SCP 1471 [An anomalous life]

XXIX

Minutes later, Quentin got up from the floor, he seemed to be in pain.

-We have to move on. -He said, turning to look at me and pointing to the corridors in front of us with a vague gesture.

He tucked the pistol into his back pocket and tried to offer me the police baton he was holding.

I quickly declined, saying it would be of more use to him.

We continued walking, sliding the yellow card to open the doors and closing them behind us.

We didn't want to be taken by surprise again, so we were being very cautious with each room we explored.

We didn't say a word as we continued to explore, my ears fully alert to any sound there was.

I took it upon myself to open the doors and go through first, checking that the room was completely empty before letting Quentin through.

We passed through offices, different from those on the lower floors.
These did not have any man-eating anomalies, and were quite a bit more spacious compared to the others.

Several chairs and office supplies were lying on the floor, probably because of the speed with which they evacuated all the staff.

Other rooms were completely sealed off by debris and stones.

I prayed internally every time I passed one of them that they were not the exit routes to the surface.

Occasionally, one room among all the corridors had a glass ceiling, where it reflected the moonlight on the white material.

Quentin looked at his wristwatch and then looked at me.

-It's four o'clock in the morning. -He sighed, exhausted.

-...
-Just a little bit more. -I said, trying to cheer him up a little.

-I know, I know.

I looked at him from time to time, checking to see how he was doing.

The blood from the wounds on his arm had already dried up, although it looked like they were going to get infected if he wasn't treated.

He winced a little every time he moved that arm.
I knew he was hiding his pain so I wouldn't worry, but it wasn't the time to tell him.

The fear I felt when he fought with that guy and I lost sight of him...

It would have been easier to kill the man with the gun and go immediately to help him, but for some reason I didn't want to.

If something had happened to him because of my own negligence...

I would never forgive myself.

I looked down at my claws gloomily as we moved through the corridors.

...

We came across what appeared to be a checkpoint, or at least that's what the display above the reinforced doors said.

[HEAVY CONTAINMENT ACCESS.]

-...

Of all the places we could go through, this was not the one.

Quentin didn't say anything out loud, but I could feel his pulse quicken by the watch on his wrist.

-Let's go, now. -He said, turning around and leaving the room as quickly as possible.