As they walked onward, Austin couldn't help but wonder what kind of traps would be set up down here. Though it would make sense to put traps close what could be an exit to this place or, even, a space one wanted no one else to venture, the constant thought of someone putting anyone in this hellhole in the first place had Austin grimacing in frustration.
"Oh, I know that face, Newbie," Cleo said, the word 'newbie' sounding alien to her tongue somehow, despite being here for a longer time than Austin; Austin could tell she didn't use it often. "So many questions and not enough answers, am I right?"
Austin gave the 13 year old girl a quick, nodding glance, immediately wondering if all the girls in this place were telepaths, or were they just so good at reading people, guessing what they were actually thinking. His gut told him it was the latter, but, then again, he didn't stay thinking about it for too long, as it was all making him frustrated. It made him frustrated that even young kids like Cleo and Zether were in this hellhole of a place, too. It was bad enough that other adolescent boys and girls were trapped in this hell, but this… This is just wrong. If he found those Watchers who put them here… No, when he found those Watchers, he'll unleash a proper punishment for them himself, even if he has to hunt them all down to do it. "Something like that."
Some of what Austin was thinking must've shown on his face, as Cleo, who seemingly instinctively walked a bit out Austin's way, said "You have the glare of a hunter, Austin. It's kinda scary; try dialing it down a bit."
"Yeah, sorry, my bad," Sighing heavily, Austin blanked his face. Shifting his bow in hand the moment Aaron unsheathed his machete, Austin spotted Cleo moving closer in between the two of them, as the Doors came into view. "Just got a bit lost in my thoughts, is all."
"Well, don't get too lost or you'll get yourself killed in this place," Cleo wisely advised. "Try venting with someone, Newbie. I hear that helps with racing thoughts."
"You and your brother, Zether," Austin brough up, as they walked where Aaron had. "Are you guys the only ones with healing abilities in the Meadows?"
"We have the greatest healing abilities, though there are three others, but they can only pretty much close small cuts and scrapes, not like Zether, or I, who can close most minor and some major wounds," Cleo answered. "But we have limits, though, just like everyone who has powers like us. We can't resurrect the dead, it takes longer for us to heal large wounds and, most of the time, we can only close the wound and stop the bleeding of very serious injuries, so Annihilator wounds, which are laced with toxins and venoms, we can't really do anything about the toxins or venoms. When we heal someone we can even see and sense hidden injuries, sores or discomforts, like a pair of binoculars that sees injuries and stuff on the human body."
"Huh,," Austin offered blankly afterwards. "If no one can remember being who they were before waking up in this place, how do you and Zether remember being siblings?"
Cleo shrugged this. "It's not 'remembering we're siblings' per se, as its more like feeling the memory muscle of interacting between the two of us, or, you know, just feeling that sibling connection, somehow. You understand?"
"Not one bit," teased Austin, who earned a playful shove from the girl. It was nice, peaceful almost, earning such a reaction. It was blissful, even. It ignited a warm feeling in Austin's chest. In that moment, he had the sudden brotherly urge to keep Cleo safe; Cleo and Zether.
"Look alive Newbs. We're here," Aaron snapped Austin's attention to the present, right before Austin had the chance to run into him. "Austin, ready an arrow, and go ahead and take the lead. Anything that moves, shoot it dead. Got it?"
"Yeah," Austin drew one of his handcrafted, stone tipped, wooden-shafted arrow from his leather quiver took middle position as Aaron counted down from three, and, surprisingly, opened the double doors with ease, letting Austin take the lead inside, past him.
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Inside the Cavern Wall, through those double steel doors, it was dark and wet and the only source of light came from the outside, above the Cavern, where faint streaks of light streamed inside. But, heart racing, adrenaline pumping through the BOOM, BOOM, BOOM of his ears, Austin took one step after the next, slowly but surely walking deeper and deeper inside the space, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
Eyes finally adjusted, Austin noticed that no one was inside the space other than himself and his compatriotes flanked behind him, not even a mouse. Instead, he did notice how bizarre this space was as he motioned the all-clear to Aaron and Cleo. the room was the size of the dining area in the Oakhouse, with concrete floors, matching gray, concrete support beams and at least three stories high, each story accessible through a boxed-in ladder way at the center of the room, all three stories reachable by the narrow, corded railed metal black walkway connected to the black metal boxed-in ladders. But what was weird wasn't even the computer platform at the base of the ladder box or how no one could get past the login screen 𑁋 It was what lined the wales of the space: Metal, coffin-like structures that were more of a combination between a coffin and an experimenting testing tube mad scientists uses to put people in during the experiments. It had glass walls and, on either ends of the coffin-shaped testing tub, were circular steel objects that sealed the tubes. The lid of such a tube popped open, invitingless but ominous.
"Wha-what is this place?" Austin heard Cleo say from behind. "And what are these things? Why are there so many of them?"
Austin counted at least 120 of these strange tubes 𑁋 Roughly the amount of Meadowers that's been in the Meadows total, based on what Reya told him. He felt like he's been in them before, and, connecting the dots, Austin realized that he must've been in them at one point, probably before waking up in that cell days earlier. The realization left a metallic taste in his mouth, and a glance at his friends told him they came to the same conclusions as he had.
"I'm not sure what dis place is, but let's see if we can find somethin' useful, yea?" Aaron stated before surging forward, taking the lead. "We'll explore what we can now, and come back tomorrow. Right now, we need to see what we can find in here𑁋."
A sudden animalistic call had caught the ears of all three of them 𑁋 After locking eyes and gazes, they each came to the same realization that it came from the direction of the friends who were supposed to be keeping an eye out for trouble. It was followed by a whistle Austin recognized as Atlanna's emergency whistle in case something went wrong. "Shit," they all said in unison.
Aaron was the first to turn and run back the way they'd come, followed by Cleo and then Austin began to follow when something caught his attention in his peripheral vision: A glint of silver 𑁋 A metal claw he know belonged to an Annihilator.
Then, as he picked it up, a claw mark on the wall caught his attention next before another clawmark did and a few fangs spaced out made Austin realize that this place was where the Annihilators rested.
Worse, asleep, side-by-side, bones - human bones - and skulls - human skulls - resting at their feet, half a dozen Annihilators rested behind these tubes. With a hitched breath on Austin's part, he himself tense, choosing to back away slowly Austin made it to the room's entrance before Aaron yelled "Austin! Hurry up! Come on man!" And, like the universe thought it was a joke, the resting Annihilators' eyes awakened and, out of the door right as they started roaring, Austin ran after his friends, knowing the monstrosities were right at his heels.