Chapter 27 - Observations
I’ve been studying these documents for a few days now, while also observing Ell1s’ whereabouts. A lot of times I find him pacing around, absentminded, or reading through some sort of data on a holographic screen. He’s been increasingly anxious lately, glitches in his appearance becoming more noticeable. Maybe he feels guilty for what he did, or he doesn’t know what to do with a human around.
In the meantime, I’ve been exploring the place a bit more, and started making my own mental map of the facility. One of the files contained info about a large server room located under the main floor of this underground structure. If I’m correct, there should be some sort of stairs or door leading deeper underground to that area. I just need to figure out how I can disable them without him noticing…
I find myself walking along the metal hallways once again, looking behind me every few minutes or so to make sure he’s not trying to sneak behind me again. I make a mental note of the areas I’ve searched before and examine each room for anything I’ve missed. I find a few more files scattered around, but nothing much.
As I find myself giving up and heading to eat some of the rations in the food storage room, I come across a dark hallway I haven’t explored yet. A single light, barely illuminating the area and flickering nonstop, reveals a door with a padlock on the side.
I examine the padlock firmly affixed onto the door. It doesn’t seem too hard to open, might take a bit of a struggle, though… I dig through my pockets for something I could pick it with, until I hear a familiar voice in the distance. “Lena? Where’d you go? Sorry, I was busy–”
Shit. I run back out into the hallway, putting back on a fake smile. “Right here! Just uh, heading to eat something.” He jumps a bit at my sudden appearance but goes back to his typical anxious demeanor. “Oh! Okay! Uh, well, it’s the other hallway down, you know.” He points in the other direction.
“Yeah, uh, my bad. I guess I got lost. Thanks.” I pause and start walking again as he starts to follow me. “Did you need something?” “No, no, I just, er… wanted to check in on you, that’s all. I got a bit worried when I couldn’t find you.” I nod and walk inside the storage room, rummaging through boxes and preparing myself for the unpleasant taste of the rations inside. At least it’s food, I guess…
Ell1s watches me with curiosity and floats to a nearby table. “So… care to chat?” He gives me an awkward smile as I sigh and reluctantly take a seat. I feel a little bad for ignoring him all the time, so maybe some more conversation wouldn’t hurt. I suppose it’s nice being able to talk to someone again, but I can’t stay here forever…