He stood there, tuning his ears to the darkness around him in search of breathing.
Fuu… fuu…
Faintly, there was a sound.
"…"
He took another step. Two.
Three—
Then stopped.
Step Step—
Step…
"…"
Fuu… fuu…
The breathing continued with no sign of change.
It was mixed in with the faint scent of rain.
…
Andrew lifted his foot and continued walking as if nothing were wrong. They seemed content with simply following him.
And as long as there wasn't an active danger, that much was fine.
…
Step step…
…
Fuu…
…
Step
Step
…
Their footsteps fell into sync.
The rhythm continued unperturbed.
There was no end to this dark tunnel.
—
Walking.
Walking.
Walking…
Without change, a short walk becomes endless, and an endless walk becomes a march.
Andrew dragged his hand along the wall, using the brushing sound to keep himself here.
Shhhhh…
This wasn't a march.
This… this was a… this was not a mission.
A request.
He was merely fulfilling a request.
Step step…
This was only a means to get there.
—
Andrew blinked as something new entered his vision.
At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, and he kept going. But soon, the new stimulus became too obvious to ignore.
He stopped.
Step Step—
Step
And his friend in the dark stopped too.
A light…
At the farthest reaches of his vision, a dull red light hummed in the distance.
Bzzzzz
He swallowed.
The exit?
He stepped towards it.
Step step…
The watcher did not follow.
Pausing in the corridor, Andrew weighed his options.
Continue… or turn back?
"…If I continue."
For the first time since he entered, he turned around.
"What happens?"
"…"
The darkness did not reply.
Andrew waited.
…
He waited.
…
He continued to wait.
Clatter!
A metal can clattered across the ground and hit his shoe. Keeping an eye on the dark, he bent down and picked up the can.
Feeling around it with his hands while keeping his eyes on the space behind him—
Fwp
His hand brushed against a piece of paper.
…
Holding up one of his hands in surrender, he unfurled the note and read it.
"If you're speaking, I cannot hear you."
Andrew paused.
Oh.
Glancing down at his wrist, he slowly slid the bangle off and tried again.
"If I continue, what happens?"
He rolled the can back into the darkness.
Clatter clatter tmp—
…
The reply came faster this time.
Roll roll clatter
Picking up the can once more as it rolled over his feet, he unfurled the note. The previous words were crossed out and written below was a new message.
"If you're speaking, I cannot hear you.
Are you human?"
Andrew didn't react immediately. Raising his head, he looked into the dark.
"Are you?"
No response.
Folding the note back up, Andrew pocketed the message and sent back the empty can.
"I am still human."
He waited for a while, trying to parse a figure from the darkness, and only when he turned around to head towards the red light did he hear footsteps walking towards him.
He turned around.
StepStepStep
They stopped at the farthest reaches of his visibility.
K3.
K3 scrutinized him for a while, then slowly opened his mouth.
"Then follow the instructions very carefully, 军人 (soldier)."
He glanced at the red light before reaching under his mask.
Shrrpp
With the sound of something being peeled off, the Hound took the can he held in hand and stuck the object onto its side.
"Do not let me see you."
Throwing the can into the air, K3 faded back into the darkness.
Step Step.. Step—
Step Step…
Until his footsteps could no longer be heard.
"…"
Andrew caught the can and flipped it over.
A holographic dobermann sticker was pasted to the back.
…
Scrutinizing the sticker for a moment, Andrew pocketed the can before turning towards the other end of the tunnel.
He followed the light.
...
...
...
It didn't take long before he entered another open area much like the one he started from. At the farthest end stood the large metal door leading him to his destination.
The entrance to the Migratory Pathway.
The red light was coming from above the door, casting an ominous glow across this corner of the tunnel.
Andrew moved his hand along the door.
How does this open?
There was no handle, no scanners, not even an access panel in the vicinity, however—
Keeping what the Hound said in mind, Andrew eyed the scrap of paper pinned to the metal door.
There was a faded notice—a 'guideline.'
"Warning!
Temp: 22.22 °C
(DO): 7.5 ppm
Seasonal Operations: This pathway is always open, however traffic increases during the winter season.
See Service Worker Pamphlet for more information.
For Service Staff:
In the event of a depletion in oxygen levels, immediately leave the vicinity.
If you begin to hallucinate before exiting the migratory pathway, see pg. 32 of the Service Worker Pamphlet.
If temperature modular stops working, see pg. 5.
In case of emergencies, press the 'Panic' button on your wristwatch and wait for a Hound to assist.
Service Entrance to Migratory Pathway, B10, Discovery -> Hope:
See 'Opening Instructions' on pg. 2 of the Service Worker Pamphlet"
The pamphlet.
That was mentioned at the start of the tunnel as well.
Turning away from the door, Andrew wandered around the area in search of clues.
There were just two other things of note:
The piping running along the walls was the source of the 'breeze' he'd felt before entering the tunnel. Gas exchange pipes. The largest one dispersed oxygen throughout this underground tunnel and, presumably, the migratory pathway.
The oxygen levels were indicated by a meter on the wall.
Andrew turned his head.
There was also a large box covered by a tarp in the darkness to his left. The red light above barely lit it.
Andrew entered the darkness, the red overhead light blinking at his back, and grabbed the tarp.
Shhrrrr
The tarp fell away and revealed a shipment box.
A door.
Maybe it was closer to a shed.
Sliding open the door, Andrew stepped inside.
The room was dark, but he could still tell the place was a mess…
Was it because it was abandoned, or because no one could come down here?
"…"
Even he got the chills as he instinctively searched for a lightswitch.
Cli—
Before he flipped it, however, he paused.
"Low light recommended for passage. See pg 3. of the Service Worker Pamphlet for more information."
That was what the notice said when he first entered.
Scanning the room, Andrew hesitated.
That notice was old, this room… seemed just as, if not older.
Why would there be a lightswitch if the light couldn't be used?
"…"
With that flawed reasoning under his belt, Andrew prepared to turn the light off immediately if it got too bright—
Click!
And he flipped the switch.
It's an office.
The lights were dim, barely enough to be considered 'lit' at all, but it was enough.
A crime scene.
Andrew's nose twitched as he stepped further inside.
Whatever happened here… he could not smell it over the subtle scent of roses.
…
Even though their withered corpses were leaving puddles of decomposed flesh at his feet.
Andrew silently lowered his head before moving on.
Carefully avoiding the mush as he headed towards the desk, Andrew scanned the room. Water-soaked wallpaper molding away with time, scattered paperwork ruined with puddles of blood and gunk, and corpses piled up as they rushed towards the only exit…
Saying the room was a mess was an understatement.
Andrew turned away. Yet, there was a clear path where he was walking.
An investigation… must've taken place here.
Why else would there be a path through the corpses, signs of a cleanup—he moved his gaze—
And luminol on the desk.
…
Setting the empty luminol bottle aside, Andrew eyed the map under it instead.
He wasn't here to solve a mystery.
He was here to find a way into the forest.
Scrutinizing the map of the serviceway—presumably the true map for this hidden area—he saw a few notches along the walls in the tunnel he came from and in the tunnel behind this office shack.
Holes big enough to hide in.
…
Andrew raised his head and eyed the lightswitch.
Getting a bad feeling, he quickened his pace.
Shhhk
Sliding open a drawer already half-cracked, he looked inside and saw only three things:
A blacklight.
Filter glass.
And…
A worn Service Worker Pamphlet—missing all except 5 pages.
"…"
Taking the things out of the drawer, he set everything else he'd touched back in their original positions and hurriedly shut off the light.
His brain was running a mile a minute.
I can't stay here.
He wasn't sure what he was hiding from. He wasn't sure what they were running from, but he could not remain in this room.
Because on the very first page of the Service Worker Pamphlet, a dying message was scrawled across the page in blood.
"We made a mistake."
Hurriedly covering the office with the tarp again, Andrew rushed back into the dark, placing the bangle on his wrist as he did so.
Kick
He kicked the lower parts of the walls.
Kick
He kept going.
Kick—
Finally, he felt something give.
Catching the misshapen sheet that blended into the wall before it could fall into the hole, he quickly slid himself in and stayed very.
Very.
Still.
…
…
The scent of roses.
…
…
Peeking through the 'curtain' covering his hiding spot, he saw the light above the door go from a glaring red to a gentle green.
…
The door creaked open—
Andrew lowered his gaze, covering his nose as best he could against the pungent scent of rot emanating from the rose corridor.
He couldn't look.
The scent drew closer.
He couldn't listen.
Closer.
He couldn't breathe.
"Service Worker Manual pg. 1
In order to ensure a safe and secure experience for everyone, it is recommended that all workers pay attention to the indicators above their doors.
Red
Standby. Conditions are stable and passage is permitted. See pg. 2 for 'Opening Instructions.'
Blue
Standby. Conditions are stable and passage is permitted, however, caution is advised for individuals with the 'O' designation. If applicable, follow the additional instructions available at your post.
Yellow
Conditions are unstable and passage is not permitted. Only individuals with the 'S' and 'E' designations may enter and resolve any issues. 'N,' 'O,' and 'B' staff remain where you are.
Green
Remain calm. Stay within your designated work stations or the provided hideaways until the migratory animals have passed. Do not attempt to observe their migration unless otherwise indicated by the instructions on your watch.
Please, for the safety of our staff and the animals, proceed in accordance with regulations.
*Note, observation includes: Watching, Listening, Smelling, Tasting, or Touching the animals. Use provided equipment to prevent mishaps.
For emergency services, press the 'Panic' button on your wristwatch and wait for a Hound to assist."
He did not have emergency equipment.
He did not have a wristwatch.
"Haa…"
And he could smell the scent of roses ever so clearly as a soft exhale echoed through the hall.
An emergency.
This was an emergency.
He scanned the hole he was in.
Nada (Nothing.).
He flipped through the map in his mind.
Nada.
Then he reached into his pocket—
And he froze.
Licking his canines, he carefully pulled the can out and stared at it.
The holographic hound sticker stared back at him in the dark.
The panic button…
This… there was no way.
He pressed the sticker.
…
…
…
Nothing happened.
…
Pursing his lips, he flipped the can around, searching for even a hint of a panic button, something—
And then he saw it.
On the inside of the can, hidden beneath where the sticker was pasted by that hound—
It was a 'switch.'
"Haa…"
As the sigh drew closer, he had no choice.
Click!
He flipped the switch.