Just when Raviel pushed the metallic door, it fully opened itself automatically. His breath hitched.
The corridor or atleast what it seemed like from Raviel's vision. The lights till he could see were shattered, glass shards that glittered faintly from the bulbs which were left dangling from the ceiling of the corridor.
But that wasn't the part which froze his blood.
It was the thing standing in the middle of the hallway. And just so for your information, the hallway's structural height was 20 feet. But that thing was barely few metres away from hitting his head on the ceiling.
Raviel's mind blanked out.
".....What the—"
The 'thing' looked like a panda. Or atleast something similar that used to be one,
Now it was massive, easily taller than a truck, it's white patches were matted with blood, filth and a black gooey substance. While the black patches gleamed in the shallow light.
It was crouched over somethin—no, someone.
Corpses.
Dozens of overly rotted corpses.
Their rotting smell, filled in Raviel's nostrils.
He gagged, taking a shaky step back.
"...Ooh just fuck me, at this point " he whispered, The words breaking through a mix of disgust and disbelief from his cords.
The creature stopped chewing.
As if noticing his presence from behind.
For a heartbeat, there was silence, only the faint drip of blood hitting the floor, like a leaking tap-water, echoed in the halls.
Then....the panda's head tilted.
It's jaw stretching so far that all its crooked teeth were visible—and the intestine hanging from his mouth fell out, slapping wetly against the marble.
It roared.
The walls vibrated. Few of the open doors creaked as the shockwave sent dust raining down from the ceiling.
"Shit—shitshitshit–!"
He lunged for the door pannel, towards the keypad, slamming his palms against the console, trying to close it.
But the lock system whirred, mechanical with no intention of yielding. A red light blinked several times.
[SYSTEM LOCK: CLOSURE ENGAGED]
"No, no,no No!!" Raviel screamed, pounding on it.
In front of him, The sounds of pounding feet. Thunderous, shaking the whole hallway.
The monster charged, it's bulk smashing against the concrete as it barreled towards him, roaring again.
Raviel spun, heart hammering from the vibrations and sprinted for the blinking elevator.
The marble trembled behind him,
BOOM.BOOM.BOOM.BOOM.
Each step the thing took, cracked one of the marble tiles beneath its weight.
He didn't look back. Didn't even dare to.
He could practically feel it. The vibrations and the stench of rotting blood getting stronger by the second.
He reached the elevator, slammed his hand on the "Close" button.
Just as he thought he was safe—
The metal doors shuddered together as the panda crashed into them.
The entire elevator jerked violently.
Raviel's feet stumbled, pressing against the walls for balance as the frame had dented inwardly from the impact.
Then with a final desperate attempt, he pressed the one button glowing faintly among the colorless pannel.
299
The elevator jolted.
The doors buckled from the panda's weight—the middle section of the elevator's frame. Bent open just enough for a flicker of a horrific face to appear.
Raviel saw its eyes staring through the gap.
White. Round and hollow.
Then....
The elevator dropped.
His body went weightless for few seconds, before gravity slammed back onto him.
He collapsed on the floor, hearing the cables groan as the lift plunged downwards.
His chest heaved. His palms went red from gripping the handle of the knife.
And as the elevator lights flickered weakly above him, he gasped a shaky breath and muttered,
"Big.... fucking polka dotted shit " yeah why not. "This place fuckin' hates me!".
The elevator kept descending, deeper into the dark.
❖ ❖ ❖ ❖ ❖
The elevator dinged as it reached the floor.
Raviel's body was trembling from the leftover adrenaline, blood still dripping from the side of his neck where the creature's tail grazed him.
He tightened his grip on the chipped blood-coated knife.
The elevator's door opened with a groan.
Sshhkk~
The first thing that hit him was the smell. Rotten meat and iron.
Then came the sounds—low guttural growls and 'scrapping ' feets.
Ten's of them.
Undead.
Their skin was half peeled off and half rotted with jaws hanging lose through grayish flesh.
One was crawling with no legs, dragging itself by its hands, leaving bloody streaks on the marble tiles.
Raviel groaned, cracking his neck.
"Can't really get a rest....huh?"
He spat blood on the tile which had formed when he had nearly chomped off his tongue in fear from that polka looking shit.
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hands he screamed at them.
"I'm not afraid of you now, Motherfuckers".
The first undead lunged forward. Raviel didn't even flinch, He stepped in—knife flashing and buried it straight into it's throat.
The blade though dull, cut through the rotted windpipe with a raspy crunch.
He twisted the knife. The head dangled before dropping to the floor with a loud thud.
Another one came at him from his right. Arms outstretched and jaws snapping.
Raviel jerked and rammed his knee into its gut, then when it's head lowered, he smashed his elbow across its temple, shattering it's cranium against the wall.
Blood splattered spraying on his face.
Raviel growled, half human and half hungry predator.
Two more stumbled towards his direction, Raviel kicked a broken metal pipe from the floor while one of the undead fell down, he jammed his knife through the other's chest, pinning it against the cracked pillar.
When the one which was fallen shrieked. Raviel ran towards its direction and jumped in the air and planted his kneecap on the undead's chest who was lying on the ground and then sitting on top of him, grabbed it by the jaw and ripped it upwards.
The jawbone snapped clean off.
A spray of black blood coated the tile.
Another one grabbed his shoulder from behind. He twisted, slammed his head on its forehead, feeling the rotten crunch of bone and cartilage. Then shoved the corpse on the wall.
Four left.
Raviel's breath came In controlled gasps. He was covered in gore and black tar like substance. But he didn't stop.
He charged on the last group.
Taking advantage of the blood-streaked floor. Sliding and spinning whilst striking with his knees and elbows with raw fury.
Taking advantage of the momentum. He kicked one into a wall so hard that it's spine cracked like a dry twig.
The ninth one charged. Grabbing him by the hair he slammed its chest on a broken metal bar, impaling it.
The last undead stood.
Then he grabbed it by its throat and whispered, "Should've stayed dead, buddy"
And plunged his knife into it's left eye socket.
The undead spasmed and went..... limp
Silence.
Only the sound of his heavy breathing remained.
He leaned against the sidewall for a moment.
"....Ten" *huff* he muttered,
"Tens of you and I am still standing...."
He kicked one of the corpse aside and ran towards the other end of the corridor. And spotted a elevator tucked with some debris. It's pannel still lit up. Still functioning.
He walked in and pressed on the 395th floor button.
Raviel stared at the number after pressing it for a few seconds with an exhausted grin tugging at his lips.
"Finally....." He muttered between gasps "Getting closer towards the top".
The elevator door closed itself and plummeted upwards, to the 395th floor.