Part 005 – Cryoverse

My eyes nearly pop out of my skull, and my knees rattle in terror as I stare into the darkness behind me. The monster is in the distance, and it’s coming this way. I’m going to die. I can hear the bells tolling in the back of my mind.

This is no time to rest, you lazy sack of shit, get your ass up and MOVE, my conscience and inner ego scream at me. My body creaks but I somehow manage to leap to my feet thanks to a surge of adrenaline.

I don’t have the strength to run, but if that thing is coming as slowly as it sounds like it is, a power-walk will hopefully keep me ahead of it.

Ahead of it? The realization that a monster is coming to eat me makes me quicken my pace. What is going on? What kind of purgatory am I in? Did I die? Am I in Hell? Yeah Lucifer, you’re hilarious, you goddamn piece of garbage! Just throw everything you’ve got at me all at once!

I do my best to walk-jog and stay ahead of the plodding footsteps behind me, but I pause for a moment and listen intently. Something is off about their tempo.

Thud… 1, 2, Thud… 1, 2, Thud.

The monster is quickening its pace. It’s speeding up, and I’m still thoroughly exhausted. At this rate, I’m going to die from my heart imploding before the damn thing can catch me. What if the statue monster is toying with me? Maybe it’s like a bird teaching its babies to feed.

Hold on… babies? Haha, that’s- NO! What about the hole in the ceiling? That can’t be- nope, I must purge the thought.

Just as I turn around and start jogging, a new sight greets my eyes. The opposite wall. I’ve finally reached it.

A colossal double-door looms before me, stretching all the way up to the ceiling. I can’t see the top of it with my flashlight, but one thing is for sure: it’s much too big for me to open. I’m trapped.

Wait, no! On both sides of it, to the left and right, much smaller doors sit. Each one is about the same size as the stone slabs from before, and once again those goddamn markings are spread across each one.

On the left door:

餌食

And on the right:

安全性

If only I had learned Japanese! I never thought it was going to be useful in my life, so I squandered my studies.

The footsteps that once sounded distant are growing steadily closer. Not much longer and that fucking dinosaur reject is going to emerge from the darkness and tear me to ribbons. Which way do I go?!

My gut tells me ‘left is right,’ so without any reason whatsoever, I charge into it, shoving with all my might until it groans open. Quickly, I slam the door behind me and lean against it, breathing like my lungs are on fire. Before me is a narrow hallway that curves slightly to the side. Wherever this leads, I have to follow it.

I’m not going back out there.

As I rush down the hallway, one thought enters my mind. Life has a way of ruining my plans.