Chapter Three: Something New

Song: Something New by Tokio Hotel

The captain was right outside our door.

For safety reasons, the bracelet had an emergency button. Upon pressing it, an alert would be sent immediately, so would my information and my whereabouts. Once we heard the screams, we stopped everything we were doing and ran to the door. I was afraid of opening it. The scream was horrifying, like I could almost feel the pain and the fear of the person. Instead of peeking through the slit of an open door, I pressed the button.

I read the pamphlet, I knew what it could be used for, but never did I think it would make the captain show up at my door.

"Open it," Vincent whispered nervously, eyeing the door.

The knock came again, followed by her voice calling out my name. I swallowed the lump in my throat and twisted the doorknob.

"Lucian Mars," she greeted and marched inside, causing Vincent and I to scatter backwards to not touch her angelic presence. "You pressed the emergency button?" She snooped around for a second before setting her eyes on us.

"Y-yes," I stuttered, sounding stupid.

"Well?"

"Someone was screaming outside," I said.

"Screaming? Did you see anyone?" Her pose changed as she walked back outside to inspect the hall.

"No. I didn't go outside."

"Are you certain you heard it in this web? Did it sound far away?" she asked when I stepped out.

"It sounded pretty close."

There was a man outside with a clipboard. He was tall, dark, and had a thick beard. He wore a faded blue uniform similar to the captain's, only hers was a pale green.

"Zahr, can you sweep the web?" she said.

"Yes, Captain."

As the man vanished from my sight— due to the curved shape of the hall — the captain raised her arm and whispered something into her bracelet.

"Do you know if it was a man or a woman?" she asked.

"Woman."

"Thank you, Lucian. I advise that you stay in your room while we investigate."

"Wait!" I called as she turned to leave. "Please, I need answers."

"What do you need help with?" She had such a beautiful face, a kind face even, but her emotions and her personality were opposite, they were . . . cold. I didn't feel any kindness from her.

"My parents died on our way to this place," I began, keeping my cool as her empty eyes bored into mine. "They died trying to get me to safety, to this place, but they never once mentioned it."

"Parents were told not to tell their children about this place," she said. "We couldn't risk people knowing about it. Lucian, people didn't contact us to be a part of this, we contacted them."

"But what happened out there? A nuclear attack? How did you guys know it was going to happen? And why? Why were we attacked?"

"I understand you're upset, but I guarantee you, all is well in The Widow's Web."

"Don't give me that bullshit line!" I fumed. "My parents died. Do I have to repeat it again? They told me NOTHING. I'm here because my father's last words were to run to this place. So please, spare me the bullshit and tell me what's going on."

I felt Vincent's hand brush my spine reassuringly. It helped a little. I felt like my heart was going to explode and I couldn't take another day of darkness. I wanted the truth. I needed it.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said and walked off.

Vincent pulled me back inside and shut the door. "Dude, I know you're angry, but let's not test her, okay?"

"Un-fucking-believable!" I said, kicking the duffel bag sticking out from under the bed. "She just left! Just like that! So because I'm not a parent it means I don't get to be treated like a human being? I'm not a fucking kid. I deserve to know what's going on!"

"I know." His hand reached for me but I smacked it away and regretted it as soon as I did it. He sat back on his bed and lowered his head.

"Sorry."

The gesture was confusing to me. He changed his behavior as soon as our lips separated. We had only known each other two days. Did he like me or something? Was that even possible? I didn't want to hurt him but I also didn't want to push him away and lose my first friend. Were we even friends?

The kiss . . . as angry as I was, I couldn't get it outta my head. It was magical. It gave me feelings I'd never experienced before. Kissing guys wasn't on the list of things I did frequently, but it happened a few times before, mostly as a joke or a dare, but I never truly explored my bisexuality beyond kissing. I'd only ever been in relationships with girls. I never had the opportunity of being with a guy. I always traveled a lot with my parents, was home-schooled most of my life, and it was honestly rare for me to meet a gay person. The kiss with Hunter was nice, it left my lips tingly, but I did it to make Aura feel a certain type of way, to mess with her. With Vincent, it was like . . . it was meant to happen.

"I'm sorry," I apologized again when he went quiet.

"It's okay."

"I know people are unique with how they feel, but unique means special, and that means taking time to figure out how a person works. We have all the time in the world."

"What?" Vincent said, blinking.

"It means I think you're cool, I like you. I think you're cute, and having a special someone down here could save me from going insane, but if you're expecting me to fall in love with you—"

"No, I get it.'

"Stop."

He looked up at me as I stood in front of him. "Stop what?"

"I'm not saying it can't happen, I'm saying it's never happened before. I've never been in love with anyone. I don't want you to be sad, but I don't want you to be hopeful in case . . ."

"I'm not expecting anything, Lucian."

"Like I said." I sat on his bed for the first time and laid my hand on his knee. "We have all the time in the world."

"Do we?"

I sighed, looking straight ahead. "Think about it. We're down here while the world burns. We merely have a chance out there, and that's if only the United States was hit. We're going to be here a long time, until the earth heals. It's starting to make sense why things around here are weird. We have to survive. We could be the only ones."

"I think you're cute too, by the way," Vincent said, and I could hear the shy boy in his voice.

I raised a teasing brow at him. "Do you now?"

"I was surprised when you walked up to me and told me you were going to take me with you. Isn't it sick? Even when bad things are happening, your heart can still beat for a cute boy."

"We're weak beings."

"Maybe it's just me. I'm weak, especially when your hand is on my knee, or my crotch."

I pulled my hand back. "Sorry about that, I got carried away."

"I didn't say I didn't like it."

I laughed like an idiot. "Okay, I'll put my hand back then."

"You actually think I'm cute?"

"A hundred and twenty percent."

"Why?"

"If you want me to compliment you, all you have to do is ask," I said, smirking.

"Compliment me."

I scooted closer to him until my entire right side was pressed up against him. I gazed into his eyes, feeling my blood pressure rise as the color locked me in.

"I think you're fucking hot," I said, my voice low and deep. "Hotter than anyone in here."

"Seriously?"

"I've checked you out while you weren't looking. I've seen you shirtless. I've seen . . . the bulge."

"I noticed," he muttered.

"Hey, come on! You walked out with just a towel on and expect me not to look?"

He chuckled. "I was hoping you would, actually."

"So you're the real tease."

"Better than straight up asking if you were gay."

"Yeah, well, I can tease too." I got up, a smug on my face as I unzipped my jacket and let it fall on the floor. He'd never seen me shirtless, and to be honest I wasn't even sure if he'd like my body. I was lean, did some swimming and track in high school, and that was the extent of my physique.

"What are you doing? Are you about to strip?"

"Dunno, am I?" I dug my fingers under my shirt and pulled it up over my head, slowly. I bit my lips and rubbed my hand over my chest.

"You are not going to," he said in disbelief.

"Sounds like a challenge." My hand dipped into the inside of my pants, but not inside the briefs, somehow I missed.

"Okay, I get it, you're clearly so sexy," he said sarcastically.

I grabbed his chin with my other hand and forced him to look up at me and not my bare chest. "I don't like your tone, mister."

He pressed his lips together to not let out a laugh. I couldn't help doing the same. I was trying too hard.

"If you're not going to finish the performance, you might as well stop now, because I'm not going to give you a single reaction," he said.

I froze suddenly as I heard what sounded like heavy chains rattling across the ground. I looked at the door as it grew louder — and closer. The clanking was obnoxious, but at the same time haunting as if a wretched prisoner was marching to the gallows.

"What is going on out there?" I wondered as I stepped closer to the door. I was curious and childishly reckless: I opened the door with the captain's face in mind, as if opening the door was some payback and hopefully disturbed whatever the hell they were doing, but I was met with a vacant hall and a growing sense of vulnerability, as if I was being watched, more like I was being observed. It made my stomach drop and the nape of my neck bristle

"What are you doing? Come back and finish the strip show," Vincent said.

"Wait, what?" I closed the door again and went back to him. "You didn't hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"The chains? They were loud, there's no way you didn't hear them."

He got up, concern written all over his face. He checked out the hall, did a once over, and shook his head. "I don't hear or see anything."

"What the fuck? I swear I heard something."

"I believe you."

"That was so weird . . ." I needed to sit down after that. Was I hearing things or did Vincent really not hear it?

"We're deep underground, we're bound to experience some weird shit," Vincent said.

"Yeah, maybe."

"You should get some sleep, it's late."

I grabbed his hand as he walked away. "Don't leave."

"I'm not going anywhere."

☢

"Lucian?"

As the sound of Vincent's voice called to me, I forced my eyes to open. Sleepy, I smiled back as he crouched down to meet me at eye level.

"Hey," I said, my voice raspy and half my face sunken into the pillow.

"I'm gonna go and see if I can find my friend, okay?"

"Yeah." At the mention of his friend, I rose up and yawned, still drowsy and wishing I could stay in my dreams where everything was normal.

"Don't worry about leaving the room, I'll look for you if you're not here when I come back. And we missed breakfast."

I grabbed him by his shirt and kissed his lips, surprising us both. "Mmm, don't be too long, I never got to finish my strip tease."

"No promises."

When he was gone, I undressed and picked out a new set of clothes to wear for the day. I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth violently and got into the shower, also scrubbing my body violently. All of the sudden I cared how I looked to others, mostly with one person in mind. I wanted my mouth extremely fresh and my skin smelling like heaven.

I left my room feeling fresh and new and with a plan in mind. I wanted to explore Web 6 in our section. I headed the opposite way of the main hall and kept vigilant. I walked past a few strangers and they didn't even acknowledge my existence. Everyone was casual and normal, so far. I examined the ground and saw no marks of any kind, none that would suggest something heavy had been dragged through here.

I ended up on the other side of my section. I thought about entering section 7, but that wouldn't answer why I heard what I did last night. It sounded like it had been right outside our door. However, there was nobody there. But I felt something. I know I did.

"Hi, Lucian!"

I spotted Calista walking from section 7. She was back with her mustard hair and outlandish uniform. I was glad to know she was okay and wasn't kicked out of the bunker from a cannon like I had imagined.

"Hey, Calista."

"It's so nice to see you again. What have you been up to?"

"Can I ask you some questions?" I said, remembering that she worked here, she must know something.

"Sure!"

"The attack . . ."

Her smile slowly faded. "Y-Yeah? What do you want to know?"

"What was it? Who attacked us?"

"I-I'm not really supposed to talk about it."

"You can trust me, I won't tell anyone."

She pulled me to the back of the main hall, close to the door that led to an access hall, where you came in from. Not a single person could hear us back here, unless there were cameras and those cameras had microphones.

"We're not supposed to talk about it," she said, the jolly persona disappearing and the real Calista coming out. "My job — well, one of my jobs — as an attendant is to make sure that everyone feels safe. If people start talking, they start panicking, and we lose control."

"Please, Calista. My parents died in the helicopter. You saw us coming, you waited for us."

She sighed. "It was us."

"What?"

"We attacked ourselves."

"What does that mean? You guys?"

"No, not us in the bunker, our country. United States attacked itself."

"But why?"

She shook her head. "That's all I can tell you about the attack. Multiple missiles were launched and hit all across the states."

"Are we ever going to get out of here?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

"So it's just us then?"

"No, that would be weird. There are rumors of many attacks around the globe."

"What the fuck? Why?"

"I have to go, Lucian. I already got in trouble with Captain Saki and I don't want to get on her bad side."

"Captain Saki?"

"Yes, she's the Chief's daughter."

"Is he the one in charge of this place?"

"Yes, but she's like the mascot of the bunker."

"You can trust me, okay?"

She nodded, her eyes glistening. "Thank you."

I went back to my section after Calista took off. There was something off with the way she was acting. I understood that she had an important role here, but what was with the secrecy? Why would her talking to me get her in trouble with the captain? I deserved to know what was going on in the world, especially after my parents paid for a spot here and died for it.

Also, if Saki was the captain of the web, did that make her the black widow?

Vincent wasn't outside waiting when I returned to our room. Despite knowing he didn't own a bracelet, I entered somehow expecting to see him. I spent some time in the room until it was lunch time for my section. They finally changed the schedules for everyone and made it by sections instead of webs, so now more people could eat sooner and it wasn't based on who was richer. The schedule was random, so it wouldn't just go from section 1 to section 10, otherwise the problem would persist and section 1 would have an advantage.

Yesterday, the center had been a desert. This time around, I walked into a lively cafeteria full of people of all ages and backgrounds. It was honestly like being in a food court at the mall. Everywhere I glanced the tables were full, I wasn't sure where I'd sit until I saw familiar faces. I quickly grabbed my food from the lunch menu and promptly made my way over to the table occupied by Aura and the group from the fireplace.

"Ugh!" Upon seeing me, Aura got up and stormed off.

"What did I do?" I said, watching her leave the center.

"Don't worry, she's not mad at you, she's mad at Hunter," said the androgynous person from last night.

I looked over a Hunter who was completely detached from the conversation, and was too busy reading the book in his hands. The others didn't seem to care either.

"I'm Esper, by the way," they said, reaching out with their hand.

"Lucian," I replied, accepting the handshake.

"Cute name."

"Cute outfit," I replied, smirking as they blushed. They were wearing a flowy black dress, a gold scarf around their neck, and a pair of combat boots. It all flowed nicely with their black wavy hair and blonde streaks.

"Oh my, you're charming. Now I understand why she's mad."

I sat down and placed my tray on the table. "Why is she mad?"

"She's scared of ending up alone and not having an end-of-the-world-boyfriend," Hunter said as he turned a page.

"What does that have to do with me?"

"Aura and Hunter have known each other since they were kids," Esper explained. "Hunter being good looking and bisexual, he managed to steal a lot of the guys Aura liked. Now she thinks he's gonna take you."

There was no way we were in a bunker right now. This was high school all over again.

"Don't I get a say in this?" I said.

"Do you even like guys?" Esper asked.

This made Hunter look up from his book. I also noticed his brother stopped making out with his girl for once.

"Uh." Suddenly I was nervous as they stared, waiting. "I mostly like girls, but I like guys too."

"Nice," Hunter said.

"If you like chicks with dicks, you and Esper will get along," Lindsay said, laughing to herself.

I truly saw it in slow motion. Esper got up, swung their hand so hard that when their nails came into contact with Lindsay's skin, they left bloody scratch marks.

"Try me, bitch!" Esper spat, grabbed their things and walked away, leaving Lindsay dazed.

"Did she really just do that?" Lindsay asked, holding her face where she bled.

"You're kinda dumb," Hunter said.

"I don't fucking deserve this!" Lindsay left the table, crying hysterically.

"Anyway," Hunter said, going back to his book. "Can you guys breathe for one minute instead of trying to devour each other? People are eating. Kids are watching. And I'm about to throw up."

"Jealous, brother?"

"Jealous of what? You met her a day ago, calm down."

"Killian, can we please go back to bed?" the girl begged, pouting her pretty pink lips.

"Go ahead without me, babe. I'll catch up in a minute."

"You're twins, I'm guessing?" I asked when they were both looking at me. It was kinda creepy, not gonna lie, but I wasn't planning on saying it out loud.

"Yep," Killian said, popping the P.

"Is Esper gonna bring us trouble?" Hunter asked his brother.

"I don't think so."

"Talk to her."

"I will."

Hunter laid the book down as his brother left.

"Sorry about Aura," he said.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, but I'm not looking for a relationship, with any gender."

He smiled. "I'm not either."

"Okay, good," I said, relieved. I opened the lid covering my food and stared at the mysterious meat in disgust. There had only been one option on the menu. I pushed the tray away.

"But," Hunter whispered, leaning forward so that only I'd be able to hear him, "if you want to do more than just kissing, you can always just hit me up."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said as he got up.

"Let me see your bracelet," he said. I raised my arm and he did the same thing Aura had done to give me access to her web. "I live in Section 5, Web 1, room 9. Come over anytime you want."

"Okay."

Hunter was good looking, but he wasn't really my type. The only experience I had with guys was through porn, so really, it was nonexistent. I liked pretty guys. I liked when their skin was soft and hairless, when their bodies were lean and not horribly muscular, and most importantly, submissive. Hunter was too . . . athletic. I feel like he'd dominate me too much and push me out of my comfort zone. I could fool around, but nothing else would happen, unfortunately for him.

Sighing, I forced myself to try the food. It wasn't vulgar, but it wasn't appetizing. I finished what I could and left the cafeteria with mostly an empty stomach, hoping dinner was better.

I walked through the main hall with my head tilted down and my hands stuffed inside the pockets of my jacket. I didn't notice the shadow limping towards me until we were a few feet apart and my eyes went straight up. It was Vincent and he was bloody.

"Vincent?" I said.

He staggered, his legs giving out and his body collapsing. I ran as fast as I could and pulled him up, inspecting his wounds. His face was badly bruised; lip was split and bleeding, his face had red and purple marks all over, his nose had to be broken by the amount of blood coming out of his nostrils. The rest of him seemed fine, but I couldn't be sure.

"HELP!" I screamed as he went unconscious.

No one came, even after my scream ripped through my throat like a roar. I remembered about the bracelet and quickly tapped the emergency button a couple of times. An attendant showed up not even ten seconds after I had used the button.

"Oh!" she gasped when she saw Vincent.

"It took you ten seconds to show up but you couldn't respond to my screaming?" I said furiously.

"I apologize for not getting here sooner," she said as she kneeled beside Vincent and checked him. "The emergency button reaches out to the nearest responder. I was just on my way to the center when I heard your scream and received your signal. What happened?"

If that was true, wouldn't that mean the captain was the closest person to me when I pressed the emergency button? What was she doing in Web 6 when I heard the mysterious woman scream?

"I don't know. I was just walking back to my room when I spotted him limping towards me."

"Can you carry him for me?" she said quickly, getting up and dusting her uniform with her hands.

"Yeah." I wasted no time and lifted him up using all my strength. We were around the same height, same body type, same weight, making it simple carrying him. And even if I couldn't, I would have somehow dug up the strength to do it, because I cared about him.

The attendant lead me around the base of the center until we found a secret door. All she did was walk up to it and it opened, revealing an elevator inside. Once we entered, it automatically took us to the next floor without her touching anything. We exited the elevator and entered an infirmary.

"What happened?" a woman in a lab coat said as she approached us.

"We don't know," the attendant said. "Can you help him, doctor?"

"Put him on the bed over there," the doctor said, pointing at the green curtains. The attendant went over and pulled the curtains apart and waved at me to bring Vincent in. "Did he say anything to you?"

"No," I responded.

"I'm gonna need you both to wait outside the infirmary," the doctor ordered.

"I'm not leaving him," I protested.

"Please, let her do her job," the attendant said, pulling me away. "He's in good hands, I promise you."

I was moved back down and wasn't allowed to go back in. The attendant never left my side, even after hours passed — whether that was because she feared that I'd try to go back inside or just didn't want me to be alone was up for debate. Her presence didn't help. She did nothing but stand there the entire time without moving a muscle.

I had a lot of time to contemplate what had happened. Who would do that to to Vincent? He was the most innocent boy that lived in this stupid bunker. He didn't come from a rich and arrogant family that could buy immunity from a nuclear attack. He never took anyone's spot, never bothered or even looked at anyone, and I was the one taking care of him. It was my choice to take him under my wing and provide him what he couldn't provide for himself. The system in this place was completely against his existence. But I was responsible for him.

Did he find his friend? Did his friend tell anyone about him? And were those people assholes who didn't believe Vincent had a right to be here? I mean, there was obviously no other reason why someone would do this to him.

As time went on, my heart grew increasingly anxious. How could it take this long to check someone? He didn't need an operation.

"How long have you two been together?" the attendant asked, breaking the silence.

"We're not together."

"Really?"

"Why do you say that?"

She smiled, as if daydreaming about the cute boy from her dreams. "The way you were looking at him. You were scared of losing him."

"I've only known him for two days," I said.

"I know love when I see it," she said, her smile widening.

"That's a bold statement," I muttered. "Considering I know nothing about him."

"Love works in mysterious ways. It's blind, it's pure, and it's fragile."

"Okay, how about you go and see how the love of my life is doing?" I said, playing along with her delusion.

"The doctor will be down in a minute."

"How do you know that? You've literally been standing there for hours."

"Oh, there she is."

I jumped up when the quiet elevator opened and the doctor walked out. She dismissed the attendant and turned to me, a worried expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"You are his guardian, correct?" she spoke softly.

"Yes. Is he okay?"

"The blood on him, it's not his."

I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean it's not his? Blood was coming out of his nose."

"His nose isn't broken. There are bruises on his face and he has a black eye, but besides that he's perfectly fine."

"How is that possible? And why did it take you so long to tell me this?"

"I couldn't figure out why he was comatose. While running blood tests, I got the idea to test the blood on him. Something about it didn't look normal, and I was right."

"What are you saying? That he did that to himself? That he put someone else's blood on his face?"

The doctor shrugged. "Everything I did told me that he was fine."

"Clearly he wasn't, or were your eyes not open when we brought him in?"

She blinked, not amused by my tone. "He's awake now," she said. "Take him back to your room and make sure he gets plenty of rest. And because it was an attack, self-inflicted or not, I have to report it back to the Chief."

"Should I expect a certain redhead at my door?"

"Possibly."

She went back up and brought back Vincent in a wheelchair. He looked even worse! How did she think he'd do this to himself? It looked like his bruises finally decided to stain his face with purple and brown colors. His eyes were miserable.

"Hey, Vin," I said. "How are you feeling."

"Peachy," he said, his voice croaky.

"I'll take it from here," I told the doctor. She stepped back and gave me control of the wheelchair. "Where do you want to go?"

"Home," he said in the most depressing way possible.

"Okay, our version of home will have to do." I pushed the wheelchair and rolled him back into the main hall and continued till we were in Web 6 and in front of our room. I walked around him to open the door with my bracelet and when I turned back to push him inside, he was standing up. "Oh, fuck! Shit! You scared me, Jesus Christ!"

His walk was stiff and clumsy, every step long and lumbering. He refused any help from me so I waited until he was sitting on his bed to guide the wheelchair inside and park it in a corner where it wouldn't disturb us.

I went back to close the door and sat across from him on my bed. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, talk to me."

"I don't want to talk about it. Please drop it."

"I'll listen when you want to talk, okay?" He was too ill to even properly open his eyes. Fuck the doctor. I could take care of him in better ways she could. I trusted nothing in this bunker. "Can I sit next to you?"

He breathed, not in an annoyed way — he couldn't help that it was loud. "Sure."

I moved next to him, feeling instantly better being by his side. I hope he shared the same feeling with me. I hope I didn't make him feel worse. He seemed like the type of guy who wanted to be alone in awkward situations.

"Can I touch your forehead? I just want to check for a fever."

"Do whatever you want," he said in a monotone voice.

I felt his forehead with my hand. He wasn't warm, he was cold, like freezing cold. As I pulled my hand back, something in the air caught my full attention as it fell. I held my hand out and watched it land on my fingertips. It was hair.

Vincent tilted his head, examining the blond hairs as I held them up between us.

With a shaky hand, he reached up and grabbed a chunk of his hair and pulled. Hair came off easily between his fingers. Frightened, Vincent hurled the pieces into the air and crawled away from me.

"What's happening to me?"

____________

[Author's Message]: OMG. You guys are the nicest readers EVER. Not a single bad comment has been left on this story so far and that makes me so emotional because this story stressed the hell out of me. I didn't think anyone would like it but you're all so kind and enjoying it so much. I could scream but it's late and I don't want to wake my cat up. There are so many things I want to say but I don't want to spoil, so must of what I have to say will be left for the end. Only three more chapters left! Thank you guys for commenting and voting, it really makes me so happy. What are you guys thinking so far? :)