“But this isn’t the first time you’ve been in here, is it?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “I’ve been looking around here for the last couple of weeks.”
“You’ve been living here,” I say as I point to the bed.
“Yes, I have.”
I sit down on one of the metal chairs and motion for her to continue.
“Most everything of value is gone,” she says. “I haven’t been all over the complex—it’s huge—but I’ve been through enough of it to know there isn’t much left. This room with the bed and the kitchen area is about the biggest find I’ve made. The western side though…that’s where things get interesting but not because of what’s inside the mountain.”
She stops speaking for a moment as she takes a few breaths.
“I should take you there,” she finally says. “There really isn’t much of a choice, but it’s going to take a while to get to the other side.”
“How far is it?”
“Nearly fifteen miles.”
“Are you serious?”
“There are other entrances,” she says, “but most of them have been blocked by rockslides. The only ones that aren’t blocked are the shaft where we came in, the entrance on the western side of the mountain, and one other shaft to the north. There are probably others, but this complex is huge, and I only have a partial map.”
“How far away is the north shaft?”
“Not as far,” she says, “but I need you to see what’s on the other side.”
“Why?”
“Because otherwise, you aren’t going to believe me.”
“If we’re going that far, we should both probably rest. There’s water here. That’s a major bonus.”
“It’s still full of ash,” she says. “It could even be contaminated.”
“Does the stove work?” I ask, pointing over at the cooking area.
“I tried to turn it on when I first got here, but nothing happened.”
I stand up and walk over to the electric stove. I flip the dial, but the stove doesn’t light up. I look around the back, find the plug and corresponding outlet, and plug it in. A light comes on immediately.
I look back at her and raise my eyebrows.
“Ugh.” She rolls her eyes and looks away from me. “I don’t know why I didn’t try that.”
“Always go for the easy solution,” I say with a wink. “We can boil the water. Should be easy enough to get what we need to get to the other side.”
“That’s going to take some time.”
“Not a lot.” I smile at her. “It will give us a chance to eat, rest, and maybe even get to know each other a little.”
She rolls her eyes and exhales with a huff.
“I’ll take care of water,” I say, “and you can cook up some dinner.”
“What kind of sexist bullshit is that?” Aerin asks.
“Not sexist at all,” I reply with a grin. “I just don’t want to poison you with my cooking.”