JELLYFISH

DOOR 022

[name] stood at the end of the path, right up against the railing that stood right against the slanted, glass panels. They squinted at the murky glass, leaning forward against the railing, feet nearly touching off the ground, but then found hold again once they saw nothing of importance.

Their hand dug into the unzipped part of their jumpsuit, feeling for the weighted wind-up flashlight. Sebastian's words still lingered in their mind. They had yet to make up their mind, and [name] wasn't sure they'd do so in time.

This was the final encounter.

Everyone else was so absorbed in their own thoughts that nobody was making a fuss; that, or they had already made a fuss and grew weary of doing so. It hadn't fully hit [name] yet, but the thought of having to go out and swim in the depths that haunted [name] constantly wasn't at the top of their bucket list.

"Fucking hell... Fuck, fuck! We're just fucking screwed!" Kei yelled from downstairs, his voice causing [name] to jump as they turned to lean back against the railing. Then, there was Emil's much calmer voice, attempting to soothe the beast. Kei again, not as loud as before, then Emil, then Emil again. And Kei was quiet.

"It's just a few cables," Oz's voice cut through the brief silence, causing [name]'s face to sour. A strange part of [name] wanted to say, "no, it's not," but they didn't know why they would say that as they didn't know the first thing that was outside this room.

"[name]," Evelyn, right, Evelyn. They forgot she was around still. She wasn't going to do well, she didn't even look well. She was shivering, even though the air wasn't too cold. Her eyes were wide and [name] watched as those wide eyes darted around, staring past [name].

"Are you okay?" She asked, and [name] couldn't help but snort, and raise a too late hand to try and cover up the fact that they did so. They shook their head quickly, turning their head back to the glass, looking carefully through it, then back at Evelyn.

"Sorry, uh, yeah, I think so." I think so, "you...uh, don't look too good."

Evelyn smiled, rubbing her arms up and down along the creases in her jumpsuit, quick and continuous, trying to create some sort of friction to create heat to warm her body, "I know. I-I think it's just adrenaline. My-my fingertips are purple and my blood feels like ice," she stopped for just a moment to look down at her hands, then went back to rubbing at her arms, "I don't feel scared but my body is...it's just..."

She trailed off and grew quiet. [name] reached inside their jumpsuit, brushing a hand along the flashlight, then brought it out again and stepped forward, grabbing both Evelyn's hands with both of their own and pressing them together, like some sort of prayer, but with their own around them.

"Sorry if my hands are cold," [name] stared at her fingers. Her nails were short and a faint purple, just like she said. Evelyn continued to shiver but shook her head, and in a small voice said, "no, they're not."

They stayed like that for a while until [name] pulled their hands back and tucked them awkwardly at their side.

"You two ready?" The newer voice caused a chill to run up [name]'s neck, but no fear followed as they recognized it as Emil. Evelyn and [name] turned to him, Evelyn nodding and then turning to [name] who could only falter at the last moment.

Memories of the past, or future, they couldn't keep track anymore. At this point, it felt like this long and tireless journey would soon be over.

Let's not get your hopes up.

"Yeah," a quiet, weak voice left them and they moved down the stairs behind Emil's slow, pace. It reminded them of when they first walked behind him at Urbanshade's docking bay.