JELLYFISH

DOOR 010

They had ultimately decided that Oz was to remain one room back at all times. It didn't matter if he wanted loose data or needed to stop; Oz would have to remain one room behind, no matter what. This would prevent sabotage and betrayal and also allow them to keep an eye on him. [name] was sure Urbanshade wouldn't have a problem with it because they probably would've butted in any time before this had even begun. Plus, this would allow [name] to only search for seven lockers rather than eight. It wasn't a big change, but big enough that it would be easier than before.

"Wish I could've gotten my data back.." Aisha muttered as the group walked through door 030. They had gotten further after their small stop at room 026, and everyone was still alive. Good. It was good.

"Empty each drawer you can find. You'll get more than him in the end." [name] suggested to which Aisha grinned at. It seemed that was already her plan as the woman had already been searching voraciously around each new room they entered.

Door 031 was opened and [name] swallowed at the sight. It was a brown cave, just like before, but to everyone else, it was their first time seeing it. Kei appeared behind them and shined his flashlight down the open cave, moving the beam on the walls and ceiling.

Even in the quiet of the room, [name] could hear the whimpers and muffled cries of people inside. [name] cleared their throat, stepping inside, trying to make as much background noise as possible to drown the sounds of suffering so that the others wouldn't get cold feet, "I...guess this is the way..."

They turned, looking at Kei. He looked at them as if saying, "I'm not going first," so [name] held out a hand, motioning toward the flashlight.

"I want it back." He spoke bluntly, dropping the flashlight in their hand. They nodded, turning their attention behind Kei to make sure the others aside from Oz had gathered, then turned down to the dark of the cave, the light of their device and the glow of something green marking the way.

[name] was slow, heart pounding hard in their chest. Nothing had appeared the first time they and the group had walked through here, but things could change, and [name] was aware of that. They avoided looking at the bodies wrapped in webs, opting to tune them out as best they could while passing them by. [name] was their guide, and they had to find the way out.

Fortunately, it wasn't dark enough that they couldn't see the next door, and upon door 032 opening, the others behind them rushed by [name] and into the light. They turned off the flashlight and walked behind Ezekiel, who was the last of their group of seven.

"That...that was..." Emil trailed off, dragging a hand up his face, forehead, and back over his hair. Aisha and Evelyn nodded in agreement, Evelyn's face pale.

[name] felt someone's hand smack into their left shoulder and they turned their attention left. Kei stood there, hand outstretched. They handed over the light without contest.

The group searched the room after a short time mulling over the previous area, working fast partially for Oz's sake. It was true the others didn't take kindly to him at this moment, but some of them couldn't imagine staying close to that room and it was incomprehensible to allow a human to inside of it. Vanessa found the keycard and they moved to room 033.

[name] gazed up and around at the sight of a new room, flat, with a flat area of water in the center, and a ramp leading down into it. There was a green flare placed at the very bottom of the ramp, akin to the green poles [name] had seen in the cave system.

"This is where we use our diving gear," [name] said, unhooking the mask on their belt. They stepped over to the ramp and braced their feet against the metal. Their hand came up to the side just in case they slipped, but nothing happened. Water soaked into their shoes, and any skin that was vulnerable to the water was dotted with goosebumps.