Page 11 of Sixty Meters Under
Ryosuke inhaled sharply.
“Oh, my God, is this all real?” Ayame laughed a little while turning to look around. “It’s just… Wow.”
“It is. This is one of the rooms suitable for a couple,” Hugo said. “We have tried our best to decorate the rooms so that people feel like they are on their vacation, rather than in an underground bunker.”
The walls were a light apricot color with the furniture white and elegant. The ceiling matched the furniture, complemented with trim all around.
“Yes, understandable,” Ayame said, and went deeper into the room. “In the pictures the rooms seemed really nice and cozy, but they look even better in real life.”
“Yes, we made sure to arrange this bunker in such a way to preserve the best possible mental health for everyone living in. The windows are, of course, LCD screens that give the illusion of the outside world. Images will be adjusted accordingly, to match the real time of the day, season and weather.”
“Oh, yes. I have noticed that the most luxurious bunkers have those.”
“We also paid attention to functionality, since this space is limited. We primarily installed multifunctional furniture.” Hugo walked over to a small table that was placed by the wall. He folded it in just a few moves that it almost disappeared optically and then hung it on the wall. He did the same with the two chairs, and in no time there was more space in the room.
“This is great!” Ayame smiled and clapped her hands.
Hugo nodded, and proceeded, “The bed has an option to hide in the wall, and almost all pieces of furniture can easily be moved across the room. The space can be easily reorganized if needed.”
“Yeah, it’s really nice that you thought about all these little details,” Ayame said, enthusiasm radiating from her face.
“Yes. We are happy with the result,” Hugo said, and put the chairs and table back as they were. “There on your right is the bathroom…” he added.
Ayame headed towards the half open door, and Ryosuke followed right after her. The light flicked on, the moment they entered.
Although small, the space of the bathroom was fully utilized. The shower stall and toilet were on the right, and the sink with cabinets of various sizes and the mirror were on the left.
“Nice…” Ayame said, looking around black and white interior.
“The cabinets are stocked with all necessary items in advance of your arrival,” Hugo said, and Ayame opened a few cabinets to check what was inside. There she saw various containers, small bottles, bandages, and boxes.
When they finished their tour around the private room, they went into the hallway, and entered the elevator again. This time Hugo pressed number five, and spoke, “Now we’re going to see the canteen, bar and the classroom.”
“Okay!” Ayame bounced on her toes, while Ryosuke remained quiet.
When the elevator door opened, the automatic lights revealed a completely different space from the previous floor. They entered the canteen, which had the entrance right in front of the elevator, just a few steps down the hall.
The canteen looked airy and spacious; the walls here were painted white, and the tiles on the floor were light gray andslightly reminiscent of concrete. The tables were white with dark wooden legs and the chairs also white with brown chair cushions. A range of artificial green plants were hanging on the walls or standing in the pots filling the corners.
There wasn’t a single fake window, but there were a couple of tactically placed mirrors, which made the room even brighter and bigger.
“Impressive.” Ayame walked forward and nodded her head.
“This is the place where the residents will gather to eat. The canteen will be open every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If we go deeper to the left side and walk through that door, we will find ourselves in a bar, and on the right side is a classroom that can be used by both children and adults, and there is also a kids’ playroom. Do you have children?”
“Oh, no… no. We don’t have any, for now,” Ayame said and glanced at Ryosuke, but her fiancé only looked around ignoring the conversation.
They went through each of the rooms on that floor and returned to the elevator to see another level.
Number four was the storage level, and here the walls were painted light gray without paintings on the walls or decorations. The floor was covered with dark gray tiles, and the doors were huge metal plates. Hugo showed them a storage room with mostly canned goods, and all the basic necessities. After that they proceeded to the other side of that same floor where the glass door opened automatically to let them in. As they stepped inside, the couple realized they were in a place that looked very much like an ordinary grocery store.
“Is this what I think it is?” Ayame asked and turned to Hugo.
“Yes. If you think that this is a store, you’re absolutely right. We created it so residents can come and get all the necessities instead of going to the storage room. It will help them keep the feeling of normalcy.”
“This place doesn’t cease to fascinate me,” Ayame admitted.
They circled around the area and headed out, passing right by what seemed like a cash register, when Hugo added, “Items that residents choose to take will not be charged, of course, but they will have to register everything they collect; that’s to avoid someone taking more products than they actually need.”
