JELLYFISH

DOOR 006

They were dragging their feet across the metal floor, legs like lead. The medkit almost slipped from their arm a few times, but they readjusted it each time. [name] hadn't even paid any attention to the number of doors as time went by, it was a blur.

"Door forty..." Aisha murmured, then yawned, "how many doors are there?"

"Too many," Oz responded, the yawn bouncing to him, then to [name]. One thing they hated about this place was that they couldn't tell how long they'd been in this facility. Time definitely reset when [name] died, but, to their body, it felt like they had been operating non-stop. Even if it could heal their wounds, what about their mind? Their fatigue?

"Uh, guys, little problem," Oz spoke up again, kneeling close to the wall. He pushed a toppled desk further away with what strength he could muster to reveal a vent. It was large enough for a human to fit inside, at least, that's what it looked like.

"Well," Emil exhaled loudly, "there's no other option."

"Uh," Aisha held up a hand, "maybe you should go last, big guy."

Emil rose a brow and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't seem happy about that comment but didn't oppose it. Oz entered first after a bit of hassling from Aisha, and then Aisha crawled in a few moments after Oz. Kei wanted to go next, and a few seconds after that, Emil had [name] go.

Crawling in a vent hadn't been on one of [name]'s list of life experiences. Their head dragged against the studded ceiling, and it creaked under the weight of the humans crawling through it, but it wouldn't give. At least, [name] hoped it wouldn't. They crawled by a metal fan, an orange glow behind it. This fan didn't bring any heat or coolness from its spin.

[name] came to a fork in the road, but heard the sound of voices to their right, so began to crawl right. During the turn, they glanced back for a moment to make sure the others were following behind. Ezekiel was halfway down the vent while Emil was yet to be seen.

They continued forward until they finally came upon an opening. [name] crawled out and stood in what seemed to be a large ventilation system. They have never seen anything like it. Two giant, metal fans spun in a slow motion in front of them, both at least fifteen feet apart. The other three were on the other side, Oz pulling at something in the wall; most likely the next vent.

[name] stepped away from the vent and Ezekiel crawled through. He stood, rubbing the back of his head. The two of them could clearly hear Emil clambering through the vent, the metal thuds echoing in the spacious room. He came out of the vent not long after, chuckling to himself.

"Don't tell me we gotta do that again." Emil was not out of shape whatsoever, but the man was the oldest in the group, he had what most would call a 'dad bod'.

"Unfortunately.." [name] trailed off, giving a sheepish smile. They turned their attention forward, watching as Ezekiel bravely ducked under the slow-moving fan and made it to the center. He made it through the second fan with ease.

A clatter echoed in the room as the metal casing to the vent over on the other side was removed. Oz tossed it away and disappeared.

"We should catch up," Emil swatted at [name]'s arm, snapping them back into place. They nodded and decided to go first. [name] timed it right, waiting for the fan to lift and leave a large gap for [name] to duck and move under quickly. They moved more to the right so Emil could do the same without waiting for them to move across.

[name] and Emil made it across, Ezekiel waiting for them at the end. He went before [name] this time, so [name] went after him, Emil behind them.

041, the lights flickered. They all rushed into the side room as there were only two lockers in the room available. It was cluttered and stuffy in the side room, cramped too with the six of them inside.