Humanity's Peacekeepers

Level B4a [ 7 : СЕМЬ ]

- Jack // Джек -

"Reynold... Ethan... Seymour..." Igor typed slowly with the tips of his paw.

Beep beep! The keypad got its answer. "Entrance at B3 unlocked," it said.

Th-thump! Creeeeeeeaaaaak! Something unlocked and opened up, presumably at B3.

We went down the emergency stairs in the elevator room. The stairs did have lights, so we weren't just descending blindly into the abyss, if you were wondering.

"The stairs end here." Igor's voice echoed throughout the stairwell.

"Th... hah... thank goodness..." I was catching my breath as Igor pushed the door open.

We were in another elevator room, but "B3" was on the wall. There was also a hatch in the middle, that seemed to be disguised as a dusty crimson carpet.

"Before we go in, Jack," said Igor. "The professor mentioned an adjacent stairwell..."

"Hm?"

"I just wanna know where it is," he said, checking every door in the room. Besides the one we came in from, none of them opened.

...Except for the lone unlabeled one. It had the same keypad on it, and seemingly unlocked with the one upstairs, I guess. I got my answer, and took note of it, in case anything were to happen.

The hatch was big and also had short steps which led to another elevator. This one looked eerie, and probably was not meant for any typical people here. It only had one button to press, and it pointed downward.

"The power is on for this thing," Igor said.

"Dibs!" I pressed the button. The lift opened and in we went.

There was actually more than one option on the lift.

————————————
[ B3b ]
B4a
B4b
B4c
B4d
B4e
B4f

Open | Close
Emergency
————————————

B3b was glowing; Emergency was printed in red, presumably if the elevator malfunctions; B4 had 6 subdivisions.

"The letter said to go B4a," I said, as the lift doors closed.

"M- n- mhm." Igor was shivering.

"You're scared?" I asked.

"...Yes," he admitted. This was far different from the dusty rooms and glass doors, after all.

"Pfft, don't worry, Igor," I smiled. "Like you said, the professor won't kill us if he created us."

"Yeah, true," said Igor. "But I still can't help it..."

I laid my hand, or paw out for him. He placed his on mine. "We'll be okay, buddy."

"Mm, thanks."

"I'll press the button for B4a. You ready, Igor?" I asked.

"Y-yes," he smiled, still a bit shaky.

I held onto Igor as the door opened after a few seconds.

The floor seemed to be a very thick wire-mesh walkway, with railings and support wires.

"H-h-hh..." Igor was petrified.

I couldn't help but giggle a bit. He looked adorable when scared.

"D-don't laugh..." he mumbled. His voice sounded a lot softer. "W-we might fall through."

"Ah, sorry," I apologized. "Though the walkways are really thick, so we might be okay."

"Don't risk it." Igor was really afraid.

"Nonsense, I'll show you."

"No, hold up!" He tugged at my tail. "P-please..."

"..." He looked very serious.

He whimpered as the lift doors closed on their own. He's afraid that I'll fall, I thought to myself. We aren't exactly the lightest things in the world, after all.

"I-I'll try it slowly, then." I insisted. "You keep the lift doors open, I'll try to step onto the walkway. If anything happens, I'll bounce back in."

"...Um..." His voice cracked. "...Be careful."

He went to the buttons and kept the doors open.

I took deep breaths. He made me nervous, way more than before. It was right to be cautious, so it's understandable.

I slowly put my left paw on the mesh.

...Then my right paw.

Igor was breathing heavily to the side. His indigo eyes were terrified.

I inched my left foot onto the platform.

...Then my right foot.

...Then did I just realize how bad of an idea this was.

We were on B4a.
B4b, -c, -d, -e, and -f were all below me. I was a see-through–wire-mesh–platform, over 5 other floors.

"...Gulp..." I stood there, completely overwhelmed by the situation I'm in. I could just go back, easily.

"..."

"Y-yeah, I see your p-" Crack.

CRACK. CRACK.
CRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCRACKCR

"JACK!"

CreeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAK-

CRASH!