This bunker wasn't much different than the others Xaiden had explored previously. It was stocked with decaying cardboard boxes full of military rations, completely untouched. It seemed that the person who'd stayed here last had arrived well after the original bunkers' intended owners had abandoned it, judging by barely legible expiration dates on the cans from the bag and the ones on the rations.
The rations boasted a ten year shelf life but still expired over 500 years ago, leaving dark stains dripping from the yellowing musty cardboard onto the floor below the shelves. The cans from the bag had fared much better, having only expired a mere 400 years ago, their labels mostly disintegrated and revealing rusty pitted metal. Eliana had informed them that as long as the can had no dents or damage, it was technically safe to eat, but none of them had ever been that curious to risk their health for some discolored carrots.
Besides the hoarded food that hadn't served its intended purpose, there was everything else you'd expect from a pre-war bunker. Countless bottles and jugs of water, first aid kits, radios, hazmat suits, vacuum sealed bags with clothes and blankets, though the seals had long since failed and the cloth deteriorated in this instance.
For Xaiden, the part that was most interesting about these bunkers was the leisure items and important documents. There was usually a safe that contained things like birth certificates, property deeds, and even medical documents in some cases. It was always interesting to try to connect the bunker to the public records at the Archive and to know that they had stepped into history. Less securely stored would be novels and board games and toys if the original occupants had children. It was interesting to compare the toys they found to the ones he remembered from his childhood.
The documents from the safe declared the property as belonging to the Frankin family and their descendants, though that would be a hard claim to uphold given the ban on entering this area. Xaiden tapped his imprint to make a note to look them up later, then moved over to shelves to grab one of the brittle plastic totes marked, "Books". This is what he came here for after all. He set it on one of the bunk beds and continued looking through the plastic containers. Ewen was working on a shelf on the wall next to him, so Xaiden asked, "Found any books?"
Ewen shook his head. "N-not so far, j-just looking at this g-game!"
"Oh, yeah? Is it a new one?" Xaiden asked, not entirely interested.
"N-no, we have one at the f-fort already." Ewen responded. "It's j-just a special e-edition one."
"Ah, I see." Xaiden responded absentmindedly as he grabbed another container to move to his pile. At least one of the books was a copy of one he already had, and he didn't care enough to check if it was a special edition or not, Eliana could just have at it if she wanted. He rarely read a story more than once. There are so many stories out there, why waste the time? he thought, hoping that was the only one of the books in the yellowing plastic containers that he'd read before.
"Guys, check this out!" Jax called. Xaiden glanced over, while Ewen made his way over slowly. "Come on, guys, come see!" Jax insisted.
"What is it?" Xaiden asked skeptically. It had been well established that their interests didn't align as far as antiques and artifacts went.
"This radio might actually work!" Jax exclaimed. "You gotta come see this!"
"Jax, I'm not going to understand it or be half as excited about it, you already know that." Xaiden sighed heavily, but still made his way over to Jax and Ewen, looking over their shoulders at the desk near the steps Jax was seated at. "Woah, what's all that?" Xaiden asked, taken back at the yellowing papers layered on the desk with complex formulas, maps, coordinates, and detailed sketches of strange objects.
"Whoever was here last left detailed notes about the radio. It looks a little different than some of the others I've seen out here, and it's connected to the one upstairs! I think I can follow these schematics and repair it!" Jax gushed. "Who ever did all of this must have been a genius but maybe also a little off their rocker, if you know what I mean."
"Go on," Xaiden dryly prodded after Jax paused for dramatic effect.
"Well, these notes keep referencing how to reach other planets." Jax answered sheepishly. "I can follow along with most of the notes about the radio, I just don't understand what they mean by other planets, unless it's a code somehow?"
"I-it's n-not j-just the r-radio notes," Ewen started nervously. "These m-maps are s-strange too." He placed one of the papers he'd picked up on top of the pile and pointed to a location marked, 'Portal'.
"What's strange about that? We use portals all the time to get around Zenith." Xaiden asked, confused. "Weren't there portals in use back then too? The technology is pretty old."
"Y-yeah, b-but there's n-no p-portal there anymore." Ewen explained. "This m-map covers the area near the s-school.
"Couldn't they have just moved some around over time?" Jax asked.
"B-but look at the l-legend at the bottom," Ewen continued, pointing to the small box at the bottom corner. "S-see? Blossom," he asked expectantly.
"You're gonna have to break this down a bit more, I don't get it." Xaiden said, scratching his head.
Ewen slid the map to the side and pointed at the notes Jax had been studying. "L-look, Blossom!" he said, peering at Jax who returned his look vacantly for a few moments before suddenly exclaiming.
"Ah ha!" Jax pulled the map back over with renewed interest. "Blossom is one of the so-called 'other planets' from the radio schematics!" Glancing back at Ewen, he asked, "Do you see any others on here? What about a 'Meridian'?"
"N-no, b-but I can c-check the o-other maps." Ewen responded excitedly. He studied the papers on the table carefully, organizing the maps as he stacked them in a pile. "W-were t-there any other planets mentioned?"
"So you guys are saying that the notes are referencing coded locations on the map?" Xaiden interjected. "Do you think it's some sort of smuggling route or something? Or other bunkers maybe?"
"We should try to check out the locations from the map if we can! What if we find a stash of jewels down there?" Jax wondered excitedly. They'd found some valuable items from time to time, but most of the currency and precious stones and metals kept in the bunkers from these eras was either no longer in circulation, or so commonly produced therefore essentially worthless. They may hold a historical significance and value from that, however, they could never admit where it came from and no respectable museum or research center would accept goods from the forbidden land, even on the black market. Still, they enjoyed collecting some trinkets and occasionally pawned off some of the common jewels for petty cash.
"Are any of them located in the forest?" Xaiden asked hopefully. "It'll be easier to access them if they are!"
"I-I'm still l-looking," Ewen responded, clearly flustered as he gathered the maps and started to spread them out on the floor.
"Let's keep looking around while Ewen works on the maps," Xaiden suggested. "Jax, were there other planets mentioned on the radio schematics?
"Umm.. yeah, 'Vendure', or maybe 'Verdure'?" Jax responded as he scanned through the notes again.
"Is that it?" Xaiden asked. Jax studied the papers for a bit then slowly nodded. "Okay, not too bad. Less locations to cover." Xaiden thought aloud. "Any progress on those maps, Ewen?"
"Umm.. a-about t-that." Ewen started. "I d-don't think it's g-going to be l-less locations."
"What do you mean?" Jax asked, walking over to the curling maps on the ground. He went back to the shelves and returned with some disk like rocks from one of the board games and started laying them on the corners of the papers.
"T-thank you," Ewen nodded gratefully at Jax, then continued, "I-I mean, I'm f-finding a lot of l-locations with the same n-names."
"You're right, there's locations for Blossom, Meridian, and Verdure spread all over the world map." Jax added as he kneeled and studied the worn papers.
"Hmm.. that's strange. We only found supplies for one person, but this seems to be too big of an operation to run alone if those locations are safe houses or drop-off locations." Xaiden said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should try finding a diary or journal, or even personal letters if whoever this was had partners in crime." They returned to studying the papers from the desk, the drawers, and searching the room for any other clues.
"Check the date on this paper here," Xaiden said, pointing at a paper he'd picked up from under the desk. "D267, Y4639. This was after this area was restricted. This means we aren't the first to cross that line."
"Woah," Jax shivered, "I just got chills."
"Yeah, it seems to be a log or something, see?"
D267, Y4639; 20:19; AD5UAP (Reader); 21.135; A1; "CQ, CQ, Calling CQ. This is AD5UAP, Alpha Delta Five Uniform Alpha Papa. Calling CQ, over"
D267, Y4639; 20:20; BQ6R805 (Writer); 21.135; A1; "This is BQ6R805 responding, are you ready for transmission? Over."
D267, Y4639; 20:20; AD5UAP (Reader); 21.135; A1; "Proceed, over."
D267, Y4639; 20:21; BQ6R805 (Writer); 21.135; A1; "535.801, 42 7 89 13 5 61 2 34 18 2 93 50 11 2 77 2 29 56 2 8 5 101 91 63 70 4 2 8 15 22 49 84 4 96 5 31 16 9 55. Over."[1]
D267, Y4639; 20:27; AD5UAP (Reader); 21.135; A1; "Copy, 535.801, 42 7 89 13 5 61 2 34 18 2 93 50 11 2 77 2 29 56 2 8 5 101 91 63 70 4 2 8 15 22 49 84 4 96 5 31 16 9 55. Standby, over"
D267, Y4639; 20:35; AD5UAP (Reader); 21.135; A1; "I do not copy Meridian, over."
D267, Y4639; 20:35; BQ6R805 (Writer); 21.135; A1; "Please use the number provided or switch to 115.391 to crosscheck. Even so, what seems to be the problem? Over."
D267, Y4639; 20:36; AD5UAP (Reader); 21.135; A1; "My bad. Umm.. 42 doesn't match our records, over."
D267, Y4639; 20:36; BQ6R805 (Writer); 21.135; A1; "*Heavy sigh* You're making it worse. Just check the log from last week, over."
D267, Y4639; 20:37; AD5UAP (Reader); 21.135; A1; "Sorry. Standby, over."
D267, Y4639; 20:41; AD5UAP (Reader); 21.135; A1; "I see. I'll note it today also. Please continue, over."
"It's definitely a log from a radio conversation. This system must have been connected to a transcriber." Jax said thoughtfully. "Those were used to capture messages that came through if you weren't available at the moment. Sorta like our imprints do now."
"They mention 'Meridian' again here, see?" Xaiden pointed out. "And that's clearly a book code, disappointingly basic really."
"Think you can crack it?" Jax asked.
"Too easy." Xaiden smiled.
Brrrring! Brrrring! Brrrring! Both Jax and Xaiden jumped. Brrrring! Brrrring! Xaiden turned to locate the sound just in time to see Ewen nervously pressing buttons on a small device. "What on Zenith?" Xaiden asked, confused.
"S-sorry g-guys." Ewen stuttered. "I-I s-set it e-earlier for j-just before s-sunset."
"Oh! That's that timer I fixed last week." Jax laughed, relieved.
"Man, time sure flies when you're having fun!" Xaiden sighed, "I hate to leave right now, but I know you need to get back Ewen."
Ewen just nodded, clearly not happy to leave his work with the maps incomplete either.
"What do you guys think about keeping the bunker from Eliana for now?" Xaiden asked cautiously. He wanted time to really figure this out before Eliana came in and did her own thing. She seemed to make a point of doing the opposite of anything Xaiden asked, making things much more complicated than they needed to be.
"Umm.. why though?" Jax asked sheepishly, running his hand through his hair. "She'd be a big help, you know? And I think she'd feel really hurt if we kept this from her."
"I just feel like she's not a team player, and this is something that we really need to be on the same page about. She doesn't share everything she finds and just does her own thing." Xaiden ranted. "What are we going to do if she finds an important clue and just doesn't tell us about it?"
"Come on, Xai, she's not that bad." Jax soothed, "I think you guys just got started off on the wrong foot and keep adding fuel to the fire. Maybe if you both respected each other a little more, you'd get along better."
"Jax, she's only nice to you because she likes you." Xaiden said exasperatedly, with heavy emphasis on the word, 'likes'.
Jax's face colored a bit, his voice carried a slight warning as he responded. "That's too far, Xai. She's nice to me because I'm nice to her, there's nothing more to it than that."
"Whatever," Xaiden said dismissively. "Ewen, you're the tie breaker here, what's your vote?"
"M-me?" Ewen asked, taken aback. "I-I'm still n-new to the g-group, so I d-don't think I s-should…" he trailed off as he anxiously wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.
"Gosh, this is driving me crazy," Xaiden sighed heavily, sliding the palm of his hand from his forehead to the bottom of his face until it covered his mouth while he thought. "I feel like I'm being made out to be the bad guy, when Eliana is the one that keeps picking a fight with me!" The others remained silent, looking down awkwardly.
"Okay, you know what?" Xaiden said finally, "Nevermind. Eliana's part of our group, so we'll keep including her. Everyone happy?"
"Let's just head back for now," Jax said quietly, "it's been a long day."
Ewen was first to the steps, relieved to escape the tense atmosphere. Jax followed more slowly, while Xaiden stayed back counting to 10 and back before leaving the bunker.
The other two had wrapped up the rope and packed up their bags by the time Xaiden made it to above ground. He wordlessly walked out and grabbed his reflective jacket off his bag, cramming it inside. "You guys ready?" He asked coldly.
"After you," Jax said softly. Xaiden walked ahead without a backward glance, reminded of how the roles had been reversed just a few hours ago at school.
[1] While I did do a lot of research into radio transcript logs and book codes, these numbers do not actually correspond to anything. I made up the books in the story and had ChatGPT randomly assign numbers to words. I wish I had done a real book code because they are so much fun! But I wanted to use books that tied into the theme and didn't feel like reading through science and research books just to make a code.