"There's someone to the right, three 0' clock," Saya whispered in Rekka's ear ahead of Silas. She nodded and, following Saya's lead, the two ducked around a mechanical trash and recycle bin, dodging underneath stray wires and pipes. A dim blue light emanated from around the corner, and as the four nimbly made their way around the darkness, a lone voxen girl came into view. She was dressed in sharp black clothes and held her hand groggily against her cheek as she leaned to the side on a bench around a pole. She flicked absentmindedly through the screens on her projector, distracted and unaware at the four kids slipping by her.
Silas' heart pounded loud in his chest as they slunk like snakes around her. He was almost certain she could hear it – let alone his companions. Adrenaline fired through his veins and made him limbs shaky and restless. He could barely see in front of him. Given his luck, he would kick against a stray bottle or step on a wire on the floor with a loud crunch. He prayed to a distant being he couldn't remember to prevent that from happening.
Thankfully, that distant being must have answered his prayers, because everyone made it past the lone voxen worker undetected. They rounded the corner as the flickering light of the projector screen faded into the distance behind a sleek and unfeeling blue wall.
Suddenly, Saya jumped as she noticed a presence coming towards them.
"Hide!" She whispered, and they immediately sought the closest refuge against the sudden blinding white light that turned the next corner. Silas was a little slow and the patrolling monster caught a glimpse of his messy brown hair disappearing behind a trash can.
The monster was a short girl with humanlike features – save the large protruding bat ears that stuck out like a deer's antlers. She looked like an older version of Wicke – a kyro, a bat monster. She chewed absentmindedly on a snack in her mouth, crunching the wrapper conspicuously. Silas startled as the trash can's lid opened. He ducked even further as the lid swung open to the side and barely nicked his hair. The kyro girl paid no attention and hastily tossed the wrapper in the trash as the lid swung back and she continued using her projector to guide her way back to her dormitory. She walked behind them – and if she had turned around at that very moment she would see the backs of four very frightened and tense individuals. Sheer dumb luck prevented her from doing so as she rounded the corner. Silas heaved a sigh of relief as she heard two young female voices sound from around the bend. The two monsters had encountered each other and started a late night conversation.
"That was way too close," Macy said, her voice panicked.
"If we're going to find Charybdis' office, it's going to be cause we were lucky," Silas breathed.
Silas and Saya both rose up from their hiding places slowly as if they had been pressed to the floor by a giant weight. Macy and Rekka did the same.
"I see now why you only wanted us four," Saya admitted.
Rekka looked around before turning towards the group, motioning for them to gather close to her.
"We're almost approaching Charybdis' office. Be prepared for a confrontation if needed. We can't mess this one up," Rekka said with a slight quaver in her voice. No doubt she was reminiscing about the two major mistakes she had already made that had got them into this whole mess. Silas nodded diligently and vigorously, to tell himself that he was ready, even if he wasn't.
Rekka guided them from the larger hallway of the concourse down a very dark corridor bathed in shadows. The walls were geometric and organic, polygonal shapes protruding from the walls. A distant mechanical humming emanated from someone unseen, vibrating throughout the air and churning it, bringing it to life. There was a lone door to the left as they approached, and as they ventured forth from the concourse, they felt the walls close in on them as if they were the jaws of a giant mechanical beast swallowing them whole. A sharp but barely audible crackling could be heard from the door, and as Rekka approached, a small holographic panel appeared by the side.
It read, "Charybdis, Master of Information," and doused the four in luminescent blue-green light, illuminating several meandering dust particles twinkling in the air like roaming stars.
"We found it," Macy breathed.
"Let's pray there's no authentication requirement," Rekka said, suddenly realizing that if that were the case, their whole operation was over.
Thankfully, Rekka pressed her palm on the door, blue light emerging from it as the door read her mana. It opened for her, a metallic clink sounding before the door split, its sides drawing back into the wall. A gentle breeze of warm comfortable air swept out of the room, as well as yellow, soft light. They stepped in.
Charybdis' room was modest and small. A burgundy carpet adorned with golden patterns caressed their feet underneath them, a welcome haven from the unrelenting dark tiles. As they came in, several tan and brown plush chairs lined the entry wall. There were two small tables near them, draped in ornate circular white lace tablecloths. Draconic design coasters lay in pairs underneath several dark drinks, still steaming hot.
At the opposite end of the room lay a wood desk covered in all sorts of miscellaneous items: papers, books, badges, etc. At the front was a curved lamp that was the source of the beckoning yellow light. A sleek black and grey laptop sat perfectly in the middle of the desk, its logo that faced the party glowing frost blue. Several assorted books of dusty blue and red colors lay stacked on both sides of the desk. Coffee mugs were placed like castle turrets around the skyscrapers of books. Everything was organized in an orderly fashion, perfectly aligned and well-placed, yet chaotically assorted, like a microcosm of Lachlan itself.
A tall bookcase decorated with floral designs etched into the wood stood sentinel. It guarded behind glass mysterious relics and artifacts of exotic designs and shapes, some of which seemed to pulsate. Along the wall were posters of various women in scientific gear, many of which had obvious anthropomorphic features. There was a calendar and a small blackboard covered in sticky notes in all sorts of colors that clothed the plaster behind it like a tree's bark. A few holographic images swam around the room like fish in a fish tank, Silas spotted one as it passed by his head and saw a smiling Charybdis next to an unsmiling Redd. Charybdis had her arm wrapped around the wolf girl's shoulder, which she was trying to shrug off halfheartedly.
Silas saw another curious image float by him – a mugshot of a middle-aged individual with messy brown hair not unlike Silas'. He was dressed in lab attire and looked thoroughly worn down and dismayed. From his head alone, Silas could spot no monster-like features. As far as he knew, he was another human, and that piqued Silas' interest. But before he could study the man's face more, the image floated away and disappeared into pixelated dust that ebbed into nothing.
Rekka was drawn immediately to Charybdis' laptop. Of course, she resisted the temptation to tamper with it, as the dragon woman might notice if any of the holographic screens it projected were moved, but she captured a copy of the projection with a camera feature on her own projector. Silas heard a small click as Rekka took the photo, and saw her holographic camera window minimize, retreating into the bracelet on her arm.
"Get looking, quickly! Each of you take a corner of the room. Look for anything suspicious or out of place."
Silas took his corner of the room, fiddling with the plush chair delicately in hopes of finding some secret mechanism or whatnot that would open up a marvelous magical pathway to freedom.
Still, he couldn't shake the fact that something was terribly wrong – despite the cozy atmosphere, he knew that someone – Charybdis or someone else – was bound to burst through the door at this very moment.