//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: For Your Eyes Only // by Indie Cred //------------------------------// “We’ve only got one direction to go in now.” I said, glancing at the massive door. “What?!” Opal said, nearly shouting. “They’re sure to be in there!” “Probably, but they’re everywhere. They’ve been using those pipes in the ceiling to get around. This is the only area we haven’t checked.” I reached up to the wheel, struggling to get it to start turning. The Sergeant walked over and began to help. The wheel squealed from the movement. Ironside grabbed a piece of the rope that had held the metal pipe to him and looped it through a spoke, pulling with all his might. The door gave a low groan, followed by a clicking. I leaned my weight on the door and it slowly swung open. “Blades out. Now.” I said, peering into the inky blackness. “Glass, get over here.” Glass shone his light into the room, which barely light the cavernous space. It had to be at least five hundred feet in any direction. Metal desks were lined up in rows, continuing past our limited field of view. There didn’t seem to be any movement, but I knew that was probably just the calm before the storm. “Stay together. We move as one group. Nobody make any sudden movements.” I said, stepping into the room. We moved in a small cluster, everyone glancing around, their eyes darting back and forth looking for any signs of danger. After a few moments in the room without being attacked, I decided it was safe enough to turn up the light. “Glass, bring up your light. Opal, you too.” The two unicorns focused for a moment, and the room came into focus. It was massive. Though the light had intensified significantly, the corners remained little more than shadows. Hundreds of desks and tables were lined around the space, a thick layer of dust coating them. At the center of the room was a table, twenty feet to each side. Glass and metal fixtures covered the ceiling, spaced out at regular intervals. On the left wall I could make out another small room jutting outward. I decided that was the best place to start. Slowly we made our way over, careful not to make any noise. The small room was walled entirely in glass, with one panel removed at the center for an opening. Along the back wall was a large metal panel covered in red and blue pieces of glass, with a large black lever in the center. “Amazing…” Opal said to herself. “Such sophisticated construction…” She stared at the panel, transfixed. Gingerly she reached out to the lever, her eyes fixated. Before I could stop her, she pushed the lever up. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a series of low snaps were heard, growing closer. The glass and metal fixtures on the ceiling began emitting light, coming on in waves, moving closer to us. Sounds of distant machines groaning back to life echoed through the complex, as the entire room was bathed in a pale white glow. The red and blue pieces of glass on the panel began to blink in a seemingly random order. “Fuck.” The Sergeant said, as we watched the ruin returning to life. “Indeed.” I said, staring at Dr. Opal. “At least we can see now. Maybe there’s a map around here somewhere.” She said, trying not to blush. “Shh!” Speedy hissed. “Do you hear that?!” I tilted my head, listening for any sort of disturbance. My eyes widened and my blood ran cold. Screaming, angry and rabid, howling through the halls of the ruin. I had dismissed the distant sound as some sort of machine whirring away, but as I stood there listening I knew what it really was. They were awake, and they were pissed. “We have to get out of here!” Opal said, panic rising in her voice. “No shit! Everyone start looking for a way out! They have to have some sort of a tunnel or something!” Scanning quickly around the room, I spotted another of the large metal doors opposite the one we had entered through. “There!” I yelled, pointing. “Everybody move to the door! Double time!” We began to sprint towards the door, the hateful wailing growing closer by the second. I neared the metal portal and jumped into the air, grabbing the wheel, using my downward momentum to start it turning. Ironside and Speedy grabbed my legs and pulled, as I clung to the rungs. The wheel complained dully as it began to turn, before sticking in place. “Rainy! Get the rope out of the bag!” I screamed, dropping from the relenting wheel. Rainy pulled a length of rope from one of the pouches and ran over, Ironside taking it and looping it through the top rung of the wheel. He and Speedy took one side in their mouths, the Sergeant and I took the other. Pulling with all our might, we felt the wheel begin to give slightly. “Look!” Screamed Opal, pointing at the door opposite us. The rope dropped from my grasp as my jaw went slack. Malformed creatures began pouring through the entrance. Just as no two snowflakes are the same, neither were these hideous beasts. Their freakishly elongated limbs and tumorous bodies dragged slowly towards us, a pale fleshy wave of pure hatred, throwing aside anything unlucky enough to be in their path. “For Celestia’s sake, get that fucking door open!” I screamed, grabbing the rope in my mouth. Glass and Shores joined in, heaving as hard as we could. The wheel slowly relented, squealing from the friction. A dull click sounded out, signaling our efforts had been met with success. We pulled on the rope, swinging the door open and ran through, the mass of creatures now nearing the large table at the center of the room. The door had opened into another hallway, turning to the left. Sprinting, we made our way down the hall which led to a single door, mercifully like the ones in the bedrooms. I reached up and found the raised button on the doorframe and it slid open.