As you scale up the side of the facility, the sun beating down on your back, you begin to regret accepting this job. It had taken you almost three hours to make it past the front gates and find a sutiable entrance.
The various weapons holstered to your thigh and slung around your back weigh you down. Your hands begin to burn through your gloves. Perhaps using a metal rope in the heat of day was not your best idea. Nevertheless, the thought of your future pay [[fills you with determination]] to continue.You slink through a hatch on the roof, landing heavily on the floor with a wince. Hopefully no one heard that. Thankfully, you had managed to sneak a keycard off someone from perimeter security, so no alarm goes off.
The hallway is barely lit, and the dark gray walls make the space feel otherworldly. You can't tell what material the wall is made from, but it looks sleek, slippery. From what you can see, there are no doors.
To the right, you can see an intersection in the distance. To the left there is a dead end with a flickering light.
First you'll need to find a map.
Which direction will you choose?
[[Go Left]]
[[Go Right]]
You turn on your heel and head left, keeping your steps as light as possible. When you reach the end of the hallway, all you can see is pannel after pannel of the wall. No windows or doors. Just a flickering light.
[[Go Right]] You head right, your weapons clanging against your side. It is weird how empty this place is. You expected more resistance. Instead, it is a ghost town.
At the intersection, you look down the two new hallways. Again, nothing. The artifical light and gray pannels seem to blend in, you cannot see an end to the hallway. For a moment, you falter. What if you get lost?
Your drawn out of your thoughts by a loud clanging noise.
[[Continue looking for a map.]]
[[Investigate the noise]]You shake your head and refocus. Where there is noise, there are people. You need to find a map if you want to get the job done and get paid.
But then, the clanging sound happens again. Louder. As if there is a rope tied around you, you are tugged in the direction of the noise. You try to fight against the force pulling you, but there is no use.
[[Investigate the noise]] Something calls you to investigate, a tugging in your chest. Your feet have a mind of their own as they carry you in autopilot down the hall that you orginially landed in.
After a few meters you notice the keypad and the vauge outline of the door, hidden in the cracks between the pannels. You trace the edge of it with your gloves, digging in to see if it budges.
It doesn't.
You pull out the keycard and swipe.
[[Open the door]]The door opens with a hiss. You ready yourself for a possible ambush, but no guards come at you.
At first you can't see anything at all, and then you look down.
There is a child on the ground. Your mind goes blank when your eyes meet, his dark and guarded. He is chained to the ground, wrists worn against the metal cuffs. There is a metal ball in the far corner of the room. You guess is that this is the source of the clanging, but you have no idea how he could have moved it.
"Hello," You say softly, glancing behind your back before slowly lowering to your knees. He says nothing, looking at you with the same mistrusting expression. You cautiously reach over for the ball and hold it up to him. "Is this yours?"
He nods slowly. And suddenly the ball is no longer in your hands, ripped from your palm by...something. You look around for a second before you see it, perfectly centered in the child's hand. A chill goes down your spine.
"How did you do that?" You say, fear and wonder edging into your tone.
//Mine.// The thought enters your head, foreign. You blink and gulp.
This is much more than you were prepared for. The plan was to grab the files and go. But this - this complicates things. You're not sure what the right thing to do is, but seeing this little kid chained to the floor in this cold dark room makes something heavy settle in your chest.
[[Take the Child]]
[[Leave the Child]]Double-click this passage to edit it.