Moist Drippings Ch. 13

The morning came quickly after that. I woke stiff and sore from the beating I had received at the hands of The Dom the night before. Holly and Brandi woke slowly after that and we gave each other knowing looks.

"Can we do that every night?" Holly asked.

"I will insist that we do." I smiled at the memory.

It took a moment to gather Brandi, Holly, Andrea, Io and Persephone. We looted the apartment which I'm fairly certain was still mine. Taking clothes, booze, and whatever else we thought might be useful.

We hauled it all to the elevator. I pressed the button for the production floor and the box whirred to life. Dropping us back down to where our adventure had started.

Back on the production floor Steph was working keeping people organized. When she saw the little party of executive level refugees she nearly ran to us.

"Oh Director sir, it's been a week. We've missed you!"

I surveyed the floor of quiet industrious drones.

"Looks like you've done well in my absence. I guess you'll need a promotion."

I handed her my keys.

"You'll find everything you'll need in my old office...your new office."

The pretty little blonde looked surprised but then nodded and thanked me.

As the group crossed the floor to the hallway, Andrea stopped. I gave her a raised eyebrow.

She spoke,

"If you don't mind sir, I think I'd like to leave. I have a family out there. I want to see them."

I hugged her and wished her luck.

Passing the break room, the doctor's office, the gym, the showers and the dorms we stopped in front of the last door. Pressing the black key card against a plate in the wall, a series of clicks and clanks sounded off. Then the door itself unlatched.

Behind it was a steel door with a wheel, like a bank vault. I pulled it back and it revealed a small glass room. Behind the glass, a concrete wall. Stepping in, I shut the door behind us and gave the wheel a little spin.

I asked Holly to press the single button on the wall, and the room shifted sliding downward. Through the glass we could see concrete walls giving way to at least a hundred feet of earth, then another thirty feet or so of concrete.

After that the elevator burst into sunlight.

The concrete gave way to what would have to have been a reinforced cavern several miles long and several miles wide. Below us a lush rainforest stretched out until it met a large lake. There was mist and even clouds inside the giant room. The sun we later learned was a miracle of glass, mirrors, and fiber optic cable.

The elevator came to rest on a ledge and the door again opened, this time letting in a humid breeze. We stepped out and surveyed our new home.

"It doesn't seem real." Holly gasped.

I resisted the urge to correct her. It wasn't real. It had been constructed for one of the richest men on the planet as a last refuge against the end of the world.

We followed a path through the jungle for about a mile, we spotted all manner of flora and fauna, and then came upon a series of buildings. Each one had been constructed of old growth timber. Beautiful arches and peaks, the complex itself looked able to house at least a hundred people comfortably.

Beyond that another path led down to a black sand beach. A smaller yet still large house rested at the water's edge.

The three of us stood in amazement at this engineering marvel. Io and Persephone entered the house and began fussing around finding a million different ways to be useful servants.

"Swim?" Brandi asked. The pair were already stripping off their clothes.

"Yes, let's get in." I answered.

EPILOGUE:

It's been six months since we left the surface world. None of us can think of a reason to go back, the complex of buildings above our little beach house was set up to accommodate a couple hundred people for years. We could live out the rest of our lives here and never want for anything.

We have internet access down here and for a while we tried to keep track of the world above us and all its chaos, but eventually we gave up trying to stay connected. Instead turning to each other for new adventures, in our dream world and in this fake one. We still haven't explored the entire Ark, it is truly massive.

Io and Persephone continue to serve and cannot be broken out of the spell of Moist Drippings. They appear to be content. By now the MD molecule has permeated all water sources on the planet. There is no escaping its pacifying effects. I suppose someday we may be visited by whatever race seeded our planet with it all those thousands of years ago.

Holly and Brandi have made me complete, I would say I'd never been happier, but that would be a lie. The truth is I've never been happy until now.

From where I am writing this I can see them getting our little catamaran ready to sail. We are going to the far wall of the cavern today, just to see what is at the other end of our little sea. I will sign off now, best not to keep the ladies waiting.