“We’re about to get started. Everyone, move back!” An agent shouted, waving his hand and pushing several people back.
At the same time, a female agent moved towards a man dressed in orange. He had a short frame with thinning hair, while his body was strapped with all sorts of weird devices and cameras.
“Are you ready?”
She asked, her voice soft.
“The moment you feel anything, report the situation to us. Tug the rope or press the emergency button. We’ll quickly pull you out.”
“…Yes.”
The inmate nervously stared at the crack on the floor of the house.
He was one of the scouts provided by the Bureau to investigate the sudden emergence of the crack.
The Bureau had tried investigating the crack with cameras and mini drones, but as if the corpses had a mind of their own, they moved and quickly snatched the devices before breaking them.
The only thing that they didn’t reject was living beings. They came to this conclusion after testing the situation with several animals.
Being able to bring them all back, they decided to send a human this time.
“We’ve equipped you with cameras and tracking devices. We’ll be able to know your location at all times. When you manage to come back, your sentence will be reduced by several years.”
“I…. Understand.”
The inmate slowly nodded his head before turning his attention towards the corpses. They were all piled up together, their numbers reaching over a hundred.
His entire body shivered at the sight.
However, thinking about his reduced sentence… He mustered up the courage and moved towards the crack.
Eventually, under the agent’s eyes, the inmate stepped forward and jumped into the crack.
“Hau—!”
Immediately after entering the crack, he was met with several dozen mummified corpses crowded the narrow space, their withered limbs twisted unnaturally, and their skin clinging to bone like dried parchment. They surrounded him from all sides, pressing against every part of his body.
Feeling their touch, the inmate shuddered. This sense only heightened when he saw the corpses staring at him with blank expressions.
But as if that wasn’t bad enough…
“…..!”
The corpses moved, their thin and sickly hands reaching out for him as they pulled him down.
“Wait, wait, wait!!!”
The inmate immediately started to shout, tugging the rope connected to him. The previous courage he had built up vanished without a single trace as panic took over his mind.
“Wait! I’ve changed my mind! Help!”
He also pressed the emergency button, asking for the Bureau to lift him up.
But…
Nothing.
Lifting his head up, all he saw were the cold and indifferent stares of the agents as they stared at him from above.
“Help! Hel… p.”
…Ah.
The inmate realized it then.
Those from the Bureau… they never planned on rescuing him in the first place. At least, not now.
Eventually…
Under the cold stares of the agents, his body was swallowed up.
*
By the time the inmate regained consciousness, he found himself inside the same room as before.
“Huh?”
However, something about the room felt different. Not only that… but everyone appeared to be missing. The wallpaper of the room was peeling, while the bed was wrinkled, with a brownish stain on the bedsheets, as the window creaked eerily.
“Hello?”
The inmate’s voice echoed loudly in the room as he called out.
A still silence followed after his words.
‘It’s cold…’
It was also in that moment that the inmate felt a cool sensation wash over him as he started to shiver all over.
“Hello?”
He once again spoke, the echo of his voice louder than before.
“Anybody here?”
The echo was all he heard.
Looking around, he stood up, his steps adding to the creaking around the place as he covered his arms with his hands.
‘It’s really cold…’
The inmate looked around, his gaze eventually settling on the door. A pitch black darkness appeared behind the door. One that felt as though the abyss itself was greeting him. He swallowed nervously.
“I…Is nobody really here?”
The floor creaked once more as he stepped forward, moving towards the door. It was dark, but he quickly retrieved the flashlight in his hand and flashed ahead.
Yet again…
The area behind the door appeared dark.
The inmate held his breath, staring towards the darkness with unease. He looked around again, hoping he’d receive some sort of answer. However, yet again, he was met with silence. The agents… They were really gone.
Taking a deep breath, the inmate’s eyes flickered as he looked around the room before grasping one of the lamps on the drawers by the bed.
Clenching it tightly and feeling the rough metal texture of its body, he slowly moved towards the door, his steps slow and steady as the window creaked at the rhythm of his steps.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
The tension in the room was dense, clinging to the inmate’s body like some sort of clothing.
His breathing grew shallow as he approached the door, pupils dilating, every muscle in his body tensing. He held his breath without thinking, as if even the sound of air might provoke whatever waited on the other side.
Because even though he couldn’t see it…
He could feel it.
Something, or someone, was waiting for him on the other side of the door.
The long and sickly shadow that clung to the floor was all the proof that he needed.
“Who are you…? Why are you standing by the door?”
The inmate’s voice was dry, and his face was pale. Clinging onto the lamp, he raised it slightly.
“I’ll kill you if you don’t step out. I have done it before… Many times in fact. Do you think I’m scared of you?”
Yet again, no response.
The inmate’s eyes flickered then.
“Fine.”
Gripping the lamp tightly, he shoved the half-open door wide with a burst of adrenaline-fueled strength, and without hesitation, he brought the lamp crashing down with all the force he could muster, the metal frame splitting the air.
“Haaa!”
***
“Ah…? What? You couldn’t sleep at all tonight?”
I stared at the haggard figure in front of me. He looked a little different than when I saw him the day prior. His eyes were haggard, and his clothes were disheveled. He almost looked like a completely different person.
‘Wait, did my therapy session not work? He should’ve been able to sleep… No, should he have been able to sleep?’
All sorts of thoughts swam in my mind as I looked at Rowan.
In the end, my body tensed as I feared he’d suddenly start lunging at me.
However, his next words took me completely aback.
“Can we have another therapy session? I feel like I might be able to get some sleep if I get another one.”
“Eh…? Didn’t we just have one yesterday? Since you’re not sleeping, it must mean it didn’t work. Why would—”
“No, it did work.”
“What?”
I blinked my eyes. It worked? I looked at him again. Why did I not believe his words at all? It almost looked like he was making fun of me.
“Ah, right.”
As if reading my thoughts, Rowan scratched the side of his neck.
“This is normal for me. I usually get nightmares before each expedition. Don’t mind this too much.”
“…Oh.”
But even so…
“Usually, I don’t sleep until the second day because each time I close my eyes, I feel like the nightmares come. However, today was a little different. I… didn’t feel anything at all when I closed my eyes.”
“That sounds like progress.”
“It is, which is why I’m here.”
Rowan looked at me, his eyes sparkling as his back straightened and his posture looked polite.
He seemed to have had a complete attitude shift.
“Please help me again! I’d like it if—”
Bang!
Cutting Rowan mid-sentence, the door to the room burst open, and Kyle came in.
Hastily turning my head to look at him, I was surprised to see him stare at me with a pale face, his breathing ragged. Almost as if he had run at full speed to get to where I was.
“What did you do?”
That was the first thing he said to me as he barely caught his breath.
I was taken aback.
“What…?”
What was he…
“What did you do?!”
Kyle asked again, his voice rising as he raised his hand to display a certain paper.
In it, I saw three bold words appear.
[Twisted Exploration Squad]
My face froze the moment I looked at the words. And as if that wasn’t bad enough… I slowly settled my gaze over my name.
Ah.
Craning my neck up again, I looked at Kyle.
“What did I do?”