The Departure Protocol

Chapter 3

Tarun groaned as he opened his eyes and blinked at the sight of the light above him. The side of his head pounded as if someone was beating a jackhammer inside his skull while the rest of his body seemed to ache everywhere. He took a few deep breaths, then rolled over on his side with a grimace.

Where am I?

The room itself wasn't much larger than his bed. There was enough room on the left side for a small table while a cabinet took up the wall space on his right. A small nightstand on his left contained his personal effects.

On the wall straight ahead, a yellowing posted with a distant seascape took up a large portion of the wall. To the immediate right of the poster, a door with window led out of the room.

What is this place?

He resisted the temptation to call out for help. Instead, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. Immediately, the room began to spin at an alarming rate and he grabbed hold of the bed frame as he closed his eyes and attempted to prevent himself from passing out. After a few moments, as the nausea passed, he opened his eyes. He spotted his shoes next to the bed and wasted little time putting them on, careful to not move too quickly.

I need to get out of here.

As he rounded the end of the bed and approached the door, it struck him that the room itself was clearly not a medical room of any kind. The lack of medical equipment told him that much. Perhaps it was some sort of recovery room? Considering he still wore his clothes and only the one bandage around his head, it was unlikely to be a hospital room.

A quick glance through the window in the door revealed a dimly lit corridor but no movement. Tarun tried the door handle and found the door unlocked. Moments later, he shut it behind him, careful to not let it slam shut.

The corridor continued in both directions. To his left, another corridor appeared to intersect about twenty yards from where he stood. An emergency exit was visible another twenty yards in the opposite direction. Doors just like the one behind him were spaced evenly on each side in both directions. There was no light visible from any of them. Whatever this place was, it was quiet and empty.

Hugging the wall, he moved towards the emergency exit as quickly as his aching body allowed. He felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach as he tried the door handle to the emergency exit. It wouldn't budge. Even with two hands, it didn't move. He leaned closer to the handle and felt a chill run down his spine. It had been welded shut. Someone didn't want this door opened. Was it to prevent people like him from escaping or from people outside from entering?

Tarun turned and shuffled in the other direction. As he approached the intersecting corridor, he saw unintelligible, faded blue signs that pointed left and right. In either direction, a short branch of the main corridor ended with a closed door.

He approached the door on his left and found it unlocked. As he stepped in, the ceiling lights flickered to life, revealing a small dining area complete with four rectangular tables and half a dozen chairs. On the far side of the room serving stations and the adjoining kitchen made it clear that at some point in the past, groups had gathered in this area for meals. A rumble in his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten in a while. However, considering that each table was covered in a thin layer of dust, he doubted he would find any fresh food laying around in the vicinity.

The door on the other side of the corridor turned out to be locked. He heard a muted humming from inside the room but with no sign on the door, there was no way of knowing what was inside. Instead of forcing the door open, he continued towards the end of the corridor, casually checking each room as he passed them.