Wonderer's Wish World 2: Evolutionary Rebirth

Grave Times

Day 3

Location: Millory Main Office, Bottleneck City

Time: 3:38 AM

Ai crossed her arms, looking nervous. She glanced out the window, and the rising sun outside illuminated her furrowed eyebrows.

"I wonder where Kin is right now," she wondered, subtly. Darius rolled his eyes.

"We'll solve that when we get to it," he replied, shoving the photographs in his pocket. His mind was still in a whirlwind with what he learned. The gas. The familiar corpses. The trees, and Gilligian's disappearance. So many questions were swirling around in his head, but it was Greg who asked the important one.

"Can we leave now?" he asked, already heading towards the elevator.

Ai lunged for him. "Greg-!" she shouted, grabbing at his arm. As the little boy stopped, Ai took a deep breath. "Yes, we can leave. But not through that way."

Greg looked towards the window.

"Not that way, either!" Ai told him quickly. Greg tilted his head, confused.

"Then... how...?"

"We'll solve that problem when we get to it, too," Darius said, tiredly, rubbing at his head. "There's something I want to check, first."

Ai blinked, and watched him move to the side. "There is?" she asked. "What?"

All Darius did to answer was to motion towards the cabinet where he had seen the crack before. He wasn't quite sure what he was going to do there... but if they were going to leave forever, he wanted to see it one more time.

This time, Darius moved the cabinet aside, moving it so he could take a better look at this tiny blemish, that had captured his mind so easily.

And there it was: just sitting there. Just... an out of place imperfection, and a tiny stain behind it. A stain, on an otherwise empty room, behind a cabinet.

Darius frowned, and held up his hand, pressing his finger to the stain. To his surprise, the wall bent under his thumb, the paint stretch as he pushed his thumb into a tiny indent in the wall, finally meeting a button, and pressing it firmly.

Beside him, lines suddenly appeared. Two long, parallel ones, and then one on top that connected them. Then, the wall inside the lines pushed forward, opening up.

It was a doorway, Darius realized.

"A secret passage!" Greg cried, ecstatic.

"Good job!" Ai cheered. "Do you think it's a way out?"

Darius stepped out, standing in the doorway and looking in. A long hallway stretched out in front of him, and flickering lightbulbs lighted the way.

"...I don't know," he said. He was getting sick of that particular answer. "Maybe?"

Ai smiled. "Well, it can't be any worse than the basement!" she announced, walking up from behind Darius and into the passage. Darius sighed.

"Well... I guess we'll find out," he replied, stepping in after her. He heard Greg follow silently behind him. It was probably best he kept an eye on that kid... he seemed to go missing at the most inopportune moments.

Though Darius couldn't deny that the kid was definitely helpful.

Ai led their little group confidently, down the short hallway, and then through a tunnel that led straight down, with only a metal ladder to help them to the bottom. Was this where Gilligian had went, when she had gone 'missing'?