Chapter : Site X70 (Part 1)
…
The entire place was hazy, that was the first thing I noticed.
Step Step Step
"These Silentium Bastards didn't even prepare us some proper communication channels. Scheisse." Jeremy spoke, his voice muffled for us that were standing very close to each other. I couldn't help but curse.
It's almost like their trying to get rid of the weak ones…
Step Step Step
Alright stop with the negative thoughts Cael…
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
My SCBA hissed with every breath. The air inside the mask cold. Dry. Artificial. It tasted like nothing—just filtered, sterile emptiness. But it was better than what was outside. According to the briefing, at least
Sweep.
Pretty soon we reached our 'cleaning site' just one of hundreds if not thousands patches of grass, we were specifically told to clean up every 'debris''s we see, without hesitation I pushed the broom I took during the announcement forward.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Debris scattered—dust, small rocks, fragments of something I didn't want to identify. The others were doing the same. Jeremy to my left, through the visor his eyes scanning everything. Eve to my right, her movements practiced, efficient.
Amanda behind us, quiet, her breathing slightly too fast. Randy at the rear, his broom moving slowly, methodically.
Sweep Sweep
Nobody spoke. I would waste more air and energy as well, My mind focused on 2 things. The salary I'll receive and—The warning the system gave.
Be wary of your fellow 'cleaners.'
…
Sweep Sweep
Why specifically 'cleaners?' Why not the 'air' why not the 'equipment' why not the 'information.' I couldn't help but wonder. The system's words may be vague, but the information given is always accurate one way or another.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
…
Step Step
Sweep Sweep
—2 Hours later…
At some point we had entered what looked like containment cells, specifically those for what would've been the former R-classes of this facility.
Sweep
The corridor was lined with windows. Thick glass, reinforced. Looking into containment cells. Most were empty. Some were shattered. The glass had been broken from the inside—jagged edges pointing outward, like something had forced its way through.
Sweep Sweep
The floor itself was covered in debris. Bones. Mostly bones. Some were small—fingers, ribs, fragments of skull. Others were larger—femurs, pelvises, things that used to be people. They were scattered across the corridor like fallen leaves. Dry. White. Clean.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
A little too Clean.
Sweep
Clatterrrrr
As I sweeped a rib bone into the pile, it clattered against the countless bones we had already collected in a bin carried by Amanda, the sound echoed in silence inside of it. This continued for a while until… Jeremy's muffled voice broke the silence.
"Look. Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh" His muffled voice went as he pointed somewhere, and as my gaze followed where he pointed…
A suit.
Grey. Standard issue. Lying on the floor near one of the shattered windows. It was empty. No body inside. Just the suit, crumpled like a discarded skin. The visor cracked. The seals broken. The tank missing.
"...Where's Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh the body?" I asked.
Nobody answered.
Sweep Sweep
The Silentium's number one rule seemed to echo in my head and probably theirs once more.
Don't ask questions.
Sweep Sweep Sweep
Step Step
Rustle Rustle
Glance
As I glanced on front I could see the shadows of a couple figures, they were walking, probably working just like us… But right now—That didn't exactly matter as I continued sweeping once more.
Sweep Sweep
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
…
Sweep Sweep
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
…
At first I didn't notice. The sound blended in with the rest of us—five respirators hissing in unison, a constant mechanical rhythm that had become background noise. But then—
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh—Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh—Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Faster. Shallower. Wrong.
Instinctively I glanced back, my eyes landed on the biggest of us all. Amanda.
She was still sweeping. Still moving. But her chest was rising and falling too quickly. The visor of her mask was fogged—not from the cold, but from her breath. Short, panicked bursts of air that the SCBA couldn't quite keep up with.
Sweep.
She stopped.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Her hands were shaking. as
Clatterrrrr.
The broom slipped from her fingers as it clatters against the floor. The sound echoed in the corridor. Too loud. Too sharp.
"Amanda?" Eve's voice, muffled through the mask. She was already moving toward her.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh—Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Amanda didn't answer. Her hands went to her mask. Not to adjust it. Not to check the seal.
To pull
"NO—" Yet before she could do anything dangerous—Eve had already moved.
Grab.
She caught Amanda's wrists before she could rip the mask off. Held them there. Firm. Steady.
Hey. Hey. Look at me."
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Amanda's breath hitched. Her eyes—wide, wet, terrified—met Eve's through the visor.
"I can't—I can't breathe—" Her voice muffled yet loud and frantic,
"You can. You are. Feel it?" Eve squeezed her wrists. "The air is coming through. Your chest is moving. You're breathing."
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
"It doesn't—it doesn't feel like it—"
"That's the mask. It's supposed to feel different. It's not you. It's the equipment."
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh—Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Slowly. Gradually. The rhythm of Amanda's breathing began to match Eve's. Eve was breathing slow. Deliberate. Loud enough to hear through the comms. A metronome for Amanda to follow.
"In. Hold. Out. In. Hold. Out."
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
"That's it. That's good."
"...I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. You're okay. We're okay."
Sweep Sweep
Jeremy had already picked up Amanda's broom. Randy hadn't moved. Just stood there. Watching. His eyes unreadable through the visor.
I looked at Eve as she looked me back. Neither of us said it. But we were both thinking the same thing.
If Amanda panics again...
—??? POV
Sweep Sweep
This is fine. This is fine. This is—
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
My hands won't stop shaking.
I don't know why. It's just a cleanup. Just like the others. Just bones and debris and empty suits. Nothing dangerous. The Remnant doesn't stick to inorganic surfaces. The air is toxic but we're sealed. We're safe.
We're safe.
Sweep.
I keep telling myself that. But the bones are so small. Some of them. Fingers. Ribs. Fragments of skull. They were people. They were people once. And now they're just—
Sweep.
"Dude. Keep moving."
I look up. One of the veterans. I don't know their name. I don't know any of their names. Two weeks. I've been on this team for two weeks. I should've known their names by now.
"Sorry. Sorry."
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
I'm not suffocating. I'm not. The mask is fine. The seal is fine. Everything is fine.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
But what if it isn't?
What if the seal breaks? What if the tank cracks? What if the air runs out? What if I'm trapped here? What if I never get out? What if—what if—what if—
Sweep.
I stop sweeping. Just for a second. Just to catch my breath. But I can't catch it. It's like the air isn't reaching my lungs. Like I'm breathing through a straw. Like something is pressing against my chest. Like—
"Hey. You okay?"
Nod
No. No I'm not. But I nod anyway. Because I don't want them to think I'm weak. I don't want them to send me back. I don't want to be a liability.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm—
Sweep.
I'm fine—?
Sweep
Hsssssss—Kshhhhhh
Sweep
I'm fine—?
Hsssss—Kshhhhhhh
I'm fine.
Hsss—Kshh.
I'm fine.
Hss—Kshh—Hss—Kshh—Hss—Kshh
Faster.
Faster.
"Hey. Seriously You alright?"
Nod
Hss—Kshh—Hss—Kshh—
No.
I'm not alright
but—
Hss—Kshh—Hss—Kshh
it wasn't enough. It was never enough. The mask was too tight. The suit was too heavy. The corridor was too long. Everything was too much. Too much. Too much.
Hss—Kshh—Hss—Kshh—
"Hey. Seriously. You alright?"
A voice. Muffled. Distant. One of the veterans. I didn't know their name. I didn't know any of their names.
Nod
I nodded. Because that's what you do. You nod. You say you're fine. You don't be a liability.
Hss—Kshh—Hss—Kshh—
"You don't look fine. Just breathe. Slow down."
Slow down. Slow down. I tried. I tried to slow down. But my chest was tight. My vision was blurry at the edges. The air was thin and cold and—
Hss—Kshh—
"I'm fine."
The words came out wrong. Too fast. Too shallow. But they came out.
"You're not fine. Sit down. Take a minute."
Shake.
No. No sitting. Sitting means stopping. Stopping means being weak. Being weak means being sent back. Being sent back means—
Hss—Kshh—Hss—Kshh—
"Hey—HEY—"
The voice was louder now. Sharper.
"STOP." Another voice joined it. Then another.
"Don't—"
"STOP!"
I could feel someone or something grab my shoulder. Their trying to lock me in, trying to suffocate me trying to—
"Get ██ █own! Hold ███ ar█s!"
"███ gonna ████ the seal—!"
IT'S EATING ME AWAY IT'S—
CRACK
"██████"
SCHLUCK.
WROOOOOOOOOOOSH
Bliss
The very first thought I had as I ripped of that cage trying to suffocate me, breathing in the fresh unfiltered air. it was like a wave.
Warm.
Real.
Alive.
Everything hazy and soft, and for a moment—just a moment—everything was okay.
"Guys Look I'm—GHHHK"
COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH
It… Hurts—?
THUD
—Cael Lucian's POV
Sweep Sweep Sweep
...
"We're done." Jeremy's voice was muffled yet it was loud and clear,
Our section was clean, as I glanced around the very first one I noticed was Amanda. She was sitting against the wall, her helmet resting against the glass.
"How you holdin' up?"
She gave me a thumbs up.
"Better."
Eve crouched beside her.
"We'll take five."
Randy glanced at his tank.
"Five minutes."
"That's generous," Jeremy muttered. As we all soon rested at the ground, controlling our breathing once more, it was stuffy, it was hot,
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
...
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
...
Click.
"We're leaving." Jeremy spoke Randy was standing at the far end of our section, looking back the way we came. His broom was still in his hands. His eyes were fixed on something I couldn't see.
"Old man?"
Tsk.
"Nothing. Let's move."
Step Step Step
We started walking. Slow. Careful. Amanda leaned on Eve. Jeremy took the rear. Randy took the front. I was in the middle, my broom still in my hands, my eyes scanning everything.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
The corridor stretched ahead of us, it felt
Empty
Hazy
Wrong
But nothing happened. No sounds. No screams. No running. Just the hiss of our SCBAs and the crunch of our boots on debris.
Step Step Step
"...It's quiet," Amanda said.
"It's always quiet," Jeremy replied.
"No. I mean—quieter than before."
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
She was right. The distant sounds—the muffled voices, the footsteps of other teams, the hum of equipment—they were gone. Just silence. Just us.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
"Maybe they finished early too," Eve said trying her best to lighten the mood yether voice wasn't convincing.
Step Step Step
We kept walking. The corridor curved. Then straightened. Then curved again. The fog was thicker here. The lights dimmer. The air—even through the filters—felt heavier.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
"Hey." Jeremy stopped. "Where is everyone?"
I looked around. The corridor was empty. No grey figures. No other teams. No cleaners. Just us. Just D7.
"They were here before," I said. "I saw them. Earlier."
"Me too," Eve said. "They were working. Just like us."
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
"So where'd they go?"
Nobody answered.
Step Step Step
We kept walking. Faster now. Not running. But faster.
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
I could feel myself becoming even more uneasy, but why? I didn't know, didn't want to know, as long as we survive this, then that's all that matters.
Step Step Step
Once I return I'll take a shower… Then we'll have some food, then we'll talk, maybe we'll visit Randy's place or maybe Eve's, or Jeremy's Oh we could visit mine or Amanda's this time… Would be quite fun after all
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Step Step Step
Hmmm…
What to do what to do…
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Step Step Step
I guess I could buy a new phone… maybe even get the latest Samsung… Definitely not Iphone… I don't need to take pictures often…
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Step Step Step
Ah Eve's birthday is coming up I believe? maybe I'll get her a new Iphone… Or I could buy her one of those Vintage SCBA gears…
Shake Shake
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Hell nah that shit's expensive.
Step Step Step
Hsssssssssssss—Kshhhhhhh
Guess I'll just—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
…
The fuck was that?