I stared at all the random equipment before me. If I could unhinge my jaw, my chin would be touching the cold floor. 

"What in the hell is this?" I repeated. Rami glanced at me for a moment, and then sighed in annoyance. 

"Must I explain everything to you?"

"Well if you would put me in a half comprehensible situation, then maybe I wouldn't have so many damn questions!"

"Okay, calm down, Ms. Temper-mental. Let me break it down for you:

This started out as an old wine cellar. But, about a hundred years ago, they built an insane asylum above this room. Needless to say, the methods back then were pretty unconventional. So after they tore the hospital down, one of the doctors who had gone a bit loony himself took a bunch of his equipment down into the cellar and kidnapped three of his patients. Eventually, they found him and shut his operation down, but this room had been left forgotten. Surprise! Crazy doctor guy was actually your boy Chase's - I mean Rasheed's- great great great grandfather. So the key was just sitting in his basement for some 80 years. When the war started, Rasheed tracked this cellar down and started using it to smuggle weapons for the UPO. One time I was just passing through these parts and I ran into Rasheed. He said that the UPO were going to send him into hiding in one of the safe houses. He didn't want the space to go to waste, so he gave the key to me. I've kept it safe ever since."

 I stared at Rami, for a good, long moment. The story was so ridiculous that it couldn't possibly be a lie.

"And you are showing this to me because...?"

"I can't stay around here for much longer. I told you, I'm in love with Rex and I have to have her. Period. You just happened to be here and I know Rasheed would trust you."

"So let me get this straight. You're passing around a key for a top secret arsenal, hoping someone else will take responsiblity for it, so you can go play knight in shining armor to some chick who is out to kill us all."

"Yeah, that about sums it up,"

"I can officially say that you are the most selfish human being on the face of this planet. We are in a WAR, Rami. This isn't some stupid video game where you can just press pause and run off with whatever girl you happen to have a 'thing' for right now. Can you not take ANYTHING seriously?"

"You don't think I take this sh** seriously?! I could die any second! I know that! You know that! I want a last shot as love, just like everyone else. I don't want to die alone, okay?! You don't understand how lucky you are! You have your sister, Rasheed, and now Abdul-Karim. I have no one. None of you liked me before this and none of you like me now. I just want to spend whatever days I have left away from all of this bullsh** before I sit and rot in my grave. Is that too much to ask?!"

I stood breathless for a moment, surprised to see Rami finally tell the truth. "Well... I mean... No it shouldn't be too much to ask. But you have to understand that this world isn't the same anymore. We can't have dreams like that. There's no time. We have to fight for what little is left and pray for forgiveness so we can hope for a better end in the afterlife,"

"That's just it. Maybe I don't believe in an afterlife anymore."

Rami threw the key on the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air, and stormed up the ladder, getting as far away from me as he could. I reached down and shoved the key into my breast pocket. Sitting at the edge of one of the terrifying machines, I hugged myself tightly, quickly replaying the events of the past few minutes.

I shivered at the thought of being down here alone, but I wasn't quite ready to swallow my pride and face Rami.

I stood up carefully and started to investigate the room.

The walls were lined with so many different types of guns and explosives from all different eras. There was a box full of machetes, and a basket filled to the brim with an assortment of ammo. 

But that wasn't the most interesting part.

There was a bit of a tunnel that led into the supposed underground crazy hospital.

Just its skeleton was too terrifying to quite fathom. A tattered hospital bed was scattered carelessly in the middle of the room. There was a tray of surgical instruments, but they were something I would never let anywhere near me. An electric chair was shoved into a corner. My blood began to go cold just being in the room, so I rushed back into the arsenal.

All I wanted to do was get out. I got ready to run up the ladder and out but the sound of voices stopped me. Rami was laughing.

"I know, it was much easier than I thought,"

"Oh my god, I could literally kiss you right now," The voice sent a chill through my bones. Rex. Before I could move, I heard the slam of the trap door at the top.

"HEY!" I yelled, running up the last few steps and throwing punches until the splinters dug deep into my knuckles. I heard another laugh and then footsteps walking away. It dawned on me all at once.

Rami had sold me out. He'd gotten everything he wanted. He'd gotten Rex. And she wanted to get rid of me. So he did her dirty work and...

Oh no.

If Rex was here then the Hunters knew. The Hunters knew where EVERYONE was. If I didn't get out of here then everyone was going to die.

I fiddled with my breast pocket and pulled out the key.  I shoved the key into the door every which way, but it wouldn't fit from the inside.

I sat at the edge of the ladder, my mind racing. What to do? What to do? What to-

There was a ruffling noise somewhere near the back of the room.

I froze.  There it was again.

Not only was I trapped in an underground hell hole full of torture equipment and weapons.

But something was in here with me.