Level 1008 – The Boiler Room

Hana gets back in the elevator.This time, there are fewer voices, the walls just dark—no memories, no images.
It moves down slowly. Very slowly.
The red screen shows the numbers:995… 996… 997…Hana clasps her fingers together.The floor of the elevator is slightly warm.
The door opens.
The air is hot. Steam coils around like fog.The clanking of pipes and the bubbling of the boiler echo all around.A rusty shovel leans against the door. On it, a label reads:"Shovel No. 67 – Only for Good Coal!"
Hana picks it up.Coal is piled against the wall, black and glistening.
She starts slowly, shoveling it into the large tank in the center of the hall.Each time, the flames flare up, as if they’re breathing.
A small broom wiggles out from behind a pipe, spins and shivers, then, with a steamy voice, says:– “You’re new… came alone?”
Hana only nods.
The broom goes on:– “I’m always here. They told me: clean, don’t talk.But well… tonight I’m bored.”
It starts cleaning the floor, still murmuring:
– “The witch sleeps every night…All the spirits come into the city.But I can’t die. I’m wired to the pipes.”
Hana shovels more coal. She’s sweating, but no longer complaining.
The broom whispers conspiratorially:– “Come back next night, when the clock strikes twelve…I’ll open you a secret path.You can go.Go into the forest. Go find the old man.”
Hana smiles softly.In the heat of the boiler room, for the first time, she feels… not alone.