The light from Flint’s headlamp shines upon the deteriorated interior of the Facility’s large reception area. The chairs and benches lie about the floor reduced to pure scraps and the reception desk is covered in dried reddish brown stains.
As he approaches the reception desk, the light reveals two large mechanical doors parallel to each other. He first approaches the door on the left. The door does not budge, no matter how hard he pulls. He kneels and finds that the lock is in far disrepair to even be picked.
He takes his losses and walks to the door on the other side. Flint pulls on the door. While it is jammed, the door moves a little. Flint keeps on tugging, making the door inch forward bit by bit. After one final tug, Flint stumbles back as the door swings wide open, crashing onto the nearby wall. Bits of small rubble fall on the ground where the door crashed into the wall.
Flint notices countless paper talismans plastered behind and around the door’s opening. The talismans have crosses, a series of lines, and circles on them, all in red ink. They continue down into the dark abyss of the hallway.
Flint takes out his camera from his pocket and takes a photo of them. He ventures deeper into the hall, putting his camera back into his pocket.
Flint finds several open doors in the distance, two on the left and one on the right, spaced far apart each with talismans being nailed onto them. He peers into the rooms, finding small decrepit office spaces with scraps of furniture and rubble scattered about.
Flint wanders aimlessly in the halls. He passes by the same monotonous sight, wide open doors with talismans nailed onto them, leading into ruined and destroyed rooms.
The light from his headlamp wanes as the darkness around him intensifies as he gets deeper into the hallway. Flint’s eyes squint while he traverses through the hall, taking slower steps so he doesn’t trip or step on anything.
Flint looks at the left side of the hallway and finds something that catches his interest. There is a broken sign hanging on top of a broken door. Its text is smudged over with a black residue. However, he can still read it, which reads: File Room. This room in particular also has many talismans on the door, more so than the previous doors he has passed by.
The inside of the room has appeared to be ransacked. Many of the filing cabinets are either opened wide or damaged. Papers are scattered across the floor either being crumpled, ripped, or covered with dirt and debris. There is a desk in the center of the room, with only a few chips and scratches.
Even though the room is an utter mess, it doesn’t hinder Flint at all. The room’s disarray is quite familiar to him as his office is in a sadly similar state. He first focuses on the papers on the floor and picks them up. He places them on the desk and reads through them.
Most of the documentation, while interesting, doesn’t catch his eye. They contain graphs and extensive reports about specific equipment. Even though they contain related information, it isn’t the information he is looking for in particular.
However, a couple of papers do stand out to him. Flint finds the floor layout for the entire building. The facility descends to the 5th basement floor. The second and third floors catch his interest in particular. These floors house many experimentation rooms, the heart of the facility.
While it is dated from many years ago, it is Flint’s best shot at navigating through the facility.
On the floor plan, there are two stairways leading further down into the facility. They are not far from his current location, requiring only a simple walk and a few turns down the hall. He exits the room, the floor layout in his hand, and makes his trip toward the stairwell.
Flint stands in front of the stairwell. His lamp light illuminates very little of the stairwell. Flint stretches and takes a deep breath. He slowly goes down the stairs.
Flint looks around the large stairwell with limited vision being provided by the light. He finds talismans plastered on the wall, which are heavily concentrated throughout the stairwell. Flint notices that, unlike the talismans on the first floor, the symbols are drawn on with black ink. Underneath them, he can make out portions of an odd mural with the same black ink.
He approaches the talismans and pushes some of them aside. While he is unable to push all of them aside, most of the mural is revealed. It is a large shadowy silhouette of a humanoid figure, wearing a suit, holding a bag on his left and a large rod with a trapezoidal bladed end on his right.
Flint shivers the longer he looks at the mural. He takes a photo of it and leaves the area immediately.
It takes him some time to go down the stairwell. He takes the opportunity for a short moment to rest. He takes a closer look at the floor plan, trying to determine the best place to look first.
A majority of the rooms on the next floor are laboratories along with some storage rooms. He has difficulty determining where to start and continues to look through the floor plans for something to work with.
thump
Flint looks up from the floor plans. What was that?
thump thump
Flint hears it coming from the second floor. He cautiously walks down the stairs.
thump thump thump
It is louder this time. He sees the second-floor door close by.
thump thump thump thump
He approaches the door of the second floor. As he puts his hand on the handle, the noise stops. Before he enters the second floor, he looks behind him. He notices a large chunk of rubble blocking the way further down into the facility. However, he knows from the floor plan that there is another floor plan leading downstairs. He enters the second floor without any more delay.
Unlike the first floor, this floor has dim lighting throughout the entire floor. The lighting is just bright enough for him to turn off his headlamp.
He notices a lack of talismans as he walks into the hallway. Furthermore, he notices that it is in much better condition than the first floor. However, it is only marginally better as Flint still notices stains and cracks along the way. He takes out his camera and takes various photos of the hallway.
He passes by several closed doors, signs on them indicating the specific laboratory it is. As he walks around he keeps looking at the floor plans for reference. The floor plans are reliable until he checks them again. He notices he already passed the end of the hall on the floor plans. He sighs at the revelation, but he isn’t frustrated over it. It is an old document after all.
He continues down the unfamiliar hallway. He notices that the hallway becomes progressively dirtier. Black stains are smeared all over the floor and wall, their stench still pungent.
He walks down the hall with his left hand covering his mouth, passing by more stains, this time in large splotches, on the walls and floor.
Flint notices a particular stain on the ground he couldn’t ignore. It is a large black stain covering a good chunk of the floor and wall. He lowers to the floor for further inspection.
Realizing he has forgotten to bring along gloves, he visually examines the stain not wanting to touch it. He notices the stain has a more intense color compared to the stains on the wall and floor. Upon a close look, he finds what seems to be ash mixed within the stain and has a more intense pungent smell.
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Whirrrrrrrrr
He hears the peculiar noise coming at the end of the hallway. Flint takes out the loaded revolver and walks slowly toward the source of the noise.
Flint finds the source of the noise coming behind two large doors. They have images of specters and spirits painted on using the same black stains that are found throughout the hall. The two handles of the door are in the shape of flames. The noise continues to intensify from behind the door.
Flint puts his revolver away in his inner pocket and takes a quick picture of it before pulling on the handle.
The doors do not budge. He kneels and takes out his lock-picking kit, pulling out some picks. As Flint puts them into the lock, he feels the picks shake in his hands as if the gates and pins inside the lock are moving. By pushing down one pin, he sees his picks rotate and move in and out of the lock as if it is actively preventing him from picking it.
Flint removes his picks from the lock and puts them in his kit. He takes out the floor plans, hoping to find a specific room where he can find a key for these doors.
Alas, he can’t find that room on the floor plans. He puts them away and continues down looking around the hall. He knows that there is somewhere in this forsaken facility that will house the keys to unlock those doors.
After walking deeper into the hall, he finds a set of two large push doors on the right of the hall.
He opens the door and is greeted with utter darkness within the room. He turns on his headlamp. Flint shivers uncontrollably and almost keels over at the grisly sight that the light reveals.
Dried blood is smeared all over the large room, from the ceiling to the floor. The lights shine upon some cabinets and desks along the sides of the room are ruined and left wide open, also smeared with blood. But that is not what unnerved him. There are four large operating tables, two on the right and two on the left. They all have mutilated corpses of rotting humans, some with medicinal tools that are stabbed into them.
Flint hesitantly takes out his camera, against the wishes of his trembling body. His finger keeps shivering as he presses down on the button, taking a picture of the gruesome sight. Flint steps out of the room, breathing heavily.
“You’ve seen this before, Flint. You’ve seen worse. Shake it off, Flint.” He says to himself, attempting to calm himself down.
After calming himself down for a moment, he steps back into the room. As he enters the room, he finds another set of large doors at the end of the room.
He makes his way towards the door, trying to ignore the ghastly sights on the tables. He tugs on the door, but it does not budge. The door has a window, but the shades on the other side block his view of the room. He bends down and picks the lock.
After hearing the locks click, he slowly opens the door. Flint has thought it couldn’t be worse. But he is dead, dead wrong.
Behind the door is a singular operating table stained with the same black goo in the hall. On top of the stained operating table was a human, well at least what he think is a human. Its shadowy and inky black body is strapped down on the table. Its mouth appears to have been forcibly stretched open, revealing its charred teeth and decaying insides. Fresh black sludge drips from the several holes that are riddled on its arms and legs.
“What…what the hell?” Flint mutters.
As he looks around the room, he finds a cabinet with a table underneath it. There are several documents on the table along with a peculiar key, that is shaped like an arrow, on top. He goes over and takes the key and documents. He puts away the key in his pocket and begins reading through the writing on the documents.
Subject 1302:
He…he was so close to being perfect. His body…it was so very close, but it succumbed. His soul…it’s always their soul. It seemed so passionate, but it was just like the others. Another failed experiment.
The rest of the documents are crossed out, making the text illegible.
*crik* *crik*
Flint looks up from the documents and at the operating table. The thing is still there. He looks back down and continues to read through them.
I will never replicate those four…but I mustn’t give up. There is still hope. There is still a chance. There is always a chance. I must perfect the serum. I will see her again.
*SNAP*
Flint looks up again and his eyes widen. It was the thing slowly rising on the table. It freely moves about in jerky, stiff motion. Its body cracks and squishes as it turns to Flint. It bellows a sound akin to the grating of bones from its stretched mouth. The thing lunges at him.
Flint drops the documents and slides underneath the thing. The thing crashes into the table below the cabinets, spraying its black sludge on the surface and the documents on the floor.
Flint runs out of the room taking out his revolver. He turns around and sees the thing shambling after him with its crooked and stiff steps. Flint rests his finger on the trigger and pulls it.
*BANG*
Flint’s eyes widen when he sees the bullet surrounded by bluish-green spectral flame as it speeds at the thing. The bullet pierces the thing’s body, spraying out black sludge from the wound. The thing halts its movement and screeches loudly.
Flint pulls the trigger again.
*BANG*
Another bullet, being surrounded by the same spectral flame, pierces its body again, causing it to halt its movements, spray out more black sludge, and screech louder. Flint sees a golden opportunity and aims the revolver at the thing’s head. Flint pulls the trigger again.
*BANG*
A huge chunk of the creature’s head is blown off. The creature arches its back and violently shakes in place. A concentrated stream of light erupts from its head. More streams of light erupt from holes around the thing’s body. Flint closes his eyes as the entire room is engulfed in a great light.
As the light fades, the thing is no longer there. The black sludge it leaves behind has vanished, just like its body.
Flint rushes out of the room and leans against the non-stained portion of the hallway. He takes some deep breaths to calm his racing heart. Never in his life, has he expected to fight against a horrid abomination of nature.
“Come on Flint…you’ve faced worse…you know you have…” Flint keeps muttering to himself.
He takes a closer examination of the revolver to distract his mind. As he touches the nose of the gun, he feels a soothing warmth calming himself down. His breaths become less and less heavy.
He takes the key out of his pocket. He deduces that it is the key for the door with the changing locks. Flint takes another deep breath and slowly walks back to the doors.
As he arrives at the door, he takes out the key and puts it into the lock. He hears the lock clicking and rotating while the key is inside it. As the door unlocks, he hears a buzzing sound intensifying from inside the room. He hears the clicking and rotating stop. He pulls out the key and opens the door, with his revolver pointing inside the room.
Flint looks around and finds himself in an operating room. The room is surrounded by sigils and summoning circles drawn in blood. He finds large tubes along the walls with translucent fluids flowing within them. Each of them has a certain symbol on top and it exerts a clear mist as they are on. There is an operating table, with another humanoid thing on the table. It is strapped down and immobilized. Its entire chest is ripped open, revealing its hollow insides.
“YOU HAVE FINALLY COME.” A robotic voice announces from the side.
Flint turns his direction to the source of the voice.
The voice comes from a large hexagonal body of metal, which becomes thinner as it nears the top. It has black sludge smeared all over its dark red metallic body. It has a large grotesque metal arm, moving its thick and sharp fingers, which screeches as the fingers rub against each other. The most grotesque thing about it, however, is its head. It is a glass dome, with the rotting, paralyzed head of an old man with medium red hair. The rest of the man’s body is hidden within the metallic body. The man’s body is submerged in a dark translucent liquid.
“What…who are you..?” Flint asks with the revolver pointed at him.
“IT IS OF NO CONCERN TO YOU.” The voice says with its stained voice box near its head.
The machine wheels over, reaching out its hand to Flint. Flint backs away.
“AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. AFTER SO LONG. I HAVE FOUND ANOTHER.”
“Another?” Flint asks.
The machine’s arm reaches out to Flint clamping its hands as it rolls closer and closer to Flint. As the clamping speed increases, the fingers jerk around more unevenly. Flint covers his ears because of the screeching noise the hand created. Then, it stops.
“YOUR SOUL...YOUR SOUL…THE FEELING…IT’S SO FAMILIAR.” The machine announces.
The machine wheels over towards Flint, who continues to back away from it. It swipes its grotesque metal arm at him.
“YOUR SOUL…IT IS WHAT I NEED. I NEED IT. I NEED IT!” the machine announces.
Flint runs out of the room with the machine chasing him.
Flint aims the revolver at the machine.
*BANG*
The bullet surrounded by the green flame is blocked with its large arm.
“DO NOT FLEE LOST SOUL.” the machine says to Flint with its robotic voice as it continues to chase him.
Flint runs through the halls, taking many twists and turns. The machine manages to keep up with Flint, despite its mechanical body and the turns of the hallway. Flint’s breathing becomes heavier, and his legs feel like they are about to give up on him, but he keeps running. The machine is close to catching him. Without any other options left for Flint, he runs over to one of the doors within the hall and opens it.
He enters the dark room fumbling around trying to escape the machine. He bumps into several tables and cabinets during his struggle. However, the machine enters the room as well. There is no place for him to hide.
“DO NOT BE AFRAID LOST SOUL. I WILL GUIDE YOU THROUGH THIS HELL. I WILL FREE YOU FROM THIS NEVER ENDING LABYRINTH OF PAIN AND SORROW.” the machine announces to him.
The machine slowly approaches Flint. Flint backs away, pointing the revolver at it. As Flint backs away, he slips on a wet stain on the floor. The impact of his fall breaks the flooring where he falls. The flooring on the floor below breaks as his body crashes into that as well. He screams as he continues falling.
“LOST SOUL…I WILL FIND YOU AGAIN. I SHALL SET YOU FREE. I SHALL SEE HER AGAIN.” the machine says to itself.
The machine wheels out of the room, with the faint sounds of Flint’s grunts of pain coming from the hole.