JELLYFISH

DOOR 003

They didn't wait long. About two minutes was all it took until they silently agreed that they needed to move on.

Kei didn't speak much even after entering the next room. Emil turned to Evelyn, as she was the one who saw the whole thing. She only said that he went to investigate the locker that emitted the strange noises, and everyone knew how that went.

Everyone knew not to mess with the eldritch creature in the locker.

They passed through 012, 013, and 014 without any trouble, collecting more and more loose assets as instructed. Vanessa voiced it as a pain to do so as they already had one major objective, but Ozzy thought further on the side objective, suggesting that they may give even more rewards after the pardon if they collected more items.

[name] was on the lookout for these files and DNA containers, but also found a flashlight. Turning it on, the light seemed to work, so they turned it off to save battery; who knows how long they'd stay down here.

Opening door 015, the lights flickered. This room was small, with no side room, but five lockers. In the room behind them, however, [name] had counted three, one being further back, next to a destroyed door.

"The lockers! Hide in the lockers!" They shouted, moving backward as they were near the back of the group. They knew that Evelyn, Kei, Aisha, and Emil were near the front, so they most likely would've rushed into room 015, but that led to only three lockers for [name], Vanessa, Ozzy, and Ezekiel.

They were already on the move, hearing something faint in the distance, but it was overshadowed by the blood pumping in their ears. [name] was aiming for the locker furthest in the room as the other three would no doubt fight for the two closest to the door.

There was a noise, like the sound of metal hitting each other or like a running train. It was growing louder.

"Don't take it personal," it all happened so quickly. [name] felt a hand shove them against the wall, not too hard, but hard enough that they stumbled, leg twisting in an odd way. Their eyes widened, watching the familiar face of Ozzy disappear behind the closed, locker doors. They stumbled forward, their right hand sliding against the wall.

I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die.

There was no way [name] wanted to give coming back to life again a second chance. It hurt.

The sound grew closer, metal chains or something of the sort rattling in their head. Their eyes darted to the crates in the corner, and they rushed as fast as they could to the corner, throwing their body behind those crates. The familiar insignia of Urbanshade flashed over their eyes as they curled as close as they could, hiding.

Please don't look. Don't look. Don't look.

The room rattled and a smell that they could only describe as smoke assaulting their senses. The lights went out, just like before, but [name] couldn't tell right away due to their eyes squeezed shut; they didn't want to see it. They didn't want to see their attacker, whatever monster that came for them would go unknown.

Yet...surprisingly enough, the noise grew distant, going in the opposite direction they hid in. For a moment, when [name] opened their eyes, they thought the green substance in the air was some sort of fog, but as [name] stepped out of their hiding place, they realized it was the source of the smell.

Up ahead, Vanessa and Ezekiel pushed out of their lockers, Ezekiel falling to his knees and coughing harshly while Vanessa clutched at her chest like she was having a heart attack. Ozzy stepped out of his, eyes wide, rubbing his hands together.

[name] followed the greenish smoke, passing Ezekiel and Vanessa, who still hadn't calmed down, and stood in the doorway of 015. The smell of smoke was stronger in here, and things didn't look any better. The four prisoners here were acting the same as Vanessa and Ezekiel. Coughing, clutching their chests, wheezing.