Chapter 17
Once Nila is completely unconscious, Adrian grabs his belongings. Making sure to pour the bowl of marshmallows in his black and blue backpack which majority of it is made out of a breathable, water-resistant mesh. The raging storm that he took notice of before is most definitely above them now, he'll have to move quickly if he wants to stay ahead of the mutated Rhinoceros herd. He almost zips up the bag but remembers something and turns away to grab his fake ID from off the dusty shelf in his room. Completely unaware of the little furry creature climbing into his bag to have a feast on some marshmallows.
Adrian turns back around, zips the bag up and make his way over to Nila. With a peaceful smile on his face, he puts his arms underneath the sleeping girl and picks her up bridal style. She looks so at ease when she's asleep. Her eyes are closed shut, showing off her dark, thick eyelashes and she breathes at a normal pace. Good thing he knew how much of the sleeping chemical to give her. With a determined look on his face, he pokes his head around his doorway, looking up and down for the sight of any bystanders and starts to jog towards the bunkers emergency back exit. Which Sanctuary boarded up years ago. Nila's now long, silky hair swaying with every step.
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Riley straightens his back and let's out a huff of air in confidence as he strides towards the room at the end of the hall. Expecting Nila to be in there with Adrian. Though, he couldn't care less if Adrian is indeed in the room, taking Kaitlyn's helpful words into consideration. The withering door at the end of the hall is open a crack and there's no voices coming from inside. The worst scenarios come springing into Riley's mind but he pushes them aside as he grabs the black shiny doorknob and opens the door fully.
Though what he expected to see isn't there. There's no Nila. No Adrian, present anywhere in the room. Full of confusion, Riley scratches his head and jogs down the hallway to Nila's room, two doors down from his.
"Nila? You in there? Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I can't express how stupid that was," he says, waiting for a reply on the other side of the door but Nila's voice doesn't come. "Nila?" he says again, panic evident in his voice.
In distress, he pries open Nila's bedroom door and hurries inside. 'She, she's not here?' he thinks in panic.
Eventually, after searching the whole area of Sanctuary, Riley can't help but fear the worst. First, he knocks on Kaitlyn's door, to help him find their lost friend. Then the couple sprint to the farms where once again, everyone is all set up for a movie night.
"Naite! Friday!" Kaitlyn yells across the fields.
Friday slowly turns around, her black hair done up in a bun, she's wearing a fancy short red dress which she decided to borrow from one of the boxes full of Old Earth objects. She looks quite pretty tonight, with black flats to accompany her dress and a bold red lipstick on her lips. Friday is laughing and chatting away with, of all people, Dimitri. In fact, everyone seems to be a bit dressed up tonight. And Kaitlyn wonders what the occasion is. Meanwhile Naite is drinking with Jeffery.
"We can't find Nila or Adrian. Anywhere!" Riley yells at them and the two exchange glances at each other from across the room. Eventually, they worriedly jog over.
"What do you mean you can't find her?" Naite asks, furrowing his eyebrows.
"She's disappeared, so has Adrian."
Fridays mouth drops open, looking worried. Nila wouldn't just leave, she's smarter than that. With this sudden disspearance, all they can do is think the worst. That Eden has her.
"Oh blimey..." Naite mumbles. "And you've searched down the south end of the bunker, where all the rooms are?" he asks, earning a nod from both Kaitlyn and Riley.
"Okay," he says shakily, wiping a hand down the side of his face. "Kaitlyn, Friday you check on the west side of the bunker. The cafeteria, basement and laundry. Riley, you and me will check the north side." Riley nods in the direction of the hallway that leads to the bunker door.
Sanctuary is a maze of hallways and rooms. Perhaps there's still hope?
Friday takes one of Kaitlyn's hands in her own to lead her into the cafeteria but before she turns around, Kaitlyn shoots a very distressed looking Riley a reassuring smile.
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"God dammit, I..I bet Adrian had something to do with is. I always had an odd feeling about that guy." Riley starts to sweat pinballs.
"It does seem quite suspicious," Admits Naite. "But why?"
As they near the hallway to the north side of the bunker, what sounds like twenty taiko drums playing at once echoes off the walls.
"What in the world is that sound?" Naite scratches his head, scrunching his face up. He jogs towards the hallway and once he turns the corner he stops in his tracks.
Riley notices Naite's muscles tense so in curiosity he steps into the hallway to see a stampede of Rhinos, about fifteen or so meters away from the bunker. Charging full speed.
"Why is the door open? Why is the door open?! WHO OPENED THE BLOODY DOOR!" Naite bellows and bystanders who just so happened to be close enough to hear come running to the rescue whilst others notice the dangerous situation and run back to the farms to get more help.
Meanwhile, Riley stays back. Panic rising until he finds himself hyperventilating.
"Naite! You'll never be able to close it in time!" he warns however, Naite merely ignores him and signals for other men and women gathering in the hallway to help him close it shut.
"Hurry!" he shouts and they work together, putting all their might into it to close the door.
If those Rhinos get inside, there will be no doubt multiple casualities, especially since everyone is unknowingly gathered in the farms not to mention destruction.
The ground starts to shake violently, the vibrations from the stampede sending a tingling sensation up Riley's legs, he pushes himself against the wall in the hallway. He should run, find cover but he wants to make sure Naite gets to safety aswell. Once the Rhinos reach almost nine meters in, the crowd that was once gathering in the hallway to come to Naite's assistance, slowly diminishes.
"Get back!"
"Find cover!"
Yell two men and pull others with them out of harms way before it's too late. The door is almost closed, only two meters away from being fully shut.
"No, come back!" Naite cries out, glancing over his shoulders at those who run. Eventually, he's the only person left trying. And Riley sees the expression on his face. The face of fear.
Whilst against the wall, his leg brushes against something sharp and cold to the touch. Looking down he notices that he's scraped his leg against metal. Hissing in pain, he squats down to see that a lid off a vent has been bent and squashed out of shape. With hope in his eyes, he grips the lid tightly and pries it off its hinges. The vent seems like a descent size. He could probably squeeze himself through.
Meanwhile, Naite realises that he won't be able to close the door without assistance and turns to open his office door. Then he could press the button and it wouldn't take long at all since the door is almost closed. Despite how slow the button is known for taking.
"Naite! You've done all you can d-" Riley starts but he suddenly finds himself yelling his lungs out as a mutated Rhinoceros slams the door open, causing Naite who was in the way to be violently thrown across the hallway besides Riley. His head banging against the wall, letting off a sickening crack. Riley starts to feel ill as he studies the blood splattered on the dark, concrete walls of the hallway. Feeling an urge to go to the unconscious Naite's aid, he forces the feeling down. He's got no time to play doctor when Rhino upon Rhino is filing into Sanctuary.
With wide, chocolate brown eyes, Riley stares through the bars of the ventilation lid in terror, watching as blurs of grey shoot past him.
Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.
The others are smart, they'll be alright. Won't they?
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