The Abandoned Lab

The Lobby

  I get blinded by a light as the noise occurs. I jump back, my eyes wide. "HUH- What the hell was that?! Scared the crap out of me, woah." I whispered after I had yelped in surprise, my heart beating quickly. I realized then that the lights a few feet away from the door had exploded right when I had stepped into the lab, as if on cue for a game player entering a boss battle. The small glass shards were everywhere, and I was shrouded in darkness yet again. Too bad the outside lights have gone boom, but that does make it harder for them to find this place if they can't see it, haha. Shutting the door behind me, I took a few deep breaths to calm down from that jumpscare of an explosion. Carefully stepping over a few glass pieces that had managed to make it into the lab the best I could, I peered into the dark area. I got lucky that none of the red-hot shards hit me. "Well, that was unexpected. What now? Are the walls going to close in on me?" I grumbled to myself, frowning as I patted the walls, searching for a light switch. Even with my eyes adjusted to the little amount of light, it was near impossible to see inside the lab. I just hope that light isn't the only thing with power.

  I sighed, frowning as I continued to stumble around in this giant space, still swiping my arms up and down on the walls in hopes of finding the light switch. There has to be one somewhere here. I'd be surprised if a place as nice as this had no lights at all, but I couldn't really expect much from a crumbling building. My patience running thin, I began to move around faster, bumping into random things scattered around the place as I felt every inch of the walls I could reach. Stupid chairs. My legs are going to be so bruised. Eventually, I managed to find a small light switch and quickly flicked it on. My desire to see what I was in was finally granted. I thought I'd never find the light switch. "That took way too long. Who keeps their light switches in a completely random spot and at hip level?! That makes things so much more complicated than they have to be, dammit." Feeling irritated and wanting to find something to blame, I shot a glare at the light switch before taking in the place around me. Ooh. It turns out the inside was a lot less old-looking than I thought it'd look. Nice.

  While my eyes slowly adjusted to the light, I leaned against the nearest wall, observing where I was. While the white paint on the walls was still cracked and slowly crumbling off and everything was blanketed in a thick layer of dust, the place seemed perfectly preserved. Spotting a reception counter with a broken computer nearby and seeing that all the dumb things I had nearly tripped over in my search for the light switch were actually couches, chairs, and tables, I came to the realization that I was in the front lobby of this lab. To be honest, I'm really impressed. This lobby looks to still be in pretty good condition, as I had expected it to look almost exactly like its exterior: everything old and broken, but this was a pleasant surprise. Next to the reception counter, there was a short hallway, and at the end of it, there were three corridors, each with a pair of double doors that looked much like they would belong in a hospital. It had the push bar and everything! I saw that they all led in different directions though, one left, one right, and the last one going straight ahead, with a small sign on the doors that said, 'A path that shows most of our premise, information about us and our work, and our achievements for any visitors who would like to take a quick tour of this research center! Reminder: Kindly refrain from going into the other corridors as much as possible, as they are for employees and personnel only! Thank you!' Taking note of that, I headed back to the lobby to think about what I should do next, swiping the dust off of a blue chair before settling down.

  Looking down at my arms and legs, my eyebrows furrowed, and my mouth slowly turned into a scowl. I had to have run into a bunch of plants and taken quite a tumble to get this many injuries. My skin was painted with dark bruises, and I could see scratches and cuts, but they weren't deep, thankfully. I just have to hope they don't get infected. I don't need yet another problem. Unfortunately, though, they still hurt, but I've been able to ignore most of the pain for now. Finding shelter was my most important objective earlier, and I had no time to rest or treat my injuries. "..please..." The moment I heard the noise, my body tensed up, and I scanned the lobby cautiously, my arms gripping the chair tightly. It had sounded like..muffled whispering, and it was near me. I thought I was alone. Were they here before me? Maybe they followed me? I slowly walked over to the direction in which I heard the sound, which was the reception counter, and peered over it.

  I paused for a second, blinking in confusion. There was a girl sitting on the floor behind the counter, hugging her legs as she stared blankly at the wall in front of her. She was rambling quietly while she sat; perhaps she was praying or something like that, which were probably the sounds I had heard earlier. Looking closer for a moment, I noticed the girl was a green-eyed, long-haired brunette. She was wearing brown boots with black pants that had rips and tears, and a dirtied white lab coat splattered with....is that..? No, it can't be...it's probably a stain from something else. She quickly noticed me and fell silent, her jittery eyes locking onto mine as she nervously scooted back from me. "Uhh...is something wrong..?" I whispered to her, feeling kind of confused as to why she'd back away from me. But that just made her more agitated, and her complexion seemed paler. I'm not sure why or what had happened, but suddenly, intense, glaring red lights lit the entire lobby in their crimson glow, forcing me to shut my eyes tightly and cover them with my hands, but I couldn't get the light out of my head somehow. The lights and the girl seemed so familiar, as if I had seen them both before, but that couldn't possibly be the case. When the lights seemed to finally go away, I lifted my head and opened my eyes again. When I did so, I saw the girl standing up and closer than she was before. I looked at her face and locked eyes with her...something was wrong. She had this...look of malice on her face. Her smile was evil and her eyes wide. It was unnerving. Suddenly, she reached out for me, and I flinched reflexively. When I opened my eyes again, she was gone, and so were the red lights that were tormenting me.

  ......That was strange. I wonder who she was, since she seemed to recognize me. But then again, she could have just been a figment of my imagination that I thought up because I was simply too exhausted. I wonder if I've met her before; the girl felt familiar, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. It's like I knew her at one point, but I've never seen her in my life. "..I think that's enough resting for now; I should probably try to explore this place and see if there's any food or bandages somewhere." I mutter to myself, for I felt a little startled by the encounter. Shaking my head, I moved away from the counter and quickly speed walked back to the three double doors. My body tensed up when I started to pick up on the voices of people nearby. ".....maybe.........here...explosion..." Crap. I thought I had more time. They're here. I pushed all the doors, and to my joy, they were unlocked. The voices were getting louder, though, and I heard footsteps, which made me rush and randomly dart into the left corridor, closing the doors behind me.

♡ AN: Cherrie here! We hope you like our stories as we put lots of effort in it! We plan to update very soon so keep an I out! Well, my little berries, love from both me and Raspberrie, and we hope to see you soon!