28 What?

I lean in to get a better look but if I had to be honest, I can't tell what I'm looking at. Titus looks over to Thane, giving him a hand signal before nodding. Thane nods and does the same to Conner before the two walk off.

I nervously bite my lip as I watch them walk down the hall on the screens. Cruz and Troy keep watch in the room as Titus and I intently watch the screens. When they make it to the room, they slowly open the door and quickly clear the room before yelling out "Clear!"

Titus turns to Cruz and says "Your hawk. Valen, you're on me." I follow after Titus as Cruz lowers his gun and switches on the safety. He walks up to the screens as Troy keeps watch. I silently follow behind Titus but when we get to the room, I can't help but want to run back.

Stuff was everywhere and if I'm not mistaken, there's dried blood all over the floor and walls. I swallow hard as I slowly walk in behind Titus. Titus looks around the room with sharp eyes but when he comes to a stop in front of a machine, he curses and says "What the hell were they doing?"

What does he mean by that? Does he not know what this is!? I look up to Thane with confusion and fear but Thane's busy looking at the machine as well. I slowly ease my way closer and eye the machine in question but I have no idea what the thing is.

I frown a little as I mumble "Why is it... round?" Titus sighs as he says "That's a good question. Thane, you and Valen stay here. I need to contact the City." He walks out with Conner, leaving Thane and I alone in the creepy blood-filled room.

Thane keeps watch as he looks around the room for clues but I can't take my eyes off the machine. They built what looks like a large ring... why? I look to the computers next to it but it's off and probably locked.

When I walk around to the front of it, something on the ground catches my eyes. They look like bloody handprints...

I follow the trail, all the way back to the ring on the machine with fear. "It looks like someone was dragged to the machine..." I mumble out with wide eyes. Thane looks over with a frown before lifting his hand and pushing me further away from the machine.

We both look at the large ring machine with a bad feeling. "As Titus said earlier... what the hell were they doing?" Suddenly, an alarm sounds as flashing red lights go off! Thane quickly grabs my vest and drags me out of the room before saying "Run!"

Run!? Why are we suddenly running!? Even though I'm confused, he doesn't have to tell me twice! I'm hauling ass down the hall and when I get back to the control room, Titus yells "Outside, now!" We make the sharp turn and quickly run back out the way we just came.

When I see the others, I come to a stop and look back to the building with fear and confusion before asking "What the hell was that!?" I gasp for air as Titus says "A radioactive spike. That building should be clear of all radiation but the scanners suddenly picked up a large spike."

Radiation!? Titus curses as he walks back over to the truck and pulls out the radio. After talking with someone, he comes back and says "Tonight, we camp out here. There isn't a soul around for another ten miles so we should have nothing to worry about."

He reaches up and rubs the back of his neck as he says "Tomorrow, we'll suit up properly and figure out what the hell happened down there." Great... just great. When Thane looks over to me, he does a double-take and pulls out a sucker.

He hands it to me and says "Eat it, you're looking pale." I take the sucker with shaky hands and unwrap it before popping it in my mouth. The others start discussing what they discovered as I try to calm my racing heart.

Thane nods his head at me and says "You can walk around, just stay close and where I can see you." I nod my head and look around us. The area around the building had clearly been cleared out so it was open and clean.

I look up and see that we're losing daylight so I decide to scout out my spot to use the bathroom. Better to do that now while I can see... As I walk over to the tall bushes, I try to find the best spot without walking away too far but when I hear the bushes next to me move, I can't help but freeze.

I look at the bush for several seconds before looking back over to the group. They were still talking so when I hear it move again, I quickly look back to the bush. It doesn't sound big... I slowly move closer before slightly nudging the bush with my boot.

Nothing... maybe it was a bunny or another small animal. When I hear a soft "chee chee" noise, I can't help but move closer. Maybe it's a baby animal or maybe a small animal that's been hurt. I slowly crouch down and pick up a long stick.

I gently poke the bush but nothing happens. I inch a little closer and use the stick to slightly push the bush to the side while I use my other hand to push the other side back. Suddenly, something comes flying straight at me and hits me straight in the face!!