“Now hold on a second. I don’t want to join.”

“John what are you saying! Did you hear that man yet? They’re the strongest!”

“Yeah and the Nazi party in Germany won their election with only a third of the votes… How does being the most powerful here even matter if one day everybody decides to wipe them out?”

“Well they still came to power didn’t they?”

“Yeah cause the other parties were pushovers, somehow I don’t think that’s the case here…”

“Eh whatever, you do you, I’ll join.”

Leonard turned back to the guide.

“So what do I do to join?”

“Nothin’ bro, jus’ keep goin’ down that ha’way ta the very en’. Mention my name will ya? It’s Deon.”

“Wait are you not part of them?”

“Nah bro, just a guide ‘member? I jus’ send ‘em the boys.”

As Leonard walked down the dark hallway, the guide walked up to John. The sight was one to behold, with the guide being shorter than John, but

“So wha’cha gon’ do ‘ere, J’yawn? Gon’ wande’ ‘round ‘till ya get mugged or somethin’?”

“Well how have you stayed alive?”

“Dunno, don’t do anythin’ ta go ‘gainst the in’erests of anybody ya see.”

“Well how’s that work?”

“Well ya see, I just send people ‘ere an’ there an’ no’ne comin’ ta me ya see.”

“Mind if I join you?”

“Nah man, tis’ a one man operatin’ ‘here”

“Well it can’t be that simple now can it? Surely some people must’ve felt like you were sending too many people to one faction?”

“That ain’t a prol’em ‘round ‘ere ya see. I’m jus’ swell.”

“You sure? There must be something… Just wondering if you needed some muscle that’s all.”

The guide looked up with his face hidden from the light from the doorway.

“Wha’s in i’ fo’ ya then.”

“Well I’d certainly learn how to survive around here.”

“If ya got the muscle, ya cert’nly gon’ be able to sur’ive ‘round these parts… No need ta bother me ‘ere.”

“Oh? What about needing to join a gang lest they harass you?”

“Ah that’s u’ter non sense ya see. Nothin’ mo’e than a mar’etin’ tat’c.”

“So you scammed my friend into joining?”

“Jus’ leave me alon’ man. Ain’t wan’ not’in’ ta do wi’ ya now.”

“Oh why? Are they going to bother me?”

“I said ya ain’t got not’in ta be ‘fraid of if ya got muscle ya ‘ear? Stop botherin’ me now.”

“So you’re strong enough to resist them I hear? Heh why don’t I join you then?”

“Alrigh’ alrigh’… you can follo’ me now. Peeps un’eres’timatin’ me ‘cause I short an’ways.”

--Inner Nest--

The prisoner stared at the book before him, sniffing it all over as it lay flat atop the dirt.

“Hehehe, Would you just look at this treasure!

“They don’t know what they’ve abandoned here!”

The prisoner took a bite from the corner of the book.

“I feel the power! Hahah! No one will be able to stop me now!”

And another bite.

“I can feel myself getting omnipotent!”

The third bite.

“I can comprehend the secrets of heaven and earth soon!”

The fourth bite.

“No one will be able to stop me!”

The fifth bite.

“I will gain the strength to free everyone!”

The sixth bite.

“Here I come to greatness!”

The book was a half gone as fragments of paper scattered about.

“I feel myself gaining clairvoyance!”

The seventh bite.

“I shall become god!”

The eight bite.

“I feel a warm energy within me!”

The ninth bite.

“Screw it! I’ll eat the last part whole!”

The last chunk fit into its mouth just so that it couldn’t close it at all nor open it.

“Sh~argh~t”

--Oasis--

The scavengers finally began to stir but did not see the queen, nor the hole in the pipe she left. They scurried around, leaving the water, searching for the queen. In the distance was a low rumble which seemed to come and go. The remaining dozen or so of scavengers chased after the sound to reveal a wide open path amongst the piles of junk. The path was perfectly smooth, just like the path the workers had carved out amongst the waste land.

This must’ve been where the queen and the workers went.

The path was just like the ones the workers had made except for one difference. The entire path was pressed down and had splotches of plastic pressed into a single solid in each hole.

Onwards to the queen!

--Inner nest--

“Hah I’ve finally swallowed it! I used my tongue to wear away at it until I could eat it!”

The prisoner looked far into the distance.

At a wall…

“I see! I see! I’m not the only one who believes in my purpose!”

“There is another being! It’s name is, death!”

“Wait…”

“Wait…”

“Does that mean…?”

“I have no purpose anymore…”

“Shit man, what do I do…”

“I’ve lost it… The meaning of life…”

“What have I even gained in the end?”

“Power? It’s useless, death will kill everyone.”

“What do I do now…”

“Maybe I really am insane.”

“Maybe what they said was right.”

“All for the colony…Heh what bullshit. I’d never believe in that.”

“What did I believe in? A paradise?”

“No, creating a paradise is impossible. Problems will arise no matter what.”

“And people will arise no matter what…”

“Man, what do I do now…”

----

The sun reached its peak as it shone down on the people below it. Well no one was directly exposed, but all was beneath it anyways.

Everyone was either hidden away in a building or hidden under a pile of rubble. It shone through all the debris in the air, providing all its power to the land beneath. The abundant energy all around provided all the energy anyone needed, energizing the electrons such that they fell loose from their already unstable structure and ran, providing electricity in a fashion not unlike a solar panel does with the sun.

--Sector 1, floor 1, derivative 4--

“Yo J’yawn, I’ll teach ya a real ‘portant lessin’ righ’ ‘ere”

“Oh? How so?”

“Jus’ go walk on up ta that man with te box a fr’loot and grab a couple. Do it calm an’ confi’ent ya un’erstan’?”

“Sure, no problem.”

John walked up to the man sitting on the stool with a plastic box full of orange red fruits. He bent down and simply took a few. As he turned though, a wrinkled hand grasped onto the hem of his jacket, but slid off without having any strength to hold on. He turned away from the man in the doorway, retreating into the stream of people traveling along the center of the hallway.

A voice came from behind.

“The Reavers’ll git ya for that!”

The guide was waiting there on the other side, grinning.

--Apt. #496--

The television had been left on and the news report was still blaring on about the destruction.

At the bottom was a banner with the words, ‘SABOTAGE’. The central picture on the screen was the collapsed houses surrounded by several pictures. The first picture on the left was of the smoking shaft, while the next couple consisted of pictures of the bomb in question. The very last one on the top right was the picture of the captain in question.