Cave-In

[knux400]

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You can take a break from reflecting on your own life for now. There's two other people here, you may as well get to know them a bit better despite your predicament.

"So... What do you guys do for fun? What's your life like... outside this?"

Exclusit is the first to respond, although judging by their tone, they don't exactly seem interested in this line of discussion.

"I dunno. I just hang out, watch TV, maybe chill with some friends. Life's fine."

Matri's answer, however, is a bit more lengthy.

"Oh! I'm actually really interested in horrors. The way they work and the mythology surrounding them is super interesting to me, so I like to research them and document my findings in my spare time. I've got a whole library dedicated to this stuff, actually! I should show you when we're out of here."
"Oh, so you know a lot about them?" You ask.
"Yup! I'm not, like, an actual horror-ologist or anything like that, but I do enjoy learning about them! I actually wanted to get a job researching horrors, but... There aren't any jobs like that around here. The nearest facility I could find was too far away- I'd either have to deal with a 2-hour commute or move somewhere closer. And, uh, real estate isn't exactly cheap." They look a bit sad.
"So I figured I'd work down here for a while, build up some funding, and then move to the city! I figured mining would be a good fit for me since, y'know, I don't need to do the whole 'breathing' thing, and it's... sort of adjacent to horrors! Well, this job in particular was much more adjacent than I thought it would be."
"Wait, so you knew they had us going below regulation depth?" Exclusit turns their head briefly.
"I didn't know about that when I first applied, and when I found out, I honestly didn't mind too much. I figured we'd be safe enough with the horror detectors, and the thought of being this close to a real horror cavern was super exciting to me! I've actually seen a few little horrors myself- nothing too dangerous, of course! They're kind of cute when they're small. There was this one that was kind of like a bug- it had four eyes, four legs, and it was all fuzzy! The way it skittered around was super cute. It even had tiny mandibles. It was about this big." Matri holds up their hands, indicating a size and shape somewhere around that of a small loaf of bread.
"Greeeeat. You're lucky that thing didn't bite your face off." Exclusit remarks sarcastically.
"Well, obviously I observed proper safety protocol! I kept my distance, I didn't startle it, and I reported it to the admin building as soon as my shift was over."
"So you're not... worried? At all?" You ask.
"I mean... it's not that I'm not worried. It's just... This is the closest I've ever been to a real live horror, and it's such an interesting one, too! Did you know that there's only been 3 sightings of a horror anywhere near this big, and they were all eyewitness accounts with no documentation whatsoever? We could be inside the biggest discovery ever, both literally and figuratively! If we can document this somehow and get our findings to a good lab, we could be set for life!"
"If we make it out of here alive." Exclusit chimes in.
"Okay, yeah, obviously, but... I mean, this is just about the coolest thing that's ever happened to me. I can't stay worried when I think about that."

Exclusit just makes a noise somewhere between an exasperated sigh and a dry chuckle and turns away.