Zach ran and ran for minutes straight. Just when he was about to collapse, a large and long structure spanning over 5 miles came into view.
Relief washed over him as he felt a surge of energy course through his body and enter his feet.
He immediately ran once again and, before long, arrived at the entrance. The door stood tall and imposing, highlighting the reputation this abandoned structure once held.
Creak!
Zach used almost all his strength as he pushed open the door.
A vast lobby greeted him. Chandeliers lay broken around the place, with chairs as tall as an adult lying eroded.
Zach took a moment to imagine the once-beautiful lobby, full of people talking with laughter and joy, before quickly sprinting to a door beside the reception desk.
When he opened it, 3 elevator doors appeared, placed on either side of the corridor. He hurried to the nearest and raised his comm, which showed his ID before swiping it to the small monitor beside it.
Ting!
The elevator opened, and after a quick moment to look around the corridor, entered. The doors closed with a loud thud as the soft hum of the engine came first from above before the elevator moved.
Zach quietly watched the descending numbers on the monitor before letting out a sigh of relief when it reached 15 km below ground.
He's here. I got to report this to Lincoln.
Ting!
The doors opened, revealing the deserted transport center. Its pristine walls reflected the light, but without the usual noise that came from the people, the place looked eerily dark.
Zach steeled himself as scenes of a movie he once watched flashed.
Now this place looks like Tarot and Incantation combined.
Zach quickly walked and opened the only door at the center that did not lead to an elevator. This time, a long corridor stretched out before him.
The silver walls were so polished that he could see his reflection and the light. Even though he has gone through many missions that introduced more horrifying things than every movie he has watched, his childhood, or rather, his teenage years of watching horror movies along with his classmates, still clung to him like a bad omen.
He slowed down his pace, fearing that the monster (or anything, really) he watched would appear.
When he reached a considerable distance away from the door, Zach suddenly heard a click, a faint one.
He hurriedly turned his head in every direction possible, trying to find whatever monster his brain had conjured up.
Until he saw. A few meters in front of him, a door slid open, and a man wearing casual clothes with a worried face came out.
Zach immediately became relaxed after inspecting the man.
"Oliver?"
The man turned his head, and when he did so, his face brightened up, as if he had just found something that he had been trying to find for hours straight.
"Zach!"
He cried before launching himself towards Zach, who opened his arms.
"Hahaha! Even though you woke up first and should be technically older than me, you still act like the younger brother you are."
His fear vanished as soon as he identified Oliver, who was his relief character, just like in movies, like LOTR.
Oliver didn't respond but hugged him tighter, afraid he would go away again.
After a few minutes of a silent reunion, Oliver finally separated himself from him.
"You know, maybe waking up early was the right choice. I mean, look at you! You almost failed the mission because your brain slept for 1000 years, causing it to be sluggish."
After taking deep breaths, Oliver remarked with his usual smile.
Zach's mouth twitched, and he held himself back from shouting at his brother in the face.
After a brief explanation of why Oliver left the hall in a fluster, they both entered through the door, which closed with a soft click.
What greeted them after entering was a vast hall about the size of or larger than the vast lobby he saw at the surface.
Around them, people talked and laughed with joy as countries of all kinds circled them, signifying their status in this vast hall.
Like them, a swirling light also came out of nowhere and circled him and Oliver with the same countries as others, but not with Oliver, who held a much higher position than him.
When the people heard the soft click of the door, they turned to face Oliver and Zach, who, upon seeing the shift of attention, smiled.
Initially, some felt worried when one of the station chiefs suddenly rushed out. It's not every day you see a station chief suddenly rush out of the hall with a worried face.
But now? With just one glance at the person's face beside him and the countries circling him, they immediately knew why, causing their initial worries to subside.
"Hey, everyone. Uh, long time no see," said Zach rather awkwardly.
No matter how many times he completed a mission involving him in speaking to a large audience, his shy nature still clung to him as tightly as ever.
There was a brief silence before the people erupted with applause.
"Hey, Zach! How are ya?"
"Zach, how was the mission?"
"What does the surface look like, Zach?"
Greetings and questions were quickly thrown to him, as he stammered at each one.
"Oh, I'm good; thanks for asking."
"The mission was successful, I think."
"Oh, it's beautiful. The people up there did a great job of reducing the pollution."
Even then, he still answered each one, even though he was stammering at his words and his knees were shaking.
Oliver quickly took note of this as he raised his hand and announced.
"Ok, I think that's enough questions for now, everyone. As you can see, my brother here is having a hard time answering your question."
The people immediately observed Zach and nodded in understanding as they made way for him.
Ola Corp employees had a reputation for their understanding and knew when to stop.
Oliver quickly led his shaking elder brother to the only elevator in the hall, which was placed opposite the door they entered.
The soft hum of the engine was the only sound in the elevator before Zach spoke.
"He's here. I can feel him. He was close to the elevator and before that in Royal Road."
Although Zach couldn't see his face, he knew for sure that Oliver's face grew dark at the information.
Ting!
The door opened when the numbers reached 13. Oliver, who had a playful smile, pushed Zach out.
He turned to him, but it was too late, as the door had already closed. However, he heard his voice at the last second.
"Go to Lincoln or anyone, for that matter. Report what you have seen."
Even though he was the elder brother of him, he still acted very serious about matters like these.