Be the Light

1. The CRC

The Canadian Radio Center was bigger than its outside assumed. Tucked in the dead forests of Anda's dry landscape didn't hide a mere building, but a whole complex. Shattered windows looked out over fenced-off gardens and yards, once beautiful, perhaps, but worn with time and the decline of the air quality. 

Upon first entering, the group of survivors was faced with a lobby, not unlike those of the tall buildings with the many rooms that Wooyoung knew from the desert. A curved counter once served to receive visitors and some plastic chairs were scattered in relatively good shape. 

With his gun braced, Yunho checked the backroom. File cabinets were open and emptied of their contents. The few shelves somewhat intact, were barren.

"Feels like we aren't the first ones to come here," Mingi muttered as he kicked a fallen pot out of their way. With Seonghwa clutched to his side within the confinements of his bag, Jongho stuck to his flank. His eyes were still bleak after the dreadful revelation that he was turning into a foul, but he didn't give up as long as he was sane. After so much planning and traveling, they reached their destination. Now, they only needed to find the place where Seonghwa belonged.

"Raiders that lost their way, most likely. Where to?" Yunho asked as he returned. The path split off into two ways and more doors awaited them down the corridors painted in a friendly orange color. Some signs on the wall explained the layout within the facility, but none of them could read aside from Seonghwa. Even if the round cameras on the ceilings seemed dead, it was risky to expose him here.

"Best we make sure we are alone, anyway. Keep your eyes out for anything that looks like a lot of cables and energy goes there, or that has a screen like him," Mingi grunted. They went for the left wing first and peered through the nearby doors. 

For most rooms, Wooyoung couldn't tell what they were for. They congregated cabinets with countless drawers and office spaces where people worked in the past. Everything was barren of loot and even the funny number boxes were long since cracked open, offering nothing more for them to investigate. Most windows were shattered to let in the haunting silence from outside, but some were cracked with spindly webs. Somehow, their sight was even eerier.

Undoubtedly, this place bustled with life once. Usually when Wooyoung explored ruins, he was saddened to find so many traces of people, clothes, name tags, and personal belongings like pictures or toys. Everyone lived their lives before the bombs dropped.

But this place saw a time after the war started and it might have endured past it if people tried to recover in similar ways as the scientists in Europe who created Seonghwa. Someone got rid of everything that meant personal traces, and what remained was a hollow shell of human memories. As if nothing was left of everyone who once existed here. As if they were wiped out without a trace.

Shuddering, Wooyoung peered out of the window with his rifle. The complex rounded an inner yard and lifted three stories high. Some complicated-looking metal bowls and electricity towers hovered atop the roofs. This place surely had some emergency generators they could activate. For now, the light from outside was enough to explore the empty rooms.

They passed a staircase that led up as well as down and thrust another door open. This one gave way to a large hall. Several tables filled the inside, some destroyed by a crumbled wall. Trays and cutlery were strewn about, which meant this was a place to eat once. Wooyoung had difficulties imagining people here laughing and sharing dinner the same way they did around the fireplace. Not even a jacket or bag was left behind.

"How is the leg?" Yeosang nervously asked Jongho when he noticed his stiff step. No immediate danger lurked, and whoever had ransacked this location would be long since gone. The only risks that prevailed were a leak in the outer wall that let the fouls in or some raiders getting cozy to use this as shelter. But in that case, they probably would have trapped the entrance.