Kaiden, at the age of 35, found himself surprisingly content with his new job. Living at home had become a point of contention; his parents, weary and well into their retirement years, still toiled away in full-time minimum wage jobs. They had issued an ultimatum: if he wished to continue enjoying the comforts of their home, he needed to contribute to the household expenses.

His friend Jake was currently employed in a management position of a tech company with the income to match. Kaiden couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy of his friends’ achievements. However, back in high school, while Jake dedicated nights to studying, Kaiden’s years were a blur of late-night parties and endless gaming sessions often lasting till dawn.

Despite their diverging paths, the bond remained between them, a testament to their friendship.

So, with his parent’s ultimatum, he swallowed his pride and contacted his friend, who secured him a position as a security guard, within one of the company’s cutting-edge testing facilities.

Nestled mostly beneath the earth’s surface, the facility where Kaiden worked was a maze of sprawling corridors and vast chambers. The research and equipment in this place were beyond his understanding, which was fine as his job was only to patrol the facility.

Kaiden made a conscious effort to vary his patrol route in the facility, a practice aimed more at warding off the boredom rather than any expertise in security. Also, he couldn’t help but remember in video games particularly the ones with stealth elements, it always ended badly for the predictable guards who patrolled the same route.

Today like every other day started like normal, he was on his second patrol for the day each one typically taking between an hour to ninety minutes, depending on the route he chose. On this particular day, as he navigated the maze of corridors, Kaiden encountered one of the many doors along in the facility. This door was distinctive - a massive vertical slider positioned right down the end of its own short corridor. It was framed with multiple warning signs that spoke of radiation hazards and laser operations. What set this day apart, however, was the doors’ unexpected openness.

Unable to quell his curiosity, Kaiden ventured closer, his footsteps echoing softly in the confined space. He approached with caution, hugging the periphery of the doorway, so as not to be so obviously spying.

Peering into the room, he found himself momentarily paralysed with astonishment, his mouth agape as he took in the sight before him.

Inside, was an area so vast that it seemed capable of accommodating a Boeing 747, if not for the labyrinth of colossal machinery that filled the space. Dominating the heart of the chamber were two immense metallic towers, their structure enigmatic and imposing. A network of cables, each thicker than his entire body, sprawled from the pillars, connecting them to carious devices around the room.

Scattered around the floor, about a dozen scientists moved with measured precision, their attention fixed on the array of instruments before them. Without warning, the focus of the research was shattered by the piercing cry of an alarm, the sound ricocheting of the walls and filling the chamber. In an instant, the equipment came alive, awash in a frenzy of blinking lights that cast the room in a chaotic glow reminiscent of a frenetic Christmas display.

The atmosphere within the chamber shifted dramatically as the scientist’s measured movements transformed into a chaotic scramble, their figures darting between the machinery in a desperate bid to control the situation.

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Despite their efforts, the clamour of alarms and the relentless flashing of lights continued unabated. The once dormant pillars now buzzed menacingly, filling the room with a sound reminiscent of a swarm of agitated bees.

In an instant, the crisis breached the confines of the room as alarms echoed ominously through the corridors behind Kaiden. With a jolt of recognition, he identified the sound as the signal for a full facility evacuation, a procure drilled into him during his employment training. A momentary paralysis gripped him as he struggled to remember what he was supposed to do in this situation. It finally came back to him, he had to report at the entrance of the facility, guiding and assisting others as he went.

Amidst this unfolding chaos, a terrifying spectacle commenced, arcs of what appeared to be black lighting began to leap between the pillars. On the ground, the scientists appeared to have abandoned their efforts to avert the disaster in favour of a desperate flight to safety.

A warning sounded directly above him, and he saw the vertical door beginning to close, preparing to seal the room and contain the potential catastrophe. The scientists, now gripped by panic, surged faster towards the exits, their pace frantic. Kaiden looked on in horror as a scientist stumbled and fell, her collision with the polished concrete floor a brutal halt to her flight. She lay motionless, a silent figure amidst the turmoil.

Without thinking, he dashed towards the fallen scientist, reaching her side in seconds. Time was of the essence, leaving no room to assess her condition or worry about aggravating her injuries. He attempted a fireman’s carry, but her weight proved too much, forcing him to rethink his strategy. Dropping to his knees, he instead gripped her under the arms, and began dragging her towards the exit, her body sliding with surprising ease across the smooth floor.

His muscles screamed in protest, lungs heaving for air, as the physical toll of his impromptu rescue mounted. He vowed to commit to working out if he survived. He spared a glance towards the door and he groaned in despair, it was nearly closed.

With the door threateningly low and time running out, Kaiden knew he couldn’t safely pass through and pull her after him. In a moment of sheer desperation, he spun around channelling every ounce of strength into propelling her forward. Then, with the door inching closer to sealing off their exit, he threw himself towards the gap, diving in a last-ditch effort to make it through.

He watched in a mix of relief and terror as she barely slid to safety on the other side, and panicked as he realized the door was going to crush him. He held his arms out, halting his slide, narrowly avoiding that grim fate. The door clanged shut with a finality that echoed through the room.

Rising to his feet, Kaiden let out a resigned sigh and leaned back against the sealed door. A quick survey confirmed his worst fears: all exits were securely locked down, and he was utterly alone.

The noise emanating from the towering pillars was overwhelming, their hum morphing into a nearly intolerable drone that seemed to vibrate through Kaiden’s very bones. Driven by a mix of resignation to his situation and curiosity that refused to be silenced even in the face of impending doom, he approached the mysterious structures. There, nestled between the monolithic pillars, he beheld an anomaly that defied explanation – a void so dark it appeared to consume the very light around it, an abyssal team in the fabric of reality that was expanding with unnerving speed.

The gravitational pull from the expanding void was intense, an invisible force that tugged at him with increasing insistence as it swelled in size. Knowing that he didn’t want to get sucked into that thing he attempted to retreat, each step a battle against the inexorable draw of the dark maw before him. After a minute he was stretched to his limit, his muscles screaming in protest while his entire body was drenched in sweat. The sleek polished floor offered little resistance against the pull, and every time he fell, it brought him perilously closer to the void.

In the midst of his struggle, a small red light flickered above, catching his eye – a security camera, a silent witness to his plight. Faced with the reality of his situation, Kaiden made a choice. If these were to be his final moments, they weren’t going to be filled with an undignified scene of him kicking and screaming in terror.

Summoning every ounce of courage, he charged towards the abyss head-on.

A time-honoured battle cry emerged from his mouth, “FFFFFFUUUUUUUU…….”

Then everything went black.