Part
Inside a bunker, where a yellowish light illuminated gray walls and old furniture, a young woman with white hair sat at the table. Yuliya, sipping a little tea, set the cup on the table, from which a thin line of steam rose, while holding a book in her other hand.
"Sigh…" After a sigh, she set the book down on the table and began to stretch.
It doesn't seem like they'll be back anytime soon… Out of the corner of her eye she watched the stairs that led to the exit of their home.
It had already been a good while since they had gone out, with Ísis and her younger siblings being the last to leave. Since then Yuliya had been alone at home, waiting for her family's return.
Finished stretching, she turned a tired gaze back to the old book lying open on the table.
"I think it's time to pick another one…"
Standing up, she began to walk with one hand still resting on the table. After only a few steps she stopped beside a bookshelf.
"Let's see…"
Made of dark wood, it had an old appearance, yet carried a certain beauty with various details and carvings across its surface. Taller than Yuliya, it almost reached the bunker's ceiling and was packed with books of the most varied types and sizes.
With her eyes she jumped from title to title, searching for something that might spark her interest.
"Sigh…" But she found nothing.
To think I've read so many… A little incredulous, she continued observing them.
Before she fell ill she had hated them; she had been that way since she was little. She still remembered trying to escape the lessons her mother gave, wanting to leave the house with Father to explore the city. Yet now, merely reading a title was enough for her to recount exactly what happened in the book, for she had already read them dozens of times—perhaps even hundreds.
Stopping for a moment and taking two steps back, she began to admire the most diverse kinds of books present.
But we didn't have this many at home. Biology, Physics, Mathematics, poems, fiction, or even cookbooks—covers of every sort, all worn, piled together on that old shelf.
Looking at the more than a hundred books, Yuliya wore a gentle smile on her face, though tinged with a light melancholy.
"When I finally took a liking to reading I finished the books here in only a few months, because there weren't many… Father must have paid a fortune for them in the citadel… and as Mother used to say, the appearance of a stone, but soft as cotton…"
With a nostalgic look, Yuliya murmured:
"I was very lucky to meet them that day…"
Her gaze stopped on one of the shelves; a book with a black cover made a faint light appear in her eyes.
…It's been some time since I talked about this book with Seven… Taking it, she began to leaf through it with a slight smile. Of all the books there, this was one she had read countless times, for it was her favorite.
It told the story of a small child named Ainz who lived in a magical world with dragons, elves, and dwarves. He lived a peaceful life in his village with his family until it was attacked by a neighboring kingdom that destroyed it completely.
Although he survived the attack, he was separated from his family, who were captured by the invaders. Alone and lost, he was eventually rescued and trained by a wise old woman who turned him into a great warrior.
Deciding, she closed it and returned with it in her hands.
Both she and Seven loved that story, even though it had no ending, for it finished with the protagonist setting out to face that nation. Yet precisely because of that, the book remained alive for them, for they had already thought of hundreds of possible continuations.
Sitting at the table, animated, she opened it to read—but before she could continue she heard the sound of the bunker door being unlocked and opened.
Ísis must have arrived… While waiting for her, she began to hear some strange noises that made her furrow her brows. …Why is Ísis messing with the second door?
Besides the entrance door there was a second one, forming a small room right at the entrance.
After some time, once the second door opened, surprising Yuliya, two people wearing helmets with gas masks finished descending the stairs.
"Father? Seven? Didn't you say you would stay out until late?"
Stopping near the door, Father removed the helmet he was wearing. "Things went very well. Seven learned to shoot quickly while maintaining good accuracy, so I saw no need to continue there."
Seven, walking in silence to the table, set his backpack on the floor before sitting heavily in the chair.
Still wearing the helmet, he looked upward with slumped shoulders.
Looks like his day was tiring… Seeing that scene, Yuliya smiled.
"Daughter."
Turning to Father she saw him take off the thick camouflage coat he was wearing and hang it on a wall hanger.
"How was your day? Did any pain return?" With a neutral voice and expression, Father asked the question.
Yet with a warm smile she answered him: "No, I didn't feel anything today, not even a discomfort—only boredom…"
Along with that last word, though with a melancholy expression, Yuliya cast a playful look at Father.
"…I understand. Soon you'll be able to go out, but it will be gradually and we'll be careful."
"Sigh… all right…" Sighing, she lowered her head theatrically.
"…" Observing her in silence for a few seconds, he turned his head and began walking toward a door. "I'm going to put the things away in the armory. When Ísis arrives, please call me."
Raising her head with a smile, Yuliya answered:
"Yes."
Father, stopping at one of the doors, typed the password into a small terminal before entering and closing it behind him.
Left alone, Yuliya turned to her brother with a surprised and curious tone.
"Looks like you had a tiring day… was the training that heavy?"
Adjusting himself slowly in the chair, Seven removed the helmet and set it on the table.
"Yes and no… the problem wasn't the training itself, but getting to the place where I trained, because I had to walk quite a bit and passed through some rather macabre places…" Remembering, a slight shiver ran through his body.
Furrowing her brows, Yuliya tilted her head.
"Macabre?"
"Yes… you may not even believe it, but we had to enter a giant ocean of gas, to the point that the nearest buildings were kilometers away…"
Her eyes widening slightly, Yuliya froze for a moment.
"…That's truly unbelievable…"
To think that gas still exists in the city… and in such quantity and over such a large area… It had been some years since they had last spoken of the green gas; even in small amounts they no longer found it. They didn't know why, but over time it had diminished more and more, allowing the city to recover.
"The worst part was when we entered it. The layer that formed above us was surprising, besides the concentration, which made it hard to see more than a few meters ahead."
How did so much gather in one place? Discovering that gas still existed in the cities was already surprising, but learning it existed in such quantity was something even more so.
Curious, she turned back to Seven.
"S—"
Interrupting the conversation of the two, the bunker door was unlocked again, making Yuliya stop speaking and look toward the stairs. Right after they heard it being closed, heavy, slow footsteps began descending the stairs, and Leon, Mia, and Victor appeared.
The three, with slumped shoulders, let their backpacks slide down their arms until they finally fell to the floor.
Yuliya and Seven, observing the situation with strangeness, exchanged glances quickly before looking toward the fourth figure that appeared on the stairs.
Ísis, who finished descending the stairs with natural ease.
...
"I'm back… Wait? Seven? Weren't you going to stay out late?" Stopping, she turned in surprise at her brother's presence.
"We were going to, but things went well, so we came back earlier."
Relieved, Ísis sighed. "Thank goodness… for a moment I thought I had taken too long…"
While they talked, finishing their march, Mia, Victor, and Leon began lying down on the floor, something that caught Yuliya's attention.
"Wait, why are you doing that?"
After they finished lying down, the three answered with murmurs:
"Tired…"
"Sleepy…"
"I want to sleep…"
Tilting her head slightly, Yuliya turned to Ísis and asked her curiously:
"What did you do differently today to tire these three out so much? There wasn't that much work for it, and they were also out for only a short time."
Looking at them, Ísis had a slight smile. "It wasn't me. We found a buried machine, so they tried to dig it up, but that was very heavy work."
"Wait! A machine? You found another one? Where?" Seven, with sudden animation, stood up quickly from the chair.
Ísis, with a mildly proud look, turned to him.
"It's inside the building where the grapevine is. It's truly impressive—larger than the others we've found in the city."
Frustrated, Seven complained:
"Damn, I would have liked to see it… but if it's at the grapevine I'll have to wait until next year to go there…"
At Seven's words, feeling a tightness in her chest, Ísis placed a hand over her heart.
"Well…"
While they talked, a metal door in the room where they were opened, and Father came out of it.
"So the voices I heard were—" Stopping, Father's attention was immediately drawn toward the younger ones still on the floor. "—Why are you there?"
A little startled, Ísis turned to him rigidly. "Father!"
"Yes?"
"The fruits… they… I'm sorry, I couldn't get anything more than one backpack…" With her gaze lowered, Ísis held the edges of her clothes.
"…Why? Did something happen?"
"Well… When we arrived there were almost no ripe fruits; most were still green. The few I managed to get were only enough to fill one backpack…"
"…"
With Father falling silent, Ísis remained looking down with a bitter expression.
"I understand. Something must have happened to the grapevine for it not to be ready yet. We'll have to go back there later to harvest the fruits when they're ready." Approaching, Father stopped a short distance in front of her, close enough that even looking down Ísis could see his combat boots.
Because of that, raising her head slowly, she looked directly at his severe-looking face, which was now a little softer.
"Don't worry about that. You don't need to apologize for something that wasn't your fault. Unexpected things happen." Raising his hand, Father placed it on her head. "Besides, congratulations on leading for the first time."
"Yes…" With a tender smile, Ísis nodded.
"Then we'll still be able to see the machine!" Cheerfully, Seven celebrated.
"Machine? What machine?" Surprised by this sudden information, Father turned to Seven.
"Ísis said she found one completely different from the ones we've already found. It's near the grapevine!"
"Interesting. When we go there we'll be able to see it. For now, everyone to the bath, because it's already getting late."