JELLYFISH

DOOR 020

There was a wave of nausea that had fallen over [name] the moment the lights powered down. They remained off for a longer time than they thought, and [name] felt absolutely weightless.

It wasn't as bad as [name] had initially thought. The swarm of darkness had startled them, that was all. Everyone else looked just like a deer in headlights or owls, just like them.

The lights that were on before now flickered, struggling from the surge, then dulled as the power finally gave out and made an echoing drawl in the background. [name] placed the crystal in the middle of the container, allowing it to settle before they pushed down on the top and secured it on the underside of their PDG where it belonged.

A few of them shared confused glances and [name] watched the glass windows that looked into this chasm. The lights were no longer on, and the dimness of the backup power lights and alarms gave the bare minimum of light. There was a big wave of deja vu as some unfamiliar, yet still familiar(?), pictures flooded [name]'s mind.

The catwalk creaked as someone shifted, turning to look at the door. Their figure revealed to be Kei in the shadow of the faint dark, and he turned back to the others, "shouldn't we get out of here?"

"That's..." Oz trailed off, his voice raised almost as if to object to his suggestion, but everyone had heard what the intercom had told them minutes ago. They had to get through this, there was no turning back.

"Just 'cause we got the crystal doesn't mean we're safe," Emil muttered lowly, his voice growing a bit more serious than [name] would've liked. They were so used to him being the 'dad' of the group. It felt strange even calling him that.

They all filed down the same catwalk they came from and into the shadows of the hallway. The noise continued to blare in the background and [name]'s feet felt like jelly against the floor. The cement clung to their ankles, and [name] felt rooted in place. Yet, nobody else was moving. So [name] moved first, ripping their foot from their comfortable place at the back, between the threshold of the door, and out where the red lights shined against the right of their figure.

"Fuck..." [name] could hear someone mutter just as the alarm grew loud and quieted once more. They couldn't help but share the sentiment as [name] led them forward, eyes darting down the first hall to the right. A red light shone above it and [name] felt a pit in their stomach.

"Not that one," they said just after the alarm sounded. [name] looked down the next hall, finding it longer than the others, and saw the green light at the end. Aisha moved first this time, passing [name] so they were no longer the one leading.

The door ahead opened, and the familiar sight of the checkpoint room didn't settle their nerves. However, the need for a keycard for the double doors set something off in [name], and they went searching immediately, as did the others. There was a high pitched screeching sound at the back of their mind.

"Got it! Got it!" Someone said in the dark, rushing toward the doors. [name] could hear their heart, or someone's feet, thumping against their ears. The reader took its sweet time before the doors opened, and [name] pushed off to the left side of the next room, pushing hard against the door that opened to the side of the checkpoint room. The others followed, Ezekiel almost running [name] over, but he gripped the back of their jumpsuit and pulled them inside.

The screeching became louder and louder, and three seconds later an Angler passed by, face seemingly glaring inside the room the eight of them hid in, leaving nothing new to their surroundings.

"Sound. We have to go by sound," Aisha murmured quietly, pushing a palm against her forehead and swiping up.

"Holy fucking shit. This is it! We're going to die!" Kei laughed in disbelief, beginning to pace, "they knew! Urbanshade knew what was going to happen and they...they didn't tell us!"