Page 138 of Sixty Meters Under

“Understood!”

Lennart turned to Ryosuke, who asked, “Where are you going?”

“The radiation dropped. We’re going out to check the situation.”

“I’m going with you.”

Lennart shot Ryosuke a questioning look.

“Let’s go.” Ryosuke pulled him by the sleeve and turned towards the door.

→

Both went to the top floor and entered the comms room.

Lennart opened the door, and Ryosuke followed after him. Liam and Edvin were sitting at the table, fiercely discussing something, and when they saw them enter, they paused and looked at them without moving.

Seeing their faces, Ryosuke bit the inside of his cheek, and those few seconds before Lennart spoke up, seemed like an eternity. Ryosuke stopped behind Lennart and waited.

“Did you check both meters?” Lennart asked.

“We did. Both show the same numbers.”

“Who wants to go out with me?” Lennart asked.

Liam leaned to the side to see Ryosuke better. “I thought you got a boyfriend here with you.”

Lennart rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“I’ll go,” Edvin volunteered.

“We all go. That shouldn’t even be a question.” Liam frowned.

“I will go too,” Ryosuke said, and all heads turned to him. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, his face heating up.

“We have enough suits.” Edvin spared Ryosuke further discomfort.

“Then what are we waiting for?” Liam stood up and approached a big metal cabinet. When he opened it, he looked from side to side. “I believe we’re looking for this.” He pulled out a big box and took out a whole body garment.

Lennart grabbed another package, handed it to Ryosuke, and took another one for himself.

When they put on their protective ensembles, the next step was to put on a full-face-air-purifying respirator with an open circuit, self-contained breathing apparatus.

“How do we know this works?” Liam asked.

“We’ll find out eventually,” Edvin replied.

Liam frowned. “That’s very comforting.”

“It should work,” Lennart added. “Besides, we chose to wait until radiation has dropped enough. We’re wearing this just in case.”

“You’re right.”

Four men stepped out into the hall. They stopped side by side and Lennart walked to the door on the opposite side and knocked. Nils exited the room and gave them a puzzled look.

“We’re heading out,” Lennart declared. “In case something happens, I want you to be prepared.”

Nils nodded.

Lennart took a few steps back and said, “We’ll go out one by one.” He entered the code to unlock the main gate. The first door opened with a hiss and all masked men entered the small space. The door closed and the air filtration activated, turning the red light on above the second gate. After a minute it turned green and Lennart entered another code.

The front gate opened, and they walked under a narrow opening. Blinded by unexpected brightness, Ryosuke walked behind Lennart and almost bumped into him when Lennart suddenly stopped.

Confused, Ryosuke bypassed him and stopped on his side. When his gaze landed on the sight in front of him, his eyes widened.

A white fluffy blanket was spreading all around them and the sun shone bright on the clear winter sky. Although it hurt Ryosuke’s eyes, he stared ahead without a blink. On his other side, he heard footsteps halting and Liam’s voice exclaiming, “What the actual fuck–?”