New ongoing story - New Life

[El_Roy_1999]

At work, Ava was feeling quite at home now. Despite the summertime, it was busy, the members of her team working long shifts preparing the various chemicals. The radio was playing harmless adult contemporary, and they were falling into the rhythm of just getting things done.  Ava was focused but not stressed. This was nice. The other women were going along nicely too. Things were looking fine.
Carol was just finishing her lot and got up to put it on the trolley. As she walked back, she asked:
“Say, Inez, did you read about the tunnel system they found under the Mistland Building?”
“I only saw the show on the news. If you ask me, this is just some Al Capone hideout crap. Back in the day, they built so much stuff without ever having a clear plan on how to use it. It’s just some storage space they never got around to use.”
“So there’s no cool secret down there?”
“Carol, this town hasn’t had anything cool since forever. I just hope nobody gets hurt spelunking down there.”
“My dad said the government had a facility there before the Mistland brothers built their thing on top. He says there’s probably some factory or black ops thing …”
Inez cut her off:
“Your dad has been sprouting conspiracy theories ever since he got his internet connection. Are you really going to believe anything he says?”
“Hey, don’t get all aggressive. I just wanted to ask …”
“Well, you asked and you got your answer.” Inez took a deep breath. Then she said: “Okay, I’m sorry. I lost my temper. It’s just that my husband keeps going on about all kinds of conspiracies and it gets on my nerves. He should just get a job, that would take his mind off all that crap.”
Carol mimed a hug. With the clean room clothes, it was difficult.
“Hey, I’m sorry I brought this up. Don’t worry. Things will get better.”
Ava’s curiosity was piqued.

[El_Roy_1999]

She met with Jaden later that day, still sore from her training. They took a walk through the silent city. Ava couldn’t believe she had suggested it. If anybody had told her a few weeks ago that she would go on a walk voluntarily, she would probably have laughed. Now, she actually enjoyed it.
Jaden commented:
“Hey, slow down. Not everybody is as fit as you are.”
“Me, fit? I’m … Well, actually, I’m getting there.”
He smiled. For a second, Ava thought that he was cute. Maybe she could … She shook her head. That wouldn’t be a good idea. Instead, she asked:
“Ever heard of the Mistland Building underground?”
“That sounds like one of those bands I’m not cool enough to listen to.”
She laughed and mimed staring at the floor and playing a guitar while producing growling and screeching sounds.
“Yeah. Something like that.”
Ava said:
“Actually, no. Apparently, there’s a hidden tunnel system down there. Wanna go exploring?”
Jaden thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
“Sounds interesting. I’m going to get my outdoor gear and we can try and take a look.”
“You have outdoor gear?”
“My big brother and I used to go on hikes with my dad. I’ll bring his stuff for you. We could go tomorrow.”
“Cool. I’ll see you after training. I’ll bring some snacks.”
“But not only that fitness food, please.”
“There will be some sweet stuff, I promise.”
They finished their round in silence, then she left. She still had to clean the apartment.

[El_Roy_1999]

“Mom, I’m going to do some urban exploring with Jaden later on.”
The two women were at the gym again, training their backs. Angela was doing pull-downs with some hundred pounds, sighing whenever she forced the bar down. Ava was between sets and admired her mother’s dedication. If she continued like that she would definitely win that competition.
Her mother fought to finish the set, then slowly released the handle.
“Urban exploring?” She seemed amused. “So you and Jaden are going to explore … each other?”
“Mom, no! Yuck. That’s … Why do you have to be like that?”
Angela laughed and said:
“Do your next set. Where are you going?”
Ava set the weight to seventy pounds and brought the bar down. This was hard work. Up and down it went, every pull-down requiring her absolute concentration. She wanted to do this slowly and precisely. Now that she was making progress, she had to keep it up.
Five more reps. She was sweaty, but she was doing fine. Four. Things were looking up. Three. She sure hoped she wouldn’t be too tired to have fun down there. Two. She called herself back to attention. Focus! One … And done.
She got back up and rolled her shoulders.
“We’re going to the Mistland Building.”
Angela seemed a little unhappy with that.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? How about I go on a ride in my car and you can have the apartment for yourself? Wouldn’t that be better?”
“Mom, it’s not about being with Jaden …”
“Okay … Just be careful. If anything strange happens, call me. I’ll come and pick you up. And Jaden too, of course.”
Ava went back to her training. What was that all about?

[El_Roy_1999]

Later in the afternoon the two young people got ready. Jaden handed her a headlamp and a walkie-talkie.
“What is that for?”
“Oh, it might come in handy if we get separated. There probably won’t be any cell-phone coverage down there.”
“Is this the first time you’re doing this?”
“In a building? Yes. But I went into a few caves with my brother. I also have helmets, if you want to.”
“Okay, maybe that’s a little over the top, don’t you think?”
“I’ll just take them with me anyway. They’re not that heavy.”
He got a backpack from his bike.
“This one’s my brother’s. You can use it. It should be fine. Just adjust the straps here and … here. There you are.”
“Wow. I thought we’d just go in there, take a look around and be back outside.”
“I know, I sound a little overly worried, but since we literally don’t know what is going on down there and know very little about its layout … Also, I got lost with Daniel once and it took us forever to get back home. So it’s better to have some drinking water and some survival gear with us.”
“Better be safe than sorry, huh?”
“My words exactly. And since you’re all fit now, it won’t be too bad for you.”
Ava tried the backpack. She could feel its weight, but he was right. She was certain she could manage it. She kissed his cheek:
“This is going to be awesome!”
He blushed.

[El_Roy_1999]

Soon, they arrived at the building complex. As most parts of the city, it was abandoned. Plants had taken over the area, with grass and moss making the first steps, eventually luring in trees that started to break open the concrete and bust the tarmac. In a way, the place was romantic. There were quite a few birds, chirping along and probably calling on others for love and attention. Ava and Jaden parked their bikes. He said:
“I’m definitely going to get a car soon. I feel like a kid in an eighties adventure movie.”
Ava laughed:
“Definitely. I’ll be the tomboyish girl that’s all plucky.”
“That makes me the nerd, doesn’t it?”
“Ooh, we definitely got to find more people to do this.”
He sighed. That was easier said than done.
They took the equipment and walked over to the gate. It was big and rusty, hanging lopsided in its frame.
“I can’t believe it got broken so quickly.” Jaden gave it a push. It was stuck. “We’ll have to go over the wall. I’ll give you a push up, okay?”
“Wow. You really think you can lift me?”
“Ava, I never said anything about your weight. Don’t make me go this way.”
She nodded. That had been stupid. She had to cut out this constant self-depreciation. It didn’t help in any way. Jaden leaned against the wall, spread his legs to find a robust stance and locked his hands into a step.
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
Ava put her foot down and pushed herself up clumsily, grabbing at his head. She managed to reach the top of the wall and started pulling while he pushed from below.

[El_Roy_1999]

She struggled to get on the wall, but somehow, all that training had made her stronger. At last, with a final and very awkward grunt, she brought her upper body on the wall and slowly managed to turn around. She sat on it and dangled her legs.
“Oh God. That was hard. But it worked, didn’t it? I never would have thought I would do something like this!”
Jaden nodded, but said:
“I’m going to climb up now. Please help me!”
“Sure. Just let me find a good position …”
Ava clumsily held to the wall and Jaden ran, pushing himself up and catching her hand. Ava half-expected to fall down again, probably on top of him, while hurting herself. To her surprise, that didn’t happen. Instead, she caught him and held him. She could feel her muscles tense, but it worked. She smiled. Incredible. She never expected this to even be possible. The young woman started pulling now and somehow, Jaden managed to reach the top of the wall. Gasping, he changed his position to sit next to her.
“I’m impressed. You’re getting really strong.”
“I’m surprised myself. This is so cool.”
“Maybe I should start training myself.”
“I could show you how to do it.” She felt a little cocky now that she had proven her skill.
He blushed:
“Maybe we could …”
There was a pause. They looked at each other in silence, then she said:
“We should get in. I guess there’ll be more things to climb inside.”

[El_Roy_1999]

They jumped down on the other side and crossed the parking lot that stretched before the building’s entrance. The company headquarters were a sturdy concrete construction, probably from after the Second World War. However, as soon as they pushed open the door, they found themselves in a large hall supported by thick columns. There was a lot of probably fake marble and some brass lights. Everything was broken and dusty. The hall had some skylights which had eventually broken and as a result, a pool of stagnant water had formed. From it, a surprisingly large tree grew. It was grey and somewhat twisted, with bright orange fruit hanging from its branches. The roots had broken up the floor tiles and created a kind of mound in the center of the room. As they came closer, switching on their lights, they saw that the tree had grown around a statue, crushing it into shapelessness in the process.
“Wow. That is weird. Ava, take a picture.”
She laughed, but it faded in the bizarre ambience of the hall. Still, she took out her phone and snapped a picture. The device produced a flash which must have disturbed some animals, since it was answered by a sudden burst of skittering and fluttering noises.
Ava almost dropped her phone.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know. A rat maybe? Or a pigeon? Are you scared?”
“Me? No … Well, a little, okay.”
“Still wanna go on?”
She hesitated. They had gone all this way to get a look inside and now, they were about to leave again. That was stupid. No.
She walked over to him, took his hand and said:
“Let’s see how far we can go.”

[El_Roy_1999]

Jaden stopped again.
“By the way, what about the fruit?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Maybe it’s a new thing. Or just some variety they had here.”
“Let’s take one. We can see what it’s like later on.”
She walked over to the greyish tree, stretched and found a fruit she could reach. She pulled and it came off with a crack. The leaves rustled.
“Whoa. That was odd.”
“Just put it in the backpack.”
Ava wrapped the fruit in a cleanex and laid it on top of the other stuff. She zipped the rucksack back up and pointed down the hallway.
“Let’s go. We still have to find the basement.”
He nodded, but it was obvious that he was feeling a little uncomfortable now. This place was creepy.
Still they continued further in and soon found a broad staircase with slopes for a hand truck and a ruined elevator next to it. The door had been forced open and as she peeked inside the shaft, she saw glowing shapes along its walls. She turned on the light. There was a thick lining of mushrooms all over it and they were giving off some faint light.
“Have you ever seen anything like that, Jaden?”
He looked inside too and shook his head.
“This is so strange. I mean, this place has been abandoned forever, but I didn’t expect it to turn into some completely alien thing.”
She took a picture.
“Maybe we should show it to some expert. This might be interesting for them.”
“Imagine us getting a headline in the papers: ‘Local teens find new species underground.’”
“Local teens? You’re making this sound like a kids’ adventure book.”
“It feels that way.”
“Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn into a horror movie.”
They laughed, but in this strange place, it sounded hollow.

[El_Roy_1999]

Holding hands, they descended the staircase. The place was still robust enough, but they were careful nonetheless. Before taking a full step down, they would tentatively push down on it. Then, they would climb down. The light was getting fewer and fewer.
At last, they reached the lower level. Down here, it was completely dark. Ava felt Jaden’s grip tighten. She smiled and opened the door to the basement itself.
“Wow …”
They were in a huge hall. It was several stories high, with a big suspended crane and massive machines covered in cables and tubes. Their lamps could barely illuminate the whole place and there were plenty of deep and dark shadows.
He asked:
“Do you have any idea what they might have been doing down here?”
She took a few steps further in. Did something move in the darkness or was this just a trick of light?
“I don’t know.” She could feel her heart beat faster. “Did you see anything move?”
“I couldn’t say. Maybe?”
They stayed silent for a moment. It was perfectly calm down here. They only heard each other’s breaths. Finally Jaden said:
“Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. We could go back if you want …”
Ava hesitated. They had been down here for maybe five minutes. This couldn’t just be all. They had to at least find something extraordinary to take with them as a trophy, or at least take a picture of it.
“Let’s try this way and then go home, okay?”
“Okay … Just be careful.”
They entered the mouth of another tunnel.

[El_Roy_1999]

The two young people walked through the darkness, the light of their lamps cutting cones of bright into it. Down here, the air was stale and there was almost no sound. Only occasionally did they hear a drop of water hit the concrete. The tunnel had a rounded ceiling and they could see ancient electric lamps up there. Thick cables and pipes ran along on both sides, protected by corroded steel mesh shielding.
As they reached a crossroads, they could hear something scuttle away. By now, they were very close and their grip immediately tightened. Ava could feel her heart pound in her chest. It was strange to be so close to him. Even if they weren’t so afraid, her heart would have been beating faster.
She heard his voice with its strange echo:
“Did you hear that?”
“The scuttling?”
“Yes. What do you think that was?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a rat? We could just go back, you know?”
She turned to look in the direction of the noise and suddenly saw a face for the blink of an eye. She cried out. Only a little later did she notice that he had answered her shriek with a scream. In that moment, the sudden cacophony made her panic and she froze.
Ava heard Jaden trying to recover, breathing heavily.
At last, he asked:
“What happened?”
“I … I saw something. A face. A person, you know?”
He hesitated, then he called out weakly:
“Hello? Hello? If you’re a here, we didn’t mean to scare you …”
We’re the ones who are scared, not whoever that was, Ava thought.

[jdm022]

Loving it !!!

K+

 

[El_Roy_1999]

Loving it !!!

K+

 

Thank you. I just hope it isn't too slow.

[phil123]

It's not to slow.

Great story   and I like to read what happens next

[El_Roy_1999]

Cool! I'm glad you enjoy it.

She realized that Jaden was about to take a step forward and held him back.
Ava whispered:
“Don’t. Please. Let’s just go. Whatever this was, I don’t think we should be here. This was a bad idea.”
“But …”
“No.” She pulled on his arm. He was surprised by her strength. He never would have expected this.
Suddenly, there was a skittering sound. It was rather quiet at first, but it quickly got louder and louder. The pair looked at each other in disbelief. This wasn’t happening! This was some kind of bad dream!
The sound turned into deafening noise. There was something coming their way, and suddenly, neither of them wanted to know  what it was.
Instead, they turned and ran. The lights jumped and flashed all around them, turning the otherwise plain tunnel into a dancing maze. That something, those creatures, they were behind them, and they were speeding up!
They ran and ran, the entrance to the tunnel seeming so far away. Ava felt a kind of pressure come in from behind, like a mighty breath. To her surprise, she wasn’t struggling yet, never having been much of a runner. Still, she didn’t have the time to care about these thoughts. She just ran.
Jaden was ahead now and she could see his silhouette before her. He entered the main hall and pointed to the exit. She emerged into the big chamber too, but as she saw Jaden head for the stairs, she felt a powerful gust of wind in her face.
Gasping for air, she shouted:
“Don’t go there! It’s coming from above! Another way! Another way, quick!”

[El_Roy_1999]

Ava focused for a moment, then pulled Jaden away from the entrance. He shouted:
“Where are you going? We have to get out!”
“I know, but we can’t go this way! Follow me!”
He didn’t struggle and just let himself be pulled further in. Ava felt that they had left the air current behind them and she could swear that the strange rasping noise was melding into one big confusing burst of sound.
She continued in the direction she hoped was the best and suddenly stepped into a deep puddle. She screamed. Jaden asked:
“What’s going on?”
He looked at her in panic, but she said:
“I think it’s nothing. Just water. I’m okay. I …”
That’s when the air flow turned.
“It spotted us. Run!”
The noise rose to ear-shattering loudness. They ran and ran, the puddles bursting under them. They twisted down tunnels, climbed up slopes and ladders and finally realized that they were lost. At last, the noise died down. They dropped to the ground, completely exhausted. Their sides were hurting, their lungs were burning and their muscles ached.
Shaking, Jaden pulled off his backpack and extracted a pack of dextrose blocks. He handed one to Ava and had her take a swig from his bottle. Despite her training, Ava was completely exhausted. Somewhere along the way, they had had to climb on a container or some other big metal thing and together, they had managed it. She was proud of that. But it had taken everything out of her.
Now, slowly, she recovered.