Black Light

Trekking through the hallway the sound of our shoes seemed far too loud as we continued through the hall, up a set of stairs, and towards where I could remember off the top of my head the meeting room once was.

          "And this should be..." Pushing the double doors open a cloud of dust hits me in the face. "What the--" Coughing roughly I duck my face into my sleeve. Nico removes a bandana from his jacket and ties it around his face.

          "Here." Handing me a deep blue one, I take it and wrap it around my face.

          "Thanks."

          Stepping into the room the dust lay heavy on every inch of the place.

          "Something is definitely not right... Elliot said he hasn't gotten a hold of them in the last 24-hours, right?"

          "Yeah... somethings up." I respond as we exit the meeting room and continue to walk the facility.

          Diggin through my pockets, I pull out my flashlight as scan over the next room. The stench of decay wafted into our faces as soon as it came into proximity. Holding my hand out, I step into the room first flashing the light around the room until landing on a dark lump on the floor.

          "Dammit..."

          "What is it?" Nico questioned stepping into the room.

          "Looks like our US buddies have been having a bit of fun with the Crawlers..." I respond. Reaching forward I grip the lumps side and pull it.

          "Earl?!"

          "It's fine, The Pit has already eaten me before I probably tasted like complete crap." I retort looking at what was once a human, hair, and human-like eyes stare back at us.

          "How?" Nico holds a hand to the bandana taking a step back.

          "Doctor Yulmire..." I mumble fingers gracing the half-buried name tag. "What in the hell." Getting up, Nico hands me an old leather-bound tomb. "Thanks, but no... I don't need it."

          Nodding Nico leaves the room, his footsteps fading as my eyes close. After a second and the tapping of sneakers was no longer heard, I lifted my hand.

          "Infernia..." As quick as the word dropped from my lips the body below ignited into a mass of flames and smoke. Coughing, I stepped out of the room.

          "Why?"

          A voice low, musical against the walls rising and falling as it danced against my ear drums.

          "Who are you? What happened here?"

          "They... they did this to us."

          "Who?" I question cautiously following the voice into a set of double doors, a handprint lay against the dust covered brass.

          "They."

          Running my flashlight across the room the reflective glass makes me squint. 'What in the hell...' running through my mind as I draw closer. Stopping when my eyes landed on Nico his fists clenched and his shoulders shaking.

          "Nico?"

          "Were burning this place to the ground." He stated his eyes burning with rage as I flash the light into the glass room, almost immediately regretting it. Wheeling back my heart pivots. Within the room bodies upon bodies, nothing but a mass of what was once possible scientists, team members, people wanting nothing more than to go home.

          "Agreed..." I breath rushing to following behind him. "What in the hell where these idiots doing with The Pit..."

          "I think I know." Nico responds by patting his satchel. "But let's get this back home, I have to figure out how to explain what we found."

          "You got to tell me something Nico."

          "Please Earl... let me think." Nico breathes out his voice low as we make our way back the way we came. As we walked a sickening silence draped over us.

          Reaching the foyer, the dense silence had become too much. Stopping at the top of the stairs Nico kept walking until he was more than halfway down, stopping only when he realized I wasn't moving.

          "Earl? Come on let's get out of here."

          "What was that thing Nico? It looked like The Pit... a smaller version of it but the pit none the less."

          "I think our US Division finally took it too far into going into that void of a monster. Those things were once human as you saw. They were learning to mold the pits power with human kind of like how you and the Deathless are together and I and--"

          A loud scrapping noise breaks his words making us both freeze for a second.

          "Shit. Go. Go!" I usher him towards the way we came the loud scrapping driving closer. Turning my head back a mass of black bulbous bodies leak like a waterfall over the stairs rushing towards us with what I could only assume to be hunger as any wanting horror.

          Running down the thinning hall the walls seem to sink in as the masses body crawls the walls. The door before us flying open and a gut retching screech rips through the air. Searing pain flares into my side as my body hits the ground, I can hear Nico yell as the world begins to sink.

          "Infernia..."

          Warmth rushes through my body before the blinding light of my bedroom hits my eyes.