Chapter 16 (J) - Second Entry

  “…There it is.” Ahead of us looms the facility. I know much of it to be underground, but even the small portion hidden amongst the trees feels imposing. Hiding behind some shrubbery, I scan the area. The security thankfully appears to have remained offline. Two knights stand guard near the door. Given their armor, it's difficult to determine whether they are human or chimera, but it likely doesn't matter. Once inside, going unnoticed ought to be relatively easy, but stealth is far more difficult outside in the daylight. It wouldn’t be impossible to enter some other way- I made use of a maintenance hatch on the roof last time. That said, it would be far more convenient to utilize the front entrance, if only I didn’t have to contend with those knights.

  By their expressions, it’s clear they’re far more bored than alert. However, their armor would make it difficult to accurately aim a tranquilizer dart. …Though as it turns out, I don’t have any left, making that irrelevant. I could always simply attack them and knock them out, but that method would be dangerous and unreliable. Besides, they’re not the enemy. I’d rather not injure innocent parties if possible. Perhaps a distraction may work? Scanning the ground at my feet, I notice a decently large stone, roughly the size of an orange. I tentatively pick it up, and hurl it off into the forest away from where I’ve concealed myself, where it makes a not insignificant amount of noise.

  “What was that?!” one knight asks.

  “Probably some animal, or something.”

  “Do you think it could be hurt?”

  “No idea. But that’s not what we’re supposed to be worrying about. We’re not supposed to leave our post, remember? If something comes crawling out to us with a broken leg or something, that’s one thing. But it’s not our business otherwise.”

  Calypso snorts. “Well that worked well.”

  I ignore her flippant remark. I don’t know what I expected, honestly. The Knights of Solaris wouldn’t assign incompetent guards, especially for one of these facilities. …I suppose I’ll have to make do with the roof after all.

  I make my way to the back of the facility, taking great pains to move as quietly as possible. Thankfully, the tree I climbed last time to reach the roof is largely unburnt even after that man’s assault, enabling me to reach the roof once again with ease. I open the maintenance hatch a small bit and slide Calypso inside.

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  “...Uh, all clear!” Having heard her signal, I leave the basket of stolen fruit nearby, out of sight of the ground, open the hatch as quietly as possible and slip into the darkness within.

  “Do you still have a map of the facility?”

  “Yep! Do you remember the way to the security office?”

  “I think so. Correct me if I make any wrong turns on the way.”

  “Will do!”

  Slowly, we make our way through the facility, listening closely for the sound of investigators. The building is dark, but dim blue lights on the walls give just enough illumination to make out my surroundings. I have to tread carefully to avoid leaving footprints in the drying blood on the floor, still leaking from the employees’ bodies. Every facility has the same layout, at least on this floor. I know this area by heart by now. I make no wrong turns on the path to the office. The security guards still lie dead on the floor. There haven’t been any apparent signs of life thus far, so I can only presume that the investigation team is either in the facility’s depths, or is yet to arrive. Given the lack of footprints, the latter is more likely.

  I set Calypso down on a device, and the screens light up.

  “I really wish they’d get rid of those stupid auto-locking doors… Like, I get they’re designed to keep out intruders who manage to get past the first lines of security, but they’re annoying. Also, who the hell is breaking into a Daedalus base who doesn’t know how to get past ‘em, anyway?”

  “Given these locks only open from the security office, outside the locked door, they’re likely to keep things in, not out.”

  “O-oh. Right… Wait a sec, then how’d that fire beast get out?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It must’ve come from this building, right? The door to the lower floors is still locked, so it couldn’t have busted through it.”

  “...I think the door being human-sized would pose a far greater issue for the fire beast than a lock. But you’re right, that is strange. Maybe there’s some alternate exit large enough to accommodate it.”

  “Welp. Anyway, the door should be unlocked now. I also grabbed a few files they had lying around, so I’ll check ‘em out as you go deeper. Lemme know if you need something, ‘k?”

  “Alright.” With that, Calypso goes silent, and I exit the office, open the door just outside it, and begin my descent back into the depths once more.