Step.
The footsteps crept closer.
Every hair on my body stood on end as I jerked my head back, only to be t with darkness.
Step. Step.
They were getting closer.
Too close for my own comfort.
My heart pounded like it was trying to escape my chest, each beat louder than the last, drowning out everything else.
As my breathing grew louder... it happened.
Flick!
The lights turned on again.
A long corridor stretched before , with nothing in sight.
Just the silent hum of the lights above.
I swallowed my saliva.
'There's no one...'
Regardless of where I looked, I saw no one in sight. The steps were also gone.
"Was I just imagining things...?"
I thought for a mont before shaking my head. There was no way this was the case. This was certainly part of the scenario.
In fact, just because I couldn't see them didn't an that they weren't present.
'They could very well be still heading my way.'
The mont the thought crossed my mind, I imdiately hurried my steps, moving forward. The goal of the scenario was simple. Find the exit. That was all the Section Chief said before letting us in.
"Find the exit..."
I looked around. The corridor stretched on, just like before—a long white hallway with two corners at each end. Nothing had changed. And sohow, that made it feel even more wrong.
Rushing my pace, I reached the end of the corridor, and yet...
"...The sa."
The sa long hallway greeted my sight.
No, wait!
I looked up and suddenly saw a black object hanging above the ceiling, staring directly at .
'A cara...?'
Before I could fully process the situation, the lights above flicked.
Flick!
The darkness took over once more.
My hearing heightened, and my breathing grew more laboured.
'It's just a straight line. I need to—'
Step.
"....!?"
The step returned.
This ti, closer than before.
My entire body turned rigid as my stomach churned.
I didn't think twice.
"Fucking...!"
I moved once again, my pace picking up as I tried not to run too fast, afraid of hitting the turn in the distance.
Step, step!
Moving forward, I could tell that the distance between and the steps was increasing. I was slowly starting to get away from it.
'This is crazy!'
Was this the level of sothing that was supposed to be manageable?
I clenched my teeth and increased my pace further.
The steps behind him were starting to lag more and more, and then—
Flick!
The lights returned, and everything turned quiet.
"Eh...?"
Looking back, my steps stopped as I realized there was nothing behind .
"What? I could've sworn that..."
I took a deep breath and quickly pieced all the information together in my mind.
'Ten-second intervals. The lights switch on and off. Every ti the light switches off, the steps return. When the light turns off, they disappear.'
As I started to sort through the information I had, I moved forward, slowly inching towards the corner before .
I was just a few steps away.
'...If I'm right, this is a cycle. Every ti the lights go out, the footsteps return—and each ti, they get faster.'
My stomach flipped at the thought.
I wasn't very fit to begin with. I was already a little tired from just walking faster.
If the steps grew faster every ten seconds, then...
'I need to quickly find the exit before it's too late.'
But how?
How exactly was I going to do that?
Eventually, I reached the corner and I turned.
".....!"
It was just as I turned that my steps froze.
As I stared down the long corridor, my eyes quickly landed on a door tucked into the right wall. When did that...!? At the sa mont, I caught sight of a cara mounted farther down, its lens pointed directly toward .
I felt watched under the eye of the cara as the lights above flicked.
Flick!
Yet again, it turned dark.
Step, step, step!
"...!?"
My entire body tensed.
The steps... They were faster again!
Before I knew it, they were almost upon .
Every hair on my body rose.
'Shit!'
I didn't hesitate to pick up my pace, my heart beating out of my chest as my stomach clamped up and I felt bile build up in my throat.
'...Ah, fuck, I'm about to puke.'
I was now almost jogging.
Speed walking to so extent, as I moved my hand in front of . Just in case I crashed into the distant wall.
Step, step!
The air felt colder, and the sound seed to amplify in my mind.
I moved, and moved, and moved.
'How much longer?'
The ten seconds seed to stretch endlessly as anxiety started to build up from within .
I could feel the stamina slowly start to drain from .
It wasn't anything bad, just yet.
However, I knew I didn't have much ti left.
I needed to persist.
Persist until the lights turn back on.
And then...
Flick!
They did.
"Haa..."
I let out a sharp breath, swallowing my saliva as I looked around . The sa corridor. The s—No, it wasn't the sa.
"....."
I fixed my attention on the door that stood in the middle of the corridor.
Without thinking twice, I moved towards it and reached for the tal doorknob.
Click, click!
But the mont I turned the knob, it refused to open.
'It doesn't work.'
I tried a few more tis before giving up.
The door was locked.
I covered my mouth before looking towards the nearby corner. I didn't know how much ti was left, but after a brief thought, I rushed forward.
'I just need to confirm sothing.'
As I reached the corner and turned, my eyes landed on the corridor ahead, and widened instantly.
"As I thought..."
The sa hall. The sa cara lens. And the sa door... or more precisely, the sa two doors.
Indeed, right on the opposite end of the first door, there was now another door.
'As expected. Changes don't just occur when it turns dark. Each ti the light turns on and I turn a corner, a new change occurs in the corridor. New things get added...'
My heart sped up then.
I felt like I was starting to slowly understand the rules of the scenario.
Soon enough... I could think of a way to find the exit.
I just needed to—
Flick!
Takakaka!
"....!?"
The steps were no longer steps.
They were sharper and faster than before.
My heart almost leaped out of my chest as I imdiately rushed forward.
I could feel my breathing growing faster as I ran, but I didn't pay any attention to it.
'One... two... three...'
I just slowly counted the ti in my head.
'Ten!'
Flick!
The lights returned, and I held onto my chest.
I didn't waste a second and moved forward, towards the next corner, and turned it.
And as expected...
'Another change.'
Waiting for at the corner were three doors.
But there was only one problem.
Click. Click. Click.
They were all locked.
I pursed my lips and swallowed quietly.
'If I just resist a little longer, the locks of so of the doors will unlock. At least after I reach a certain number of cycles. I just need to hold on for a little longer.'
All I needed to do was hold on.
But there was only one problem with that.
Clutching my shirt, I tried to collect my breath.
"Haa... Haaa..."
I didn't think I'd be able to hold on for much longer.
I was running out of stamina.
I was...
Flick—!
Darkness.
User Comments
0 comments from readers