I woke up to see Steel laying on me, and I smiled.
This is nice.
As I zoned back in from my nap, I saw Steel starting to lean the other way. That small movement helped me remember what I was going to say.
“Hey Steel, we should get out of here,” I looked at her, as she started to get up. “If we delay our escape any longer, I’ll never get out of here.” I then started to get up too.
“Have you finally found an Idea?” She asked.
“No. The only idea that I have in my mind is to escape this maze of a place.” I said.
“Well, no shit.” She looked away from me. “Let’s just go.”
We headed to the elevator. We knew it would be risky, but it could work. As I was walking down the hallway, I looked at Steel. She looked very nervous, and she was staying very close to me.
“Are you ok?” I asked her.
“Yeah… I’m just a little shaken up that you are back. That’s all,” She said, obviously lying.
“Tell me the truth, Steel. Are you ok?” I said to her, firmly.
“No. I’m not ok… I just don’t want you to see me crying.” She said, holding everything back. “I never wanted to tell you what happened, with getting the camera. It makes me look weak. And I’m not weak.”
She stopped in the middle of the hallway. Her eyes turned from a dull blue to a vibrant, colorful blue that lingered for a long time.
Why is she standing there?
Is she ok?
Should I ask if she is ok?
“I…can’t…” She said, crying.
But she wasn’t crying goo as she should be. She isn’t crying herself.
She is crying tears.
Tears rolled down everywhere. They wouldn’t stop. I didn’t know what to do. As I was panicking, Her knees became weak and tired, and she slowly started to fall. I immediately ran to her and held her close to me. She kept crying, even in my arms.
“I’m…sorry…” She said softly, between the constant stream of tears. “All of my… emotions… are coming… out…”
“It’s ok,” I whispered. “Everything is going to be okay.”
I finally really had a chance to look around the empty hallway. Everything was different from when I was alive, even with the lights on. The floor looks way more cracked than I originally thought. Cobwebs are on every corner, especially around the door. The white, brick walls on both ends of the hallway were slowly turning gray. The entire place looked very sad and weak. After looking around, I glared back at Steel. She is still crying, but it is not as much as she was. She turned her head to me.
“You know… I think you probably… figured it out,” She wiped a tear from her eyes, “That I am… a hybrid.” She rested her head on my chest.
“That doesn’t change a single thing about you,” I said, calmly. “You look beautiful just the way you are.”
“Really…?” She focused on me.
“Yeah,” I replied, comforting her.
She gave me a grin and hugged me. I tried my best to wipe away her tears.
“I’m sorry for my breakdown. I’ve dealt with so many emotions and stress, and I never wanted anyone to see it. People see me as strong. I want to look strong to people. All these stored-up emotions have been screwing me up, and I just had to let it all out.” She spoke softly. “I promise it is not your fault. I don’t want you to feel bad.”
“It is ok, Steel. Everything is going to be okay.” I wanted to cry with her, but I couldn’t. I don’t want to melt as she is hugging me very closely. I don’t know what she would do after. I lifted my hand and pet Steel very softly to calm both of us down.
She soon closed her eyes and passed out in my arms. She looked super fatigued. I lifted her and got on my feet. I walked to the elevator that sat a little way in front of me. The door slowly crept closer and closer, as my stress became bigger and bigger. The walk felt like miles, even though it wasn’t long. Steel still rested in my arms, her lab coat dangling. She looked very cold, so I wrapped the coat around her to cover her and warm her up. When I looked up from warming up Steel, I jumped back a little from the door that stood a couple of inches from my face. After the little freak accident, I pressed the button to call the elevator and waited. After a while, the door opened, and to my surprise, nothing was in the elevator.
Before I took a step, one of my friends, Blue, unattached from the ceiling of the elevator, and fell gracefully to the floor, on his arms and legs. He is what humans call a calico cat, and we would spend a lot of time with each other. But it looks like our friendship was slowly going to morph into a life-or-death situation.
Without a second to waste, he immediately pounced on me with his claws out. Luckily I had the reaction time to block it with my arms, still holding Steel with my other arm. In response to my block, he leaped onto me, shifted his weight, and it knocked me, with Steel over. Blue was going to fall onto Steel, so I rotated my body to keep Steel safe. An aching pain went down my back, and it hurt to move. Blue got up first, but I was too weak to stand back up. He picked up Steel from my ever-weakening grasp and he put her nicely to the side. After he set her down, he came right back to me. I tried to move, but the same aching pain sliced through my back, and I groaned.
“I see! You are trying to guilt trip her into thinking you are a “good guy!” He yelled to me, even though I was lying right in front of him.
“What…OW…do you…OW…mean?” I faintly said, still trying to get back up.
“Stay down!” He insisted.
He lifted his foot and pushed it hard on my chest. I yelped from the force he planted onto my chest. As he held me down, he slowly moved closer until he loomed on top of me. My heart started beating faster, and the fear eventually was too much to handle. I cried on the inside, which I have barely done before.
“Ya know, I can just kill you right now. I can just stomp right through your skull and crush it… But that isn’t very fun.” He said, laughing maniacally. “I could just do what the boss said, and just absorb you right now. It would be a slow and very, very, painful death.”
Why does he want to kill me?
Did I do something wrong?
Should I fight back?
Should I give up?
Just as I was drowning in my thoughts, Blue kept on leaning and getting closer, and closer to me. His snout almost touched mine when he was finished. I started to sweat from the fear Blue was putting on me. I could see the appending doom that loomed right on top of me, so I closed my eyes. Just as I thought I would be absorbed, I heard the sound of someone screaming, then a sudden crash on the wall.
I opened my eyes to see that no one was on top of me. I looked to my left where Blue put down Steel, and she wasn’t there. I looked to my right, and I saw Blue and Steel wrestling each other, constantly tackling each other down to the floor.
“FIND ME SOMETHING SHARP! QUICK!” She commanded.
“Yes Ma’am” I replied. Before I could even move, Blue glared at me.
“Oh no you don’t,” Blue said, focusing on me, while I was still laying on the floor.
Without a second to waste, Blue pounced on me again, and when he hit me, we both rolled around till he was on top. Blue then constantly beat my face. My face felt like it was caving in slowly. Everything was so sore, it was slowly becoming numb. When he finished abusing me, he forcefully grabbed my hoodie. Then he started to lift me. As he started to stand up, I tried to shift my weight down. Every time I tried, though, I got weaker, and his grip got harder. I looked around for Steel, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Was this a setup?
Am I gonna die?
Is she leaving me…?
“It finally feels nice to be better than you.” He smiled, not wasting his opportunity to talk. “I’ve always had to deal with you being the Oh it’s Animato! Look, it's him! I wish to be like him!” His monologue started to turn into an angrier tone. “What am I to Vin!? HIS LAZY MOTHER FUCKING PARTNER!!! I wanted to be second in charge! But YOU took that spot away from me!” He slowly started to calm down. “But when you died, I became his second-hand man. I finally felt complete, like I have finally achieved my goal. When Vin finally killed you, he let me take his place.” He looked at me, hoping I would ask why. After seconds of silence, he then continued. “Did you know I plotted for Vin to kill you?” He asked. I still stayed silent, and he glared at me, then he rolled his eyes. “I’ll just continue. I got angry at you for being right next to Vin all the time. So in response, I lied to Vin, saying that you were putting some harmful chemicals in the heart chamber. He told me that he would “test it out.” He knew the truth why, and he agreed on doing it. He never liked you.” He laughed to himself. “He lied to everyone again, when you are now back from the dead. He said that you are a traitor, and everyone can kill you.” He looked away for a second but then continued to talk. “I know what Vin would do. His bipolar ass would all of a sudden like you again and promote you back to second in hand. I can’t let that happen. So I immediately went up here as soon as I could to kill you.” He looked around again. “But the more that I think, the more I want to have your power. You know the strength hybrids have, and technically, you are a hybrid. Though that power is nice, I want to also make sure you don't take my power… Just think of this deal I have. You die and go back to your happy place, and I take all of your power. Does that sound like a good deal?”
I didn’t move.
He used his free arm to grasp my head tightly, and he nodded it up and down.
“Good. Very good answer. Now, this will only hurt a little…”
He then leaned closer, and again, I closed my eyes. I heard some noise getting louder.
“HHHHHHYYYAAAAAAA!!!” Steel screamed.
She trusted a steel, rusty pipe right into Blue’s back. It pierced right through the other side. Goo gushed through Blue’s mouth, and he slowly started to fall. Steel then removed the pipe, leaving a sizable hole in his stomach. Blue loosened his grip and started to fall to the floor. I fell forwards and landed on Blue’s stomach. I felt good on my back, where it then seeped into my fur. Steel came over to me, coated with goo, and picked me up, holding me tightly. She looked at Blue’s goo on my stomach, and she wiped off as much as she could with her coat. Before Blue came out of my sight, I saw him holding his stomach, holding his tears. Soon after I saw the terrible scene, she then started walking to the stairs. I heard Blue faintly yelling from behind.
“Damn. Too long… of a monologue…”
I wanted to giggle at his funny comment, but I didn’t have the strength to.
Steel looked down at me. “Are you all right, Ani?” She asked calmly, ironically having goo all over the lab coat.
I nodded slightly, blushing.
She noticed my futile attempt, and she smiled back at me. She looked up and walked to the stairs.
When she eventually reached the stairs, she turned the door handle.
It did not budge.
I heard Steel curse under her breath. She then walked to the elevator and called it. When it opened, she walked in and turned to the buttons. I slowly looked where the buttons were and saw only three of them worked. The buttons had the numbers 23, 22, and 1 labeled on them. I would’ve picked #1 because it would lead us to the exit. Instead, she picked button #22.
Why would she pick that?
Was it for a reason?
Is she setting me up?
Why would she do that?
If she is, why did she help me?
The ride was calm and relaxing. I wanted to stay awake and listen to Steel, but my eyelids started to get very heavy. I didn’t want to sleep. I fought as long as I could to stay awake, but eventually, my eyes shut.
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“Animato? You there? Animato. ANIMATO!” She yelled.
I jolted up from the mattress I lay on, gasping for air.
“What was that for!?” I yelled back.
“You’ve been asleep for a while,” She giggled. “I just had to speed up the waking process,”
“Oh you little s---,” I stopped suddenly. “Uhhh, I think I forgot the word… Wait!” I jolted up. “My Dictionary! We need to go find it!” I exclaimed, hopping out of the mattress.
“What!? We don’t have time for that!?” She said, clearly starting to lose it.
“Come on!” I complained. “It’ll only take a minute”
She let out a sigh. “Fine,” She said, rolling her eyes. “Where is it?”
“Should be on floor 34, where I…uh…died…” I mumbled.
“Want me to go find it?” She offered. “Just in case the room brings back any bad memories?”
“Nah, I think I should be fine,” I responded, forming a faint smile.
Steel grabbed my arm and trotted out of the door as I dragged along.
“I can walk!” I shouted, trying to free my grip.
“Well, you’re slow. And we need to be quick.” She said bluntly. “So stop complainin’ and let’s get going!”
With me in tow, Steel eventually reached the other elevator on the floor. She clicked the button and waited for the door to eventually open. As she waited, I looked around to figure out where we were. It looks very similar to the specimen room, except the rooms look bigger. The walls were a lot cleaner than the other room.
As I was examining the room, I felt a bump on my knee. I glanced below me to see a robot, scanning me.
“Hey! Stop! I don’t need to be scanned!” I tried to block the scanner with my hand.
“Report: Almost Stable. Needs: Rest, Food, Water. Tips: Use Melatonin, Eat Food, Drink Water.” It said, emotionlessly.
“Thanks.” I rolled my eyes.
“Your. Welcome,” He slowly walked off.
I heard something behind me, and I looked over my shoulder. There was Steel, turning blue, trying to hold in her laugh.
“You can let it out now,” I sighed. She exhaled, letting all the air trapped in her mouth out.
“I think I’m fine,” she said, as a small giggle peeped through.
After the little moment ended, the door opened. Steel walked in, still dragging me behind her.
“You can let me go.” I looked at her.
“Fine,” As she let me go, she also pulled me forward, making me smack the floor with my face. She couldn’t hold in her laughter.
“I think it’s a little rude to hurt someone who ya know. ALMOST DIED!!” I yelled, hitting her leg slowly.
“Awww, you gotta try a little harder than that,” teasing me.
“Shut up.” I got up to my feet and clicked on the button.
The elevator trip was a mix of two emotions. I was staring at Steel as she was laughing her ass off at me.
“You mad?” She said, still teasing.
“Keep this up and I’m not afraid to slap you.” I threatened.
“Ooo feisty. I like it! She couldn’t hold in her laughter and fell to the floor laughing.
Why is she acting like this?
Is she flirting with me?
Is she just messing with me?
Why can’t I pick up what she is doing?
*Ding*
“Now let’s go find your stupid book!” She said, between her laughter.
I attempted to help her up, but she smacked my hand away.
“I got it. You better hurry and get it. I’ll follow behind. Still have a lotta laughs to get out.” She told me, pushing me out of the elevator.
The floor from what I remembered was an office. Once you head out of the elevator, there is a room that was used previously as a check-in room. Though the rest of the floor has the same white walls as the rest, this room has a teal-blue theme. On the back wall, there are two doors that lead to different hallways. The left hall was where all the machines are, and the right is all of the office rooms. From what I remember, I left it in one of the offices.
Walking into the hallway, there were tons of doors to try out.
Oh no…
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Door 1- Nothing
Door 2- Nothing
Door 3- Nothing
Door 4- Empty
Door 5- Nothing
Door 6- Nothing
Door 7- Nothing
Door 8- Super Bright
Door 9- Nothing
Door 10- Nothing
Door 11- Nothing
Door 12- Nothing
Door 13- Nothing
Door 14- Nothing
Door 15- Nothing
Door 16- Nothing
Door 17- I want to quit
Door 18- Nothing
Door 19- Nothing
Door 20- Nothing
Door 21- Nothing
Door 22- Nothing
Door 23- Where’s Steel?
Door 24- Nothing
Door 25- Nothing
Door 26- Dark Room
Door 27- Nothing
Door 28- Nothing
Door 29- Nothing
Door 30- Creature
Door 31- Nothing
Door 32- Nothing
Door 33- Nothing
Door 34- Nothing
Door 35- Nothing
Door 36- Nothing
Door 37- Nothing
Door 38- Nothing
Door 39- Nothing
Door 40- Nothing
Door 41- Nothing
Door 42- Nothing
Door 43- Nothing
Door 44- Nothing
Door 45- Nothing
Door 46- Nothing
Door 47- Nothing
Door 48- Nothing
Door 49-Nothing
Door 50- Nothing
Door 51- Nothing
Door 52- Nothing
Door 53-Nothing
Door 54- Nothing
Door 55- Nothing
Door 56- Nothing
Door 57- Nothing
Door 58- Nothing
Door 59- Strange Book
Door 60- Nothing
Door 61-Nothing
Door 62- Nothing
Door 63- Nothing
Door 64- Nothing
Door 65 -Nothing
Door 66- Nothing
Door 67- Nothing
Door 68- Nothing
Door 69- Just No.
Door 70- Nothing
Door 71- Nothing
Door 72- Nothing
Door 73- Nothing
Door 74- Nothing
Door 75- Nothing
Door 76- That was all of them…
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I was nervous, almost trembling. I scanned the paper of my results tons of times and nothing. I checked and checked. Nothing.
I took one more scan of the paper.
“You idiot! You skipped it the entire time!”
“What! Who’s there?!” I yelled, prepping my fists.
No response.
I checked around the hallway and even checked some of the rooms. No one was there.
What was that?
What did I hear?
Am I Crazy?
Do I really need rest?
I didn’t feel safe on this floor anymore. Without a second to waste, I directly ran to the room with my Dictionary, and was in there for a second, before running back out with it in my arms.
Though it was used for many years, I have kept it in a pristine condition. It was the one thing I kept close to my heart.
As I was running, my thought were too. I couldn’t stop thinking, trying to figure out the source of the sound.
*THUD*
“OW!”
I got up from where I was knocked over. I looked at the other person who was also knocked over.
It was Steel…
“OhmygodIamsosorrySteel.” I quickly rushed. “Ididn’tmeantodothisI’m-”
“Hey,” She spoke softly. “It’s okay. There is no reason to be nervous. Now, let's go.”
“Oh, by the way, I found the word,” I looked up at her. “It was shit.”
She ruffled the fur on my head. “Of course it was.”
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