Page 83 of Whispers and Warriors
And maybe even a baby to come one day.
EPILOGUE
The blinkingcursor on the screen pulsed in a steady rhythm, casting an eerie green glow across Liam’s face in the darkened room. He leaned back in the creaky chair, his fingers drumming absently on the desk as he watched the lines of code scroll by.
It had been three months since they’d discovered this hidden bunker, buried deep beneath the rubble of the old city. Three months of sifting through the remnants of a world long gone, salvaging what technology they could to aid in their survival. And yet, the sophisticated systems that whirred and clicked around him still felt surreal, like ghosts from a forgotten past.
Liam sighed, running a hand through his messy brown hair. His glasses slipped down his nose and he pushed them back up reflexively. No matter how many times he sat in front of these terminals, immersed himself in their archaic language, a part of him couldn’t quite believe it was real. That somehow, amidst the decay and destruction that reigned above, something still functioned down here.
The door creaked open behind him and he swiveled in his chair to see Emma silhouetted in the doorway, her golden hair set aglow by the flickering fluorescent lights of the hallway.
“Hey you,” she said softly, her smile tired but warm. “Burning the midnight oil again?”
Liam returned her smile, the tension easing from his shoulders at the sight of her. “You know me. Can’t resist the siren song of ancient databases and flickering CRTs.”
She chuckled, crossing the small room to perch on the edge of the desk beside him. “Find anything interesting tonight?”
“Not really. Just the usual records, supply logs. Though I did find an old MP3 collection. Seems our mysterious benefactors had quite the taste for 90s alternative.”
“Ooh, I’ll have to raid that later. Nirvana and candlelight, how romantic.”
He shot her a wry look. “Not sure how romantic a bunch of grungy dudes yowling about teen angst is, but hey, whatever floats your boat.”
She laughed, swatting playfully at his arm, and his heart swelled at the sound.
It’s moments like this that made it all worth it, he reflected. The long nights, the stress and uncertainty, the looming specter of the world they’d lost. As long as he had her beside him, believing in a future beyond all this, it was enough.
The computer beeped insistently, dragging his attention back to the scrolling lines of green text. He scanned them quickly, frowning as a pattern began to emerge.
“Hang on...” he muttered, leaning forward. “There’s something here, about a shipment that came in right before the bombs fell. This was here before the bombs?” Blood rushed in Liam’s ears.
“What? Maybe this was a research facility, and that’s how it became a safe place?” Emma asked, concern creeping into her voice.
Liam shook his head. “It doesn’t say. Just that it was classified Level Black, highest security clearance.” He looked upat her, brow furrowed. “What could be so top secret that it warranted that level of lockdown?”
She bit her lip, shadows flickering behind her eyes. “I don’t know. But I have a bad feeling we’re going to find out if you keep digging. Maybe don’t?”
“Does that sound like me?” Liam smirked even as his stomach threatened to flip. Did he want to go down this route?
“Knock knock,” Alex called playfully. “Ya’ll coming home at any point?”
“Dinner is not getting cold, but I’m hungry,” Bash growled as he appeared beside Alex.
“How would you know it’s not getting cold? I’m cooking.” William chimed in next, but didn’t enter the room.
“In all seriousness, Liam, you can’t poke around this much at night. Accept that it’s wonderful here and stop digging through nav charts and records.” Chris’s voice left no terms for Liam to argue.
Which is why he didn’t argue.
Liam’s fingers flew over the keyboard as he dug deeper, searching for any scrap of information that might shed light on the mysterious shipment. The more he found, the more his unease grew.
“It looks like it was some kind of joint project between the military and a private research company,” he said, scanning the lines of redacted text. “Something called Project Lazarus.”
Emma’s eyes widened. “Lazarus? As in rising from the dead?”
“Fucking hell,” Bash snarled, walking up behind him.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Liam muttered. He leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his hair. “What were they trying to do? Bring back the dead?”
