The moment the last person stumbled through, the wall behind them sealed shut. A deep clank that echoed through the metallic corridor. And then – silence.
The kind that made you realize how trapped you are.
Linus stood in the middle, next to the girl, sweating. The girl was looking around the hallway with observant eyes.
He turned, half expecting to see the red lights, the chaos,.
But there was nothing. The wall was seamless – smooth steel, spotless. Like the entrance had never existed. How is that possible? Linus thought
Someone ran up to it, pounding with both fists. "HEY! OPEN IT! OPEN THE DAMN THING!"
Another person joined in, hitting it with their shoe, screaming curses that didn't matter anymore.
"Are you two stupid, that room is an oven, why the hell would you want to go back?" a tied looking man said as he slumped on the wall.
The air here was colder, sharper. Every sound carried footsteps, whispers, even the hitch in someone's breath.
Lights ran along the ceiling, one after another, leading into darkness so deep the eye couldn't catch the end. The floor beneath them was smooth and silver grey, reflecting their pale faces.
Someone muttered," This place… feels wrong."
Another voice snapped, "shut up, man, just – just shut up."
A man's voice cuts through the panic. "Everyone stay calm!"
It was him – the tall military guy from before, his voice steady, commanding.
"Panicking isn't going to help anyone. We need to move smart, this place isn't random – its testing us. That means there's logic here."
Someone scoffed. "Logic? We were almost roasted alive back there, and you call that logic?"
"Still," the soldier said, eyes scanning the endless corridor, "if it wanted us dead, we'd already be dead."
"We stay calm. Assess and move with purpose."
Someone shot back, "'Move where, genius?! It's a damn hallway!"
He ignored it.
"We go slowly. Watch the floor, the walls - there could be traps. We don't know what we are dealing with."
His tone steadied a few people. Just enough for them to breathe.
Linus could see it too – the man wasn't just talking. He was scanning, analyzing, like a soldier
back on duty.
The girl beside Linus muttered, "At least someone's thinking straight."
The corridor stretched endlessly – metallic, gleaming, with strips of cold white light fading into darkness.
The air felt wrong, of course it was. TOO still, too quiet.
Then it happened.
A sound, faint at first – a single click.
Then another.
Then the low grind of metal shifting from somewhere behind them.
The soldiers head snapped around. "Hold position!" he ordered. "No sudden– "
CLANG!
Everyone jumped as a deep metallic crash echoed through the corridor.
Someone turned back and gasped. "Wait – where's the floor?"
The soldier frowned. "What do you mean where's the –"
Then they saw it.
The last row of metallic floor tiles at the far end… was gone.
Just – gone.
A black void gaped, stretching downward into nothing.
What the hell…" someone whispered.
Then another metallic groan rolled through the air, and the next row of metallic tiles slid backward into the walls, vanishing cleanly.
The soldier's face hardened. "Everyone – MOVE! NOW!"
It clicked for everyone at once. The tiles were retracting.
One row at a time, from the back.
Panic erupted.
People started shoving, tripping over each other, screams echoing down the endless hallway.
Some fell behind, scrambling to their feet – only for the floor beneath them to vanish.
They dropped into the darkness mid scream, voices cut off in an instant.
"KEEP MOVING!" the soldier shouted. "STAY CENTERED – DON'T PUSH!"
But it didn't matter.
Fear and adrenaline had taken over.
Linus ran, every muscle burning, he wasn't athletic, hell, he hasn't worked out a day in his life,
but it didn't matter now.
The girl from before was ahead of him – quick, focused, weaving between the panicked and frantic
people.
The air roared with the sound of steel and panicked breaths.
Linus glanced back once – and saw the soldier still near the rear, helping a woman who had stumbled.
"Go!" the soldier barked, shoving her forward. Then the tile beneath his boot shuddered.
He looked down, eyes wide.
CLANG!
And just like that, he was gone.
Linus didn't look back again.
He couldn't.
His heartbeat hammering in his ears.
And above it all, one thought burned in his mind:
Only those who adapt will survive.