The skittering sound intensified, echoing unnervingly in the narrow service corridor outside the battered security room door. It wasn't one creature; it was many, small, fast sets of claws on concrete, approaching with terrifying speed from both directions.
"They're surrounding us!" Ben gasped, his face paling further, pressing himself back against a bank of dead monitors. Mrs. Carson let out a thin whimper, clutching her husband's arm so tightly her knuckles were white. Henderson groaned, trying futilely to make himself smaller under the desk.
Alex and Maya exchanged grim looks over the grotesque corpse of the Mutated Ogre that dominated the small room. Fighting in here, with the injured and panicked non-combatants, was unthinkable. Fighting in the narrow hallway outside against potentially dozens of fast-moving enemies was suicide.
"Can you see them?" Maya whispered, nodding towards the dented door.
Alex cautiously peered through a crack near the warped frame. His flashlight beam stabbed into the dim hallway. He saw them – streams of dark, furry bodies pouring around the corners at both ends of the corridor. Rats. But unnaturally large, some easily the size of house cats, with mangy fur, long whip-like tails, and teeth far too large and sharp for normal rodents. Their eyes glinted red in the flashlight beam, reflecting an unnatural hunger and aggression. As one drew closer, his UI flickered, providing an ID:
[Giant Venom Rat - Level 1]
[HP: 30/30] [MP: 0/0]
[Status: Aggressive, Venomous Bite (Minor)]
Level 1. Individually weak, barely more HP than the weakest goblin. But there were dozens of them. Maybe twenty or thirty in total, converging on the security room, likely drawn by the sounds of their earlier fight or the scent of blood. And 'Venomous Bite'... even a minor poison could be deadly without proper medical care, as Henderson's worsening condition proved. A swarm of these could overwhelm them in seconds.
"Rats," Alex reported grimly. "Big ones. Level 1, but tons of them. Venomous bite noted."
"We can't fight that many," Maya stated the obvious, her voice tight. "Not here."
"We need to move," Alex agreed instantly. "Now. Back to the blueprints." He darted back to the table where the rolled-up plans lay, quickly finding the relevant section showing their current location and the adjacent Stairwell C. "Okay, the stairwell door is about thirty feet down the corridor, to the left as we exit."
"The rats are coming from both left and right," Ben pointed out unnecessarily, his voice trembling.
"Exactly," Alex said, his mind working fast, falling back on desperate gambits from countless losing game scenarios. "We make noise, create a diversion to draw most of them right, then make a break left for the stairs. It's our only shot."
It was a crazy plan, relying on split-second timing and the assumption that Level 1 rats weren't strategic geniuses.
"How do we make noise?" Mr. Carson asked, looking around helplessly.
"Something metal," Alex said, grabbing a discarded metal trash bin. "Maya, the hammer?"
She nodded, understanding immediately. While Alex positioned himself near the door, ready to create a diversion to the right, Maya went to the opposite side of the room near the wall they shared with the left corridor. Mr. Carson and Ben understood the plan – they grabbed the heaviest object they could easily move, a small, sturdy metal desk, positioning it near the door, ready to shove it out into the right-hand corridor as an obstacle.
"Ready?" Alex took a deep breath. He saw Maya nod, saw Ben and Mr. Carson brace themselves. "On three! One... Two... THREE!"
Alex slammed the metal trash bin repeatedly against the inside of the steel door leading out to the right corridor. CLANG! BANG! CLANG! Simultaneously, Maya struck the wall leading to the left corridor hard with her hammer. WHAM! WHAM!
The skittering outside intensified, converging towards the conflicting sounds, confused for a vital moment.
"NOW!" Alex yelled. Ben and Mr. Carson shoved the metal desk out into the right-hand corridor with a loud scrape, creating a partial blockade. Alex yanked the main security room door open and burst out, turning left. "STAIRWELL! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"
He sprinted down the narrow, dimly lit corridor, Maya right behind him, urging the others forward. Ben scrambled after them, surprisingly quick. Mr. Carson practically dragged his wife along, while Henderson hobbled desperately, leaning heavily on Mr. Carson when he could.
The diversion worked, partially. Most of the rats, drawn by the louder banging on the door and momentarily confused by the desk obstacle, had converged on the right. But a half-dozen or so from the left kept coming, and more were pouring around the desk blockade from the right, quickly realizing their mistake.
Skittering claws echoed behind them, closing the distance fast. One rat darted ahead, leaping at Henderson's already injured leg. Maya reacted instantly, swinging her hammer down in a brutal arc, crushing the creature against the concrete floor with a sickening crunch. [EXP Gained: 5] flashed almost unnoticed on her UI (Alex couldn't see her EXP, but assumed she got some).
Another rat lunged at Alex's leg. He didn't have time to stop; he activated Flicker Step mid-stride ([STA: 96/100]), his body blurring forward five feet, the rat's teeth snapping shut on empty air. He kicked backward blindly, sending another rat tumbling away.
They reached the heavy steel door marked "Stairwell C". It looked ancient, paint peeling, possibly rusted shut.
"Open it!" Alex yelled, turning to face the oncoming rats, knife ready.
Maya, Ben, and Mr. Carson threw their shoulders against the heavy door. It didn't budge.
"It's stuck!" Ben grunted, straining.
Rats swarmed around Alex's feet now. He stabbed downwards, skewering one ([EXP Gained: 5]), kicked another against the wall. One managed to nip his ankle through his jeans.
[-2 HP!]
[You are afflicted with Minor Venom (Rank 1)!]
[Effect: -1 HP per minute for 10 minutes. Cure: Low-tier Antidote or Cleansing Skill.]
Crap! Alex felt a faint stinging sensation. His HP ticked down immediately. [HP: 127/130]. Losing 10 HP over 10 minutes wasn't critical right now, but multiple bites could stack up fast.
"HARDER!" Maya yelled at the door, adding her strength, hammering on the frame near the hinges with her weapon.
With a groan of protesting metal, the door finally scraped open inwards, revealing a pitch-black stairwell beyond.
"GO! GET IN!" Alex shouted, holding off the rats pouring towards the opening. He stabbed another, Flicker Stepped back towards the doorway ([STA: 92/100]). Maya bundled the Carsons and Ben inside, then turned back to help Henderson, who had collapsed near the entrance, his face ashen.
"Leave me!" Henderson gasped. "Too slow..."
"No!" Maya grabbed his arm, hauling him bodily towards the door with surprising strength. Alex covered their retreat, slashing at the rats trying to surge past him. Mr. Carson reached back, grabbing Henderson's other arm. Together, they dragged him inside just as Alex Flicker Stepped through the doorway ([STA: 88/100]).
Alex and Maya slammed the heavy steel door shut against the tide of screeching, clawing rats. Was there a lock? Yes, a heavy sliding bolt on the inside, rusted but functional. Alex threw his weight against it, ramming it home with a solid thunk.
They slumped against the door in the absolute darkness of the stairwell, listening to the furious scrabbling and gnawing sounds from the other side, their harsh breathing echoing in the confined space. Safe. For a few precious minutes, at least.
Alex immediately checked his status. [HP: 126/130]. The Minor Venom was active, the timer ticking down. He needed to remember that. He looked around, activating his flashlight. The beam cut through the oppressive blackness, revealing a narrow, utilitarian stairwell, even more neglected than the main one. Concrete steps descended into shadow and ascended into more shadow. Dust lay thick everywhere, disturbed only by their frantic entry. No emergency lights functioned here at all.
"Is... is everyone okay?" Maya asked, her voice trembling slightly now that the immediate danger had passed. She activated her [Illuminate] skill ([MP: ~20/60]), the soft blue light pushing back the darkness more effectively than Alex's narrow flashlight beam, though he kept his on as well.
Checks were made. Henderson was conscious but barely, his breathing shallow. Mrs. Carson was weeping silently. Mr. Carson had several nasty-looking scratches on his arms and hands, but his UI (if he had one, which Alex doubted) likely wouldn't show poison. Alex quickly checked Mr. Carson visually – no immediate signs of swelling or discoloration, maybe lucky. Alex himself had the minor bite and poison. Ben seemed physically unharmed but deeply shaken. Maya reported no new injuries.
"Alright," Alex said, forcing himself to focus. "We're clear for now. But we can't stay here." He pulled out the blueprints again, spreading them on the dusty landing under Maya's light. "Okay, Stairwell C. Blueprints show it goes up to roof access, and down... past the main garage levels P1 to P3... looks like it lets out onto P4, the lowest sub-basement parking."
"The roof?" Mrs. Carson asked hopefully. "Open air? Maybe we can signal someone?"
"Signal who?" Ben muttered darkly. "And what if there are flying things up there worse than those bats?"
"The garage had those... shamblers on the camera feed," Maya reminded them, shivering slightly. "P2 did, anyway."
"But this leads to P4," Alex pointed out, tracing the line. "Furthest from the main ramps. Might be clearer? And basements might have storage, supplies. Maybe even maintenance tunnels leading out somewhere else." He looked at Maya. "Going down seems riskier maybe, but potentially more rewarding? And safer than being exposed on the roof."
Maya considered it, glancing at Henderson's pale face and Alex's poisoned ankle status icon he knew she couldn't see. "Down," she agreed. "We need supplies, especially medical. And maybe a defensible storage room down there is better than being trapped up here or on the roof."
The decision was made. Alex took point again, flashlight beam probing the darkness below, while Maya's Illuminate provided ambient light for the group descending behind him. The stairwell spiraled downwards, floor after floor, the silence broken only by their footsteps, Henderson's pained breathing, and the occasional drip of water from somewhere deep within the building's bowels.
They passed doors labeled B1, B2, B3 – basement levels. Alex cracked one open briefly on B2. Pitch darkness, the smell of damp concrete and mildew. Looked like storage cages and machinery rooms. No immediate sounds. They didn't linger, pressing onwards, downwards into the unknown depths.
Alex kept an eye on his HP. [125/130]... [124/130]... The poison was slow, but relentless. He hoped 'low-tier antidote' was something easily found, but doubted it.
Finally, they reached the landing marked "P4". This door was different – thicker, possibly fire-rated, with a small wired-glass window near the top, currently dark. Alex listened intently. Silence. No shuffling, no groaning, no skittering.
He cautiously pushed the door open. It swung inward smoothly, revealing a vast, cavernous space beyond – Parking Level 4. Rows upon rows of parked cars, coated in a thick layer of dust, sat silently in the oppressive darkness. Emergency lights were dead here too. Maya's Illuminate spell cast long, eerie shadows among the vehicles. Unlike the P2 camera feed, this level seemed utterly still, deserted. A ghost level beneath the ravaged city.
"Clear?" Mr. Carson whispered from behind him.
"Looks like it," Alex whispered back, stepping fully into the garage, sweeping his flashlight beam across the nearest rows of cars. "Quiet. Too quiet."
They all filed out of the stairwell, relief warring with a fresh wave of unease. The sheer size of the garage, the countless hiding places among the vehicles, felt (exposing) in its own way.
"Okay," Alex said, keeping his voice low. "Stick together. We look for supplies, maybe a working vehicle? Unlikely, but possible. And look for another exit down here, away from the main ramps."
They started moving slowly down the nearest aisle, Maya's light bobbing, Alex's flashlight beam probing the darkness ahead. Dust motes danced in the lights. The silence was absolute, broken only by their own footsteps and Henderson's pained gasps.
They were about fifty yards in, passing a row of luxury sedans coated in grime, when Alex froze, holding up a hand.
"What is it?" Maya whispered, moving closer.
"Listen."
A faint sound reached them now, carried on the still air. A low, dragging noise. Like something heavy being pulled across concrete. Slow. Intermittent. Coming from deeper within the parking garage, somewhere off to their left.
Then, reflecting Alex's flashlight beam from the darkness between two large SUVs, two faint pinpricks of red light ignited. Low to the ground. Watching them.
The dragging sound stopped. The red lights remained, unblinking, filled with cold, patient menace.
They were not alone down here.