Chapter 10 Keep Your Hands Where I Can See Them

Ben-san leaned toward the speaker. "Jeff, listen to me. You need to stay where you are. Keep the door locked. Don't let anyone in."

"Don't let anyone in, right?"

"That's right."

"Don't let anyone in, he says. Like I'm some goddamn child! Like I woke up this morning and forgot how doors work."

"That's not what I meant—"

"I know what you meant, Ben. I know exactly what you meant. You meant 'sit tight, little buddy, the adults are coming.' You meant 'don't you worry your pretty little head, we'll handle everything.' You meant—"

"Jeff, I'm just trying to—"

"You're trying to what? Be helpful? You? The guy who sits in a chair all day staring at screens? The guy who couldn't find his own ass with both hands and a map?"

"Come on Jeff, that's not fair. Don't take it out on me."

"Fair? Fair? You want to talk about fair, Ben? I've been in this building for so many years I forgot how long I was in this shit hole. I've cleaned up messes you wouldn't believe. I've crawled through vents. I've waded through sewage. I've fixed things that weren't designed to be fixed. And you! You pasty-faced desk jockey, you want to tell me how to lock a door?"

Leo put a hand on Ben-san's shoulder. "Jeff, ease up. We get it. We all upset."

"Upset? Ease up? Motherfucker I'm past upset. I'll ease up when I'm dead. Which might be soon, considering I'm trapped in a maintenance room with something outside my door and a radio that only works when it feels like it."

Ben-san's voice was quieter now. "The radio isn't my fault."

"Nothing's ever your fault, is it? The cameras go down? Not Ben's fault. The comms die? Not Ben's fault. People start eating walls and turning into rabbits? Must be Tuesday. Must be someone else's problem."

"Jeff—"

"No. No. Let him answer. Let him tell me what he's been doing all morning while the world went to hell. Go ahead, Ben. Enlighten us."

Ben-san was silent for a long moment.

"I've been watching the monitors."

"Watching the monitors? Bullshit, boy! You weren't watching the monitors. You were watching Chen's fitness porn again."

Maka snorted. Sarah clapped a hand over her mouth. Even Aris's lips twitched.

Ben-san's face went red. "That's not—I don't—"

"Don't even try to lie to me, Ben. I know you. I've seen you. Every time Chen posts one of those videos, you disappear for twenty minutes. Twenty minutes, Ben. What the hell are you doing in there?"

"I'm working."

"You're working? In the shitter? With the door locked? While she's on screen doing those bends?"

"Jeff, come on. Not the time—"

"You're beating your wanker, Ben. You're working your ding dong, dingiling dong! Admit it. You're in the bathroom, watching Chen stretch in them little spandex pants, and you're pounding your pud like it's your job!"

Leo buried his face in his hand. Chen stared at Ben-san with eyes squinted. He looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

"I am not—Jeff, I swear to God—"

"Swear all you want. Just keep watching those monitors. And keep your hands where I can see them."

The intercom clicked off.

Ben-san put his head in his hands. "I hate him. I hate him so much."

Chen crossed her arms. "Ahem. For the record, I don't make porn. I make fitness content."

"Pfff, that's what he said," Maka cackled.

Leo sighed. "Oh, for the love of... can we please focus?"

But he was smiling. Just a little.

For one brief moment, in the middle of the nightmare, they were still people, still joking.

-----------------

Leo was at the door, his hand on the deadbolt, ready to leave.

Then the lights flickered.

Everyone looked up.

The fluorescent bulbs overhead buzzed. Louder than usual, a strained, dying sound. The monitors flickered. Static crawled across the screens. The emergency strips along the baseboards pulsed once, twice, then steadied.

"That's not good," Chen said.

The lights flickered again.

Longer this time. A full second of darkness. Then they came back. Dimmer. Weaker.

"Power surge?" Ben-san asked, "I'm not showing any—"

The lights went out. Completely. Pitch black.

Someone screamed. Sarah. Or maybe Maka. Aris wasn't sure.

Then the emergency lights kicked in.

The strips along the baseboards glowed to life, bright amber, casting long shadows up the walls, making everyone look like strangers. The monitors flickered back on, but the images were grainy, unstable, the colors washed out.

"Ben-san! What the hell just happened?"

 "This is bad, Leo! Main power grid is down. Completely offline. We're running on emergency backups."

"Shit! Can you bring it back online?"

"Not from here. Something tripped the main junction. A surge. A short. I don't—"

He stopped. His eyes were locked on the monitors showing the power room.

"Ben-san? What is it?"

He pointed at the screen.

The feed from the level 8. The power junction room.

The image was grainy, emergency lighting barely illuminating the space. But they could see enough.

A body was slumped against the main power junction.

A scientist. Someone in a white lab coat. His arms were wrapped around the massive conduit, his fingers curled into the exposed wires. His body was blackened. Burned. Smoke rose from his shoulders in thin, curling wisps.

And the junction where he touched, the main power hub for the entire facility, was sparking. 

"Oh God," Sarah whispered. "Is that... who is that?"

"Doesn't matter," Leo said, "He's gone. And he took the power with him. We can't help him."

Maka crossed herself. "Requiescat in pace."

The lights flickered again, the emergency strips this time, struggling to hold. Shadows danced on the walls. The monitors buzzed.

Then the intercom crackled.

A voice. Not Jeff's. Someone else. A woman.

"...please... someone... anyone... they're in the walls... I can hear them scratching... please..."

Leo grabbed the microphone. "This is Security. Who is this? Where are you?"

Static.

The voice came again. Weaker.

"...the rabbits... so many rabbits... they're everywhere..."

"Ma'am, I need you to tell me your location."

"...the cafeteria... I'm in the cafeteria... under the table... but they see me... they see me..."

The line went dead.

Leo tried to raise her again. Nothing.

Another voice crackled through. A man this time. Screaming.

"THEY'RE IN MY SKIN! GET THEM OUT! GET THEM OUT!"

Then a wet, choking sound. Then silence.

Then another voice. Calmer. Defeated.

"...it's beautiful... the rabbit... it's so beautiful... I just want to be happy... happy like him..."

Leo slammed the microphone down.

"We can't help them. Not from here. Not like this."

He turned to face the room.

"Chen. We're going."

Chen nodded. Her empty pistol was already in her hand.

Leo grabbed Aris by the shoulders. 

"Stay here. Lock the door. Don't open it for anyone except us. You hear me? Anyone."

"Leo—"

"Promise me."

"I promise."

He released her. Turned to the door. Pulled the deadbolt.

The hallway beyond was dark. Emergency strips were barely holding. Shadows moved in the distance. Or maybe they didn't. It was hard to tell.

Leo stepped out. Chen followed.

Then Leo stopped. He pressed the button on his radio.

"Jeff? You there?"

A crackle. Then Jeff's voice. Gruff. Annoyed. "I'm here. What the hell was that? The lights went out. I'm sitting in the dark like a goddamn mushroom."

"Main power grid is down. We're coming to get you."

"You better be. I've got something scratching at my door. Something little... but many. Little feet. Little goddamn feet."

"Hold on, buddy. We're coming. We're not leaving you for the monsters."

A pause.

Then Jeff's voice, quieter than they'd ever heard it.

"Thanks. Leo. And hurry. Please."

The radio went silent. The door closed behind them. Aris threw the deadbolt.

Sarah was crying softly. Maka was sitting on the edge of the desk, her hands folded in her lap, her face pale. Ben-san was staring at the screens, his eyes darting from feed to feed, watching the nightmare.

Aris stood by the door.

Her hand was on the deadbolt.

"Don't open it for anyone except us."

She repeated the words in her head like a prayer.

Outside, something screamed.

Not a person. Not anymore.

Something else.

-----------------

The corridor was a nightmare.

Emergency strips flickered along the baseboards, casting long shadows that seemed to move on their own. Air was thick. Too warm, too still, smelling of blood, maybe. Or fear.

Leo and Chen moved fast. Every shadow made them flinch. Every sound made them reach for weapons.

The storage room door came into view.

It was scratched.

Deep gouges ran down the metal surface. Four parallel lines, like something had dragged its claws across the steel. The handle was dented. The frame was splintered.

But the door was still locked.

Leo let out a breath of relief.

He banged on the door. Three heavy pounds.

"Jeff! You okay in there?! It's Leo! We come to get you! Open up! Jeff!"

The door ripped open.

Jeff's face appeared in the gap; red, sweaty, furious. His eyes were wild. His grey beard was matted with something dark. His hand shot out, grabbed Leo by the collar of his uniform, and yanked.

"Get in! Get in, you dumb ass!"

Leo stumbled through the door. Chen followed. Jeff slammed the door behind them and threw the deadbolt.

Then he turned on Leo.

"You dumb ass!" Jeff shouted, jabbing a finger into Leo's chest. "You bang on the door? You shout? What part of stealth don't you understand? You want to bring every fucking monster in this building down on us?"

Leo held up his hands. "I was trying to—"

"You were trying to what? Get us killed? Congratulations! Great job! Ten out of ten! Bravo!"

"Okay, I'm sorry. My bad."

Jeff's chest was heaving. His face was the color of a ripe tomato. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. His eyes were bloodshot. His hands were shaking.

But he was alive. And he was pissed.

Jeff's gaze shifted to Chen.

She was standing by the door, her back against the wall, her eyes scanning the room for threats. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly from the run. Full, deep breaths that made the front of her uniform strain.

Jeff stared.

His anger didn't disappear. It just... redirected.

"And you," he said to Leo, pointing at Chen. "You just had to bring her with you. What? Ben was too busy in the shitter watching her videos? Couldn't tear himself away from the fitness porn?"

Leo opened his mouth—

A scratch. From outside.

Everyone froze.

The scratching came again. Slow. Fingernails, or something like them, dragging down the metal door.

Then a squeal. High-pitched. Almost like a laugh.

Then another scratch. Faster this time.

Then more. Many more.

Multiple sets of claws. Multiple voices. Squealing. Chittering. Pressing against the door.

Jeff's face went pale.

"Well, fuck. Look what you did. Little freaks are back. And now we're all trapped in here. Great job, Leo. Great. Job. So, what's the brilliant plan now, genius?"

Leo looked at the door. It was holding.

"We hold the line. And we wait for an opening?"