Author's notes: Here we are again with another chapter. Of course, here is also a mandatory response to Leo's review: We'll get to see what this place really is, as well as how its secret sealed their fate.

Without any more words, here is the next chapter:

Chapter 2-3: Food For Thought

I keep wondering what kept me crawling through this cesspool of established immorality, this monster parade manifesting itself both physically and mentally. I know the reason why I stepped foot on the ice cold surface of Holoska, but was there any point in blindly pursuing that goal anymore. It feels like an eternity since I abandoned the warm familiarity of my home. I suppose that, in a way, the moment I stepped out of that boat was the point of no return. From that point on, my fate was sealed, and there was no more room left for doubt to move in.

I couldn't say I made significant progress since opening the cafeteria door with a vial of a dead man's blood, but I did obtain some crucial information about my current state of affairs. I can't really remember the last time I wasn't just scurrying away from some looming threat or fixing yet another problem. With no particularly demanding task on my hands, I could finally take some time to ponder about the events that have unfolded and those that have yet to commence.

There wasn't much to see when I entered the cafeteria. It was a dull gray area, filled to brim with dust. There were two sets of ordinary looking cafeteria tables, but besides that, there was no other furniture.

What did grab my attention was the light diffracting from the windows. The room lacked any functional artificial source of light, relying solely on the emanating glow coming from behind the rocks. The light was still odd on its own, though. It didn't appear to come from the surface, and there was something missing from it. I can't exactly describe, but in the harsh cold, the sunlight has a warm, orange hue to it. There was no warmth in this light, nor was there even a trace of any hue. The fact that neither of the contrasting attributes could describe its glow was what made it so foreign, like it came from a completely different world.

The first item that stood out to me was a piece of paper lying on top of one of the tables, almost blending in with it. It read as follows:

"You're too late.

Our team has already left this place in search of a new sanctuary. It has been a few months since we awakened this beast from its sleep, and now the disturbance we made is coming back to end our lives. Some of our own have attempted to venture into the lead mines. We haven't heard from them, so there is a chance that they might have escaped.

Whoever finds this note, your best bet of navigating through this facility is the sewer system.

One of the people that might still be out there in the old sanctuary is our Chief Overseer, Miles. Last time I've seen him, he was not doing so great, but he apparently knows of a method we can fight back against this invisible menace. One of the first places worth checking for him is the cafeteria kitchen, the part of which he modified into an office of some sort.

I have my doubts whether he's gonna make it through.

Amabel Carlito, Sous Chef"

The note disclosed some pertinent info, enough for me to gather a few leads. As for the person who wrote this note, I suspect she might not have made it, despite not seeing any corpse belonging to a woman throughout my endeavor.

My progress was hindered by a big metal door, standing between me and what I assumed to be a kitchen or another dining area. The door appeared to have another remote controlled lock, and just like last time, I was nowhere near the controls. What I did notice, however, was that a sign stating that the door opens if there is an emergency.

I checked out a little side room on the opposite side of the windows. It was mainly a room for storage, and like most of them I have seen so far, it was almost devoid of anything worth storing. For some absurd reason, there was just a filthy barrel full of various junk, all drenched in gasoline.

Gasoline! I realised that lighting the barrel on fire could substitute for a real fire, which surely passes as an emergency. Unfortunately for me, I didn't have a zippo lighter in my possession anymore, and the storage still lacked anything of the sort.

I had to resort to an unorthodox solution, one which I wouldn't have even considered have I not stumbled upon it during my period of frustration. Just like in the other rooms, there was another fuse box. However, this one was broken and there was a switch wired to it. I knew that it wasn't about to yield any intended results, but curiosity steered my hand as I pulled the switch. Sparks came flying out of the fuse box. Sparks that might just be enough to make some gasoline burst into flames.

Logically, I pushed the barrel right up to the derelict fuse box, and then flicked the switch again. Almost immediately, fire rose from the barrel high up into the air. I pushed the barrel around, scattering the smoke everywhere to make sure that the sensors pick up on what I'm doing.

Needless to say the fire was put out, and I was caught right under an activated sprinker. Despite being drenched in cold water, I was glad that my plan worked. The door opened smoothly, and I swiftly stepped out of the sprinklers' range. No body of water was going to keep weighing me down during my restless pursuit, and I certainly wasn't going to let worse stop me from venturing onwards, deeper into the essence of my share of troubles.

The room I entered was merely a continuation of the now soaked dining area. Like the previous one, this room didn't sport anything of interest, not even a note. There were three other doors besides the one I came from, one on each wall.

The door on the left was the hydraulic type. Not that it particularly mattered since the door was jammed in its closed position, never to be opened again. The door on the right, however, was a regular door, at least in the confines of the underground facility, and like the doors from the cells, this one didn't have a physical lock. Unfortunately for me, it was locked, and that meant I had to look for a remote access point.

The purpose of the room concealed behind the middle door was clear before I even opened the door. An unpleasant odor of grease and rotting meat exuded from the gaps, causing me to gag a little. The kitchen certainly looked a like a mess, its smell threatening to make it even messier if my stomach couldn't handle it. Scratched wooden counters and shelves full of soggy boxes of cereal, dirty dishes and rusty utensils. Taking a peek at the sinks revealed a pile of grease and mushed up pieces of food I couldn't discern. Not to mention that the stoves were falling apart, rusting away into nothingness.

The highlight of the kitchen, however, wasn't the filth and grease, but rather the adjoining room, the one my father used as an office. That room appeared to hold the most relevant of information in it. There was a desk with a working computer, a shelf with another one of these artefacts I saw multiple times in the mines, and a projector showing the timeline of events I got acquainted with through the notes left in the mines, as well as some of the more recent events regarding the facility.

You could say I scoured the room like I was possessed, but the gut feeling I had about this room's importance was overwhelming. There were two very important things I found in the desk drawers. One of them was a familiar utility tool that I used sparingly in the mines. It was another flashlight, almost identical to the one I owned. Frustratingly, even its flaws were consistent with my old one, meaning the torch greedily feasted on its battery diet, going from a hundred to a zero in a matter of minutes. At the very least its light looks brighter, but that's not going to come in handy if I end up conveniently pointing it at my captors. The other item was a CD labeled "Orientational video"

With no other option left, I turned on the computer. The operating system on the computer wasn't anything that I've seen, it only had some of the more rudimentary functions. I could access the CD drive, a text document and executable labeled Doorlock. Opening the executable, I was met with a list of doors, all labeled unlocked except one. There was an option to unlock it, but I wasn't able to since clicking on the option opened a window asking for a password.

Before checking out the document on the computer, I popped the disc right in the drive and opened it up on a computer. I was immediately greeted with an introductional video, detailing the duties of the facility's staff. The audio went as follows:

"Welcome to the Shelter Research Station, Holoska.

This self sufficient installation was built as a collaboration project between the Archaic and a self-taught engineer Miles Prower. It's goal, the pursuit of ancient knowledge and artefacts.

This underground facility offers a wide range of services, including a cafeteria, gymnasium, medical bay, as well as a wide range of laboratories, offices, workstations and more. Please feel free to use the former at your leisure, but expect to be assigned to the latter at a moment's notice.

Should you in any way feel ill, fatigued, mentally incapacitated, DO NOT REPORT to the medical staff. Due to the sensitive work here and this area's history, we expect you to follow the next set instructions to the letter: Find a heavy object, at least as heavy as you, firmly fasten yourself to said object, close off any possible means of entry and await extraction from our trained professionals.

In the worst case scenario, you are to ingest a cyanide pill, which we will issue shortly after the orientational video. The Archaic would hate to lose its treasured staff, but it might be for the good of the operation.

We hope you enjoy working for us."

This slide show narrated by a monotone female voice failed to leave a serious impression on me. The unethical content I would have once found eerie was now worth a chuckle at best. To my hazy mind filled with wandering thoughts, this just looks like a bad attempt at dark comedy. I've witnessed worse mere hours ago, if not minutes.

The computer offered me two options: The first one was to watch the video again, which I refused since it was a clear waste of energy. The second one, however, was a text document labeled "Changes to security". That document was well worth the read, since it contained the passwords of several remotely controlled doors, including the one I tried to open earlier.

Before I unlocked the door, however, there was still an unread text document on this PC that I haven't read. I assumed that it was nothing particularly useful, so I skimmed over the text at first. I was hit by a sudden realization that this was more important than I gave it credit, and paid attention to its every word.

This document was written by my father. Out of all the notes I stumbled upon and all the ramblings I had to endure from my deceased friend, this is the only one that divulged more than I had hoped for:

"My research has uncovered something… fascinating.

My team and I have been far too hasty in our escapades. I was hoping to uncover a mystery so tantalizing I didn't know that there was a price to pay. Now that we recklessly awakened whatever force of nature this is, everything has gone to crap.

What is tormenting us here must remain here at all costs. Luckily for all of us, the Shelter has no outside connections, not even to the hub of the Archaic. The only connection the outside world has to this place are the notes I left in a bank in a place which name I cannot recall. I sent a note to my son Robert telling him to burn these documents. I have no doubt that the grudge he must feel towards me will get him to destroy them and forget about me.

As for us, I believe I hold a vital piece of info, one that will not just contribute to our survival, but it will also decide the future of our species. I am planning to set up everything at the library. If this info is faulty, I won't even be able to make it past Residental.

To think I left my family for this place, for this organization. Which is more horrible, that I sacrificed something so dear, or that I do not regret it for one second?

Miles Tails Prower – Chief Overseer"

This note was written recently, suggesting a possibility most thrilling. For a long while, the utter despair this journey numbed me with has made me lose all hope that my father is alive. This note suggested otherwise, and is the first to give me hope after a very long and painful period of time.