Shortly after standing, the door disappeared, the three red stars once again staining the wall. I glanced at the flashlight in my hand curtly, chancing to lift it up and focus it on the symbol. I couldn't believe it; right before my eyes, the stars distorted into the same double doors that the monster had summoned! I hesitantly opened them and peeked through.
Was I back where I had started? Large plants lined the walls on either side of me and up ahead was an even larger plant encased in glass, its leaves reaching up toward the ceiling. This had been where that man led me after giving me orders about my mission. I cautiously walked down the hall toward a huge glass window, seeing a white-haired figure making its way away from the building.
Leslie! What is he doing here? I better get to him before those things do…
Progressing forward into what seemed like a waiting room, I spied a couch next to a set of stairs. I felt drawn to it and complied with my brain's want. As I felt the plushness beneath me, I was briefly startled as a slight pressure settled on my lap. I looked down to see a little black cat mew up at me, a red ribbon around its neck. I stroked its silky fur for a few moments, the whole scene relaxing me as I forgot about my surroundings.
A sound came from the next room over and the cat immediately scattered off elsewhere, although I didn't know where to. I stood and started making my up the stairs and into yet another room consumed in almost complete darkness. I could tell this room was a large one and was filled with many cubicles. A low groan prompted me to duck behind a square pot filled with tall grass-like plants, peeking around the corner and shining the flashlight as I did so. I spotted two strange, glowing humanoids patrolling the area. Their flesh looked decayed and their clothes bore many shreds and stains.
I spied a door with keycard access behind one of them. I made my way over the next wall of cover, staying crouched. As I started to move again, an item caught my eye. I grabbed the gritty glass bottle and threw it to the opposite side of the room. As expected, the monsters hurried to the noise and I ran to the door, sliding the card through the processor and pushing the door open as soon as I heard the buzz that indicated it was unlocked. By now the monsters had spotted me and I ran down the long hallway in search of escape. I tried the door at the end of the hall; it was a dead end. Whirling around, I saw a vent close to the ground back down the hallway.
As the two horrific things came after me, I made a break for it. I dodged one, ducking under his outstretched hands. The second's grasp grazed me, but I still avoided it. I hurriedly yanked open the vent and leapt inside, pulling the exit shut behind me. My flashlight was the only way I could see anything in the claustrophobic space. Feeling helplessly afraid, I continued to travel through the tunnel, taking many turns before coming to an exit.
I descended a long flight of stairs before finding a room in which there were two red statues; one with three red stars and one that was simply a vertical line with a little curvature at the top. Looking beyond these statues was a gray symbol including three stars, just like the statue to the left. It reminded me of something…
It took me a few moments before I realized where I recognized this mark from. It was the same one that I used my flashlight on to create a door!
"This symbol… It's incomplete."
It all clicked in my brain as I realized that the statue to the right of me was what I needed to work with. I angled the flashlight so that the statue created a shadow that allowed me to finish the symbol. The odd static feeling came back again as another door appeared in the red mark's place. It led me into a room with an ample amount of medical supplies, though I knew how to use none of it. Shining the flashlight around the room, I searched for anything that may be of use to me.
Once again, I saw the three-starred red icon on a wall in the far corner. I shined my light over it and a table with a file on top of it appeared. My head ached and I groaned and put a hand to my temple.
"What's going on?"
I gasped as I quickly turned to see a pair of male apparitions talking to one another; it was the man who'd given me my mission and someone who looked like a doctor. I could hardly hear what they were saying as their voices sounded hazy and I was still trying to process everything through my fear. They disappeared, saying something about going to the projector in the next room.
I opened the door that had been behind them. There was a small area in the left corner of the room confined with glass. Walking by, my flashlight caught a glimpse of a burnt man in a long white robe; Ruvik. My heart sped up, only to skip a beat when he disappeared. Was he just a vision as well?
Trying to shrug it off as best as I could, I continued into a room where the symbol was on a tiny table in front of a white pull-down screen. As I focused my flashlight on it, a projector appeared, and with it, the two men again. When they had finished discussing their plans, I moved on yet again to a room with cubicles, but all shrouded in plastic sheets that hung from the ceiling. I jumped back a bit as the pair reappeared and their conversation took a sharp turn, sounding like a threat directed at the doctor. These visions were becoming overwhelming for my psyche.
Just as I approached a tall set of metal double doors, something started banging on the other side. The scrape of the metal itched at my ears, warning me to hide. I could spot nowhere that I deemed safe and stood frozen in the middle of the aisle as the doors creaked open, darkness looming on the opposite side. I approached it slowly when nothing revealed itself, finding a hallway that led to a door and, turning right, another set of stairs.
I approached the door first, placing my hand on the scanner. As I waited for it to process my DNA, I looked up at the darkness buoyed on the ceiling, like a balloon filled with helium. The device beeped in a negative tone.
"Agent profile matches Juli Kidman; terminated for insubordination."
"Insubordination?" I furrowed my brow. "That can't be right. Anyhow, I'd better find a way through this door."
