With a slow ungainly gait, 5 figures move towards a large semi-circular door. They are barely visible at night in their bulky jet black suits. One of them crouches as much as they can and starts working some controls on the side, while 2 others begin to wedge something in between the doors.

After several moments of pry bar scraping against metal and a few sparks, a small whirring can be heard as a latch opens from within. The doors begin to be pried open slowly. An opening just big enough for a single one of the figures to fit through without walking sideways has been forced. They all go in as quickly as they can in their cumbersome suits one by one. When they’re all inside, 4 of them click a button on their wrists, illuminating the path with helmet mounted flashlights. A sudden crackle is suddenly heard emanating from their suits.

With a single gesture, most follow one in the lead. The 5th member stays behind and keeps watch through the opened doors.

Once they are deep enough inside, another gesture. They each in sequence turn on their short range radios and confirm from the others.

“Kor here, confirm.” They each wave at the first person to speak simultaneously. Same with every other member. “Phillis here, confirm.” “Cindy here, confirm.” “Lonny here, confirm.”

Kor starts handing out next orders after confirming they can all hear each other. This whole endeavour has been planned months in advance. So this whole process serves only as a precautionary reminder.

They continue on in formation. The crackle of radiation detectors remaining constant and reassuring the team of minimal exposure. After a long slow walk through the facility’s well memorized map, the crackle disappears A slight whine comes from their detectors as radiation begins to spike.

Looking at their meters, They all call out their levels. Lonny quickly reassures them.

“Still well within our suit’s protection rating. Still above what a contained room must be though. There must be a leak. Spread out and search for it.”

Various confirmations as they separate. Soon enough, Phillis is heard through the radio.

“Cracked door opening here. I need sealant.”

They all come over and Kor removes from a side holster a spray connected to their back. A small crack in the wall is quickly covered in a blue foam. The radiation levels drop slightly but the whine remains. Lonny informs them all.

“Must be a spill in that room. Some of the particles must have diffused into the air and spilled over to the main hall. We won’t be able to remove our suits while we stay inside. Best to avoid that room for our material.’

Kor points to another door a bit farther away before they move on to it. After prying it open like the first door, a whole room stacked halfway full with barrels is awash in their flashlights. They all notice the problem quickly enough as Kor preemptively orders them to be quiet.

There is a suit in the middle of the room. Similar design but clearly from another group. It is brownish faded colour crumpled in front of an open nuclear barrel. Kor, soon after gives out orders.

“Cindy, arms. Phillis tell me who this is.”

Cindy pulls out their gun. She and Ted at the front door are the only 2 within the group capable of aiming at anything in their respective suits. Phillis steps over to the suit and barrel to make out more details. As she steps back, she turns on her radio to explain what she found in short radio bursts.

“Dead body. Small but deep gashes from whatever killed them. They’ve been here a while. Design is a few years old. From the country across the border though. That border’s far from here.”

“Any idea what killed them?” Kor asks.

She looks back quickly before responding.

“From the suit, could be any number of mutants. There’s signs of the waste being consumed. From that...”

She lets it hang in the air as they all understand immediately. Kor immediately orders them all back. He ensures all of them know what to do as they start making their way back.

“Everyone note this down in your heads. At least one of us makes it back. Tell the nearby settlement we have signs of a nuke eater. Hopefully, it’s been hibernating this whole time. But based on the lack of destroyed walls or ripped barrels, it’s small, smart and dexterous. The trifecta of nightmare fuel.”

Within sight is the slight distant rays from the open door outside. Ted’s suit slightly silhouetted to the side of it.

As Kor is about to turn on their radio to explain the situation to Ted within range, a single sound pierces through the crackling meters. A low deep rumble echos from within the facility.

They are all scrambling to the exit before Kor can shout through the radio, “RUN!”