The System's alert about an unknown energy signature within the vault sent a new kind of chill down Ethan's spine, one that had nothing to do with Walkers or hostile humans. This was different, an anomaly in a world already completely redefined by the impossible. The earlier discovery of the car keys and detailed map felt like a tangible step forward; this felt like a step into the unknown.
"Lily, stay right here for a minute, okay?" Ethan said, his voice low. "I thought I saw something… unusual over there. I just want to check it. Don't move from this spot."
Lily, still small and huddled but with a little more color in her cheeks after the chocolate and crackers, nodded mutely, her eyes following him with a mixture of fear and trust.
[ENERGY SIGNATURE LOCALIZED. SOURCE EMANATING FROM SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX UNIT: SECTION C, ROW 4, BOX #112.]
[SIGNATURE INTENSITY: LOW, PULSATING. NATURE REMAINS UNCLASSIFIED. EXERCISE CAUTION UPON INTERACTION.]
Ethan moved towards the indicated section of safety deposit boxes. Most were sealed shut, their small keyholes like unblinking eyes. Box #112, however, was like the one he'd found the keys in – its lock had been crudely broken, the small door slightly ajar. Someone had been here before, probably in the initial days of chaos, looking for valuables. They'd likely overlooked whatever was now pulsing faintly within.
He pulled his flashlight from his belt, its beam steady. With a surge of trepidation, he slowly pulled the slender metal box from its slot. It was lighter than he expected. Inside, nestled on faded velvet lining, wasn't gold or jewels, but a small, perfectly cubical object, no larger than a dice. It was made of a dark, matte material he didn't recognize, and a faint, internal blue light throbbed within it rhythmically, in sync with the "intermittent" signature the System had described. It was cool to the touch.
[OBJECT IDENTIFIED: UNKNOWN ARTIFACT. PRELIMINARY SCAN SUGGESTS HIGH-DENSITY ENERGY CELL OF UNFAMILIAR COMPOSITION. NOT OF CONVENTIONAL HUMAN MANUFACTURE. NO DETECTABLE RADIATION OR IMMEDIATE HAZARD.]
[FURTHER ANALYSIS: THIS OBJECT RESONATES WEAKLY WITH THE SUPREME SURVIVAL SYSTEM. POTENTIAL UTILITY: SYSTEM COMPONENT OR ENERGY SUPPLEMENT. RECOMMEND SECURING OBJECT FOR FUTURE ANALYSIS/INTEGRATION.]
[NEW SUB-OBJECTIVE (OPTIONAL): SECURE ARTIFACT.]
"Not of conventional human manufacture?" Ethan muttered the System's words in his mind. Resonates with the System? This was far beyond anything he could have anticipated. He carefully picked up the small cube. It had a slight, almost imperceptible vibration.
"What is it?" Lily whispered, having crept a little closer despite his instruction, her curiosity overriding her fear for a moment.
Ethan quickly pocketed the cube. "Oh, uh, nothing important, Lily. Just a… a weird old battery or something. Probably broken." He had to keep the System, and anything directly related to it, a complete secret. The less Lily knew about the truly unexplainable aspects of their survival, the better.
[ARTIFACT SECURED. STORED IN HOST'S INVENTORY SUB-DIMENSION. SYSTEM WILL ATTEMPT PASSIVE ANALYSIS WHEN COMPUTATIONAL RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE.]
An inventory sub-dimension? The System just kept revealing new, game-like facets. He made a mental note to explore that later. Right now, the priority was still to get out of this bank and away from the recent human threat.
"Alright," Ethan said, forcing a reassuring tone for Lily. "I think we've overstayed our welcome in this fancy vault. Let's find another way out of this building. Don't want to run into those guys from before if they decide to come back sniffing around."
The main front doors were out of the question, and the rear service door they'd used to enter felt too exposed now, especially if those men were still in the vicinity.
[SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVE EXIT ROUTES BASED ON BUILDING SCHEMATICS (PARTIALLY DERIVED FROM EXTERNAL SCANS AND MAP DATA)...]
[POTENTIAL EXIT POINT IDENTIFIED: BASEMENT ACCESS STAIRWELL. LOCATION: REAR OF TELLER AREA, PREVIOUSLY UNEXPLORED. LEADS TO SUB-LEVEL MAINTENANCE TUNNEL WITH POTENTIAL STREET-LEVEL HATCH ACCESS IN ADJACENT ALLEY (NORTH).]
"I remember seeing a door near the back of the teller counters," Ethan said, again phrasing System intel as his own observation. "Might lead to a basement or something. Could be another way out, away from the main street."
They cautiously made their way back through the antechamber, past the still form of the Walker guard, and into the main bank area. The System guided him to an unassuming, unmarked door tucked away behind the main teller line. It was unlocked.
It opened onto a narrow, steep flight of concrete stairs leading down into musty darkness.
"A basement," Ethan confirmed, shining his flashlight down. "Okay, Lily, this might be our best bet. Stay close."
The basement was a labyrinth of old storage rooms, utility pipes, and damp concrete. It smelled of mildew and something else, something acrid. The System guided them unerringly through the maze.
[MAINTENANCE TUNNEL ACCESS POINT AHEAD. HATCH MECHANISM APPEARS MANUAL, RUSTED. MAY REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT FORCE.]
They found it: a low, narrow tunnel, and at its end, a circular metal hatch in the ceiling, caked with rust. Ethan reached up. It was heavy. He positioned himself, took a deep breath, and pushed with all his strength, using his legs and back. The System flashed a small icon indicating optimal leverage points, and he adjusted his stance. With a groan of protesting metal, the hatch creaked upwards an inch, then another. Daylight, gray and muted, filtered in.
He pushed it fully open, peering out. It opened into a different alley, narrower and more cluttered than the one they'd used to access the bank's rear. Crucially, it seemed deserted.
"Alright, this is it," Ethan said, helping Lily scramble up and out. He followed, pulling the heavy hatch mostly closed behind them. They were back outside, the air feeling fresh, albeit still tainted with the city's decay.
They were a block north of where the hostile group had been, and hopefully, undetected. The detailed map and car keys felt heavy in his pocket. The strange energy cube was a silent, unknown variable.
"Now," Ethan said, orienting himself with the map data now subtly integrated into his System's visual overlay, "let's find 'Parking Lot B' and see if our luck holds with that Ford Explorer. Highway 316 is waiting."
The System highlighted a probable route to a municipal parking structure labeled 'B' on the physical map, about three blocks away, unfortunately in a direction that would take them closer to the main avenue where the walker herd had been thickest earlier.
[ROUTE TO 'PARKING LOT B' CALCULATED. MODERATE WALKER PRESENCE EXPECTED. EXERCISE CAUTION. THE HOSTILE HUMAN GROUP WAS LAST SEEN MOVING EAST, AWAY FROM THIS TARGET LOCATION, BUT REMAIN VIGILANT.]
Three blocks. It sounded so close, yet in this world, it could be a journey of a thousand perils.