Perceptional - Pt 8: In a strange place
#8 of Perceptional
This one took a while. I could say it was because of college, but that would be a cheap cop-out. I got distracted by schedually unimportant stuff, like food, hobbies. Maybe video-games. But anyways here it is.
I said I would put in someone new, so here's Robert. He got into something he might not have wanted in the end, but what's done is done. In this case at least. I originally 'planned' to make the place more crowded, but sparse spaghetti-buildings will do for now.
Anyways (it seems that's the word I most use, but anyways), all of the usual blah-blahhery. Tell me if something pops out as incredibly, moderately, or somewhat literarily unsightly. I want to know where I'm making things suck.
In a spatially and chronologically unspecified setting
A faint reddish light filtered through a dark tinted window onto the bare floor. It barely bounced enough to illuminate its surroundings, keeping somewhat visible only a small rectangular area, the rest requiring adjusted eyes and various amounts of squinting. The interior of the room was bare, having just a couple of gray boxes of various sizes. Near one of the corners rested a large bundle, its appearance hidden by the lack of light. Around the bundle was another one, smaller, with a shape comparable to that of a shoulder bag. There were only two doors, each on a wall adjacent to each other. Both doors were barricaded with some large boxes, identical in appearance to the rest in the room. Among the eerie silence of the space, only the faint breathing of an enshrouded sleeping form could be heard. The larger bundle shifted.
A head popped out.
Robert had spent the past seven hours barricaded in what was an office building. Probably. The raccoon unzipped the sleeping bag he slept in, careful not to make much noise. After removing himself from the bag, he rolled it up and placed it atop his backpack. Yawning widely, he looped around it two pieces of rope with clasps which were attached to his pack. He tested the firmness of the bag. Satisfied, he sat back down, still a bit groggy from sleep.
This won't do.
He opened his backpack and shuffled its contents until he found a small pill bottle. He wasn't sure what they were, just that they kept him awake. They said 'take one'. He took two. If any health-related consequences follow, he'll just deal with it. His legs were still a bit sore, and that was something he would have to keep an eye on. Not currently in any hurry, he decided to sit on a box near the window and peer outside.
Just like last time he did so, the scenery was somewhat surreal. Looking straight across, he saw another building a couple dozen meters away. The other one was gray, just like the one he was in. The scarce amount of windows on the wall were darkened, and they seemed just as excessively thick as the one he was looking out of. At first glance, the building seemed fairly normal, if a bit bare. However, as Robert looked further and further away from the lonely window, he could notice that the wall was not flat. It curved outwards in one direction, inwards in another, and remained flat in others. The further down he saw, the more it smoothed out. After a certain point, it seemed the wall would remain completely flat. Then, it bent away from him. It had such a sharp angle, Robert wondered how the building could remain standing. He wondered that about every building he found in this place. He could see that, after a distance more than should be structurally sound, the building curved back, as he could see more of it past the rim of the top part, though not much. The angle was too steep for the raccoon to peer over without opening the window. Hah. Opening the window. How funny. He learned that a long time ago. The window was just a hole in the wall filled in with glass, like every single window he has come across. He looked back up and sideways this time. He could barely see past the side edge of the neighboring building, and behind it he could see a couple of smaller buildings, not reaching three stories. Much, much further back he could see a somewhat squiggly line, sometimes making sharp angles, sometimes looping back down and up again. Considering the things Robert's seen here, that would probably be a skyscraper. A very messed up skyscraper. Speaking of skyscrapers, the building he was in, and the next one could probably fit that name. He didn't need to see the ground to know how tall the building was, or at least how high he had reached. The answer to that was 'very high'. Fortunately he was almost to the top, so he would soon have a very... advantageous vantage point. For what, he still wasn't sure. Needle in a haystack situation? Most definitely. All he knew was that he had to find a black door.
At first he thought they were crazy. He had seen some footage they'd taken from this place, and to send people out here, and all they could say about their goal was "find the black door". It was suicide. Plain and simple. And yet, he said yes. Whatever drove him mad enough to accept this was beyond him. He just knew that he said yes, and now he would have to deal with the consequences.
Whatever. At least the rest of the doors were gray. Like every damn thing in this wasteland.
Feeling alert enough, he slung his pack over his shoulders and started removing the boxes from one of the doors. He barely gave each one a glance. They were boxes, all gray, yet they could not be opened. They were light enough to be lifted as if they were made of wood, yet he could barely leave a mark on them with a crowbar. Last of all, they were everywhere. Wherever you would expect a piece of furniture, these boxes took their place. It wasn't a surprise that Robert was sick of them. All of the boxes out of the way, he pressed an ear against the door. He didn't expect there to be anything up here, but it didn't hurt to be careful.
'It didn't hurt to be careful.' Pffft ha. If you weren't careful every waking moment, you would probably die. Actually no. Scratch that. Drop the 'probably'. You will die. That's what happened to most of them. He didn't come here alone, oh no. He came with a team. For some reason, they were all sent in at once. They quickly learned that the best way to ensure the most people survive, they had to split up. If one person made a mistake, that was it for them. Including anybody nearby. Unfortunately, there were no exceptions so far.
Robert was suddenly grateful for being careful in this specific instance. From the other side of the door, he heard shuffling. It was a wet, slimy sound, like someone walking on paint-rollers. The sound got louder and louder.
Robert's heart was beating a thousand times faster than ever. He could swear it was about to burst through his chest. Not even daring to wipe the sweat from his forehead, he stood stock-still against the door. The sound got louder. Louder. Louder. This could be it. This could be his one mistake.
Then it faded to the left.
Then it was gone.
He was safe. For now.
Slowly inching the door open, he stared forwards. As long as he didn't see the thing, he would be fine at this distance. He was also suddenly grateful for having chosen a room close to the staircase to sleep. He was also grateful for the fact that the staircase was to the right of the door. Turning right, he flicked his flashlight on and headed towards the stairs, careful not to step on the twin dashed black trails that lined the hallway floor.
He really hoped he would see something from up there.