Last man on earth when there is no earth?

Ch 03.6

Born from earth and to earth shall return.

Three days had passed since we found that cursed room. Lilia and I spent that time digging graves for the three hundred nameless children and the eight adults.

I didn’t feel morally obligated to bury each one of them separately yet I did it anyway. I was the lucky one to have survived, and I just hated the idea of treating toddlers as a failed experiment. Some of them might even be my own clones or offspring, that was one of the speculations I didn’t want to think about.

A graveyard had formed in such a short time. I stood there looking at the stones I placed to mark each of them. I think I understad why cloning was considered an unethical thing to do.

“Did I tell you about it?” As I spoke my voice felt a bit dry, but I wasn’t about to shed any tears. “The last thing I remember before meeting you was me getting shot. I was sure my life had ended back then.”

“Yet you survived…” the answer came from my blonde companion.

“That’s what I don't understand, what kind of person survives a hole in the stomach?”

“You would be surprised how many species could manage that.” She replied before handing me a water container.

Death huh…

That day, I had accepted my fate and just gave up. Struggling felt pointless and it was always easier to let go. I had no attachment to life. Was anyone sad enough to mourn for me? Or was I just another name on the long missing person list? I’m sure some were glad I was gone.

“I… will do my best to survive from here on.”

The delight I felt watching that girl get eaten came to mind. I witnessed someone I knew scream for help yet all I did was laugh. I’m far from a being a good person yet not only did I survive the first time, I was now burying those who shared my fate in the second.

It seems death is too merciful cor someone like me.

~◇~

We returned to the lab ruins the next day to continue the search for anything that could prove useful for our escape. Lilia had hoped to find some ship wreckage with parts she could use, or a certain material for a device that could patch the damaged. However she didn’t want to get her hopes up so she took her time with the search.

One look told me that Lilia wasn’t exactly the mechanic type so I doubted she was prepared for this kind of work, but she later explained that there was no need to have the knowledge on how to fix it as every ship has at least one drone that could do the trick.

The damage the ship suffered was too much for the emergency supply to fix. In order to get it back in shape she would’ve to take it to a workshop equipped with the necessary tools and materials. And since we are trapped on this godforsaken planet where we can’t even call for help, her only choice was to scrap whatever she could find to reach the goal.

Fixing the ship wasn’t the only hurdle we had to overcome. There is also the magnetic field covering the outer atmosphere. It’s properties prevented anything that came in from getting out, that included communications and distress signals.

Things might not be as desperate as they seem though. The planet is uncharted with no intelligent life forms, but the existence of the lab proved there was someone who traveled in and out.

Now that we know one of us could read the language we started the search from scratch, going through each room from the first floor to see if Lilia missed anything the first time.

It’s easy to tell this place has been abandoned for quite a while. The walls are cracked, moss and mold growing everywhere, roots extending from the threes planted above. But even with all of that some of the rooms in the deeper floors still seem usable. Though we won’t be needing them since we have Lilia’s space craft.

The rooms in the living quarters were mostly empty with the bare minimum left behind. There were some books on biology and such -too difficult for me to understand- and a lot of dead computers.

Dead computers… I think I’m about to cry…

I just assumed they are computers because they resembled your typical desktop, and not turning on when I press the button made my whole body shake in terror. Not that they would be of any use to me without games or internet. And since it’s foreign technology she never saw before Lilia had no idea of how to make use of it.

Would we really find what we need in here?

Anyways. There were a few rooms with thick locked doors that Lilia left for last. She took her spear and activated some mechanism that made the military knife like blade glow red. One slash at the door and it fell, the edges melting like butter. Her knife spear things isn’t a simple piece of metal as it seems. It’s actually quite the advanced piece of tech.

One look inside told me those were server rooms. Now they were filled with more dead computers some of which had melted long ago.

No, I wasn’t able to find a break room where a TV and some gaming consoles were left intact. It seems those people were all about science and nothing else. Each of the floors were about two hundred meter square. By counting the number of beds in the living area I could tell that about a hundred and thirty lived here.

I wonder how they were able to do it without any kind of entertainment to keep them from losing their minds.

Some of the more disturbing parts of this facility were the white operation rooms. They looked like something you'd find in a hospital with medical equipment and strange devices laying around.

Some parts were sealed off with hazardous area signs. Lilia and I agreed to keep our distance from those. I doubt we'd find anything there anyway so there is no point in taking the risk of going in.

Apparently the entrance we used until now wasn’t the front door. According to the three dimensional map Lilia made using another one of her strange devices -a rectangular one that strangely resembled a smartphone- The whole faculty is built near the edge of a cliff.

If the main entrance is at its bottom then we were getting close. Once we reached the tenth floor we found an elevator that took us all the way down. I was Glad it’s still functional, though the creaking sounds said it’s in desperate need for maintenance. When it stopped we were met with two specious hallways going in opposite directions.

“Hmm… there are no signs huh… which direction should we check out first?” I asked while checking the area.

Lilia stepped forward looking right then left. She closed her eyes and spoke after a few seconds.

“There is a light breeze coming from the left, it may be the entrance.”

I looked at her, the left, the right, then at her again.

“Hm? is something wrong?”

“… No, nothing…”

I’m sure I already said it many times before, but Lilia is so gorgeous that you can’t help but stare. However, today was different. Rather than the white dress she usually wears, Lilia changed into another one that was mostly blue in color with a little white at the hem of the skirt, which was too short. It was sleeveless and her back seems to be exposed, same as her shoulders, although her long hair which reached down to the back of her knees covered it.

Oh god, why?

I tried my best to keep a poker face, but in my mind I was having a rough battle with my other self. The outfit is certainly well made, and is a perfect match to her golden hair. It’s elegant despite the high exposure, but…

It makes her chest appear bigger, and the short skirt-long socks combo is… too dangerous. This was a clear reminder for me. Too much happened in the past few days so I didn’t pay it much attention, but I had been sleeping in the same room with this otherworldly beautiful creature.

“We… should go right first.” I said, trying my best to hide my embarrassing thoughts.

“Hm? But the main gate should be the other way…”

“I think it’s a habit of mine, checking out the sideways before going the main road.” It’s actually more of a gaming one, where people find the right way then go the opposite direction.

“Hmm, you may be right. We don’t want anything sneaking in on us after all.” She turned right and walked a few steps. “Okay then, let’s go!”

I know it’s something to be ashamed of, but as I Followed from behind I would sometimes sneak a peek at her legs. It can’t be helped okay!? Even if I’m more than a hundred years old now I’m still physically a healthy young man, it’s completely fine for me to want to get sandwiched between those deliciously thicc thighs.

Ah, I mean my face by the way. I won’t survive for long fantasizing beyond that point.