1:36 AM

“What are you doing back up here?” Henry bellowed. He ignored the need to be quiet while he shouted at Miles. “Take Autumn and leave. Now.” The man resumed his study of the corpses. She was shocked that Henry hadn’t explored the rest of the fourth floor yet, though she shrugged it off. Miles walked toward him.

“That’s the problem. The door’s locked. It’s got a keycard reader and it wouldn’t let us through. We’re stuck with you until we find another way out.” Henry sighed, turning toward the body. He unclipped the keycard from the man’s lanyard and handed it to Miles.

“Use this.” Miles shook his head and shot his hand out to reject the card. He slipped into his pocket and extracted his card.

“Already tried. The cards don’t work on the first floor, so we’re stuck with you until we find another way out.” Henry glanced down.

“Did you try smashing any windows?” Miles shook his head.

“There were no windows. It was literally just a short hallway that led straight to a door.”

“No other vents?”

“There were, but they were a lot smaller. Even if we managed to break into the vent, there’s no way we’d be able to crawl through it.” Several seconds of silence arose. Autumn shifted her attention from Henry — who remained deep in thought — to Miles. His eyebrows slanted down the sides of his face. His hands trembled.

“Henry?” Autumn asked. Henry rotated his head. Her voice shook. “I— that man there,” she pointed at Goldstein, “He told me there was another exit on the second floor— one that should still be open. It’s an emergency exit.” Henry released a long exhale.

“That’s good information,” Henry replied. “Thank you.” With a strong groan, he stood up. “Right now, we’re gonna stick together. You two will stay behind me and we’ll move through the third floor as quickly as we can. We still don’t know what we’re dealing with here, so it’s gonna be important we hurry.” He urged their attention toward the body. “From what I’ve gathered from the bodies, I think they were working with animals of some kind due to the scratches on their body. It would also explain why their arms and legs were ripped off. I’m not quite sure what caused the blisters, though, so we’ll have to look out for that. I suspect it to be a gas of some kind.”

Autumn debated internally. Do I tell them what I know? The gas. That thing. Sunset. It wasn’t animals. It was an animal. Why not tell them? She recognized the foolishness behind the thought. What would happen? Your goal is to escape — for all of you to escape. Her mind paused. No. For you to escape.

Henry stood. He squeezed his matte black pistol and placed his flashlight set atop it to create a makeshift pistol light. The towering demeanor, which was at first comforting, now began to worry her. She inhaled as Henry spoke once more.

“I was never given access to any floors past the second, though I suspect that the fourth is the smallest of them. That means it should be fairly easy to navigate toward the staircase and descend. The issue is, that when creating the lab, Hill made the decision to make each staircase go only to the next floor. This staircase won’t take us to the second floor — only the third.” He stopped for a second and looked around. “I haven’t heard much noise outside of us, so I believe we might be safe for now, though always remain wary of the potential gas. Stay close. Miles, watch our six.” He crouched close to the floor, glided to the bend, and peered his head around the corner. Autumn watched. Why do I care? I don’t know him. Get over it. No. She shook her head. Henry bobbed back and waved the two to advance.

“It’s all clear. I think I see the staircase ahead, though I want to check out the bend at the end. Autumn, I think it’s best for you to remain here while Miles and I investigate the rest. Don’t go down the staircase yet. It’s still not safe.” He ushered Miles to follow him. “We need to check for survivors and help them.” Autumn scrutinized Henry’s face. An ominous look was painted in his eyes, which confused her. She shooed the thought away.

The two men trotted into the darkness, Miles walking a foot behind Henry, who had readied his gun. Autumn remained alone. She breathed, enveloped by the sound of muffled rain and hollow wind. The hallway was littered with more corpses. There were six of them, their bodies contorted in a painful illustration of their death. Fragments of torn lab coats settled upon the tiles. The lights continued their flickering masquerade, masking much of the hallway in darkness. An unknown shudder befell her. Miles and Henry disappeared behind the corner, mumbling words she couldn’t hear.

As she watched, a mischievous worm crept into her brain. It whispered something in her ear. You can’t trust them. They’re plotting something. You can’t trust them. You have to escape. No matter what. She took in a deep breath and trailed them.

Autumn squatted before the bend. She concentrated on their voice. Their dampened footsteps dissipated as they talked.

“Do you really think it was an animal that did this?” Miles asked. His voice grew quieter as he moved further down the hall.

“I’m not sure,” Henry replied, “I— look. I think we need to talk about something.” There was a momentary pause. “Come in here.” A loud metallic screech echoed through the chamber. The footsteps disappeared. They went into a room. I have to follow them. Her thoughts ended as Henry slammed the door shut. In a single graceful stride, Autumn turned the corner. She heard muffled talking from inside the room, though she couldn’t discern the words yet. She inched closer to the door, paying no attention to the hall surrounding her. The door was quickly upon her — its impending figure stared down at her. Autumn smushed her ear against the frigid surface.

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“—and you have to listen to what I command you to do, understand?” This was Henry. His coarse voice was stern. “Good. Look, Miles, I know that you and Autumn were friends. But there’s something you need to keep in mind. She is gone. Her mind — her memories — are gone. She doesn’t remember you, or me, or anything. I can tell that you want to protect her, which is a fine instinct. But— but Miles, I have my suspicions about her. We don’t know much about this place other than the fact that these people are dead. Autumn is the only living person we’ve found in this place and— and I don’t really know what that means.”

“Are— are you trying to say that you think Autumn did this to these people?” Miles exploded in a whisper. “You think she’s capable of this— of that?”

“I don’t know Miles. That’s why I’m talking to you. We don’t know. We don’t understand what’s going on and until we do, we have to be cautious around the girl. I will protect her until your life is in danger. I will protect you. Do you understand?”

“No— we’re officers. Isn’t our job to protect people? Isn’t our job to help people? She’s been missing for two weeks and now you want to kill her? She—”

“Stop. I’m an officer. You are not. You shouldn’t be here, and because of that, I have a duty to protect you. I will protect the girl, but I do not trust her. She is not Autumn anymore. She is one of their experiments. You have to let her go. You want to be an officer? Then learn to let go. I will not let you die to protect her. And I need you to promise me that you will not risk your life to protect her if she goes feral. Can you do that?”

There was nothing for a moment. Both men stopped talking. He wants to kill me. No — he’s willing to kill me. Is that better? Is that even different? I don’t know.

“I—” Miles began. “I’m not willing to let her die, sir.” A wave of relief washed over her, though she didn’t understand why. That sense of distrust lingered within her mind, despite Miles’ words of comfort. Is it because I can’t remember him? Is that why I can’t trust him? Why am I still willing to let him die? “I don’t care. She can kill me with her demon claws or whatever, but I don’t care. I’ll die protecting her.”

“Listen, kid,” Henry commanded. “You’ve got a good heart. I’m not asking you to kill her. But you need to remember that whoever Autumn is right now, that’s not the girl you’ve known. And if she goes feral, I need you to promise me that you will run and hide. You have to abandon her. Okay?” Miles sighed.

“Fine. Alright? I’ll leave her. Is that what you wanna hear? If my life is in mortal danger or whatever you think she’s capable of — I’ll leave her. Let’s just search the stupid room.” The two men stopped talking afterward. Autumn scrambled back down the hallway, worried that they would suddenly emerge. She plopped onto the cold tiles and leaned back against the wall. The river sped through her mind.

Did I do this? The thought hadn’t budged since Henry claimed she was feral. Is he right? Am I the danger? No. Goldstein wasn’t scared of me. I can’t be. He warned me of something. Someone. Sunset. Sunset is the enemy. No, not the enemy. My friend. Sunset has saved me. She wiggled her head back and forth. I— I didn’t think that. Autumn remembered the ominous eyes that stared at her. They watched her viciously. Are you really in my mind? There was no response to the question. What was that? She panicked for a moment but then breathed. You’re making it up. Calm down. This place is getting to you. Don’t let it.

I can’t trust them. Not yet. Miles— maybe. But they are willing to leave me to die. If there is an escape, I have to take it. No matter what. She repeated the phrase multiple times, trying to convince herself of it. No matter what.

The footsteps returned as Miles and Henry approached. Autumn suspected about seven minutes passed since their conversation ended. She locked eyes with Miles, who rubbed his shoulder in response. Henry groaned.

“There wasn’t much. Sunrise was very sectioned off, and as you two practically confirmed for me, there wasn’t much intermingling. You were given a task and were provided the necessary tools to complete it. The fact that workers on the fourth weren’t even allowed access to the first-floor labs is disturbing. Whatever they were working on, they made sure it was hidden. Autumn—” She jolted. “Do you remember or know anything more about what specifically they were working on?”

“Yes,” she began, “The scientist I told you about, Miles, he said that whatever it was that killed him — he had never worked on or seen. I think you’re right.” Henry nodded.

“Hey guys?” Miles shouted. He disregarded their environment and shattered the quiet. “You— you might wanna come look at this. It’s weird.” Henry and Autumn shifted their gaze to Miles, who walked several feet away from them. He appeared to have found a flashlight in one of the rooms, Autumn noted, and he pointed it toward the wall near the stairwell.

“What?” Henry muttered. He strutted to Miles, his eyes bolted to the wall. Autumn followed the light and joined the two. Her vigorous shivers returned. Miles stepped away, broadening the narrow light.

The word Salvation was painted in blood with an arrow pointed at the staircase. Henry shook his head and sighed. Autumn perceived a layer of fear that hadn’t been there before. Salvation? What does that even mean? Freedom? An escape? Or something else?

“You two are going to have to stay extra close to me, okay? I have the weapon, so don’t make any sudden sounds or I may shoot. Call out if you see anything, but whisper. We’re not searching around anymore, not until we find someone alive who can explain this mess. This place is wrong. Everything about this is wrong. Right now, the main priority is escorting you two out, and the moment we find an exit, you will leave. Understand?” Autumn and Miles nodded.

A black card reader clung to the door. Henry retrieved the keycard he had offered Miles. He slid the card through the reader’s slit. It provided a responsive ding as a green light flashed. Henry grasped the handle and cracked the door ajar. He peered his head into the stairwell.

“It’s clear. Let’s go.” The three entered the dark stairwell. There were no windows. They were swaddled in writhing darkness until Henry reactivated his flashlight, revealing the staircase descending before them. It’s not safe. You can’t trust them, no matter what.

“And if she goes feral, I need you to promise me that you will run and hide. You have to abandon her.”

“Fine.”

They will leave you. You must escape. No matter what. No matter what. She released a silent sigh.

Welcome to the third floor, Autumn.