Using your flashlight, you search the house for any resources that will enable you to hide here or possibly fix your car. Who knows, maybe there’s a gas tank around here. The sun is dropping below the trees and mountains as darkness surrounds you. Being careful not to beam your flashlight out the windows, you aim it at the ground and begin exploring.
You check a few rooms, but nothing useful catches your eye. Coming back to the living room, you notice a basement door beside the staircase. You grab your crowbar and aim your light down the stairway that leads into an abyss of dark mystery. “I just outran werewolves. What do I gotta be scared of?” you give yourself a short pep talk before taking the first step. The wooden stairs creek as your heavy boots drop to each step.
The room is covered in dust. You see a shelf of tools which could be useful; but before you examine the shelf, you see something very intriguing in the corner of your eye. A vault door. “is this a bunker of some sort?” a spark of excitement glows on your face as you may soon find sanctuary! However, your excitement turns to suspicion when you notice the door is unlocked. This means one of two things: 1) nobody has used this bunker yet or 2) something got in…
Opening the door, you shine your light through the hallway. Before traveling further, you decide to lock yourself in; better down here with a vault between you and the werewolves than to be up there with them. It looks like an underground pipework facility with doors to small domestic 1-room homes. A few flickering fluorescent lights help guide your way through the dungeon-like maze. This bunker looks large enough to hold 200+ people! “who built this?” you say to yourself under your breath. As you walk with caution, you suddenly hear a whispering voice in one of the rooms to your left.
“Hello?” you say sternly, “Is anyone there? I’m not infected. Don’t be afraid.” You speak reassuringly out to the open door leading to nothingness.
A woman’s voice calls out, “go back! I don’t need help.” Her voice tremors.
You can only hear the woman speaking back from the dark room. “I can get you out of here. I found some tools to fix my car.” You walk closer, “are you alone?”
Her response delays, “Yes. Our small town 20 miles west from here created this bunker. We were safe until we let an infected person in by mistake. Most were infected, everyone else fled. This happened just a week ago. I’ve been hiding here since.”
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” you ask, drooping your flashlight to the ground.
“I’m fine” she mutters, “there’s a secret exit in the facility. If we go there, we might find another car.”
“Let’s do it! Come on, show me the way.” You reach for her hand.
“I’m Tara by the way.” she comes out of the darkness, covered in jeans and a hoodie.
“Nice to meet ya. I’m Gage.” You both walk together in the dim light. Tara leads the way.