Chapter 34: The Building


    I sit watching from my safe distance and secluded peeking spot at therge singr building nestled in


    an unnatural clearing, surrounded by ten feet of barbed wire fencing that stretches all the way around,


    save for a set of veryrge gates at the far side. All closed and locked tight and looking deserted. There


    are dirt tracks showing signs of infrequent visits from off road vehicles leading up to it,ing from the


    south, and I''m perched here for watching for signs of life for an hour now, as I try to figure out if it''s safe


    to get closer.


    It took the rest of the day to get here, following an imaginary line from my previous camp spot, in the


    general direction and sticking to hyper speed for most. I''m tired, my back agony from keeping on


    trekking at an hour I''ve grown ustomed to being the settling down and making camp stage.


    Sweating, breathless, hot, and sticky, and currently sat on my backpack as I try to figure out how stupid


    I would be if I went and further investigated.


    There''s no signs of life, no new tracks, or lingering scents of anyone being around the perimeter from


    this distance. It seems silent, but then it''s arge white windowless building, with a rough cast of fine


    white stone, and looks exceptionally clean for being out here in the middle of no man''snd. It has an


    aura of mystery and my gut is telling me to be wary, even if it''s also urging me to investigate.


    The mast on top is a huge metallic construction, like the Eiffel tower almost, and sits on the roof of it''s a


    custom tform, stretching some thirty feet upwards. I thought at first it was a tel mast, or maybe


    power, but there''s nothing connecting to what looks like a radio antennaing from the top of it.


    There''s a generator steel box, almost half the size of the building, within thepound, yet sat apart


    from it, and it''s humming on low within its own encasement, suggesting this building has constant


    power.


    There''s something off, even if on the surface it looks how I imagine an unmanned power nt


    substation would look, and despite that, my inner weird voice that kept pushing me east, it''s telling me


    to get closer. My own mind and instincts battling with what to do and its why I''ve sat here staring at it


    for so long. The sensible part is screaming danger, the less logical me is telling me how harmless this


    looks and that there are no signs of life at all. The weak part of me is aching for some sort of


    connection to civilization, and a longing to touch something real and man made after so many weeks


    alone. It just reminds me that despite doing better, I''ve been crushingly lonely still.


    I can''t see any way in from this angle so the door must face those giant gates, which means it only has


    one entrance and nothing else. Not exactly ayout for any kind of worrying military base, I mean, it''s


    not even that big. At most you could park two of the Santo trucks inside, so I doubt it homes any more


    than some power grid equipment for maybe some of the further rural homes. Maybe it''s a radio station


    with sporadic visits or something. I don''t have a clue, as it''s hardly my area of expertise. It''s not big


    enough to be anything much else.


    The point is after an hour sat here, I haven''t gotten any signs of life, or any reason to not go and have a


    closer look, and the only thing stopping me is my own terrified level of suspicion. I''m being overly


    cautious, my feeble side wading in, and even the wind blowing this way is picking up on no human


    scent in any way. It seemspletely deserted.


    I can see cameras at the corners of the building on this side and they probably have them at the front


    too, but they are all pointing down at the ground within the fences, so I can at least get that close


    without being caught on them. I guess they''re to pick up on wildlife getting in, or something. I might see


    more if I go around the other side and figure out what it is. It might have signs, or maybe hazard


    warnings, if it is just a power nt. If I know for sure, then I can stop tiptoeing around and rx.


    I exhale heavily, wiping the rolling beads of moisture from my brow and look up at the fading light in the


    greying sky. I should find a ce to make camp and stop wasting what daylight I have left. Come back


    in the morning, but that means trekking further, as this is the first clearing I''vee across in hours.


    There''s nothing nearby that looks like a good ce to set up, so maybe I might have to sacrifice a


    comfy night and roll up in the bear fur right here. I can''t think of anything else to do.


    It''s either go check this out and then walk on when I know what it is, and if I can salvage anything, or


    camp and look at it in the new day. I''m exhausted, really need to eat and I don''t have the energy to do


    much of anything.


    I get up, mind in two halves, and pull my backpack up with me, lugging its heavy weight as I try to make


    a decision. I don''t want to be out in the open when darkness falls, as despite not picking up on any


    creatures of the night, I can''t be sure there aren''t any lurking in caves, or underground tunnels of which


    I havee across many these past days. I remember the stories, that the Vampires came out of the


    ground during the war. I would just prefer to stick to my usual n of picking a site and staying there


    until dawn.


    I don''t wander far, realizing it''s wall to wall close knit trees in all directions but one, moving towards the


    building. It really is the only part here that has space to eveny down and I''m not about to sleep in the


    clearing near it.


    I doubt any passing big cat, bear, or such, spends much time walking its perimeter so I make the


    decision to pick a tree with great leaf cover and climb one. It''s better than being a sitting duck on the


    forest floor, and I doubt I''ll get any real sleep when I haven''t found a good ce to hide out. Up a tree I


    can tie myself to the trunk and at least dose off and on through the night and wait to investigate this in


    the morning. It''ll give me a little security, and at least up high, I can defend myself if needs be.


    I end up walking a full circle and finding the right kind of trees nearer the main gates of the building.


    One''s with wide bases, multiple branches from mid-way up, with extra amounts of foliage and twisting


    crisscrossing boughs for tforms. I squeeze between two that are close together, about twenty feet up


    their branches merge, and curl, to make an extra widending ce, and have to haul myself up with


    my backpack on, finding it a little morebor intensive than normal.


    When I get up there, I manage to find a t enough spot that with one of my pelts rolled out I snuggle


    into a dip between two parallel boughs and can properlyy down, without having to anchor myself to


    anything. I hang my backpack on a broken stump on the trunk andy out on top of my makeshift bed,


    stretching and wriggling to see howfy I can get, satisfied that this isn''t too bad as long as it doesn''t


    get windy or rain tonight. I don''t want to unroll pelts that could slide off if I roll in my sleep and draw


    attention to lurking wildlife. I won''t have a fire to keep some of the natural creatures at bay up here, so I


    have to make do with cold meat, a bumpy bed, and the rustling and swaying of the trees to lull me into


    slumber. Not that I think it''ll be an issue, as now I''m up here, my eyes are heavy and my brain cloudy


    with fatigue. It''s been a long day.


    I sit and watch the building through the foliage for a while, sat at my safe distance, watching as the


    shadows lengthen and be part of the dark surroundings as light fades fast. I''m already exhausted


    from my extended trekking, so settling down and beginning to drift off is easier than usual. Not the


    usual spew of weighty things on my mind to keep me awake, and it feels like only seconds of blinking


    and drowsiness before I zone out.


    I wake with a start, jumping slightly, and sitting up fast, banging my head on rough wood and silently


    yelping as I properlye to. I must have drifted into a deeper sleep so fast, because it was a second


    ago, I could still see my hand in front of me and now I''m in utter pitch darkness and can''t even make


    out what I''m sitting on. Disorientated at first until I remember where I am and how I got here and my


    belly rumbles because I didn''t eat. I woke with a fright for sure, and my heart is thundering through my


    chest as my nocturnal eyesight kicks into touch, wing the area around me frantically into focus.


    I''m not sure exactly what woke me yet and I slowly sit up, sliding my legs up, my knees touching my


    chest as I rub my now bruised, lumpy, forehead, while scanning my surroundings for a cause. Taking


    deep breaths to calm down and center myself, letting my senses take over, rather than my scared


    brain.


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    It doesn''t take me long to see what brought me around once I settle down and actually look. There''s a


    shiny ck truck parked in the undergrowth beside the fence, nearer the back of the building where I


    first stood. It''s about ten feet further down the makeshift road. They must have just pulled up, maybe


    the noise, and headlights, are what roused me to alert and I watch with held breath as someone slides


    out and makes their way around the fence to find the entrance. An eery solitary figure, shrouded in


    darkness. It''s both a joy to see another person, but also a massive rming worry, that I''m seeing


    another person


    They, much like the truck, are all in ck, wearing a hood pulled over their head so I can''t see their


    face at all, but I can tell it''s male. Tall, stocky, and as he moves around the gate with his focus on his


    task, eerily quiet on his feet. The wind picks up gently and blows this way, guiding his scent towards me


    and I recoil in utter shock, like someone tasered my ass.


    He''s wolf… like me. There''s no denying that very specific scent we all carry and it red alerts me and


    wakes up my brain immediately.


    I have no idea why the hell a lycanthrope would be manning a power nt in the middle of the forest. I


    mean, maybe it''s not that big a deal, some packs live and work in the human world and have regr


    jobs as they try to pass off as one of them. This could be a guy who works for the powerpany and


    for some reason, likes to frequent his unmanned building in the middle of the night. I''m sure that''s


    probably a normal thing, for unconventional hours, or maybe if he has a special task at this time of


    night.


    Probably not likely, and it''s too weird that all the way out here, alone for weeks on end, the first person I


    come in contact with is one of my kind. It''s a little too coincidental, especially as I came here after


    following some deeper gut feeling, and stupid dreams of Sierra Santo.


    I watch, squinting through the foliage as I try to see his progress and get a better look, but the gates


    are obscured from my angle, and he disappears behind trees that sit between us, and out of sight. I


    don''t want to lose track of him in case he somehow heads in here without me seeing and shows up at


    the foot of my tree. I doubt I would be a wee discovery.


    I don''t hesitate. I slide off my perch, silently climb down the tree, and crawl closer until I can see him


    again from another angle, ducking down behind a rock and keeping low. My senses are on major high


    alert, and I''m takingfort in the fact the wind is blowing this way, so he won''t smell me the way I did


    him. I''m rtively safe from this distance if he doesn''t see me moving around.


    I have to creep on all fours, keeping still, and wedging in behind a fallen log to get a better look as I


    track him. By the time I figure out where he is, eyes scanning the fence and truck, he''s already inside


    thepound and up against the door. He moves fast, and it just conforms that he''s one of my kind.


    I hear a beep, a click, like he opened something, or had some sort of key, and the door slides to the


    side in front of him. It doesn''t open out like I expected, but more like something of an elevator door, that


    slides out of sight, back on itself, which is weird for a low-tech building.


    From here I can see inside though, and there doesn''t seem to be anything at all in the doorway, making


    it all even weirder. It looks like an empty concrete box, and no big inside room, or control panels, or


    anything from what I can peer into. That just makes the sliding door stranger if it''s concealing nothing. I


    move a little closer still, not convinced I''m getting a full picture, hitting thest line of trees before the


    clearing, and stand tall to side slide behind one and peek around. I know it''s stupid getting this near to


    him, but I can''t see, and this ce has me so confused as to what its purpose is, or what its importance


    is to my instincts.


    He walks inside, turns, and faces something to the left, just behind where the door is. He leans in,


    ducking slightly so his facees level with an out of sight panel.


    "It''s me, I''m back, bring me down." A low growl to his masculine tone, most definitely a wolf. I can just


    tell.


    He stands tall and turns to face the open front door, my heart rate escting as nerves consume me,


    and my body begins to tremble. I swear, for a second, I think he looks right at me and I dive back,


    ttening my back to the bark and close my eyes, as though somehow that''ll make me invisible. I''m not


    sure though, as he didn''t seem to react at all, and I''m probably being paranoid because I''m scared.


    There''s a crunching noise, the humming of the generator revs up in ferocity, and the whole building


    emits a long grunting moan.


    I peek back, holding my breath to steady my shaking self, quick enough to see the door beginning to


    slide shut as he slowly lowers down below the level he''s standing on. It clicks instantly that the floor is


    moving, and he''s going down. Like some sort of elevator for sure, and it exins why, on the surface,


    there''s no sign of life and the building is small. It''s deceptive, and the sliding door, it conceals a car


    sized transport to a lower level. That means whatever is down there is big enough to amodate


    vehicles should they need to be taken down, and that makes my blood run cold.


    I don''t think it''s any kind of power nt, and I shouldn''t be here at all. It obviously has more going on


    below, and now I know a wolf is manning this station, then I have absolutely no chance of finding


    anything worthy of stealing and getting away without a trace. Not that I want to anymore. Everything


    inside of me is telling me this is a bad idea, and I need to get far away from this ce as soon as


    humanly possible.