Chapter 7
1701words
Vines hung from the ceiling, entangling broken pipes. Transparent droplets dangled from their fruits, making sizzling sounds when they hit the floor—Strontium-90 juice capable of corroding even steel into pitted ruins.
"Careful—don't touch that fluid." Raymond led with his modified machete, slashing through vines blocking their path. Green fluid splashed to the ground, releasing wisps of white smoke.
Two scavengers followed behind him with steel pipes, occasionally batting away hanging vines.
Thorn's people walked in the middle—three soldiers with heavy machine guns scanning vigilantly, plus one technician clutching a laptop and staying close to Thorn. These were the people he'd brought from the shelter to "supervise" Marcus's operation.
Jack carried Lily at the rear, with Ella and Marcus walking beside him.
Lily remained unconscious, breathing shallowly, the phosphorescent glow on her hand eerily bright in the dim light. Jack held her tighter, terrified the vines might touch her.
"Server room door ahead." Marcus pointed to a metal door not far away, completely covered in vines with only its vague outline visible. "We need to cut all these vines to get inside."
Raymond nodded, waved his hand, and two scavengers rushed forward to join him in cutting the vines.
Their machetes struck with dull squelching sounds as green juice splattered everywhere. One scavenger failed to dodge in time—juice splashed his hand, instantly raising a painful blister that made him wince.
"Don't touch it with bare hands!" Ella shouted, tossing over a Zeolite Filter. "Use this to wipe it off—it can absorb some radiation."
The scavenger hurriedly wiped his hand with the filter, though his face remained ashen.
Thorn frowned and ordered his soldiers: "Help them too—move it."
The three soldiers hesitated briefly before walking over with raised guns, using the butts to smash vines. With their help, most vines were quickly cleared, revealing the server room door more clearly.
Marcus seized the opportunity to approach the technician, trying to see his computer: "The startup program needs to connect to the main server. I need to debug it first."
The technician stepped back, clutching the computer to his chest: "Supervisor Thorn said I operate the program—you just tell me the steps."
Marcus frowned, about to retort, when he caught a glimpse of code on the technician's screen—not the Station's startup program but modified instructions, with the last lines reading "Purification Authority granted only to Shelter Zone 79."
"What the hell are you doing?" Marcus grabbed the technician's wrist. "That's not the startup program—it's code to modify access permissions!"
His words made everyone freeze. Raymond stood with machete still raised, his gaze snapping to Thorn: "Thorn! I knew you were pulling something!"
Thorn's expression changed. Before he could speak, the technician yanked a walkie-talkie from his pocket and pressed the button: "Ben, they've found out! Get here now!"
"Ben?" Jack's heart sank. How could he be here?
Soon footsteps echoed from the passage's end. A man in Tech Hunter gear approached with a modified rifle, flanked by two henchmen.
It was Ben Miller, a cold sneer on his face as he stared at Marcus: "Long time no see. Thought you could escape?"
"You made him modify the program?" Marcus glared at Ben, eyes blazing. "Have you forgotten your own family are Scavengers too? They also have Phosphorescence Syndrome!"
"Family?" Ben sneered. "All dead! Didn't survive last month's Polar Vortex Storm! Now I just want to follow Supervisor Thorn, get Purification Authority, and stay alive!"
As he spoke, Ben raised his gun at Marcus: "Hand over the Station program, and I'll make your death quick."
"In your dreams!" Marcus dodged sideways, ducking behind Jack.
Thorn's face darkened—he hadn't expected Ben to act independently and bring reinforcements, disrupting his carefully laid plans.
But now wasn't the time for questions; Ben's men were armed, and a firefight would end badly for everyone.
"Ben, lower your weapon," Thorn said. "We can talk. I'll share Purification Authority with you, but we need to activate the Station first."
"Share with me?" Ben sneered. "Why should I trust you? I might as well kill you all now, start the Station myself, and keep all authority!"
As he spoke, Ben pulled the trigger. The bullet grazed Marcus's ear before hitting the wall, sending up a cloud of dust.
"ATTACK!" Raymond shouted, raising his machete and charging forward.
The scavengers raised their weapons and attacked Ben's men. Thorn's soldiers opened fire, and instantly the corridor filled with gunshots. Bullets struck walls, sending stone fragments mixing with vine sap across the floor.
Jack held Lily close, crouching behind a broken cabinet, while Ella fired her revolver occasionally to support Raymond.
Marcus seized the opportunity to dash to the server room door, trying to open the lock. But it had rusted shut from vine sap corrosion and wouldn't budge.
"Need tools!" Marcus shouted.
Raymond heard, snatched a metal pipe from one of Ben's henchmen, and tossed it to Marcus: "Use this!"
Marcus jammed the pipe into the keyhole and pried hard. With a click, the door unlocked.
Just as he was about to push the door open, Ben rushed over, grabbed him by the collar, and pressed a gun to his head: "Freeze! One more move and he's dead!"
Everyone froze. The corridor fell instantly silent except for the buzz of emergency lights.
Ben glared at Thorn: "Hand over the startup program or I kill him! Without him, none of you can activate the Station!"
Thorn frowned but remained silent.
Jack, still holding Lily, slowly stood: "Ben, your family may be gone, but many scavengers still live. They're waiting for this Station to start, just like your family once did. Kill Marcus and everyone dies—including you."
"I don't care!" Ben's hand trembled. "I just want to survive! Thorn promised if I helped get the program, he'd give me Purification Authority!"
"He's lying to you!" Ella shouted. "Shelter 79's resources are already insufficient! Thorn will only prioritize his own people—you'll be nothing but cannon fodder!"
Ben's eyes shifted between Thorn and Marcus: "Is that true?"
Thorn didn't answer, just stared at Ben's gun with an ice-cold gaze.
Marcus seized the moment: "Ben, I know you're not a bad person—just scared. Help us activate the Station, and I promise you'll get purified too. My daughter's in the southern camp—I won't let anyone die needlessly."
Ben fell silent for several seconds, slowly lowering his gun. He remembered his family's faces before they died—desperate to survive, just like everyone here.
"Fine," Ben suddenly threw his gun to the ground. "I'll help, but if you're lying to me, I'll take you all down with me even if I die!"
Thorn's expression soured, but with no way out, he could only acquiesce.
Marcus sighed with relief and pushed open the server room door: "Quick, inside. Startup procedure takes ten minutes—we need to hurry."
Jack carried Lily and followed Marcus into the server room.
Inside stood a massive control console covered with buttons and screens, with a central recess clearly designed for the Energy Core and helium-3 power cell.
Marcus connected his laptop to the console and began typing: "Jack, put the Energy Core and helium-3 cell into the slot—hurry!"
Jack complied immediately, placing both items into the recess. The console lit up instantly, screens displaying a purification zone map—red areas indicating high radiation, green showing low radiation zones.
"Startup successful!" Marcus shouted excitedly. "Purification program running, starting with highest radiation areas. Should take about a day to cover the surrounding 100 square kilometers!"
Raymond and Ella both sighed with relief. Even Thorn's expression softened slightly.
Jack carried Lily to the control panel, watching the screen as red areas slowly turned green—the color of hope. He gently touched Lily's face: "It'll be over soon, Lily. You'll get better."
Suddenly the control panel emitted a harsh buzzing sound. The map flickered as red areas abruptly receded, leaving only the area around Shelter 79 in green.
"What's happening?" Marcus's expression changed as he frantically typed. "Someone's modifying the program!"
Everyone turned to Thorn, who held a remote control, a cold smile on his lips: "I told you—Purification Authority belongs only to shelter people."
"Thorn! You bastard!" Raymond charged forward, machete raised.
But Thorn pressed another button on his remote, and the server room door slammed shut with a bang, locking them all inside.
"Wait in there," Thorn's voice came through the door. "After the shelter perimeter is purified, I'll consider whether to let you out."
Marcus pounded frantically on the keyboard, trying to open the door, but the program was locked—completely useless.
Jack carried Lily to the door and kicked it hard, but it didn't budge. Watching the green area on the screen continuously shrinking, his heart sank—Thorn had played them all along.
Ella walked up beside him, gripping her revolver tightly: "Don't worry, we'll get out. Thorn thinks locking the door solves everything, but he forgot I'm from Shelter 79—I know there's a backup exit from this room."
Jack looked at Ella, hope rekindling in his eyes: "Really?"
"Mmm," Ella nodded, pointing to a ventilation duct in the corner. "That leads to the Station's outer perimeter. We can circle around to the shelter's back and stop Thorn."
Marcus sighed with relief: "I can pause the purification program temporarily to buy time. But only for an hour max. After that, the program automatically resumes, and by then we'll truly only be able to purify the shelter area."
"One hour is enough." Jack said, handing Lily to Ella. "Take Lily through the vent first. Raymond, Ben and I will stop Thorn."
Ella nodded, took Lily, and crawled into the ventilation duct.
Jack watched her disappear into the vent, then turned to Raymond and Ben: "Let's move. We can't let Thorn win."
Raymond raised his machete and Ben grabbed a gun from the floor as they followed Jack toward another server room exit.
Decay Vines still squirmed in the passage, emergency lights still flickered, but their eyes burned with determination—for Lily, for Marcus's daughter, for everyone struggling in the wasteland, they had to win.
