The room hung heavy with silence, no one showed a willingness to speak and John's eyebrows furrowed. He took a quick glance at everyone, trying to determine who was more likely to talk when his gaze landed on the teenage boy he had saved earlier.
The boy spotted John and looked at him, his eyes burning with anticipation. Approaching Brian, John sought to encourage him. "What's your name?" he asked in a calm, reassuring tone.
"Brian," the boy replied, his voice subdued by the tension in the room.
"Brian, do you have any idea how this happened?"
"No..." the boy admitted, his gaze sorrowful. "We were all playing near the kitchen when we heard the screams and then we ran to hide."
"Do you remember seeing anything strange before or after the attack?"
Brian's gaze turned to the ceiling in a contemplative state.
"Tell me, even if you think it's irrelevant," John said.
"Um, well..." Brian began, "I heard someone talking on the phone."
John's eyes narrowed. On the phone? There was no way communications were still working. Even if the backup generators were still operational, they were likely unmanned. How long could they possibly last? John was no expert, but he guessed
But as usual, he didn't linger on this thought and urged Brian to continue.
"We were playing near the kitchen and someone was talking on the phone near that door," Brian said, pointing to the room where John had found Maria and Marco.
Could it have been Marco? But what was his motive? He was scared, so scared that he had pissed himself, but was that because of the monsters? And why was Maria in that state? But no use in overthinking, he needed more answers before he could figure out what's happening.
"Where are all the others?" John asked. He noticed there were significantly fewer people in the shelter, even if you counted the dead. Plus, Octavia, August, Mika and Edward weren't here.
"I'm not sure, but they left for a mission. I think..." Brian said, scratching his chin.
"I see. Thank you, Brian. You can go, now."
Brian nodded and John reclined his back on a wooden chair. He had enough pieces of the puzzle to form a working theory. Whatever happened was clearly premeditated. It was too convenient that the strongest had left the same time the attack happened and Marco had something to do with it.
Going by his pathetic state, he must have been coerced into it. Either that or he cut a bad deal and things escalated into this. Could the strange mist outside tie into this somehow? Whatever the case, it was likely that someone had used Maria against Marco in some way. His fear, Maria's state and the absent of most fighters, it all pieced together in John's mind.
John had decided to wait for the rest of the survivors to come back. In the meantime, he had to fix this place. At the very least, the exit should be sealed.
As John moved around the shelter, making sure everything was in place, hours passed quickly and a large group of survivors entered the bunker. A cacophony of gasps could be heard as the survivors noticed the state of the bunker.
John sat quietly, waiting for the shock to pass when Octavia spotted him. She noticed him and rushed to him. Her clothes were tattered and slicked in blood. August, Edward and Mika trailed behind her.
"John! What's going on here" Octavia asked, darting her gaze around the tattered bunker.
John provided a thorough explanation, and the group listened attentively. He presented his reasoning and theories, with everyone in agreement except for Mika.
"Do you really think he would lock himself inside with the monsters?" Mika countered, scepticism lacing her words.
"It sounds unlikely, but we don't have the full picture, and all clues point to him," John replied, maintaining his stoic expression.
Mika clicked her tongue, turning her gaze away from John.
"He's currently in a state of shock, but we need answers. We need to interrogate him," John explained with determination.
"I'll do it," Mika said, a sly grin playing on her lips. John arched an eyebrow, but time was a luxury they couldn't afford to squander.
"Alright, come on. I'll take you to him."
Mika grinned and treaded gleefully alongside John. He couldn't help but wonder if there was a touch of sadistic pleasure added to her recipe. He thought back to Edward's submissive attitude and something clicked in his mind, but it made him cringe inwardly. He put the thought forever out of his mind as they arrived at a worn wooden door.
"Here," he said, "go nuts."
"Don't mind if I do," Mika replied with a joyful tone, a hint of mischief in her eyes.
John, preferring not to know the details of the interrogation, turned his attention to his other pressing concern: Maria. He needed her to awaken, and if his theory was correct, Edward might hold the key. He escorted Edward to Maria's room and instructed him to examine her.
"I'm not a doctor, you know..." Edward stated meekly, heaving a deep sigh.
"Just check, it might be tech from your friends," John urged.
Edward's eyes widened in understanding, and he retrieved a metallic cube similar to the one had shown John. From it, several alien tools materialised out of thin air.
'It looks like my inventory,' John thought as he watched Edward prodding and scanning Maria with multiple alien tools.
Edward's brows furrowed as he analysed the readings from the devices. "This is... incredible," he mumbled, more to himself than to John.
"What did you find?" John asked, his patience wearing thin.
Edward didn't respond immediately, engrossed in his task. He continued to scan Maria, occasionally adjusting the settings on the alien devices. John watched intently, his anxiety mounting.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Edward turned to John with a mix of amazement and concern in his eyes. "John, the technology within her is unlike anything I've seen before. It's highly advanced, far beyond anything our people or the Luminars have ever developed. It's as if it's from a completely different civilization."
John's heart raced. "Can you wake her up? Figure out what's going on?"
Edward nodded, his expression serious. "I'll try, but it might be risky. This technology is so foreign, I can't guarantee the outcome. There's a chance I could trigger something unintended."
John clenched his fists. "We don't have a choice. We need answers, and we need them now."
Edward nodded once more and began to work with Maria's unconscious form, interfacing with the mysterious alien technology. As he delved deeper into the process, a sense of unease settled over the room, as if they were about to unravel secrets that were never meant to be revealed.
Loud banging erupted on the bunker's entrance, reverberating through the halls. Octavia came sprinting to find John. "Someone's at the main door trying to get in!"