The Rain: The End by Marietta Standlee (good summer reads TXT) 📕

figure something else out because you'll need a good-sized army. But that is in the future. For now, follow me." Briggs suggests.

"Where are all the ships now?" I ask, looking around the empty hangar.

"I did some blasting today; when I do, it's safer to move the ships until it is all done." Ace explains.

"In case you blow the whole cave system down?" I ask, shuddering.

Ace smiles sheepishly, "Something like that."

Chapter 4

We follow Briggs, Carl, and Ace towards the end of the large, probably a mile long, hangar. Steel doors protect whatever is on the other side.

"If you please." Carl smiles at Colin and indicates for him to put his hand on a tablet-like panel by the door. Colin presses his hand against it, and a voice sounds out. "Welcome, Commander Thornton, please enter."

Consider me impressed. "Did you design that too?" I ask Carl.

He shakes his head, no. "Not me, one of the friends who stayed at my house is a tech guru. He designed all the tech stuff at my house. He did quite a few impressive things here too."

Colin looks at Briggs appraisingly. "You really did get lucky, didn't you?"

"Don't I know it," she answers with a warm smile towards Carl.

The steel doors slide wide open, and we enter a large hallway system reminding me of the cave layout we saw in Russia not too long ago. Here too, somebody strung mining lamps all around the walls, with exposed cords; it's a rather crude but efficient system. What worries me, though, are droplets of water running down on parts of the wall, accumulating into small puddles all around us.

"Isn't that dangerous?" I ask, pointing to the water.

Carl shakes his head. "The lamps and wires are all self-contained and waterproof."

His explanation seems to assure the others, but I still feel a little hesitant and avoid stepping into the puddles at all costs, earning me a smirk from Colin.

"Worried to get your feet wet, princess?"

"Worried about getting electrocuted," I mutter.

Besides that, the water is making it uncomfortably damp down here, the cold is starting to seep into my bones, and I rub my arms before Colin wraps his around me. "Come here, ice princess."

I want to say something back, something witty, but I'm starting to shiver, slowing my thinking process. Soon other steel doors open on both sides of the hallway.

"If you like, I can show you each floor, or we can go to my office, and I show you the blueprints." Carl offers.

"Blueprints will do, for today." Colin answers to my disappointment, besides the cold, I'm rather enjoying the tour. But we're pressed for time. Our friends are covering for us during operation Clean-Sweep, still, the sooner we get back, the better.

While we walk, it feels as if we're slowly walking up an incline. It's not very noticeable, but it's there. After a few turns, we reach a large open space. Tables are lined up everywhere and to one side is a buffet like counter, from where food is served to waiting diners.

And it's here where I finally see more people for the first time. Some are sitting eating, others are in line for food, and some seem to be just hanging out. But whatever everybody is doing, they stop and stare at us as we enter. Propane lanterns have been spread throughout the room for illumination and giving of warmth, that seems to envelope me.

"Everybody, please meet Commanders Thornton and Allister. Commanders meet everybody." Ace laughs loudly at his own joke.

Colin shakes his head with a smile, and I nod towards a few people I recognize.

"Most of them were with me, when… you know," Carl explains. "The others came with Commander Briggs."

"Most are new recruits. I stole them before they could even register with your brother or father." Briggs explains.

"Good job." Colin praises.

Carl leads us to a door, and we enter yet another hallway. From here, it's only a couple more turns before he stops in front of a steel door inside the rock-solid walls. By the side of it, is another pad, he holds his hand against it.

"Welcome, Carl Ling." A voice announces, before the door swings wide open.

"Please." Carl makes a sweeping gesture, inviting us into his room, which is about twenty by twenty feet wide. A single bed occupies one corner, a couch is pushed against a second wall, and a desk with a chair and laptop complete the furnishings. No windows, just an overhead lightbulb with a cord attached, snaking its way inside the rock.

By the desk is a space heater, and Carl, to my relief, makes a beeline for it, to turn it on. The damp coldness everywhere has seeped deep into my bones, and I snuggle into Colin to leech off his body heat. Thankfully this room is void of the dampness.

"This," Carl makes a sweeping gesture with his hand, encircling the entire room. "is a typical housing space. Most of these will have a second bed instead of a couch, but for now, I enjoy not having a roommate."

He walks over to his laptop and moves the mouse until the oversized screen comes to life. He enters his password, and we all move around him to get a better view of the screen. A blueprint comes to life, lines, and numbers that don't make a lick of sense to me spread out across the screen.

Colin points to one. "This is the mess hall we were just in?"

"Yes, good eye." Carl praises.

I raise my eyebrow; even after Colin pointed it out, I still don't see anything but a mess of lines going this way and that.

"This is my room." Carl indicates a rectangle. "We are on level one."

"And here," he stabs his finger to the screen. "Are the showers and bathroom facilities for this level."

"Showers? Bathrooms?" Colin seems impressed.

"The water pressure is not great, but we have a huge underground lake which provides us with the freshest water imaginable. Of course, you'll have to make do with cold showers, for now."

A shudder goes