wishes

alert

   suddenly, braixen could feel the vibration of her phone. she glanced down, having taken a step back from the papers. her brain was clouded with confusion, she took a while to notice that cyndaquill had been texting her for a while. 

   she read the messages, thankfully, it hadn't been too long since the last text. 

  "mudkip's starting to think somethings up, you'd better come back whenever possible."

  "the groups worried, get back asap"

  "dude mudkip definitely knows something, he left, be careful."

  panicked, braixen snapped a few photos, and made her way up the ladder. she climbed hastily, but made sure to be cautious. she reached the top, and was about to lift the trapdoor and climb out, she heard the gentle rattle of the door knob, and the clicking sound of a key being twisted into a lock.

  braixen gasped silently, alarmed. had she really been down here that long? she silently made her way back down the ladder, trying to be as quiet as possible. by the time she had reached the floor, she heard the sound of footsteps above. braixens eyes darted around the room. she found a room that was beside the lab, and ducked into there as she heard the rattle of the trapdoor.

  she closed the door silently behind her, looking around in fear. she found a hiding spot, a gap between shelves and boxes. she tried to quiet her breathing, as she held her hands over her mouth in terror.

  she heard the sound of mudkip walking across the room, and then pausing. she held her breath as everything went silent for a split second. then, he spoke, 

"you know, i don't usually leave my own windows open." he said, and it echoed through the lab.

  braixens eyes went wide, shaking with fear in the dark and ever so slightly damp room, irregular for something this far underground, as the lab itself had crisp air that was a bit too cold for her liking, but this room? no, this room was oddly .. warm.

  and thats when the smell hit her.

  the pungent smell of iron, of rot, of decomposition. the rancid smell had just registered in her brain, now that her adrenaline was lower than when she ran in there. she almost puked, this couldn't mean anything beside what she had thought it to mean. her heart thumped in her ears as she realized what it meant.

  it took all of her strength to stay in that position, hunched in what she presumed to be a slaughter-room. mudkip spoke again.

  "i just hope you haven't seen anything you might regret knowing later on, braixen."

  then, he continued walking, this time in the direction of the room she was in. his footsteps echoed through the otherwise empty room, and he opened the door gently, only adding to the sickening feeling that made her gut twist even more. he hovered in the room.

  "there isn't a point in hiding anymore, anyway. you know there isn't any way that you get out of this, don't you?"

  braixen was shaking, biting her tongue to stay quiet.

  "after all, i'm sure that even you aren't naive to the fact this room is . . irregular."

  he spoke in a monotone voice, though it was definitely laced with something more grim, more threatening as she could feel him shuffle around the room, looking for her. then, everything went silent once again.

   braixens heart thumped in her chest, tears formed at the corners of her eyes as she tried not to sob. she held herself as still as possible, closing her eyes. she felt a presence looming behind her,

  and next thing she knew, a cloth was wrapped around her mouth and nose before everything faded into darkness.