Part 2
In the center of an island, surrounded by a gaseous ocean, the rusted hatch of a bunker opened with a metallic hiss. From inside emerged two people wearing helmets, each bearing a different number: 97 and 11.
With both of them outside, Father turned back to the hatch and closed it by spinning its wheel, producing a sharp metallic click.
— Clack —
"How can so much dust collect inside a closed place?" Seven, beside him, annoyed by the dust that had settled on his clothes, tried to brush it off.
I barely touched anything, so why is there so much? Taking advantage of the breeze that blew across that deserted concrete island, he began removing what had stuck to his body.
Meanwhile, still crouched, Father took off his backpack and began searching for something inside it. "That's normal. In closed places like this thick layers build up, but the parts we passed through are still clean compared with the other areas of the bunker."
Skeptical, Seven remembered the interior of the place. I can't imagine what those other places must be like…
Finishing cleaning himself off, he looked up at the sky and, surprised by the position of the sun, murmured:
"That was fast…"
It lasted around two and a half hours… but it didn't feel like only that… From the sun he could tell that not much time had passed, since its position hadn't changed much since the last time he had seen it.
Father, who had heard him, commented:
"Your training really was quick. I expected it to take a little longer, but you learned easily, hitting the targets with great precision after only a few adjustments." Turning to him, he handed over the end of a rope.
Seven, pleased by his father's praise, spoke with a smile. "It was more fun than I expected, but I wish I could have fired a few more times before we went back…"
"Yes, but there was no need. Besides having learned quickly, we can't waste ammunition irresponsibly."
Turning, they began to walk, with Father leading along the same path by which they had arrived.
Yes… even after reconditioning some of them, we still need to buy ammunition… and if I'm not mistaken it's pretty expensive in the citadel…
"Father, this year, if I stay, will we act the same way? Doing some tasks around the city?"
"Yes, maybe there will be a few small things left to do."
"In that case, since I have a firearm for defense, will we be able to go out sometime? To spend the day away from home?"
In silence, Father thought for a moment.
"Depending on how things are, you'll be able to go out more often to nearby places, like the greenhouse, but nothing beyond that, because I'm still monitoring the changes in the city…"
Hearing that, Seven smiled. Maybe waiting for Father this year won't be so bad after all… If I stay I can go out with my siblings to have a little fun… I'm sure everyone will love it— But, remembering something, his smile faded. —or almost everyone…
"Father."
"Yes."
"This year, if we go out, since we'll be going to places near home, like the greenhouse, can we take Yuliya with us?… It's just that her health has improved a lot, and it seems like that will continue, so… I think leaving her alone at home must be a little boring for her…"
From what he had been noticing, Yuliya, who was supposed to be sleeping when they arrived home because of her health, now always waited for them, just as she had the night before.
"Besides, maybe going out a little might even improve her health!"
"…Yuliya won't be able to go out, for safety, because I won't be here if something happens to her…"
"I understand…" Lowering his gaze, Seven sighed.
"…However, if her health stays as it is, maybe we can go out a few times in the coming days before my trip, all of us together."
With an initially surprised expression, Seven soon thanked him: "Thank you, Father!"
Continuing on their way, they stopped just before the gas, where, in a similar fashion, there was a carefully piled mound of stones to withstand the strong winds that blew in that place.
Beside it, taking the compass, Father checked it again, but suddenly lowered it and turned back.
"Seven, do you have your compass?"
Furrowing his brow, Seven answered:
"Yes, why?" Being one of the basic survival items, he always carried it to move around the city.
"Get it out."
Finding the sudden request strange, he took the backpack off his shoulders and pulled the compass from one of the compartments. Not very different from his father's, it was made of brass and had an old appearance, but was very well cared for.
Holding it out to his father, he asked:
"Why do you need it? Did yours break?"
"No. Keep it. You'll be the one guiding the way back."
"What?!" Surprised, he ended up speaking a little louder.
Glancing quickly at the ocean in front of him, he turned back to his father.
"But wouldn't that be dangerous?" Besides being a completely unknown path, if he made a mistake Seven had no idea where he would end up.
This place must be in some part of the city I've never been to, maybe even near the center! Knowing a good part of the city, he couldn't remember many other places left for that ocean to be.
"I understand your concern, but look at the needle. To get back home, just head southwest; to get here, head northeast. Understand? It's simple. Just follow the compass and we'll arrive safely."
Looking at the compass needle, Seven thought for a moment.
If it's like that… it doesn't seem so difficult… Although eerie, it wasn't a complex path—practically a straight line. Even the few obstacles they encountered weren't hard to pass.
A little calmer, after looking at the compass and then at the gas, Seven nodded. "All right… but could you tell me why? Why do I have to lead in this place?"
"…You're growing up. You need to learn to do more things on your own—both coming here and going to other places in the city if I'm not present."
"I understand…"
Stepping to the front of the line, checking the direction on the compass, he began to walk, entering the midst of the gas.
…But I wonder why I would come back here alone…
***
Pushing aside the leaves, Ísis searched for something and found a fruit hanging. With a quick movement of the knife she separated it from the plant and tossed it into a small pouch she carried hanging from her shoulder.
Leaving there, she began walking over the light-green grass that formed a beautiful carpet on the ground and went to the place where she had left her things, emptying her pouch into a backpack.
As soon as she finished, wiping her hands, she sighed wearily. "With this, I think it's over…" Looking around, she checked the vine one last time for anything she might have missed.
Yet, except for a few fruits that were in higher spots, the rest were green.
It was really tiring finding the ripe ones… Turning to her backpack, she had a complicated look, because even after carefully searching among the leaves, that was all she had managed.
"A little less than one backpack…" she murmured, discouraged.
Turning to the other three backpacks, she clenched her fists with a regretful look.
…Letting them play with the machine—was that really the right choice? Two of their backpacks were still empty, while Leon's held a single giant fruit.
Compared with previous years, it was nothing, since that place used to produce enough to fill all her brothers' backpacks completely, to the point that they had trouble closing them.
If we had stayed together… if I had insisted on continuing… would I have picked more fruit or the ones that are higher up? If they didn't get distracted so easily, if… no— Shaking her head, she looked away. —It wasn't them…
Feeling a growing bitter taste in her mouth, Ísis sighed wearily.
"…It's time to call them." Turning, she set off toward her brothers.
With slow steps she had a distant look, turned toward the top of the building where the vine's branches swayed in the wind.
As she advanced, looking at some hanging fruits, she felt a tightness in her chest.
I just wanted things to go well today…
Continuing on her way, she approached where her brothers were. Standing out from the surroundings, a short distance ahead, piles of debris surrounded a certain area—something that hadn't been there when they arrived.
Passing some of them, composed of mounds of rubble and plants, she reached a small cleared area with three people lying on the ground.
Soaked in sweat, they were all on their backs on the grass, completely exhausted. They hadn't noticed her yet, because their eyes were closed and their breathing a little irregular.
With a weak smile, Ísis began to speak.
"It's time for us to go home. I've already finished picking."
Leon, the only one who opened his eyes, though he couldn't see her because he was looking at the sky, complained to his sister. "Can't we rest a little longer? Just a tiny bit…"
Still lying on the ground, with his arms and legs stretched out on the grass, he didn't move a single muscle except his mouth, but from his tone of voice Ísis could picture him clasping his hands in a plea.
Mia and Victor, even hearing and agreeing with slight movements of their heads, said nothing, leaving only Leon to argue.
"The longer we stay here, the more tired you'll get while your blood cools, so we have to go home quickly."
At that answer the three produced grunts of disapproval.
"Ahhh…"
Looking at that situation, a sincere smile appeared on Ísis's face.
Maybe a few minutes…
Raising her eyes, a short distance from them stood the machine.
They managed to uncover a lot… It makes sense they're this tired… From the waist up it was already largely exposed, making it possible to see more of its features, although from the waist down it was still completely buried in the ground.
Passing her brothers lying there and the large pieces of concrete, she approached it.
On the exposed part, unlike before when there had been only an arm stretched out among the rubble, it was already possible to see a good portion of the torso and the head exposed, though the other arm was still covered.
Why is this one so different?… Normally they have short legs and long arms, with a robust torso, but this one is all standardized… Stopping near it, its appearance confirmed something she had already suspected: it was not an ordinary machine.
The ones they saw in the city, Father said, were used in civil construction, which was why they weren't beautiful but functional and practical, made to work in tight spaces.
I've never seen one of these… maybe it serves another purpose?
Observing the rest of the uncovered body, just as with the arm, it was completely marked by scratches and holes—something that, because they were on parts that had been more covered than the arm, were much more noticeable.
But what was this for… Extending her arm, Ísis placed her hand on the cold metal that, even though old, was still relatively smooth.
While circling it, running her hand over the metal, she noticed that on the upper part of the torso, on the side of the buried arm, there was a small plaque welded to the metal.
Curious, she began cleaning it, revealing a worn inscription.
"Junggernaut?" she murmured.
There was something more written, but, hidden by time, she couldn't make out what it was.
It looks like it starts with a K…
Trying to decipher the rest, she continued running her hand over the plaque to remove the dirt, when she began to hear the light, soft sound of snoring in the background.
Looking behind her, she realized the sound came from Leon, who had already fallen asleep from exhaustion. Not very different from him, Mia and Victor, although they weren't snoring, had very soft breathing.
Smiling again, she moved away from the machine. "I think we'd better leave before they fall into a deep sleep…" While casting one last glance at the machine.
"Let's go—!" But she stopped when she saw a mark that caught her attention.
What's that?
Approaching it again, Ísis stretched out her arm and placed her hand on one of the marks, right on the shoulder of the partially buried arm.
It doesn't look like just any mark, but a bite… was that a beast?
Larger and deeper than any other, it had a crescent shape and had damaged the metal deeply.
Or…
Leon sat up after waking, looking around a little lost until he identified where he was, pausing to yawn.
"…Sis, I think we can go now…" With a somewhat limp body he turned to his other two siblings and woke them. "Come on, get up, we have to leave…"
Right behind him, Victor and Mia, a little clumsily, began to get up like zombies.
Looking ahead while still rubbing his eyes, Leon saw his sister turned toward the machine.
"…How many backpacks did you manage to fill, sis?"
"…" But she remained silent, her back to them.
"Sis!?" Calling her again, he spoke a little louder, which woke her.
"…Ah! Yes! We're leaving now. I'll get the things!" With a quick, startled answer, she turned and hurriedly left, leaving them alone.
Still waking up, watching her walk away, Leon had a confused look.
"Victor…"
"Hmm…"
Right beside him, already on his feet, he was finishing stretching.
"Didn't sister Ísis look a little pale?" Although it had been quick, when he saw her face for a moment it had been strangely white.
"What?"
"When she turned to us, her face was pale…"
Victor, yawning, shook his head. "…I don't think so… must have been your imagination…"
Still looking at his sister's rigid back as she walked away, Leon turned to the machine, covered in marks.
"…"
"Let's go already…"
Looking behind him, already on their feet, Mia and Victor waited for them with tired looks.
"Yeah…" Getting up with a little pain, he headed toward his sister.
While they moved away, already at a distance, through one of the fissures of the great machine a gas of greenish tone, similar to a mist, began to slowly seep over the metal, falling onto the soil near the roots of the plants.