Chapter 2:

_LOG2_

Synth;esthesia

_LOG2/Entry_1:_ 0551hrs

Moments pass and the man is overcome again by the hellish smell, inducing another share of raging coughs. The stench is wickedly worse than before where he can't even open his eyes. His ears are deafened by a thousand screams. With his memory of a few moments still intact, he brushes his finger to the back of his neck to engage the whirring that allows him to breathe easily.

With the overwhelming fits gone, the cries of pain rung its last ring in his ear and peace thrives again. Finally able to open his eyes, he basks in the artificial light coming through the mangled hole where a wall was; a brief moment of relief quickly turns to panic.

The sensation of innumerable phantoms crawling all over his skin results in an uncontrollable euphoria. He bolts up and tries running away from his own skin.

The crashing of his heavy steps reverberate from the broken room, distorting his vision, blurring everything like he's on a spinning top.

He lunges to the lit part of the corridor and the echo of his steps and panicked breathing horribly grains his vision to a blurry mess. The beam above him intensifies, flooding the corridor while the creepy crawlies on his skin start to get heavier and everything just seems to get horrifyingly slow. Then, a new sound explodes from the furthest end of the corridor behind him. The sound was spiteful and incomprehensible to him:

"FREUGHZTZTZ!!!"

_LOG2/Entry_2:_ ((05:53:52.010))

The sound corrodes the walls of the corridor like it's made of sand and the man's unwearying legs bolts in the direction that seem less hostile. He looks back and he tracks where the demonic growls came from and what he could identify was something that was damned, not belonging to this world.

Time felt as if it was crawling as he ran for his life with all his nerves shooting out of his skin. He closes his eyes to undo the image he just saw, instead a thought flashes that the most excruciating pain would pounce on his back and he'll never be able to open his eyes again.

The seconds felt like minutes to him. His auditory nerves are fried now, images are seared into his mind. The illuminating lights in front of him are still transmitting through his eyelids, it almost felt like a guiding beacon of hope. Then another growl bellows behind him, closer this time:

"ZZSTAGHPFF!!!"

Hope immediately diminishes into despair. Morbid visions flood his mind of the haunting apparition a few moments ago — it sprouts several limbs! Now it sounds like a stampede of hooves are gaining immense momentum behind him.

He estimates that each step he took was nothing compared to the rampaging distance the berserk beast behind him was covering. He covers his ears hoping for a swift end instead of the jarring anticipation of when it may come.

As his palms muffle the sound, he felt the army of malice behind him had given up pursuit.

"So, not to be", he thought.

_LOG2/Entry_3:_ ((05:54:00.220))

He opens his eyes and he could roughly make out the end of the corridor. He's still alive.

He isn't sure if not hearing the hounds of hell behind him or seeing what could be salvation that is making his steps lighter.

The final light panel at the end was slowly illuminating and he sees a strange criss-cross patterned obstruction blocking the entrance to a small brown room.

The lights above him are fully illuminated and time stood still again. Without realizing it, one of his arms moves from his ears to reach the patterned entrance of the small brown room. His fingers slides the barrier across to one side swiftly and it gives way enough for him to slide through the small opening.

As the thought runs across his failing spirit, a malevolent sound snuck through his open ear. The beat of a wing plagued him — his pursuer's final frenzied charge was silenced because it had gained the ability to fly!

Time was excruciatingly slow at this point. The man slides his body through the small opening inch by inch, he trips over himself; falling into the small room, he swings his other arm from his ear to shut the entrance behind him while the other hand reaches for a black mechanism along the wall and pushes it all the way to one side.

He crashes violently facing down and a cry echoes above him:

"NNGHAHH DGHANTHH"

The howl tore everything outside the small room to shreds. His sights are stuck with fear but his eyes can't help wander towards the winged terror.

A glimpse reveals mountainous wings expanding further than his eyes could see and an ominous presence gazed into the man's soul. The lights around him begin to dim as he blacks out, warped with exhaustion.

_LOG2/Entry_4:_ ((05:55:42.006))

The man gains consciousness. He immediately closes his eyes and reaches for the back of his neck.

His eyes open, facing the floor. The soft lights are absorbed by the plush floor calms him. The room feels like it's descending, moving mechanically slow. He can hear gears and the motors turning, pushing, pulling. He gets up to kneel to see the small room is so vast he can see the horizon.

He seals his ears with his palms and shuts his eyes tight.

He musters the word:

"To be"

Shaken with his ability to make sound, he opens his eyes and the room is back to its original size. The room's walls give the same effect as its floor, he scans up — sighs of relief. He turns to where he came in from and notices the concrete surface past the entry is going upwards… or he's going downwards.

The dull grey surface gives way to a slither of illuminating light passing through the cracks and before he could close his eyes. Its effects were immediate.

His whole body tingling again, he moves his hands from his ears to shut his eyes and turns away from the light to face the lush floor. The creepy sensation on his skin dies, he peeks over his hand and the room is massive again. He returns his hands to his ears and the room shrinks back to its normal size.

"Ears. Eyes."

"Hamlet. Blind. Okay."

"Claudius. Ears. Poison."

He slides his palms slowly down his ears, the room's floor forms waves until his fingertip brushes his earlobe and a soft blip in his ear echoes. The floor is solid again.

_LOG2/Entry_5:_ 0556hrs

As another layer of grey surface ascends, a different shade of light spills in the small room and along with it static in the man's ear.

An unfamiliar sound from an invisible source is whispering to him, startling him:

"Con—...ction estab..---ed?"

"To put an antic disposition on…(BEEP)..?", he asks

"We got te-(BEEP) nine seconds"

He replies, "huh?"

"Is that(BEEP) you?"

"Who?"

(BEEP) "clean slate,huh? (BEEP) Talk. car."

"What? (BEEP)" he asks again never changing his tone

"You'll know (BEEP BEEP)."