Chapter 36: Finally....or not.
Bright stood in front of Franklin on the top layer of the bunker. Yes, you read that right. They've finally been brought up.
Standing to his left were Emily and Elijah. Emily, positioned in the middle, had a wide grin on her face. She was happy beyond measure.
Though she enjoyed her time down there with Bright and Elijah, she still felt trapped. Now, standing on the first layer, her hope of going out to see the outside world was reignited.
"Um, so we are not here for an excursion, right?" Elijah asked no one in particular while he practically tried to shrink himself, disappear into the ground, or just vanish altogether.
"Are we finally going out?" Emily asked Franklin, looking him straight in the eye and clasping his hand tightly between hers. Her excitement could be felt from miles away.
Bright didn't understand why she wanted to go out so badly. He'd asked her a couple of times, but he could tell her answers weren't the whole truth.
The outside world was practically teeming with monsters and other unknown dangers. You wouldn't know when you'd be hit by a nuclear strike.
That was a no-go for Bright. Though, as things stood, he wasn't in control of his own decisions. He didn't want to go out, but what if Mr. Carter told him to? What could he say?
Just at that moment, a door on one side of the room opened, and Emily's mother stepped out.
Emily had finally decided to let him know the names of her parents. Bright had always referred to them as Mr. and Mrs. Carter.
It turned out Mr. Carter's actual name was Stephen Carter, while their mother was called Alice.
Though knowing their names didn't make them best friends. Mr. Carter always had an approachable look when Bright was around, but Bright could tell the man didn't have any good thoughts about him. Maybe Mr. Carter didn't mind Bright and Emily being together, but to Bright, it seemed like the man didn't even care about it.
And knowing that the man had an even uglier job, yeah, Bright didn't want to have anything to do with him.
Then there was Alice Carter. She just hated Bright and didn't even bother to hide it. Bright found her less dangerous than Mr. Carter himself. Though whenever she was around, Bright got the feeling that she wanted to tear him apart.
Especially right now.
Bright watched as Alice gracefully took a seat on the sofa. She gave everyone a look, though her unfriendly gaze lingered on Bright for a few extra seconds. She patted the seat beside her, gesturing for Elijah to sit.
Bright found it odd that she only called Elijah and not Emily, until he saw Alice's gaze lingering on his hand. Bright looked down and saw Emily holding his hand.
He hadn't even realized she was holding his hand. Then he looked toward Franklin, now standing at the edge of the sofa formation.
"Franklin, tell me, why is this twerp holding my daughter's hand?" Alice asked coldly.
"Can't I hold my husband's hand?" Emily retorted, and Bright could see a vein bulging on her mother's forehead. Quite literally.
Franklin, however, just stood there, not bothering to intervene.
Before the drama could escalate, others entered and took their seats.
"Franklin, Brolly, and ... Bright, we've lost touch with the outside. Gear up. You are to make sure the area around the mansion is secure," Mr. Carter commanded.
After he finished speaking, there was a pin-drop silence. Franklin was the first to respond. With a small bow, a stoic face, and an indifferent voice, he said, "It will be done."
Then Brolly, the big tattooed guy, stood up. "Don't worry, boss. The cretins can't resist, hm. They will crumble under my fist." There was so much confidence in his voice that Bright wondered if it was arrogance or real skill.
It seemed the other two had voiced their consent. Bright didn't really have a problem with checking things up there. Though he wanted to continue living such a peaceful yet boring life, "Well, guess there's no free lunch, huh," Bright thought wryly.
He was about to give his consent, but before he could say anything, an angry shout nearly tore his ear off.
Instinctively, he covered his ear with a hand, thinking he'd probably gone deaf. He gave a helpless side-eye to Emily, wanting to know why she had decided to blow off his ear.
But Emily didn't spare him a single glance, oblivious to Bright's thoughts. "You want to send Bright outside?" That was all she had running zigzag in her head. She couldn't comprehend it. Had they planned to throw Bright out? She wasn't thinking straight, and instinctively, as if protecting a treasure from thieves, she clutched his hand tightly, holding it against her chest.