to believe that a wooden building would hold up for so long. I suppose there must be interior supports of some kind that is holding up the place, concealed out of view.

"We'll head inside," Mura decided. "We're not going anywhere else today." She looked out and at the dusk sky outside. "And I assume we're all a bit too tired to continue."

"Right," Luna nodded her head.

"Yeah," Noah sighed in agreement.

All of our faces appeared rather pale and red, a consequence of the weakness we experienced from a lack of consumption of food and experiencing the piercing cold of the world outside. Our lips were chapped due to the dried air, and all in all, our skin felt as if they were constantly being irritated.

We entered the run-down building, leaving behind the cold world of the outdoors, stepping foot into the vestibule of the interior of the grandiose structure. The ground was of an alternating tile pattern that seemed to be rather consumed by time. And as for the walls, the white paint had mostly peeled off, exposing the ugly and bare surface underneath. However, the most surprising of all, there was a light on, flickering about from the light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

"Why is there light?" Zaksus frowned and said in a frightened manner. "Of all places, why is there light here?"

"I don't know," Loyd shook his head and sighed in a frustrated and cautious manner.

Everyone seemed rather tense by the presence of the illumination, which is understandable. Anyone would be creeped out to discover a light shining in a building that seemed as if no one has lived in for over fifty years. However, that happened right in front of us. We saw it.

Based on what I know about fuel and electricity, there must be a Mana Resonance vein underneath this establishment that is providing a flow of Mana to the generators in the generator room located who-knows-where. The Mana trickling in must be what is keeping the electricity running. But then, there is the weird part. If the light bulbs are constantly running, one day they will burn out. If this light is still on after fifty years, that only means one thing: someone had changed it.

"Maybe there's a Mana Resonance vein nearby?" Luna suggested.

"That would explain it," Zaksus smiled and laughed nervously, trying to rid himself of his anxiety and fear.

We then made our way past the vestibule and officially entered the interiors of the building. Here, there was some sort of front-desk looking area. There were numerous rusty filing cabinets behind the counter covered with cobwebs. On the counter, there were what is remaining of a clipboard as well as yellowed papers and a dried out ink pen. On either sides of us were long dark hallways extending in both directions with only the occasional light on in the hallways, providing a slim circle of light in the darkness.

"What's this?" Irina said out loud with a surprised and yet composed voice.

We all immediately looked over at her. The others were probably still tense from the fear that the notion that something unnatural might be happening, so they were extra cautious. That explained why they were able to immediately focus their attention on the stimulus that Irina's voice provided.

Irina appeared to have stepped on something, a dark red fabric that moved about when she moved her foot. Muria, who was standing next to her, knelt down and held up the fabric by its edge so as to not get her hands dirty. She quickly glanced at it, and for some reason, her countenance suddenly stiffened, almost as if in a mysterious uneasiness or fear.

"What is it?" Mura asked her younger sister.

"A flag," Muria muttered. Her hands that was holding up the ripped and battered flag trembled somewhat as she turned it around to show us. She seemed to be disturbed by whatever it was.

"Is that...a Jorzan flag?" Luna asked.

"It is," Alvelyn responded, walking over to Muria and taking the flag from her. Muria gave up the flag rather willingly, almost as if she was glad that she no longer had to hold onto it.

"It looks pretty old," Zaksus commented.

"That's cause it is pretty old," Noah quickly added in.

"Could this building..." Alvelyn said out loud. "Could this building be a Jorzan establishment built during the Great War when they occupied our country?"

"It seems like it." Mura rubbed her hands together to generate some heat. "The age of the building seems to match the time period."

"So that means this place is at least seventy years old," Loyd muttered to himself as he placed a hand on his chin. He was tracing the latest possible build date of this building to just before the Jorzan defeat in the Great War and the re-establishment of the Vilheim Empire.

"Has this place not been discovered?" Zaksus asked.

"Sure seems like it," Erith commented. "Otherwise this place would've been torn down or turned into a museum. Not left to rot like this."

"You guys think there might be some food here?" Noah asked.

"What?" Erith looked over at him with a look of disgust and doubt on her face. "Are you going to eat seventy year old food?"

"Maybe the cans will still be good," Zaksus answered for Noah. "At least that's better than nothing."

"We'll have to look around," Mura said. "Maybe we'll even be able to find some way to heat up our bodies."

"If the lights are able to be working," Irina deduced, "then there should also be a way to create heat somewhere, somehow."

"Or blankets would work as well," Muria suggested.

"We'll have to look around," Loyd nodded.

"But where?" Noah asked as he looked to both sides of the large hallway.

"We'll have to try our luck," Alvelyn said as she closed her eyes and sighed. After pausing for a brief moment to regather her train of thought and recover from the fatigue and weakness felt due to hunger, she opened her eyes. "We shouldn't split up. We don't know the layout of the place and it is likely that we'll become lost."

"Yeah," I nodded, agreeing to her. She must've noticed as well the exact details of our situation and is also actively doing what I am trying to accomplish. "Staying together is safer."

"Then which way will we go?" Zaksus asked.

"Left," Alvelyn said with a stern voice.

"May I ask your reasoning?" Noah took a step over and asked with a bitter smile on his face.

"Just because," Alvelyn shook her head and said.

"There's really no point in arguing about which direction," Loyd immediately stepped in to support Alvelyn's decision. "We know nothing about the layout, so choosing both sides are the same for us."

"Loyd's right," Mura nodded in agreement. "Then we'll go left and look for either a cafeteria or a storeroom."

"Zaksus," I said to him before we started walking. "You take the rear."

"Again?" he whined. "Fine..."

After the decision was made to go left, we went left. I believe this wasn't a decision made with any deeper consideration involved, as there is no real possible way for Alvelyn and I to even anticipate anything that might be waiting for us. It's just somewhere that she just so happened to decide that we go. It's better than sitting around and wasting time deciding which way to go.

The walk down the hallway left was rather...frightening. The hallway was barely illuminated as most of the light bulbs did not work, making it so that the only ones that did work were scattered. However, what is weird is the distance between the ones that worked and the ones that didn't. They were all evenly spaced out, almost as if someone had intended it to be so. There is no way that the light bulbs actually failed in this pattern. I refuse to believe it did.

"How far do we have to walk for?" Noah complained. "I'm so tired..."

"We're all tired too," Luna said, trying to comfort him.

"We just have to keep going," Loyd muttered. "Until we find somewhere we can warm ourselves up."

"Zaksus," Noah called out. "How're you doing back there?"

"It's scary," Zaksus responded. "I keep looking over my shoulders and all I see is darkness around me. The only light that I see is just so far behind us..."

"Keep your voices down," Alvelyn shushed them.

"Why?" Noah asked.

"I suppose it's to conserve energy?" Irina asked.

"That and something else," Alvelyn nodded and said. Her countenance appeared rather sluggish, somewhat more so than the others. She stopped talking momentarily to gather her breath and come up with an excuse other than revealing to them the truth before continuing again. "The building might collapse if we speak to loud."

"The vibrations," Irina seemed to immediately understand what Alvelyn was talking about. "I understand," Irina then whispered in a hushed voice.

I glanced away from them and kept my eyes focused forward on the back of Loyd's head as he illuminated the path ahead of us with the flashlight. With the illumination the light provided, him, Mura, and Muria looked at the door label in search of someplace that resembled a cafeteria or a possible storage room. I am sure we will eventually find what we are looking for and be able to rest for the night. However, what I am worried about was the occasional footsteps that I heard that was not in sync with those of ours.