[A few minutes ago...]
Making his way through the halls, Aran takes a turn towards the location of one of the kids being kept in the facility. On the Northwest side.
Unfortunately, he came face to face with the hunchback monster that has been terrorizing the underground floor and the guards that are on it.
Knowing that he was no match for it, Aran watched it from behind the corner as it chased two guards who were running away.
It was a good opportunity to move while it was distracted. But the fleeing guards decided to hide inside the room of one of the children Aran was planning on rescuing.
No! Not there, you idiots!
Aran yelled in his mind.
Not thinking because of their panic, the guards inadvertently led the monster towards the location of the child, endangering not only their lives but the kid's life too.
Those doors won't keep it out for long...
As the mutated monster was about to destroy the door and kill everyone inside the room, Aran jumped out from the corner and screamed as loudly as he could, taking the monster's attention away from the door.
"AAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!"
His scream echoed through the halls, being followed by another distorted scream from the monster.
It was time to use it again. His greatest weapon...
RUNNING AWAY!!!
________________________________________
[ARAN]
It was a split moment decision, but I'm still disappointed at the fact that there was no other way out of that situation.
Why did those guards have to hide themselves right in front of that monster's line of sight...?!
I complained inside my head.
Whatever the case, it already happened. I needed to think about finding a way out of this mess. I can hide again until things calm down, but it might go back to that same place where the kid is at.
I can't risk it...
I need it to be distracted to buy myself enough time to get the kids and go.
I bite my thumb to make a plan.
After a few moments of thinking, I thought of an answer, but I didn't like it one bit...
I needed to sacrifice something important to pull it off.
"This is going to hurt..." I said.
Reaching the next turn, I disappeared from the monster's line of sight for a few seconds and hid inside a room.
It was the same thing I did earlier with Elio, but there's one problem. There wasn't anything outside that could distract it.
Trying to stay silent, I felt it moving close.
And I mean REALLY CLOSE. I could hear its breath from just behind the door.
I closed my eyes tightly and prepared myself for the worst, until...
[OH BABY, BABY, COULD YOU GIVE YOUR HEART TO ME?~]
A loud song started to play from around the corner of the hallway, getting the monster's attention and making it run towards the direction of the sound.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, I opened the door and ran through the halls towards the location of one of the children.
Goodbye, my beloved phone...
That's right, the song that played out earlier came from my smart phone.
When I took the turn and disappeared from the monster's sight, I set a thirty second alarm and threw it across the hallway and hid.
The alarm sound was a song from an idol that I admired.
It was a shame though... I've had that phone since middle school.
I've had a nice three years with it, but now it's probably being smashed into a million pieces...
I'm guessing that the monster isn't particularly fond of Idol songs.
Well, I got my accounts backed up in my computer at home, but it was still sad to say goodbye to the phone.
At least I still had the keychain with me...
Arriving at the front of the door, I saw that it was shut tightly.
It would've been cool if Elio was here to kick it down like earlier, but alas, It's just lil ol' me...
Not wasting any time, I take out the card key I had and unlock the door, making it slide open.
Preparing myself, I pointed the gun I stole earlier in front of me.
From behind the doors, what greeted me was two unarmed guards, raising their hands in the air to not show any aggression.
Behind those two guards was another child inside a cage. It was a boy with brownish hair, about the same age as Mr. Isaac's daughter.
Looking at the two unarmed guards, I spoke to them with a clear voice.
"I don't want to shoot you. That thing is distracted right now, so it's best to start running. But I'm not letting you take a step outside until you do what I tell you to do. Release the kid and you're free to go. Capisce?"
Nodding their heads, they nervously went up to the cage and unlocked it. Stepping inside, I move towards a corner and give space for the two guards to run outside.
Walking towards the opened cage, I reached my hand towards the boy and spoke.
"It's going to be okay. I'm not going to hurt you. This place isn't safe, so follow me."
With hesitation, he slowly reached out to my hand before I gently helped him outside the cage.
"What's your name?"
"Um..."
His voice was shaking as he spoke. He was stuttering.
"F-franz..."
I nodded in response.
"Nice to meet you, Franz! Stay close, okay? I promise, I won't let anything happen to you."
"O-okay..."
Holding his hand, I led him through the halls, towards east of the room we were just in.
I knew that we needed to move quickly before that monster got back.
Despite just being out of the cage, I had no choice but to pull on Franz's hand and pick up our pace.
"Sorry for pulling on you, but we gotta be quick."
I apologized to the boy.
After a while of speed-walking, we reached the other room. Just like earlier, I used the card key to open the doors and saw a little girl inside another cage.
She had brownish hair and eyes and looked familiar.
Huh, she kind of looks like Franz-
"Lily!"
Franz called out to the little girl, making me jump a bit from surprise.
Hearing Franz's call, the little girl's eyes widened and called back to him.
"Big brother!"
"...Eh?"
Franz pulled his hand away from mine and ran towards the girl called Lily who was inside the cage.
With tears in her eyes, Lily held Franz's hand.
"I was so scared!"
Lily said, snot drooping out of her nose as she cried.
"I know, me too!"
Walking closer to the touching reunion, I asked a question.
"Do you two know each other, Franz?"
"Yes."
Franz said before he pointed at Lily.
"She's my little sister."
Ohhhh, now it all makes sense...
Nodding, I responded.
"Is that so? Don't worry, Lily. You'll be as free as a bird soon! I just gotta look for something..."
Standing up, I searched every nook and cranny of the room that we were in, but still couldn't find the thing I was looking for—A key for the lock...
I should've asked those guards earlier to give me the key... That was an oversight on my part...
Maybe I could use something else... Hm... Aha!
Looking at Lily I noticed something that could help in this situation.
Walking towards the cage, I kneeled down and reached my hand out.
"Lily, could you let me borrow your hairpin for a bit? I don't have a key, so I'll try to pick the lock with it."
Still feeling anxious, Lily quietly nodded and gave me her hairpin.
"Thanks!"
A series of small clicking sounds could be heard inside that small room. I felt around the lock, poking around with the pin until I felt a final click, making the cage open up.
"That was... Surprisingly easy."
I said to myself.
I expected this facility to at least be able to afford better locks, but I'm guessing most of their budget was spent on other equipment.
Well I say, they shouldn't have invested money on anything in the first place... What a shady company...
Anyways, we really should get going.
Not planning on wasting anymore time, I stood up and held Franz's hand.
"Alright. Lily, hold your brother's hand tightly, okay? Let's try to be as quiet as possible when walking out."
Nodding her head, Lily agreed.
________________________________________
"Big brother, who is this guy?"
Lily asked Franz as she hid behind him. Hugging his arm like a baby Koala.
They must be really close if she finds so much comfort from him. Well, they are siblings after all.
"I don't know. But he's helping us out of here."
Franz told his little sister in response.
Taking a quick glance at me, Lily uttered something that shook me to my core. Something... Painful, to say the least.
"He looks weird..."
"Yeah..."
Franz nodded in agreement and without any hesitation.
"Ugh!"
It felt like I just got punched in the gut with their words as I clutched my stomach.
Kids are so brutally honest these days... I can hear you, y'know!!!
Trying to ignore what they said, I shook my head and returned my focus back to the original plan.
Instead of going back to the way I came in, I decided that we should move further into the west side of the facility. There was likely another exit there.
How do I know? It's because the guards I saw earlier ran in the same direction.
To be honest, it's a little risky and a gamble. But it's a way better path than to go back to those dangerous and bloody halls. Especially since these kids are my responsibility now.
Looking down, I saw that the two children were still anxious and very much afraid.
I couldn't blame them. Following a stranger through an unfamiliar place must suck a lot.
Best to pass the time with a little small talk... But what exactly are kids into nowadays?
I thought about it for a while, until like a light bulb turning on inside my head, I thought of a conversation starter.
"Do you two know anything about plastic model kits?"
Surprised from my sudden question, Franz and Lily tilted their heads in confusion.
Being the one slightly less timid of the two, Franz was the first one to talk.
"Um... Yeah, I think a classmate of mine likes collecting those. They're like tiny robot toys, right?"
"Yep! So you do know them! Do you like collecting them too?"
Shaking his head, Franz replied.
"No, not really. How about you, Lily?"
He asked his little sister.
"Me neither... I like collecting dolls, though..."
"Is that so? Well, let me tell you all about the greatness of these model kits! We'll start at the very first volume of the story..."
From there, I went on a 5 minute rant about the series where the model kits are from. Starting at the very beginning, I explained the history, characters, details, and lore of the series towards two little kids who had absolutely no idea what I was talking about.
It was a strange thing to talk about, however, I needed to preach the gospel of model kits and enlighten them with lifelong lessons that they will treasure when they—
"Aren't you a little too old for things like that?"
Like a second punch to the gut, Franz landed a critical hit of emotional damage on me...
"Honestly, you're like a manbaby or something. Right, Lily?"
Nodding her head, Lily landed even more critical hits on me to land the finishing blow.
"Mhm! Manbaby! Manbaby!"
"Arrrghh!!!"
Please, just stop...
I can't believe I'm getting bullied by a bunch of kids...
I sighed to myself with slight tears in my eyes.
But at least it raised their spirits up a bit, albeit me having to sacrifice my dignity in the process...
I breathed another as we slowly made progress towards the exit.
"I guess you're right..."
I told them.
Interrupting the small moment of peace that we had, a sudden rumbling sound could be heard echoing through the halls as the three of us reached an intersection that split into four pathways.
Looking up, I saw what was making the rumbling noise.
They were metal walls slowly sliding down to block our way in every direction.
Reacting to this, I immediately told Franz and Lily to run and follow me, but we were too late. The hallway was blocked by a metal wall.
If I was on my own, I would've made it just in time, but I couldn't leave these two kids alone.
Elio and Mr. Isaac wouldn't have had much of a problem with this either... They could just break through these things with their perks.
Anyways, panicking here won't help. I need to stay calm, conserve my energy and—
*THUD*
The sound of shattering floor tiles suddenly snapped me out of my thoughts as I looked back behind me.
My eyes were wide open as the creeping feeling of fear overtakes my chest and every strand of hair on my body stood up
We weren't the only ones stuck here.
"No no no.... Not now..."
'It' was here.
Once again, I came face to face with that monster. And this time, there was no escape...
________________________________________
Back inside the room full of monitors, as a desperate final attempt to stop Aran's escape, an executive activated the lockdown system of the facility, closing every path to prevent any form of exit.
The executive who activated it looked at the monitor that showed Aran, along with the scared children hiding behind him as he faced off against the thing known as 'project Igor'
"It's the end of the line for you, boy."
________________________________________
From several meters away, I could see the approaching figure of that monster slowly get closer and closer to our location.
The shaking floors and its roars made the air around us tense.
I'm scared. I remember clearly how easily my skull was shattered and how it felt.
But as scared as I was, I wasn't the only one.
In my hand, I felt Franz trembling as he and his sister desperately went to hide behind me for protection.
Looking at me, Franz desperately searched for guidance or any form of comfort.
"Big bro... What should we do?"
Steeling my resolve, I closed my eyes to take a deep breath before smiling at Franz.
Thankfully, there were some rooms up ahead they could hide in. I'll try to buy as much time as possible.
"It's going to be alright! Big bro will handle this. When I let go of you, hide as best as you can! I promise I'll find you later!"
As that thing got closer, I finally loosened my grip on Franz's hand before the two children bolted away and hid inside one of the rooms.
Taking a deep breath, I aimed the gun and fired at the monster as it quickly approached.
It was my first time firing a real gun. I was barely able to aim because of the recoil. Even so, the bullets proved to be effective in slightly slowing down that thing's advance.
The moment it was close to me, I rolled away and tried to get some distance between us.
I just need to buy some time. Elio should be getting back with the people from the Bureau by now.
But it'll take an even longer time for them to find me here...
No! We can't lose faith right now! I need to focus!
Shaking my head of any unnecessary thoughts, I pointed the gun back at it again to shoot, only to discover I've run out of ammo.
"Shit!"
As I tried to back away, the hunchback monster quickly closed the distance with a leap, crushing me under its weight.
________________________________________
CONDITION MET.
RETURNING TO PREVIOUS POINT.
________________________________________
Gasping for air, I was back again in a familiar situation.
That monster was charging at us.
Franz and Lily were trembling out of fear as they tried to hide behind me.
I died...
I thought to myself before Franz pulled on my hand and spoke to me in a fearful tone.
"Big bro... What should we do?"
My memories of the past loop overlapped with my current reality as my head started to have an aching pain swelling inside of it.
Breathing to calm myself down, I told him the exact set of words I told him before.
To run and hide.
Bringing my attention back to the monster, I shot at it. But this time, in short individual bursts of fire.
I needed to save as many bullets as I could. Each and every one inside the magazine might just change the outcome or buy us more time until help arrives.
The moment the monster reached me, I rolled away from its swing just like earlier.
Knowing what would happen next, I timed it's jump and dodged it.
While it was still recovering, I opened fire once again at its skull, shooting the last of my remaining bullets.
It flinched and roared, showing signs of pain and discomfort. But as good of a sign as that was, it didn't prove to be effective in permanently taking it down.
I can only dodge, but because of the limited space, there's not a lot of options to do so.
Standing back up, the monster charges at me before I sidestepped away.
Because of its large size and weight, it couldn't quickly change directions, giving me an opening to either run away or strike.
Maybe I was desperate, but despite running being the better option, I went up to it and tried to bash the back of the monster's skull. My full weight, being behind the strike as I jumped along with it.
A loud cracking sound echoed through the halls.
I had a little hope, but as expected, it wasn't effective at all.
It's alright, I can just step back and—
Before I could react, the monster's spine suddenly turned 180 degrees and hit my torso with its arm, crushing my ribs and burying my entire body into the wall
________________________________________
CONDITION MET.
RETURNING TO PREVIOUS POINT.
________________________________________
Everything played out the exact same way as before. But this time, I chose to build more distance between myself and the monster.
I was now aware of the fact it can turn its body to attack at any angle. Whether it be behind, above, or below.
Armed with this knowledge, I tried to keep my distance and run. Ducking and weaving whenever there was a close call.
But no matter what I do, I still died
________________________________________
In the next loop, a crushed skull
After that, mangled limbs.
.... A destroyed spine.
....My torso, being pulled apart.
Being treated as a ragdoll.
Being slammed and buried deep into the floor or walls.
Becoming nothing a puddle of blood.
Getting my throat sliced by the broken tiles that the monster threw...
All of these things happened to me. Only for me to go back to the start and do it all over again.
I remember every single loop clearly. How I felt. And how horrible everything was.
Only to buy an extra second of time.
Getting cornered into a wall behind me, I saw a fist 5 to 6 times the size of my head get closer.
"Damn it..."
I said, before my skull got flattened into the wall.
________________________________________
CONDITION MET.
RETURNING TO PREVIOUS POINT.
________________________________________
.....
Aran stands in the same spot. With the same flickering lights. Same red glow. Same monster. Same footsteps.
And the same scared children hiding behind him.
He has no idea how many times he's died now. He stopped counting around 272 loops.
Although he doesn't appear to even have the slightest bit of injuries on his body, his mind was already broken and he felt numb to everything around him.
He already created a mental map inside his mind of every action he should take to avoid death for as long as possible.
As he looked at the approaching mass of mutated muscle, one thought kept going through his mind as he watched events play out again.
How much longer are they going to take...?
Aran had lost his sense of time. Hundreds of lives and loops overlapping made him unable to rationally calculate how long he's been going at it.
From his perspective, days, maybe even a week has passed.
But for the others in the loop, Aran has only been able to survive in that fight for 12 minutes, trying to delay his death for even a few seconds longer in each loop.
It was understandable that his brain was no longer able to get a good grasp on reality.
But....
Despite everything, there was still one thing keeping him sane.
A purpose. A sense of responsibility.
He felt a small hand pull on his own. Looking down, two small children were trembling with tears in their eyes.
"Big bro... What should we do?"
The little boy asked him.
Aran's dead eyes shine with a small glimmer of hope again. Just like in all of the previous loops. Aran remembered his reason for fighting.
That's right...
He still had something to do. Each and every second isn't pointless.
He's the man with the plan. And each and every one of his deaths were vital in getting him this far.
Giving the boy a gentle smile, Aran spoke the same words that he has been repeating over and over again.
"It's going to be alright... Big bro will handle this. When I let go of you, hide as best as you can! I promise I'll find you later!"
Another roar echoed through the halls as Aran prepares to take another stand.
In the back of his mind, he felt that this loop was different.
He has already seen everything that the monster could do.
I'll keep fighting...
Just another minute.
30 seconds...
10 seconds...
Just a bit more...
Help will come...
He aimed the gun at the monster that was running. Each and every one of the bullets hit its head perfectly.
Through every loop, Aran's accuracy gradually improved. Right now, he was fighting with the accumulated memories of not only his deaths, but the fighting experience he built up.
It was now time for the monster's first attack.
Aran knew he needed to roll to get out of the way.
Countering, Aran fired another wave of bullets at the monster and quickly reacted to its leap, jumping out of the way, just in time.
Even in this intense situation, Aran's expression stayed composed.
Or perhaps, he is focusing all of his mental energy in recalling the attacks.
He isn't reacting with his instincts. He is going through the fight as if it was a sequence of steps to be followed.
While the monster was trying to stand back up, Aran immediately bolted to the corner of the hallway and took a turn.
Getting as far as he possibly can, Aran crouched down and waited patiently for the monster to take the turn.
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
With those last three shots, Aran stood up and threw the gun at the monster.
Reacting quickly, it slapped away the gun only to discover that Aran had already used his ropes to slide through the halls by wrapping them around doorknobs.
Throwing the gun was nothing but a quick distraction for him to escape.
Seeing this, the monster gives chase as Aran takes another turn.
If I stayed there, my skull would've been crushed...
Grabbing a nearby fire extinguisher, Aran emptied it out to fill the entire hallway with a white mist, obscuring the vision of the monster.
The monster swung its arms in every direction only to hit nothing.
That was until it heard a clanging sound behind it and slammed its fists down, crushing what was beneath them.
But that sound did not come from Aran. It was a discarded fire extinguisher.
Just then, from behind the mist, a hand suddenly appeared in front of the monster's face and stabbed its bulging eye with a broken piece of floor tile.
It let out a pained screech as the hand disappeared again into the mist.
Without the mist from the fire extinguisher, that thing would've broken every limb I have.
As the mist subsided, the monster with its remaining eye looked at Aran with rage.
It wasn't just hunting Aran anymore.
No, this fight has become personal.
Charging at Aran, it jumped and slammed its fist into the ground again, only for it to hit nothing but the air and the floor.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Aran sidestepped towards the right, into the monster's blindspot.
To the side where he stabbed its eye.
If that thing was able to see clearly, it would've eventually hit me and broken my spine...
Not being able to see its target, the monster turned around, only to see nothing. Until...
*!!!!*
"RAAAAAHGGG!!!"
Its other eye was stabbed by another broken piece of tile, making it completely blind and only fueling its rage even more.
Roaring towards the ceiling in pain as it's eyes poured out a large amount of blood.
Aran had seen through all of his moves.
With its lack of vision, Aran called out to the monster to get its attention and dodged its incoming punch.
After hundreds of loops, hundreds of failures, hundreds of deaths, Aran was finally able to
control the tides of the battle.
He successfully weakened the monster as best as he could.
The only thing left for him to do is to dodge.
Keep moving. Don't ever let up for a single second.
He told himself.
Several close calls happened. Dodging and running away, Aran avoided every single fatal blow.
One hit slightly grazed Aran's face and made his cheek bleed before his irisis narrowed as he gritted his teeth.
Only one thought ran through his mind at that moment.
A thought that yearned for survival.
No, not yearned. Declared.
I won't die. I won't die. I won't die.
I won't die. I won't die. I won't die.
I won't die. I won't die. I won't die.
I won't die. I won't die. I won't die.
I won't die. I won't die. I won't die.
I won't die. I won't die. I won't die.
I won't die. I won't die. I won't die.
I won't die. I won't die. I won't die.
"I WON'T DIE!!!!!"
Aran yelled out from the top of his lungs, dodging every single incoming attack as the monster swing it's fist in every direction.
Aran's adrenaline, spiking to keep himself alive.
Until finally a bright flash of light shined.
The deafening sound of thunder echoed through the halls, destroying the metal wall behind Aran and knocking away the monster by several feet.
Not understanding what just happened, Aran only knew there was someone behind him.
Reacting quickly, he punched the person that was behind him, only for his fist to be caught by an open hand.
"Aran! We finally found you!"
It was Elio. And behind him were people from the Bureau of Security.
For the first time in a seemingly long time, Aran's battle ready mentality calmed down as he let out a sigh of relief before losing consciousness.
Aran subconsciously knew that everything was okay now.
He can leave the rest to them.
________________________________________