More Confusion

When we finally make it to the next base, the sun is almost gone for the day. As we unload, Thane and Cruz do a sweep of the area before saying "Clear" I jump down and look around with worry as Thane and Cruz walk over and say "The two of us will clear the building, while you and Conner keep a lookout out here."

When Titus hops over to the back of the truck, he nods his head and says "I think that'll be for the best. Be careful." Thane and Cruz nod and head over to the building, leaving the rest of us outside with the truck. Six of us in total and two of us are already hurt... this isn't looking good.

I keep my eyes out for any kind of movement but nothing comes out, and for that, I'm grateful. After a while, Thane and Cruz come back and say "Everything's clear. Let's move in there for the night." Thane looks up to the darkening sky and says "It looks like we'll have a storm tonight."

I frown and look up, trying to see if I could spot a storm but I couldn't see anything... My frown grows as I look back to Thane in question but he just shoves my bag into my arms and says "Let's head inside." I nod and help Titus in while Conner helps Troy.

Once inside, I help Titus sit at the computers while I start looking around the abandoned station. Once the door is shut, Titus starts pulling up the video feeds as he asks "What did you two find?" Thane walks over and says "Almost identical to the first base. They have the same machine and the same ring but no blood this time."

That makes me feel slightly better as I lower myself in the chair by the hall. Titus curses and starts pulling up the videos but even from where I sit, I can see that it's the same as the other. Any time that machine is booted up, the cameras mess up.

Unless we figure out a way to turn the machine on safely, I don't think we'll ever be able to figure out what it does. After a while, we all start picking out our rooms but I can't help but feel a little weird. These rooms belonged to someone... their stuff is still here too...

I grit my teeth and place my bag onto the bed as Thane walks in and sets his on the other. Just like the dorms, every room has two beds. If I had to share the room with someone, it's better to share it with the devil you know, right?

As Thane digs through his bag, I walk over and pick up a small journal off the side table. I open it up and see that it belonged to a soldier named Nick. I glance through the pages and see that most of them are pretty normal but when I get towards the end, the writing starts changing.

He starts talking about not knowing who to trust and shady dealings. I frown and start reading everything closely.

"I can't take it anymore! I think they're lying to us... this can't be right, it just can't! Men are disappearing and they're keeping it hidden from headquarters. They're doing something in that back room, I just know it. I want to go home... I don't know who I can trust anymore."

I flip to the next page and notice the writing is harder to read.

"I saw it! I knew they were hiding something and it's true! I'm going to expose them all for what they are. MONSTERS!! Monsters who lie and who like acting like gods!!"

My frown grows even more as I try to understand and read between the lines. Monsters? Acting like gods? I glance over my shoulder to see Thane changing his bedsheets so I quietly slip out of the room and head to the back room with the machine.

As I walk in, the lights come on and reveal the odd machine in question. I walk over and stop before the ring and think back to when it was on. All the blood in the other room could have been from an accident. Maybe...

If the machine was turned on while others were in there, they could have hit things and started bleeding. When I remember the amount of blood and how it was everywhere, I find it hard to believe it was a simple accident.

Something else happened in there... I look back down to the journal and opening it back up.

"Ted volunteered to be the next... he's stupid and believes all their lies. I tried to talk him out of it, I tried to warn him but he doesn't want to listen. No one wants to listen. I feel trapped..."

I bite my lip and flip to the next page.

"I had a dream last night. I was back home with my brothers and everything was back to normal. I cried for the first time in years... I need to find a way to escape before it's too late."

I quickly turn to the next page.

"Ted's gone but I heard something... it sounded like they were pleading with someone or something. They asked for mercy and for more time. More time for what? Who were they pleading with? I know it has something to do with that machine... I know it."

When I flip to the next page, it's blank. I flip several more pages but just like the last one, they're blank. They were speaking to someone? Like someone in the room? Suddenly, a knock on the open door has me jumping.

When I look up, I see Thane watching me with a slight frown. He looks to the book in my hands and asks "Is everything okay?" I sigh and nod my head as he asks "What are you doing here? It's not safe to be in this room."

I look around the room and softly say "I guess I was looking for clues. I found this in the room and thought that if I came here I might be able to make better sense of it." Thane walks over and gently takes the journal before briefly looking through it and nodding.

He looks back up to me and says "This is good. We should tell Titus and check to see if there's anything else like this." I nod in agreement and follow Thane out before coming to a stop by the door. I slowly turn back around and look at the machine again with worry.

None of this sits well with me...