Agent Conroy (6:30)
Through the massive metal door, distant and muffled yelling echoed its words indiscernible due to the thick barrier. With a heavy heart, I forced myself to stand, my body aching from the unfamiliar strain. The tunnel ahead was dimly lit, the rocks surrounding me damp and cold to the touch. A single slip of torn paper lay on the ground behind me, its message stark and walk. My head throbbed in time with my pulse and my vision swam as I tried to make sense of my surroundings. Ahead, an impenetrable darkness beckoned, promising only uncertainty and fear. Behind me, the soft glow from the door provided a faint illumination, but it did little to dispel the thickening dread that coiled within my chest. For a moment, I considered banging on the door, demanding answers to the numerous questions that plagued me. But something within me knew that such an action would only lead to greater suffering. So I listened instead, straining my ears to catch any hint of familiar voice or sound. The air was still and cold, carrying with it a musty scent of ancient earth. As I moved further into the cavernous space, my foot connected with something hard in plastic, sending it flying into the shadows with a loud clatter. The silence that followed was deafening, but after what felt like an eternity, my ears were met with only the sound of my own breathing. Cautiously, I reached down and picked up the object that had caused such a commotion in hand. It felt heavier than expected, and upon closer inspection, I noticed a rubber button protruding from its surface. I pressed it instinctively and was blinded by an instantaneous burst of light. The beam from my flashlight illuminated the corridor ahead, revealing jagged rocks stretching out before me like monstrous teeth bared in warning. Yet all around were signs of human intervention, tools scattered here and there amidst piles of discarded debris from long, abandoned excavations. Or perhaps they were more recent, I couldn't be sure. Walking along, I stumbled upon a natural cave entrance, which stretched down into the dark only a short distance in. I quickly realized how small this cave was. With the flashlight, I could see this cavern and the hallway it's connected to. And that was it. The path down ends in a pool of limpid water, its depths unknown, shrouded by brownish haze from something kicking up sediment at the bottom. God only knows where it leads, or what's inside of it. I hurriedly walked back to the door I must have entered from. I knocked and knocked, then started slamming my fists on the door. I began hitting it with such force that my hands started to go numb, not realizing I had been screaming. My throat was burning, and by the time I ran out of steam, I felt completely exhausted. There was no response from the other side. Not a sound or movement. Panic grips my heart as I frantically scan my surroundings, wondering how I could have ended up in this situation. The memory of the torn piece of paper comes flooding back to me. Just walk forward, I told myself, trying to muster some semblance of confidence. A queasy feeling was rising in my stomach, and a dull ache was spreading through my veins, making its way to My skull again. I remembered the paper. All that is asked of me is to walk forward. Well, they didn't say swim, drown or die. I think the point was that I proceed. Perhaps I'll follow that one simple instruction and find a way out. In an effort to proceed, I return to the cave. Finding the still pool of brownish water waiting for me. I approach cautiously, just to be sure. I throw a loose stone into the water, hoping to startle anything residing inside into motion. Nothing. I see no other motion, so I prepare myself. Only dressed in a white shirt with white pants, I've submerged myself into the terrifying unknown. Shrouded in kicked up sediment that spread with every step, I very slowly moved forward, swimming through a small opening. I felt my way through as soon as I was in the next chamber and without opening my eyes, I swam upward. A painful thud echoes through my head as I smash my skull on the ceiling. Through the haze of semi consciousness, I desperately searched for a way to surface, eventually finding it and hastily swimming upwards. The air filled my lungs in a relieving gasp. Thankfully, the light was waterproof and the beam filled the new cavern. Not only could I see the new cave I was in, but I could also see another opening under the water. Beneath a layer of what looked to be white stuff under the surface. Straight down, I climbed up to a small landing I could sit upon. The room featured absolutely nothing else. It was an air pocket with a region below I'd have to swim through. The only thing guiding me was a vague light at the bottom of the chamber. Illuminating through a cave while the water is clear. The closer you got to the cave, the more of this powdery white substance was around. It wasn't an extreme dive, just a few feet, yet the idea of it still scared me beyond reason. As I resigned myself to the task at hand and submerged myself with water, the sounds of moving liquid echoed around me and strangled my heart with horror. The thought of something being in the water with me was all consuming. I groped through the cold abyss helplessly until my fingers managed to latch on the walls. I clawed my way through, lungs burning from the effort and dwindling oxygen, only to surface. In the pool with me was a small light fixture, the one which I'd been following. As I crawled into the dry area, the light suddenly shut off, leaving me blind in the dark. I click on the flashlight again to see an immense tunnel which spans into infinity before me. Without guidance aside from the circle of visibility my light provided, I pressed on. Before long, the jagged rock caverns turned into a geometric Splay of concrete. Rather than wandering through a dark, rocky tunnel, I wandered through a dark concrete tunnel, its depths unknown to me. The flashlight's range was pathetic at best and had barely illuminated the tunnel, giving the impression that it went on forever. Along the walls were markings, strands of lashed stone, lines of torn up concrete that stretch along its length as if something was dragged. Spots of brown and red began to appear in the divots, and dots of the same color were now speckling across the floor. After a while of walking, I found myself in the center of a large room. My light couldn't reach the walls because of its size, yet I could almost hear its vastness. The room was massive, and sounds bounced off the walls with noticeable distance. After a single step, you'd only hear the echo of a few seconds later. I continued on, ignoring all the warning bells in my own mind. As I walked, the area around me is enveloped in total darkness. A single cone of vision reaches out before me in the form of my flashlight's beam. The distance between me and the beam's farthest point became subject to interpretation. My mind could hardly contemplate at all, much less gauge its range accurately. A part of me was hopeless, drowning in pessimism, figuring I was already doomed long before I woke up. The rest of me scrambled to put together plans for an escape, a way out of this hell. Perhaps at the end, like a rat in a maze, I'd find my block of cheese in the form of a way out. As my confidence and my sanity wavered, I finally heard something in the dark. A momentary slapping, like bare feet against flat concrete. I stopped in my tracks and spun in every direction with the light, trying in vain to see what the source was. After a while, whatever was chasing me had thankfully stopped halting just before a vast wall. A strip of yellow tape reached across it from right to left. With no real insight, I picked right, listening closely for anything behind me. My chosen path eventually panned out as lights began to shine from one end of a rectangular hallway. I was drawn like a moth to a flame. And under the lights, I found a door much like the one I found myself on the other side of. I knocked gingerly, immediately pointing my flashlight behind me in case whatever was out there had crept up behind me. I swear I could see something. Something alive with its eyes on me. To my complete shock, the door actually began to open. A moment later, as the door slowly creaked open, I found myself pushing through the gap between the door and the frame before it was big enough for me to fit through. After Getting through the doors immediately started shutting. Another brilliant light shone from above. A normal door, one with an actual handle, a bed, some nice lights, and an MRE on the table. Even if change of clothes was laid out. Whatever comfort I had felt was immediately betrayed by the obvious presence of a camera alongside a shower that was out in the open. At first I was confused, and now I'm utterly perplexed. I look around, not daring to get too comfortable in here. Nearby were a few papers sitting atop a dull metal table that was chained to the wall. All of the furniture is chained to the walls. To my growing confusion, the papers on the desk revealed a good amount to me. There was a picture of me, followed by some descriptors. Bill Monte, age 31, male. It goes on to list my many allergies, medications that I take, and other medicinal ailments. An uncomfortable amount of detail about me, my old place of residence, my family members. They even listed my pets. For a moment, I reminisce on my golden retriever, Dewey. With just this paper, many memories came floating back to me like a cure for amnesia. What concerns me is how and why this is here. Who put this here? This room has no other exits or entrances, meaning the only way out is back into the chamber, where something hides in the dark. Rifling through the stack of papers, I eventually found something that was useful to me. A map. It shows the vast room I was in. A small rectangular outcrop labeled Calm Room and a number of offshoots that sporadically wind in random directions. In the main chamber, there is a flat wall, the one I chose to go right from when encountering. Had I chosen to go left, I would have been met with an interwoven tunnel network. Unfortunately for me, this seems to be the only way forward. A small red box was drawn onto one of the tunnels and the word UP is scrawled beside it. Certain tunnels are outlined in blue marker for some reason, while others are outlined in green or red. As I tried to understand the map's markings, I hear something nearby again. It sounded like skin striking stone. And while it was subtle at first, something then presses its weight into the metal door of my room. It groans and squeaks against a tremendous force, so I duck beneath the desk with nowhere else to go. I can hear a monstrous breath before the weight is taken off the door and the sounds grow quiet. Stepping out from beneath the desk, I realize that this might be why the huge outer door is there. It seems that my only options are to either sit here and starve or re enter the chamber and head for the tunnels. I was not planning to leave this calm room behind, though not yet at least. And I was certainly going to take advantage of what it had to offer. A beef ravioli, mre, a quick shower. But before that, I'll cover up the camera with my shirt or something so they can't see me. As I ready my meal, I also spend time poring over the map. I'm assuming there's more than this. Whatever the up goal is for, it must insinuate a second floor. The aroma of pasta sauce and the chemically warmed food managed to tear my attention away from the map as I realized how hungry I actually was. After scarfing down the meal, I grabbed a sheet off the bed, tossing it over the camera. As I do this, I hear the door starting to open. I peek through the crack, anxiously looking for something large approaching. The sheet slides off the camera and as I notice it falls, the door begin closing again. I sigh, disgusted with what I've witnessed. I try it again to see if I'm correct and sure enough, if the camera is blocked, the protective doors automatically begin to open. I have another idea. I turn on the hot water and let it run for a while, building up steam on the glass walls. That should offer me some privacy at least. After I shower, I figured it would be a good idea to rest, going so far as to curl up in the bed and trying to doze off. Yet when I closed my eyes there, it felt like an electricity pulsing beneath them. My mind couldn't rest as I tossed and turned. I casually engaged in silent conversation with myself until a noise gained my full attention. A groan. Not one of metal straining, but rather a more human groan. A moan of pain. A muted cry followed by a gurgle. I could hear a snap beneath what sounded like mud. An obscured sharp sound accented by another human noise. I could hear what sounded like humans being crunched together and it was almost crystal clear. My stomach turned. The meal I just had was threatening to re emerge. Eventually, these noises grew distant. Being carried by the sounds of familiar slaps on concrete. It was clear to me that there would be no peace or relaxation in this place. I can't think of anyone who would sleep peacefully after being thrown into this mess. Instead, I had to steel myself. Grabbing the map, I approached the door and slowly open it. The exterior door did not move initially until I closed the inner door behind me. Then the dark expanded ahead. I had only my little flashlight to help me guide the way. The weak light lapped along the gray concrete Forming a perfectly rectangular silhouette at the edge of the tunnel. Along the floor was a shiny wet substance, brownish red with flakes of something pinkish orange. I approached the right side of the tunnel where I came in from, and I peered down the flat wall. A quick scan with my flashlight revealed nothing in the immediate vicinity, and so I began jogging. I didn't want to spend any more time than is necessary in this exposed area. As I jog, I can hear my feet rhythmically hitting the ground one after another. Eventually, they are joined by an echo, a shadow that mimics my steps. Instead of looking, I opted to increase my pace, searching desperately for the tunnels I'd found on the map. When I found them, I got goosebumps. My flashlight gradually reveals another huge wall, A rocky and untamed surface with innumerable holes. The surface almost looked like honeycomb, and the whole wall gave off an air of trypophobia, making my skin crawl. With little time to stand in fear, I approached one of the smaller holes as the footsteps behind me approached, sliding inside. I was just small enough to fit, and I quickly crawled deeper. The mimicking gait stopped, replaced by dragging sounds that rose from my position. I poked back out of the tunnel and peered around with my flashlight. I had only enough time to witness a human looking hand slide lifelessly onto one of the tunnels above me. It was in the tunnels with me. I peered at the map as I crawled, trying to decipher which tunnel I had entered into. Despite the numerous entrances on the face of the wall, only four are mentioned on the map. I can't be 100% sure, but I think I entered one outlined in green. It's the closest one to the wall I followed. Here it weaves into a larger tunnel. One leads into a great chamber, the other end leads to the assumed goal. Up. This seemed like it was too simple, almost too easy. I could tell there was something more to this, and I was at the mercy of these tunnels, praying the one above didn't lead whoever or whatever that was back to me. The further I progressed, the more panic spread through me and my muscles started to shake and lock up. I really don't like tight spaces, and this tunnel is only just big enough for one person to crawl through. I grit my teeth with such voracity that I hear a crack. The adrenaline made sure I paid it no mind. I dragged myself forward slowly, stopping to listen every few feet, then resuming my crawling advance. The cave walls didn't move, but I'd occasionally hear pebbles trickling in the dark. Eventually the rounded walls of the tunnel stopped being replaced by a circular hole ahead of me. My light barely kissed the other side of the hole, and I looked down to double check my map. This was it alright. The next tunnel going left from here would lead me to the red up on the map. Yet every time I inched closer to it, I felt something screaming in my head, resisting the idea. It felt like there was something in there, waiting for me. Holding its breath so I couldn't notice it. I began to hold mine too, thinking I would hear it to reveal its position. But nothing moved or made a sound. The light was a dead giveaway. I inched backwards until my light no longer shone in the tunnel ahead. And I clicked off my light to see what would happen. Almost instantly, I heard motion. Something dragging its heavy frame across uneven stones. Another groan sounded out and nearly deafened me. Heart pounding, I felt my flashlight pointed ahead with my thumb on the button in case I heard something dropped. Draw near. Something was drawing near. I could hear a rubbery substance being scraped along the stones ahead of me. Before I could think twice, I clicked my flashlight out of fear. Two hands, their bones elongated and emaciated. Fingers gingerly clawing at the rocks around it. Skin scraped off, with pieces of it dangling off the sharpest edges. Whatever skin was there showed different colors. Some red, some pink, some brown or pale. All of it leapt backwards the moment my light touched it. Then it started to gurgle before its mass slammed into the tunnel wall. A grotesque foot was reaching inside, making it farther than the hands, but without the articulation. I could see its toes latch onto the rocks as it pulled, heaving something into the tunnel with me. But it wasn't fitting. Whatever this thing was, it's far too big for this tunnel. I sat in place like a statue, horrified and confused at what I was witnessing. The gurgles grew into growls as the foot recedes. Suddenly, more limbs explode into the tunnel, latching onto everything on all sides as. As it attempts to pull itself in. Thankfully, it doesn't fit. The thing starts pulling back out as I sat there on my belly, unwilling to move, unable to breathe. My body felt numb. I was paralyzed, in shock. I know I need to do something, but my body refuses to. I started to shake, quaking in position. The only thing that moves is my head. The rest of me was rigid. I put my head down and started breathing, knowing I had to move. Then something else happened. I could hear the heavy body of that thing land outside the tunnel's entrance. It was behind me. Its body lurched over to My tunnel. And at this moment, my body decided to cooperate. I crawled forward with extreme efficiency, not daring to look behind me. I moved past some bits of skin and torn flesh, getting through the exit in my tunnel and landing in a puddle of disgusting liquid. It wasn't until this moment that I could clearly tell its blood, and I had no time to really think about what that meant. Instead, I picked myself up and sprinted, headed to the left. I found the path leading upwards and precariously climbed through. Through. There's a large hole at the top leading into the roof of the tunnels. This must be the up. I climb and find myself in a smaller cavity. All of the walls and ceiling were visible. With my flashlight's limited range, and to my total surprise, there was another set of lights way in the distance. I could hear gurgling again, and I looked down the hole to see the horrid hands grappling with the tunnels. Maybe it doesn't know that I'm up here yet. A part of me wanted to stealth forward without the flashlight, yet the rest of me was being electrocuted by my nervous system. A pulsing feeling of run for your life. No matter how slowly I tried to move, each motion was twitchy and staggered. I said, screw it, and ran, hoping to God that the distant lights would give me another calm room. The thing squeezed its way into the cave I was in, and its loud moans echo through the space. It growls, attempting a roar from behind a wall of phlegm and begins stomping towards me. In a regrettable moment, I turned around to finally see its full form. A tower of flesh and bone, moving limbs and ligature arms and legs wrapped in swaths of thick skin, skin, blankets, some pointing at me, others lost and groping for their surroundings. Even facing it, the creature couldn't move very well. Its limbs had poor circulation. A broken leg stomps its shattered ankle in front of the beast, dragging it forward alongside other weakened legs. Many of the limbs were broken or disfigured, and each motion was met with undulation from its fleshy mass, covered in sheets of skin loosely applied to its figure. The beast had an awe to it, a type of horror that until now could only be imagined. As my eyes scoured over the creature, my spine grew cold and my legs were pumping again, not requiring input from my brain or perhaps receiving it faster than I could think. As I approached the lights, I could hear metal scraping and two massive doors were opening up before me. I ran ahead at full speed. Gracefully, I fell into the calm room's opening, collapsing just before its door. As the metal bulk hit closed behind me, the beast moaned in frustration. It slams its full body weight into the doors, lurching their form towards me. Yet they didn't give way. It attempts this slam once, twice more, before finally giving up. As its crackling, broken body leaves the door, I find myself still lying there. Just like in the tunnel, I was paralyzed, unable to move. Whereas before I struggled to find any ability to sleep, I now found myself exhausted. I enter the calm room and instantly jump into bed. Within minutes, I go unconscious.
