I quickly pull out my flashlight and start pointing it towards the walls to find the light switch. I locate it and flip it. Contrary to popular belief, there is no loud sound produced by the ceiling lights, only the switch makes a sound. I don’t know what I was expecting from this room, but when I turned around I was petrified.
There were around 8 operating tables in rows, the floor was made out of tiles and there were drains scattered all around. The walls were also completely covered in tiles and the ceiling was the same as anywhere else. There were large cabinets lined on most of the walls. Some of the cabinets had windows and I could see some medical supplies and equipment in them.
There were smaller tables around the operating tables and they were littered with miscellaneous surgical equipment that was in some cases bloody. There were also some jars with unknown fluid in them. Some of the jars even contained organs in them… There were eyeballs, brains, lungs and kidneys. Looks like the scientists have been studying the intestines since there were large boards with diagrams of muscle groups and internal organs of some beings.
The beings depicted on the diagrams can’t be human, it’s just not possible. They have cat-like features on them and their insides aren’t even configured like those in humans. The muscle groups all have different names and I’ve never seen some on humans.
The tables have been cleared of any bodies, obviously since they were transporting something on that cart and it wasn’t humans. There is only blood everywhere and no hard evidence. I take a photo of the boards and the jars and quickly turn off the lights to leave.
After closing the door, I press a small button on the keycard reader to lock it again and continue on my way back to the stairs. There are more levels to search. I approach the force field gate, and notice that there is also a door leading into that small security office. It’s unlocked. From there I can climb into the vent, close the vent above the main corridor and head back to the armory.
After I fix the vents I opened, I leave the armory and head back to the stairs. I pass the larger security office and wave again. The guard waves back. I finally exit the fourth level and continue my descent. It doesn’t seem like I’ve passed the halfway point since I can’t even see the bottom.
The scientists and that cart have gone to the elevator, and there are no rails on the upper floors so they must have gone down. I have to find out where the bodies are headed. Maybe there is a morgue somewhere. I wish there was a map of every floor somewhere, although I haven’t checked any of the computers up until now since they were all near the facility staff.
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I climb down to level 05. It seems to be done in the same style as the previous level and there doesn’t seem to be anything near the elevator except the staircase room. I start walking around the corridor and it is considerably shorter than the previous one. I can already see the end.
There is no one on this corridor except for the few voices I hear in the distance. There are no security offices, no armories, no storage rooms. The only thing I can see is the room at the end of the corridor which is, as I predicted, the morgue. I come closer, as if to inspect something, and stand near the researchers which are depositing the body bags.
“Are the bodies really not human?”, I ask a researcher.
[You have already been appointed down here so I see no reason to keep you in the dark. The species is called Panthera Erectus and they are POWs we obtained from the war. Most of them aren’t in a workable state so we need to bring them in bulk here.]
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“Yeah, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were all dead when they came here.”
[Hahaha, then the benefactor would personally see that they deliver live specimens.]
I wonder how they transport smoke to the surface…
I leave them to burn the bodies as I can’t take photos while they are watching. Maybe I will find live specimens and take that opportunity to take a photo, if they still have any. I get back to the staircase and continue my descent. I arrive at level 06, this appears to be the last level since the auxiliary stairs end here.
The style changed yet again. From forest green colors, tiles and metal grates it turned into just gray concrete with one green line that is about a meter from the floor. The ceiling has also changed into just barebones reinforced concrete with bumps and occasional metal truss.
Lights have switched from square panels to a neon tube shape with exposed wires and visible suspension. There are also metal wire channels suspended from the ceiling and visible ventilation tubes. The floor isn’t even covered with grates anymore and there are a few metal bumps here and there which look like they will eventually support the grate floor.
The corridor ends in a 90 degree turn and there is a large open space there. On the left wall there is a small security office which doesn’t seem occupied at the moment. There is also a ramp in the center of the corridor. It looks like the whole corridor is still under construction and that it might look exactly like the first few corridors.
In the large room, there are loading bays on both sides, marked with yellow paint on the floor. There are also cranes on the ceiling and at the end of the room a gigantic gaping hole which leads deeper and deeper into the facility. The hole is protected by railings and there are two gates that would allow cargo and personnel to be loaded on the large diagonal elevator which is currently in other levels.
Calling it an elevator is an understatement since it’s more like a giant platform, 50 meters in length and 25 in depth, that is used for transportation. During the whole shaft there are lights on the ceiling, placed into the indents, and there are even windows on the sides.
The windows are showing a lot of stairs to the bottom, and there are even some rooms connected. It looks like it’s gonna be even more walking to the bottom. There are two entrances for the stairs but I presume there isn’t anything noteworthy connected to the stairs so I pick the right entrance.
The stairs are different from the previous metal grate ones. These are made out of concrete and just have banisters to the sides. There are lights on the ceiling of the stairs but they are much smaller since they don’t need to light up a large space. The walls are also from reinforced concrete and there are pretty thick windows overlooking the cargo platform/elevator shaft.
Somewhere on the half-way point there is a little rest area with sofas and potted plants. There is also a vending machine where I grab a can of soda. I sit a bit to drink and relax since I am pretty tired from coming down all those stairs. The floor of this small room seems to be carpeted, the ceiling has the same neon tube like light as the previous hallway had and the walls have those green stripes too with the letters REST AREA written somewhere in the middle of the line in white.
After a minute or so I hear a very loud noise and the whole place begins to vibrate. It’s like an earthquake. I look out of the window and see the large platform slowly ascend from the depths to arrive at level 06. It seems that whoever created the platform didn’t consider vibration dampeners and more silent motors for it. How do the people working here even get accustomed to this happening multiple times per day?
The platform passes and I can clearly see some personnel on it that are armed, in military uniforms. There are also a lot of crates and there is a broken tank which I saw in that warehouse on level 02. There is also one more concerning thing. Metal cages with living specimens in them. There are a few researchers and armed guards near them and they seem to be moving them into the operation area on level 04.
The platform passes and I finish my quick break from climbing. I continue my descent and quickly arrive at level 07.