"Here we go…"
A deep inhale filled my lungs with a weird-smell air. Dusty and dirty.
The storehouse was the last place anyone on earth would come to. Even the outside was far more suspicious than the actual stadium out there… too dark and the only lights on it were flickering as if they would go off at any moment.
"And I'm here, walking in with my own well."
The plan was simple: get inside, help the three out, give them the tickets, then just let things happen…
Easy right?
"Only if the entrance didn't need an ID."
The way this place was equipped as if it was something from the far future when it looked so old was the strangest thing ever.
It couldn't even be fooled by anything. If it needed an ID then I had to show an ID. Nothing really worked.
Shall I stole one?
I looked around then a different idea kicked in.
Why not use another door?
There's the one they used to get the 'dolls' in and out. And there's another one that they use to put the 'useless dolls' in.
The second has no security,
The first has someone to watch out every while.
"Why go through all of this?"
I really wanted to run away as fast as I could but the fact that there was no way out was depressing. I couldn't even have the guts to turn around since I knew that the stadium was a better place to be.
At least better than this one…
"No, nononono."
Doing it won't kill you.
I walked too slowly until I reached the nearest place to the doll's door, I just kept watching until I memorized the pattern, then when the right time came, I struck the anomaly there from behind with a metal pipe, dragged him aside, and took his jacket and ID.
Then, get rid of him as if he was a doll.
Walking in after that wasn't much of a problem, the problem was to find where to go in the place that looked like some kind of old factory with a crazy structure.
"Adeline, I'm in the storehouse."
"Already?" She acted as if the time shocked her when it was already half an hour. "Where are you?"
"I don't know. Too many doors." I opened the one beside me to figure out that it was a random instruments room. "Can't you do anything in order to tell me where you are?"
They must have Lots of items that could help somehow, right?
Why didn't I get things like that too?
Ah—
I rejected. My team was the calmest team ever.
"Do you see it?"
Suddenly Adeline's voice was there again.
"See what?"
"The footsteps."
"...?" No?
I looked around but there was nothing.
"Find them as fast as you can. It will disappear in ten minutes."
But—
How could I see footsteps in this dark?
I just wandered around like an idiot for a couple of minutes before something in neon red caught my eyes.
The staff room…
Maybe the one Adeline was talking about half an hour ago, and maybe it wasn't the case— and whatever, I just opened the door without much thinking before sliding inside.
Monitors, three walls full of monitors of all sizes. All of them to watch the storehouse…
"Is it important to this point?"
It was only a storehouse. Why all of this?
There must be something.
One of the little lessons I learned from Vessels was that nothing happened without a reason.
If it is suspicious, then it is suspicious for a good reason… even if I didn't understand it.
"Now, why all of this efforts for just a storehouse?"
I gave all the monitors a good look but all of them were showing various places here, each room got one camera and even in the dark it felt as if it was the middle of the day.
One room,
One camera…
That for some unknown reason made me feel a little uncomfortable.
Why there was no cameras outside?
"Lets find the rest first." I swiped all the unnecessary questions away then searched for the twins and Adeline… after what felt like ten minutes, I found them.
In such a miserable state…
Adeline was the only one fully awake, she was literally putting one, who was obviously taller and heavier than her, on her back… and the other was being dragged on the floor.
"...?"
The point is, she always seemed cool and gave a serious attitude but that was different thing than imagining her do this. What kind of daughter did her parents raise?
"Adeline." I spoke while watching her still struggling to drag the two with her. "Just stop where you are… I'll be there in minutes."
The second hall after the third door on the right corridor. That was there place. And to be specific, they were in a room that felt more like boxes room and old wooden stuff, the other monitor show some kind of working place too—
Wait.
"NO. NO. get out of there as fast as you could." I spoke, trying my best to talk cool as if it was nothing serious when my heart was thumping in my throat. "The door is ten steps to the right of you, only the handle is visible."
Two cameras,
One room.
That must be a red flag. Neon red flag.
"How could you say that for sure?"
"I'm in the staff room, I could see you." I opend the computer that was there as fast as I could. "I'll delete the files as you get out, make sure to get out fast and quiet."
I knew that it was a crazy task to give for her but we were out of options.
That was a wooden room with wooden stuff on it…
And what was the thing that the magician was selling in the Festival? Wooden stuff!
There must be something about all of this even if I didn't know what it was.
Deleting the files from the computer was fast and easy. That made me feel good until I realized that it was connected to a network and there's a copy there too.
Network…
A violent shudder wracked my whole body while my eyes were scanning the monitor.
It was the same network as the Old Company—
And although I hacked it, it was so obvious that if I used Tristan's user then it would work too.
The only difference was that this is not a decades ago, the date was identical to the real date.
So the company didn't really collapse?
Is there any information about Tristan's files?
I deleted the records of the storehouse in hurry before using the seconds I had to see if there's anything about Tristan's files.
And it was there,
As a multi-dangerous topic, defended by multiple walls.
"Take a copy first, read later."
I took the copy to my tablet then used the last seconds to make a copy of someone else's file, the one who called 'Silas' and look like the one I know.
Then I shutdown the computer before anyone could reach it.
"This is being more and more complicated…"
And I needed a rest, a very long unending rest.
"Nathan? Where are you?"
"Oh, yes, I'll catch up in a minute."
I hurried out as fast as I could, and fortunately they were exactly where I thought they would be.
Their actual state was much miserable than what I thought. Wonds everywhere, blood and weird scent.
"What happened?"
"Lots of fights." Adeline answered, some relief touched her voice. "there's crazy anomalies here."
"... okay, let me help with these too first."
"..."
"What's up with this look?"
I made sure to take of my mask before seeing them so it wasn't my clothes or anything.
"You don't seemed like someone who can carry someone else"
"...? Excuse me? Who is talking?"
I was literally taller than the twins by three inches at least, and I may seem like a lazy man but I was always a hard worker.
This was the most underrated insult I've reseved in the last year!
"I don't think rich men like to carry others around."
"Ha!?"
This joke has got too far. Too freaking far.
"Why do you talking as if you aren't a rich daughter?" I took Drew from the ground and put him on one shoulder, then it was Dean's turn. "tide them up with something."
"Why carrying both of them?"
"Just do it."
"Fine." She did it quite quickly.
"Now run."
"What?!"
"The next shift in three minutes, just run."
I didn't wait for her and just ran my way to the only place I thought that could help. It helped that I memorized the way but the fact that it was too far was a problem.
"Where?" Adeline was hardly keeping up. "This way won't end!"
"Yes it won't." The flickering lights turned red and maybe an alert that I hadn't hear start working. "We don't have to find the end."
Another half minute of running passed before I stopped without a warning. Adeline got a good hit with the twins on my back and without waiting for her to understand anything I pulled her before throwing her, with myself, into a push door that was totally invisible on the floor.
And there we went,
To the dead-dolls room.
Which was the last place anyone on earth would love to visit, but unfortunately our escaping road.