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Talen

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“Well, we can’t just stand here,” she says, “so I guess we go back up and find another light source.”

Her tone of voice tells me how annoyed she is, and I can’t blame her.

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “I don’t know how I managed to drop it.”

“It’s all right,” she says with a sigh. “Can’t do anything about it now. Let’s head back up. I just hope we can find our way back to the rooms.”

She releases my arm, and I hear her moving around near the base of the ladder. I step up close behind her, not wanting to lose the physical proximity while in complete darkness. I have no idea how we’re going to find our way back to the living quarters and electricity.

“Wait…what this?” Aerin pauses and I bump into her back.

I hear a slight click, and a moment later, a light bulb on the wall blinds me.

“Shit!” I shield my eyes, blinking rapidly.

“Sorry.”

As my eyes adjust, I get a better look at our surroundings. The single light bulb is enclosed in a metal cage with the bulb exposed. Just to the right of the ladder is a switch on the wall with a metal conduit running from the switch to the ceiling, merging with the rest of the cables, and heading off to the right and around the corner. To the left, the passageway narrows into more darkness.

“Let’s head that way,” Aerin says as she points in the direction of the cables.

“How are we going to be able to see?” I ask.

“We found one switch,” Aerin says with a shrug. “There must be more.”

“Assuming any of them still work.”

“It’s either that or give up, go back up the ladder into the dark, fumble around to the living area, try to find another light source… Do you see where this is going?”

“No.”

“Exactly.”

Aerin begins to march to the end of the corridor and then disappears off to the right.

“Hold on!” I’m grinning again as my admiration for her grows with her bravery, and I have to run to catch up with her.

“There’s a door!” Aerin calls out.

“Wait for me!” I maneuver around the corner and see a metal door just a dozen feet away. Another light bulb is on the wall nearby. Aerin is already in front of the door, pulling at the latch. As it swings open, I can hear a loud whirring sound from the other side. Aerin steps forward as I run up behind her.

“Bingo!” she yells and then laughs loudly.

Through the doorway is a metal, grated catwalk circling a massive room. A railing runs all the way around it leading to a staircase on the other side. The room is lit by exposed-bulb lights, just like the one by the ladder, spaced about fifteen feet apart. In the center of the room is a structure with two distinct dome shapes connected to a rectangular portion at the back. The shape vaguely reminds me of the airplane hangar I once saw in the capital city, housing airplanes that no longer function.

The whirring sound is much louder on this side of the door, and I think it’s originating from the large structure. The air blowing against my face is warmer than that of the tunnel behind us, and I detect a faint sulfur smell.

“What is it?” I ask.

“That,” Aerin says as she waves her hand in a grand gesture, “is a geothermal generator!”

Without another word, she begins to walk along the grated span bordering the wall, heading toward the staircase that leads into the main part of the room. Like the idiot dog I apparently am, I follow her blindly and try to take it all in.

“Holy shit,” Aerin says breathlessly. “This is incredible. I’ve seen pictures but never anything this big in person. This has to be a hundred feet long.”

“How old do you think it is?” I ask.

“No way of knowing.” She runs her hand over the metal structure, walking slowly to the back side of it. “Look! There’s a control panel!”



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