Chapter : Site X70 (Part 2)
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Step Step Step
I guess I could buy a new phone… maybe even get the latest Samsung… Definitely not Iphone… I don't need to take pictures often…
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Step Step Step
Ah Eve's birthday is coming up I believe? maybe I'll get her a new Iphone… Or I could buy her one of those Vintage SCBA gears…
Shake Shake
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Hell nah that shit's expensive.
Step Step Step
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Guess I'll just—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
…
The fuck was that?
As those words appeared from my thoughts and right on queue
"Scheisse."
"Tsk."
"W—w-w-w-w-wwha!??!?!?!?!"
Everybody's reaction varied yet they all meant the same. One expressing the emotion known as 'Shock'
"That was a fucking explosion." The question is—What kind of explosion?
If it was nuclear then—
[The explosion was caused due to build up gas along with an accident with some 'cleaners'] it went before turning to [1]
…
First of all—Thank God that means we aren't gonna be sentenced to death by radiation poisoning.
Second of all—FUCK I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD ACTIVATE LIKE THAT
…
Wait—Doesn't that mean I might've died because of fear and despair-?
…
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
"I say we don't try to check that out and just try to return home safely." Jeremy's worth seemed to wake me up from my dilemma, his intention clear. Don't ask questions, and leave this place alive. Obviously.
"Any Objections?"
"Nope." Eve spoke and following it…
Nod Nod
Everybody merely nodded, our intentions as clear as day.
"Well alright that's the easy part done… now comes the hard part—Actually leaving this place." Jeremy spoke, his tone laced with the cold truth.
…
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Except for the occasional sound of SCBA. Everything else was silent
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Step Step Step
The explosion faded. The silence returned. But it was different now. Heavier. Like the facility itself was holding its breath.
Tsk.
"The exit," Randy said. "Where is it?"
Scratch Scratch
Jeremy had already starting scribbling on the ground, the debris there acting as our paper.
"Honestly it ain't that Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh ******difficult. We just need to move here, then there then here then that's the exit, got it?"
"…"
"…"
"Seriously?"
…
—Approximately 20 minutes later
"Alright so, lemme get this straight."
"We're suppose to go left at the first intersection, right at the second, take the third corridor, turn left again, then go straight until we reach the junction with the broken containment cells, take the right passage, go through two more intersections, turn left, and then—"
"…"
"I forgot but basically after all that we'll be at the exit?"
"Yep, it's not complicated"
Jeremy casually added another line to his masterpiece.
Silence.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
"…"
"Scheisse. Why are you all so fucking dumb?"
I think it's you who just has impeccable memory…
"Kid, I've seen maps easier to understand than this shit." Old Man Randy spoke
"Really? But it's just a straight route with a few turns."
"A-a-a-a- few turns!??!?!? Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhhthis????"
Jeremy blinked.
"Yeah?"
Silence.
…
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
"Jeremy."
"Hm?"
"How the fuck do you even remember all of this?"
"Remember?"
"I just memorized the route when Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh we came in."
"…"
"…"
"Memorized it?"
"Yes, we heard you the first time"
"Then why'd you stay silent?"
Tsk.
"I'm getting too old for this shit." Randy spoke while rubbing his forehead.
"Hey, Old Man, you're the one who asked me to explain the route." Jeremy countered
"And I'm starting to regret it."
…
I couldn't even blame him.
Because, apparently, our dear team leader had a memory so good that he could memorize an entire facility's layout after passing through it once.
Meanwhile, I was struggling to remember what I had for breakfast.
…
Actually, wait.
What did I have for breakfast?
Shake Shake
Nope. Not important.
"Look," Jeremy continued, pointing at the drawing, "just remember the sequence. Left, right, straight, left, straight, right, right, left. That's it."
"…"
"…"
"That's it?" Eve repeated.
"You call that let's it???"
Sigh
"Alright whatever I'll take the lead you guys follow me good?"
…
"Why didn't we just do that from the very beginning-?"
"Because the Old man asked."
"Alright" Not a single one of us had the energy to debate with him anymore.
"Let's go."
And just like that, our little team had reached a unanimous decision.
Not about the route.
Not about the exit.
But about the fact that our team leader was, in fact, an absolute pain in the ass.
And the worst part?
He genuinely didn't understand why.
—
Step Step Step
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Step Step Step
God. How far was this damn exit? My legs felt like they had been carrying 1 ton of weight, I can feel how my sweat had practically turned my clothes into a second skin. Every step made the equipment strapped to my body shift against me.
And Jeremy?
Step Step Step
…
"Alright let's take a Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh ******quick 5 minute break."
Thud
"Haaah—Hahhhh—Hahhhh."
"How—Haaah are you—Hahhhh still Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh fine-???" Eve was the one who spoke, her voice tired even through the heavy suit I can see her chest going up and down rather fast.
"…"
For a moment everybody was silent once more, we didn't exactly know what to do, every second we rest our air supply continues to trickle down, our bodies overheating. Time ticking, I couldn't help but ask.
"Say—Haaah how long Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh ******will our—Haah air last."
"…"
"Probably around—" Jeremy wanted to spoke but—
"3-4 hours give or take." It was as if Eve stole the words coming from Jeremy's mouth.
"That's only if we don't run into something." Old Man Randy spoke his tone rough.
"A-and if we do—?"
"It'll get even lower."
"…" For a moment we were all silent once more then—
"Three hours isn't enough," Jeremy said, breaking the silence. "Not if we're careful. We need to move faster."
"Faster means sweating more," Eve said. "Sweating means overheating. Overheating means—"
"Passing out. I know." Old Man Randy continued
"Then what do we do?"
Nobody answered.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
I closed my eyes. Listened to my own breathing. The hiss of the regulator. The cold, sterile air. The suit clinging to my skin. The sweat pooling in my gloves. It was weird, my face feels so cold and dry—yet my entire body's drenched in sweat like I was in a sauna…
"Alright let's move." Jeremy spoke once more. "It's been 5 minutes."
…
Fuck.
Rustle Rustle
"Alright let's Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh ******go." Jeremy spoke as he glanced towards us for a moment before walking once more
Step Step Step
…
I couldn't help but follow suit, Eve had already gotten off, so had Amanda, and—Hm-? Randy was still getting up.
…
Well he is an Old Man, I guess that's inevitable.
Step Step Step
—Five Minutes Later—
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Step Step Step
We walked—Left. Right. Straight. Left. Straight. Right. Right. Left.
Jeremy led. Eve stayed close to Amanda. Randy took the rear. I was in the middle, my broom still in my hands, my eyes scanning everything.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
The corridor stretched ahead. Empty. Silent. Wrong. But nothing happened. No sounds. No screams. No running. Just the hiss of our SCBAs and the crunch of our boots on debris.
Step Step Step—
"Weird…" Amanda spoke
"What's weird?" Eve replied.
"This place was where most of the cleaners were at" She continued her tone one of confusion and a slight mix of curiosity
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
"The chaos must've separated everyone" Jeremy didn't even look back as he answered.
"Besides, there were hundreds of cleaners here. They can't all be in the same corridor."
"Yeah, but…" Amanda trailed off.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
I glanced at her.
"What?"
"Nothing, I'm probably just overthinking it"
…
Step Step Step
I wanted to believe Jeremy was right.
Seriously, I did.
Hundreds of cleaners. Multiple corridors. A massive facility. It made sense that we hadn't seen anyone.
…
So why did it feel like we were the only people left in this entire damn place?
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
"Keep moving," Randy muttered from behind us, nobody complained
We continued down the corridor, following Jeremy's route.
Left.
Right.
Straight.
Left.
Straight.
Right.
Right.
Left.
…
And at some point—I couldn't help but feel something amiss.
Wait.
Something felt wrong—No something was definitely wrong.
The question is—
"AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
SCREEEEEEEEECHHH
…
Well guess we found out what's wrong…
"T-t-that was the scream of a human—Right?" Amanda spoke she was already shaking, her voice shaky, one that wished what she said was false, yet instead of any reassurance
"Tsk—Hide." Old Man Randy's words came in like the painful truth, he didn't raise his voice. He didn't need to.
Shuffle Shuffle Shuffle
Jeremy immediately pulled us toward the nearest recessed section of the corridor. Eve grabbed Amanda's arm, while I nearly tripped over my own feet trying to follow them.
Clang!
My broom struck the wall.
…
Fuck.
I froze.
Everyone froze. For a moment, I could hear nothing but the familiar hiss of our SCBAs.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Step Step Step Step Step—
Footsteps.
Not ours.
Several pairs of them. Fast. Getting closer.
"Help—! SOMEONE—!"
A man stumbled into view at the far end of the corridor. One of the cleaners. He was running so desperately that he barely seemed to notice where he was going. His boots skidded against the debris, his arms flailing as he tried to regain his balance.
Behind him—
SCREEEEEEEEECHHH—
Something moved through the haze.
I couldn't tell what it was.
A person?
No.
That thing was moving on all fours.
Thud!
One of The cleaner fell.
"SHIT—!"
He tried to get back up, but his legs tangled beneath him. Before he could even crawl away—
CRACK.
His visor struck the floor.
A spiderweb of fractures spread across the glass.
…
"Help me—! PLEASE—!"
Hssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
His breathing grew frantic.
"NOO—PLEASE HE—"
Then—
Silence.
Not completely.
I could still hear him desperately scrambling against the floor. But the screaming stopped as Something emerged from the haze. Then another. Then another. They descended upon him before he could get back up. I couldn't see exactly what they were doing. I didn't want to.
"…"
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
It was as if everyonne had forgotten how to breathe.
Hssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
And then—
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Another cleaner came sprinting around the corner, she didn't even look at the body on the floor. She was too busy looking behind him, not even realizing any of the surroundings, then a rather loud sound could be heard
RIPPPP
"FUCK!" She screamed yet She didn't stop. She just kept running, and the things behind her?
SCREEEEEEEEEEEECHHH—!
They changed direction.
All of them.
As if someone had suddenly rung a dinner bell.
…
Oh.
The cleaner ran straight past our hiding place.
For a split second, I could see her face through his visor.
Wide eyes.
Trembling lips.
Pure, unfiltered terror.
She looked at us.
"HELP ME!"
And then she was gone.
The creatures followed.
THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD—
Their footsteps drowned out her screams. One by one, their silhouettes disappeared into the haze.
…
I stared at the empty corridor.
At the blood.
At the broken visor.
At the dark shapes disappearing around the corner.
My mind was trying to make sense of what I'd just witnessed.
An accident?
An attack?
What the hell were those things?
"W-we should—"
"Shut up." Randy whispered.
His voice was different.
No grumbling.
No irritation.
Just a cold, unmistakable warning.
SCREEEEEEEEEEEECHHH—!
Another scream echoed through the facility.
"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHDUAS"
Then another.
"PLEASE—ST—AGHHHHHHH"
Then several more.
Hssssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
I slowly turned my head toward the corridor behind us. More silhouettes were emerging from the haze. Too many.
The hazes blocked most of our vision, Only the sillhouete of their figures could be seen, at a glance it seemed like they were just running aimlessly, yet—At a closer glance…
Thud Thud Thud Thud Thud Thud
They weren't wandering aimlessly.
They were running.
Where you ask?
Straight toward us.
…
And at that moment a single thought filled my mind, and it was probably something we all that filled all of our minds at that moment.
…
We're Fucking Dead.