Ground Zero

Chapter Thirty-six: Where the Answers Lie

As Miro and Zero led the way through the tangle of the ancient ruined city, they could both feel the pull that had led them all this way out here growing stronger and stronger. It was like a magnet drawing them in.

Miro glanced out a broken window they passed by, his eye catching the still-standing tallest structure in the city.

That place must hold whatever was calling out to them, Miro just knew it.

"What is it?" Dermir asked with concern, snapping Miro out of his thoughts.

"Oh – it's nothing..." He answered.

"Alright then, let's keep moving..." Dermir turned back to look at Paulina and Eser behind him. "How are you two holding up?" He asked.

Paulina was supporting Eser, but he knew that she was hurt too.

"I'm fine." Paulina said.

"Yeah –" Eser grimaced as he stepped down from a raised section of the cement floor. "I'm okay too..."

"Remember, if you need to rest at any time, we can." Dermir said, but Paulina shook her head.

"No, it's best to keep moving – I doubt that that damn grizzly was the only biotic in this place...and with all that racket we made battling it, I wouldn't be surprised if any biotics from outside the city had heard us..."

"Paulina's right." Miro chimed in. "Since Zero and I both arrived here we've seen five other biotics in this city."

Dermir frowned. "Great..."

"We should be fine if we stay out of sight." Eser said. "It's a good thing we have Zero to lead us through this maze."

Zero looked back over his shoulder at the sound of his name, ears perked forward.

After traveling slowly through the cover of the collapsing buildings for some time, they emerged to stand before the huge building at the center of this city.

As Miro looked up at its top, shielding his eyes from the sun as it pierced the sky.

It was in tatters like the rest of the city, appearing to have lost its topmost half, which seemed almost impossible to imagine that this building could have been any taller than it already was, but it still looked like it was in decent enough shape.

Zero ran up ahead to the crumbling structure, looking for a way in among the rubble. When he found a place, he called out to Miro.

"This way."

Miro helped his father clamber over the rubble to where Zero was, and once they had made it to where the wolf was standing, Miro saw the large gap that led down into a choking blackness.

"Is this way safe?" Dermir questioned as he strained his eyes to see into the pitch darkness.

As Miro stared inside, he could feel nothing from this place but the pull in his gut; not even the darkness fazed him. Whatever they found in there would be the truth he and Zero had been looking for.

I will protect you. As Miro recalled Zero's words he felt certain. "I trust Zero." He said. "We've gotten this far because of him."

Dermir looked over at Zero who was watching him. "Alright then..." He sighed.

Zero walked in front, guiding them through the dark interior of the huge building. Luckily the lights attached to their guns were able to penetrate the darkness – if even a little bit.

From the inside, this place looked no different than all the other buildings they'd been in. Crumbling walls and ceilings, rubble, paper, and wires littering the ground, and tons of ancient objects from the ones who had once lived here, covered under a thick layer of cement dust.