"Admission for Vault Logistics is two floors down," the guard grunted, pointing toward a reinforced stairwell.
"Two floors down?" Thomas muttered as he descended. "I never knew this place had an underground level."
The air grew cooler and thicker as he went deeper into the earth. The walls here were made of reinforced lead-lined concrete, clearly designed to withstand a direct hit. He rounded a corner into a wide, sterile reception area—and froze.
Sitting alone on one of the metal benches, her eyes closed in deep meditation, was Lucy.
She looked entirely different from the girl he had followed into the ruins. Gone was the clumsy, wide-eyed trainee. She wore a sleek, dark tactical suit that seemed to absorb the light, and her aura, though suppressed, felt like a coiled spring.
"Lucy?" he whispered to himself.
