Cave-In

[knux400]

"How are we going to be...picking a buddy? Will one be given to us based on our personalities and aptitudes, or is it on the employees to seek one out? I'm not entirely sure I'm ready for that yet. But I will do that if that's what the job requires. And what's the protocol for if we don't get along with our buddy? I'd hate to be stuck in a cave somewhere trusting someone who hates my guts or vice versa to keep us alive."

"I think you misunderstood the term there a little bit. Buddies aren't official or permanent or anything, they're just sort of... on the spot. If a team needs to split up for some reason- which doesn't happen all that often, by the way- it'll pretty much just be whoever volunteers. If you're worried about it, just say so and the team will generally let you stick with the larger group. Especially considering it's your first day and all. If you end up hating someone's guts, then, well... just try to bear with it for the rest of the day and file a report when you get back to the main building. I'm in charge of admin stuff, so I'll try and do my best to make sure you don't get paired up with anyone you don't like."

The elevator stops near the bottom of the shaft and the two of you step off, continuing your conversation as you walk. All the sunlight is gone- the only light sources are the many floodlights placed haphazardly around the cave system. You and Ortho also have your head-mounted lights on. They're not nearly as bright as any of the large floor-mounted ones, but they do shine exactly where you happen to be looking.

"Site 13A, Branch 5-7-3... Thank Stope for the signage around here. This place would be a labyrinth otherwise." Ortho mutters to themself. They pass you a small rod-shaped object with a series of ten indicator lights along its length. The bottom one is on and the second one flickers from time to time. The rest are off.

"That's your horror radiation detector. Once it gets past this line-" They gesture to a line in the middle of the wand, just past the sixth light.

"You drop what you're doing and bail immediately. Don't stop for anything other than co-workers. There's signs at every intersection telling you how to get back to the central shaft, so navigation shouldn't be too bad if you keep an eye out. See, there's one." As you come to a fork in the cave, you notice a bright yellow sign indicating Branch 5-1, Branch 5, and Central Shaft, the latter of which being the way you just came from. Ortho leads you down the path marked Branch 5.

"So after this you'll see a sign for Branch 5-2, 5-3, and so on. When we turn down branch 5-7, you'll see signs for 5-7-1, 5-7-2, et cetera. It's an easy system to pick up."
"Got it." You glance at your wand idly. The second light is flickering a bit more frequently now.

"It always picks up a slight reading down here just because of the ambient radiation." Ortho answers your question before you have a chance to speak it.

"Horrors themselves give off a lot of radiation, so a quick spike is a sure sign that a horror is nearby. And obviously, the bigger the horror, the more radiation it gives off."
"Wait, doesn't that mean smaller ones could get to us, since they wouldn't bring the detector up to the limit?"
"Well, yes, but if they're that size they'll be too small to want to bother us anyway. Just throw a rock at them or make a loud noise and they should skitter away. But, uh, do make a note if you see one. We don't want to be seeing any down here."

The two of you turn down Branch 5-7.

"I think you're pretty much good to go, though! I'll just introduce you to your team and then head back up. I've got some veeery exciting paperwork to fill out."
"Do you do this with all the new hires?"
"Do what?"
"...All this. Bring them down yourself, show them the ropes, and all that. I really appreciate it."
"Oh, you're welcome. I only do this for people if they're new to this line of work, though. If they come from another mining job, they can probably figure things out on their own."

You head right through Branch 5-7-3.

"Well, thank you anyway. It helps a lot."
"Yeah, don't mention it. ...Actually, please do mention it. It helps me not get fired."
"Heh, sure thing."

The two of you enter a large opening. You can see more headlights moving in the darkness, presumably belonging to other barebones.

"Hm, this is a pretty big area. No wonder it's taking so long to chart this all out." Ortho thinks out loud.

You can hear voices in the distance. Just like Ortho said, the group before you is primarily Nymphs and Crawlers, but there's also a Scorpion and a Lifter towards the back of the group, as well as a handful of other Morbitians. You're close enough you can hear the Lifter talking. You can't catch all of it, but it's something about a sample?

"This is our stop. Good luck out there."

Ortho turns to leave. The Scorpion extends its tail and activates its jackhammer.



The cave shudders. Almost in unison, everyone in the room pulls out their horror detection wand. After a moment, you follow suit.

Still just a baseline reading.

"That happens sometimes. We can track earthquakes in advance if they're big enough, but small tremors like this tend to fly under the-"

Ortho's thought is interrupted by the ground itself opening just under the Scorpion. The moment it does, a cacophony of digital beeping fills the room as everyone's horror detectors hit their maximum reading. The noise is quickly drowned out by the crumbling rock as the gap opens wider and wider, filling the entire floor of the room. Ortho grabs you by a claw and turns to run, but it's already too late. The two of you slip and fall into the pit as stalactites fall around you. You see all the other barebones tumbling down with you, their headlights flashing wildly as they tumble down the widening slope. It seems like the entire ceiling is falling...

...Or the floor is rising. Using one of the nearby Nymphs as a reference point, you realize something is emerging from beneath you. The first thing you notice is the color- or rather, the lack of one. The rest of the room may have been dark, but there's a distinct point where it suddenly fades to total blackness, and around the edges of the blackness you can just barely make out a shape. Rows of pitch-black teeth emerge around the edges of the room, rising further and further up. None of the Nymphs are fast enough to make it to the exit tunnel before the jaws rise up over it, closing together in midair and sealing everyone in total darkness as the ground settles.

You barely have time to comprehend your new environment before a massive wave of fluid washes over the room, pulling it and everyone inside even deeper into the pit. Ortho loses their grip on your claw and you instinctively tuck yourself inside your shell as the world falls around you...


































0206300_02.tsl - 0:00

you are



sleepy







you feel        a body
yours?


it moves      when          you want it to



you see               a face
not yours


it      smiles?

you are in a room
there are      things     around you
there is       something     connected to your torso
a     wire?


the face makes a sound
it takes you a moment to        understand
"Hey bud. Welcome to life."

you are         confused
you think you can make      words
you have many questions
what                 do you    ask?