Pandora's Box

Chapter 32

“What did you just say?” she asked me.

“You heard what I said,” I told her.

“It’s impossible,” she said and I know that she is upset.

“I saw with my own eyes,” I snorted. “It’s okay that you don’t believe me but just see for yourself, it even damaged the wall without being killed,” I added. As soon as she heard that from me, she stood up.

I know that she is paranoid because this is a shelter to protect us. I know that she just wants to keep us safe.

I followed her until we reached the surveillance room, where all the monitors that show the live feed to all the cameras were scattered outside.

Also, we saw an echo there snorting on the swivel chair, exactly in the same position when I left her last night. I find that amusing and I chuckled softly.

She’s interesting.

I mean not in a romantic way because there is already someone that made me feel that way so sorry, Echo if you are trying to make me feel interested in you.

I chuckled at my thoughts.

I’m in love with Jen and there is no other woman that will make me feel the same way again towards other girls.

I am too young they say.

But love does not care about our age as long as it does not make me a pedophile, then I am all good with it.

“It’s okay to wake her up?” I asked her before doing so because I am not the one who knows how to operate all these things and it seems like that the swivel chair that she is sitting on right now and soundly sleeping is fixed. So, we can’t move it away.

 Oh, another thing, I don’t know the specific details. The timestamp and what camera, I just stood there last night besides her watching the creature trying to get inside here.

I am sure that it is pretty familiar and I saw it somewhere.

That’s why I am sure that if my sister saw it, then she will recognize it immediately.

She knows because I am sure that she has worked on it, so I have high hopes that she will recognize it immediately.

She sighed and looked at me.

She is also hesitant to wake this woman.

She said that I should keep this secret to myself.

That there are surveillance cameras scattered all around the place.

I don’t know what is their reason, but I don’t have the right to question it.

“Let’s come back later at night, I guess I won’t sleep,” she told me, and then she sighed.

.              .              .              .              .              .              .              .              .              .

All day, nothing happened and time happened so fast because I am making myself busy on other things, I guess. Jen did not show up, but I am extremely hoping that she will go outside, but no. Sis told me that she is still devastated but she assured me that she is eating well and not neglecting her health.

For me, this is something that I am happy about. Knowing that she is doing well, is good enough for me. I am with my sister now, and we are on our way towards echo. It’s one am, early morning.

The others are soundly asleep now.

We walked towards the surveillance room, not giving care on who might see us because both of us are certain that there is no one at this time of the morning. It did not take us long to reach the room, and we saw Echo stretching her arms.

It seems like that she just woke up from her deep slumber.

“Good morning,” sis greeted her with her cold voice, and Echo just reacted normally to her.

“Oh, your highness,” she said in a teasing manner and I saw a smirk forming on her lips.

“Don’t call me that,” my sis protested.

Don’t know the reason and I don’t have the plan to know why. I just listened to their conversation as I stare at the camera, and moments later. I heard the same tapping sound again.

I know that the two of them heard it too.

I am not mistaken that they did.

They stopped and scanned the area as if something is wrong there.

“That’s it,” I told my sister.

“What’s that?” she asked me.

“The creature that I am telling you about earlier,” I told her. I prefer saying, ‘I told you so!’ but I will save it for the last when she sees the creature trying to get inside this place.

I don’t know if it’s hostile or not but I don’t have any plans to know. I just want to get rid of that creature as soon as possible and resolve the bug out of her defense system security.

That way I will be assured that we are safe here until all the specimens are contained again in their respective enclosures. 

Honestly, I can feel the tremors meaning that there are still explosions happening on the surface. Honestly, I feel so disconnected from the world. Well, I can safely say that I am not used to being so disconnected on the outside.

Timing is playful when it comes to me and I want to file a case for being so bullied. We got here in the worst time possible.

It’s not just the worst.

It’s the worst of all the worst.

Imagine her sister died, and this, a threat that even we are following her sister’s path. I don’t want to die yet because I have so many plans for myself.

I know that they understand.

I saw Echo navigating through the cameras while navigating feed by feed, of each monitor so my sis can see it live.

Now that the tapping sound is still there.

It is dark outside and the cameras have night vision features. So, it’s not that clear but seeing it in action is more than enough proof to me to show my sister that something is trying to get in here and kill us (maybe).

Not so long after we saw the feed that shows the creature that uses its tendrils like claws to claw through the thick wall.

I immediately looked at my sister’s face because I am so curious right now, what reaction she will give me. I am more than surprised that she just looks at it. She’s, my sister.

Who am I kidding?

She just scans the feed, even not having a clear view on the feed because everything is green, it is as if her eyes are glued on the monitor. I am so curious about what she is staring at.

But it lasted for minutes, just studying the screen as if she can see it.

I am itching to tell her, ‘I told you so’ but it seems like that it won’t get through here.

“How?” I heard her ask herself, though it is a whisper, I can hear her muttering as if she is talking to herself but in secret. She seems so into it, that she did not even notice that Echo and I are staring at her intently.

Waiting for her, to notice that we are staring. But it seems that she was not affected by it.

But no matter how hard I try to listen, she did not even too uncomfortable with it, so we just let her.

“I know,” I was shocked and my eyes sprung wide open when I heard sis’s loud voice. It took her TWENTY MINUTES, just to finish a conversation with herself, if she is not my sister, I am starting to think that she is crazy or suffering from a mental disorder.

But since the curiosity got the best of us two. We waited.

“It’s the experimental, Terra former, the thing that you saw when you came here on your first day,” she said. “That’s why!” she exclaimed but I don’t fully understand.

“An artificial one?” Echo asked my sister.

I thought she was on her team; then how come she does not know about that?

“So that’s why you are so demanding when it comes to security measures,” she added. I should have expected that.

“Yes, you are right, the artificial ones are so much different to those who are infected in the natural world as if they are absorbing things around them, they mutate and immediately adapt, maybe that’s why,” she is too fast with her words that even I cannot keep up.

Every time that my sister gets too excited, she is always like this. Honestly, she can beat the world’s fastest rapper.

“So, are you saying that this one adapted to the signals that you installed and the sensors?” Echo asked.

“Yes,” she answered immediately and without any hesitation. She seems so happy about it too and I am so confused because if that’s the case we should panic.

I don’t know but my sister can be extremely weird sometimes.

“Then how can we solve this problem?” she asked my sister.

“Put some electrical fence or wires around the place and the building and turn it off when we go outside,” she said and I was overwhelmed because she had already come up with a solution.

That was fast, not that advanced but simple and innovative. But the problem is how can we do that?

“Then you are going to clean your basement?” Echo asked.

“It’s all yours,” my sister answered and I saw a smirk on Echo’s lips. Oh, dude, this is something that I don’t understand.

A conversation between weirdos.

How I wish that I am a weirdo too, so, I can understand what they are saying.

Based on their reaction towards each other, it seems like that I don’t have to think of the materials that they are going to use to fulfill that solution of my sister.

We just watched the creature and there is a question that pops into my mind.

“What was it called?” I asked subconsciously.

“The head eater, or TF – A01,” she told me and I should assume that the letter in A01 means artificial and the number means that this is the first artificial terra former that they have created.

“It eats heads?” I am a bit creeped out by the thought of it.

“Yes, our coworker Sean was its first meal, I mean he deserves it coming because he non-stop harassing your sister,” Echo said.

“What?” I exclaimed; I mean he deserves it but he is harassing my sister.

So, I looked at her with rage in my eyes because I want to be the one to feed his head off towards that creature.

“Don’t worry, no one can touch your sister,” Echo assured me.

Good to know.