We turn down another corridor and I pause, trying to remember which way to go to get to the elevators. I focus on bringing up the map I have in my head from when I was here last, and I’m concentrating so hard I don’t see what I’m walking into until my foot catches on something and I land with my nose just inches from something that smells incredibly disgusting. Evie tugs on me to help me up, asking if I’m okay. I quickly shove to my feet, thinking the worst of what I almost landed in. A body. Part of a body? Something worse? I don’t want to look at whatever it is but I know I don’t have a choice.
I expect to see blood and body parts, like last time. But what I see when I shine the light down totally confuses me. It’s definitely a puddle of something, but it’s a greenish color instead of red.
“What’s wrong?” Evie asks.
“I almost fell in something weird.” I squat down to examine it and she does the same, placing a hand on my thigh when she teeters a bit. She reaches out, but I grab her wrist. “Don’t,” I say. “Who knows what this stuff is.”
Asher peers over her shoulder. “Yeah, it could be acid or something. We wouldn’t want you to lose a finger.”
She yanks her hand away and I peer at him over my shoulder. “Really, Asher? Really? Do you just say every little thing that pops into your head?”
“Not everything.”
Even though I can’t really see him in the dark, the smirk in his voice is obvious and it sets my teeth on edge.
“Well, the next time you want to open your mouth, use that tiny thing in your head that passes for a brain, will ya?”
“I think you’re confusing my brain with your—”
“Enough!” Evie says, and the heat of her gaze burns my face. “Can you two just pretend to get along until we get back to the Surface? Please.”
We both mumble “Sorry,” but I’m sure we both know she’s asking for too much.
“What do you think this is?” I can feel her watching me again, so I’m pretty sure she’s talking to me.
“I don’t know. I don’t want to touch it.”
“Does it really matter, guys? I mean, it’s green goo. So what? Let’s just keep going so we can get somewhere there’s light,” Asher says.
“What’s the matter? Afraid of the dark?” I say, smiling.
“Gavin,” Evie warns. “Asher’s right. Let’s keep moving.” She places her hand on my thigh again to push herself up.
I stand and hop over the puddle, before turning to shine the light on it so Evie can see her way around. As soon as she’s over, I turn around and start walking away, keeping her hand in mine.
“Hey!” Asher says. “What about me? I don’t want to step in that stuff.”
I pretend not to hear him and keep going. A few seconds later I smile when I hear, “Ugh! Gross!” Music to my ears.
But then, Asher says, “Uh. Guys? I’m stuck.”
I laugh as I turn back around to see him pulling on the leg that’s supposedly stuck in the puddle. “Seriously, Asher? Now’s not the time to pull that shit. Stop kidding around.”
He looks up at me and I don’t see the glint of amusement in his eyes, I see anxiousness. “I’m not joking. It’s really stuck.”
“Really?” I stare closer at his arms pulling on his legs. He’s definitely straining to yank his foot out.
Releasing Evie, I bend down and start tugging too, but it’s really stuck. No matter how hard I pull, it doesn’t even budge. Then I realize something that sends chills down my spine. The muck is actually creeping up his shoe.
“Take your shoe off. Take it off now,” I shout, yanking at his laces now instead of his leg.
He starts pulling at them, too, and for a minute we’re battling each other for the laces until we finally get them loose enough for him to wrench his foot from the shoe. The three of us share a glance, but can only stare in horror as his entire shoe is consumed.
“What. The. Hell?” Asher says, still staring at the spot his shoe was.
“I have no flippin’ clue,” I say, more shaken than I want to admit.
“Those were my favorite shoes.” Asher rips off the other shoe and throws it at the crap. It floats on the surface for a minute before it too sinks. “Damn it.”
Evie grabs my hand and tugs on it. “We should get away from here.” Her voice is soft, but I can hear the nerves underneath and her hand is sweating. She’s never shown her nerves this much. She really must be scared. If she can keep going, as scared as she is, so can I.
I nod and start forward again.
We continue walking, every so often running into more puddles. We’re careful to avoid them, each of us working with the others to make sure everyone makes it over them, especially the larger ones. And especially Asher. It’s bad enough he has to walk around barefoot; we don’t need him to lose them, too. The puddles are strange, though. It’s too dark, even with the flashlight, to see them completely, but I’ve never seen liquid pool in the shapes that these are collecting in. There’s no sign of a source, so we ignore them as much as possible and keep going.
It’s entirely too quiet again, the only sounds the scrape of our shoes against the concrete, that odd groaning sound, and Asher’s occasional mutterings about me purposely getting us lost. And while it’s definitely not purposeful, I have to admit we probably are. Lost, that is. I’d only traveled this way once, and we’d gotten a little distracted running for our lives from the insane cannibals. It’s a wee bit hard to remember where to turn.
Eventually, with more luck than anything else, when we turn yet another corner—I’m sure we didn’t turn this much last time—I see a tiny bit of light peeking around a corner.
I rush forward, reaching behind me to grab Evie’s hand and tug so she’ll follow me. As unrealistic as I know this is, my mind begs for the light because light equals safety. Her feet drag a little until she sees why I’m rushing. She speeds up a bit and I don’t feel so much like I’m dragging her behind me.
“Hey! Wait up!” Asher calls from behind us, but we ignore him. I stop only when I get into the light. The hallway looks just like I remember it. Long, and empty. Concrete walls with the occasional door. Every so often down the hall there are more piles of gunk, and their shapes are starting to click in my head. They almost look like bodies, or parts of bodies, but I’m almost positive my memories of this damned place are making me imagine it, like when you see shapes in the clouds. This makes me especially grateful for the light.
I follow down the corridors with the lights working until finally I see a set of elevator banks. I rush to the button and press it, then press it again a few seconds later. Then again. Over and over again, until Evie places her hand on mine, stopping me.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
Inside the shafts the car clangs and bangs as it gets pulled up. My mind flashes on those monsters from the last time. I shudder as I remember how the whole hallway had been filled with blood. Sprays of it on the walls, dripping from the ceiling. And a carpet of bodies strewn across the floor. It dawns on me that I should be more careful. Just because, so far, we haven’t seen hide nor hair of them, doesn’t mean they aren’t waiting. An elevator would be just the place to hide.
I usher Evie and Asher back to wait behind a corner, where I watch for the elevator to arrive while they both stare at me like I’ve lost my mind. Maybe I have. I’ve never been more terrified in my life.
Asher shoves past me. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
I grab him and yank him back. “Stay still,” I hiss. “Those things could be in there.”
Evie and Asher exchange a look and he wrinkles his nose. “You’ve lost it, dude. We haven’t seen anyone in the entire time we’ve been here. There’s no one here.”