Page 74 of The Explorer
Wherever I looked there was evidence of how this once bustling city had come to a shrieking halt when the bombs fell. A public transport vehicle hung half suspended above ground where the rail system had collapsed. Moss and fungi grew on the walls and seats.
We collected samples of vegetation and small pieces of old brick. We measured air quality and filmed the area for documentation.
Britany kept close to me and had her hands folded around her waist while scouting for potential danger.
“I don’t like this place. It’s scary.”
“It’ll be over soon,” I comforted her while scraping off fungus from one of the ruins.
Val, Banni, Aubri, and I were all working fast to secure the samples needed for the scientists. I was reaching for another sample container when a loud bang made Britany scream and cling to me. Pivoting around, I faced the direction of the sound and saw an old rusty bucket was rolling over the ground.
“Probably just rats knocking that thing down,” I said, and looked to Aubri, who stood facing the same way with her hands on the knife strapped to her thigh.
“Do you want me to investigate?” she asked Banni.
“No!” Banni’s gaze darted around. “I’m not getting any readings of large animals close by. Nor is Val. We should be fine, but...”
“But what?” I asked and wished the body reader on my wristband worked here.
“It’s not always a hundred percent.”
“Why the fuck not?” I groaned.
“We’ve been surprised by large animals before. The body detector shows it, but if we’re distracted by other things, we don’t always see it.”
“Then what’s the use of a brain implant?” Aubri asked and squatted down to continue her sampling.
“It’s the same as if you have your wrist band showing you something, but you miss it because you’re looking away. Val and I have so many alerts going off in our mind all the time.”
“Are you almost done?” Britany asked after our being on the ground for around half an hour.
“Almost.”
I placed my sample in the robot that was with us, and then I reached into my pouch for a new kit. “Why do the scientists even need this many samples?”
“That’s none of our business. We just do as they tell us,” Banni barked. It was clear to me that his nerves were on edge so I tried to make small talk to ease the tension.
“I want to see the laboratories they work in.” My gaze went to Aubri. “We could ask Victor to show us.”
“Victor from the delegation?” Britany asked and lit up for a moment. “You know him?”
“Of course we know him. We’ve had to tolerate his arrogant ass at every summit for more than a decade. But seriously, I want to see what they do with all these tests.”
“Could you introduce me?” Britany asked while still keeping too close to me.
“To Victor?”
“Oui.I’m a major fan.”
Her admission made me stop and stare at her. “Did you say fan?”
“Oui, Victor is incredible.”
Aubri snorted. “She’s right about that part. He’s definitelysomething.”
“Trust me, Britany, you don’t want to meet Victor. He’ll disappoint you with his lack of humor and annoying personality. The man is self-absorbed and he would start an argument with his reflection just to hear his own voice.”
“Maybe that’s true, but we Europeans are all indebted to him because of his genius work, and I’ve read interviews with women who said that he’s a genius inallaspects.”
