Jaxon took a deep breath as they walked silently away from that area. The sounds that had terrified the group had disappeared. Mai suggested continuing until they found another point where they could access the floor plan more safely. Lena suggested looking for help, if there was any, and Jaxon agreed. The silence was now as oppressive as the fact that Elijah was not there.
Each step seemed to echo like a hammer blow in their heads, and that place seemed like some kind of strange and paranoid puzzle.
“I think we may be close to the station's control and navigation room, if I remember the standard blueprints for this type of structure correctly,” Mai confessed, somewhere between resolute and shy.
“All right. Let's go this way.” Lena looked at Jaxon, waiting for confirmation, which was given with a glance and a discreet nod.
“I think it's a possibility. If there are people alive here, they may be hiding. I hope Elijah is...” He didn't continue. The fact that his friend's communication had been cut off and his own devices were silent seemed like a very inauspicious sign.
Ten minutes that seemed like an eternity passed, and soon they entered a room whose passage was not blocked.
“Breadcrumbs,” Lena commented, and the two stared at her in confusion for a moment. “Breadcrumbs, you know? Like in that story about the brothers and the witch...” She stopped talking.
“Is that something you should say?” Jaxon laughed in a mixture of relief and tension.
“You're right,” Mai commented. “We're following a path of open passages that lead us to a specific place. All the entrances have been closed, and only a few give us access. It's as if someone is guiding us to the main part of the station. At least that matches my impression of the structure.”
“Elijah may be right about there being other people. Hopefully they helped him, as they are helping us,” Lena confessed.
“Look over there!” Jaxon stepped forward when he saw another open passageway, and they arrived at a control center with dim lights and, like everything else there, operating at minimum standards to avoid energy loss. Unlike the place where they had been initially, there were no signs of struggle or blood, but there were also no people.
Mai looked at the controls and searched for data while Lena and Jaxon carefully looked around every corner. They didn't want any surprises. He found an instrument cabinet and opened it to look for something they could use in case whatever had made that strange noise found them. He wasn't a natural fighter, but he was strong enough to take down something his size, at least.
“Depth Explorer 3520,” Mai lo muttered, and they both looked at her.
“What's that?” Jaxon stared at her.
“It's the name of the station. Don't you know this station?”
“Should I?”
“It's a station that was lost during the space expansion race. They said it had partially exploded and was adrift... irretrievable.”
“I think we recovered it.” Jaxon looked at Lena, who was staring wide-eyed at the door. “What is it?” He turned and was also speechless. “Mai lo, you should see this...”
“What the...” She looked up and also stopped.
They were no longer alone.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ726OSIpxf5
Elijah had tried unsuccessfully to get the communicator to work, but some signal seemed to be interfering with the equipment. Whoever was there seemed to have some kind of elaborate control system, and although the place appeared deserted, the possible host had some kind of remote control over the various levels of the station. Was he protecting himself from something? Anything?
Whatever it was, it hadn't come to him in the form of something terrifying, and he had to walk bravely back in the hope of finding another exit besides the one that was blocked.
Returning to the original room where his capsules had been opened was not comforting, even less so seeing the skeletal corpse sitting in a corner. He concentrated on finding another way through the huge enclosure while looking for something he could use as a weapon or shield in an emergency.
It was with some relief that he saw a passage blocked with supply boxes, and he almost let out a cry of joy when he noticed that it was held open by a piece of machinery that kept it partially open. There was a chance. He hurried to move all those boxes aside and gasped with the effort. The oxygen seemed to be getting thinner now. That wasn't good.
A sound of something sliding behind him made him stop.
For a few seconds he felt his breath panting and then another, longer and stronger. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he held tight to a metal cover that had been on the floor until a moment ago. “If I'm going to die, I want to at least try my luck!” He turned around and stared for what seemed like a very long time.
There was something in front of him.
There was a being that was not human.
It took him a while to recognize it because it seemed to be leaning against one of the opposite walls of the room. It had arms, but also tentacles coming out of its back that helped it stand partially upright, even though it also had something resembling legs. It was humanoid and could probably stand upright, but at the moment it seemed as curious as Elijah was terrified. It moved slowly, sliding its tentacles along the wall until it was closer, just staring at him.
Elijah froze at that point. The creature had a bony face and small, but deeply shining black eyes. Its breathing was the only sound that made a duet with Elijah's.
It was a balancing act.
The next move could be aggressive and come from either of them.
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡilGaK2EgZW
6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡheDKy6is5q
and then Add to home screen.