Wiping non-existent sweat off his forehead, Erin stared into the backpack. It had truly been stupid barging into the place with nothing but a camera. This time though, he was prepared. A small hiking backpack that he hadn't used in two years. A waterproof yellow flashlight on fresh batteries. A large bag of shrimp crackers alongside two bottles of sports drinks. A compass. The camera. Goggles. Notebook.
Taking a long sip of water, he ventured back through the crack in the mound of clothes, down the hallway, before arriving inside the elevator. Closing his eyes for a second, Erin breathed in and out, before tapping those three numbers quickly. 107.
Tapping the checkmark, he watched the doors rumble close and rumble up to who knows where. Once again, that mechanical female voice spoke:
[Proceeding to Floor 107: Sea Of Fleeting Dreams]
Twirling about a pencil in his hands, he scribbled down a few more notes. It was for the most part now confirmed that the numbers were the "code" to one of these floors. So, depending on the input, he was most likely going to go to a certain different world of some sort.
Hands in his pockets, he watched as the elevator swung open once more. A breeze soon enveloped him, causing Erin to sniffle a little, though this time he'd brought along a thick hoodie. He didn't want to get a cold in the middle of this.
Stepping out onto the sea stack, still barefoot, Erin stretched his arms. He was much more confident and relaxed than before. He'd mostly brought along some lightweight supplies, and his backpack, which was waterproof. While there were still many mysteries to behold in this vast ocean, with this "home button" option, he had become a lot braver.
Staring down from the ledge of the stack, he unconsciously swallowed some saliva. While it was pretty steep, Erin was sure that he could get down there in one piece if he were to enter the water correctly.
The clear serene ocean was completely still, with only a few ripples disrupting its flow from time to time. There seemed to be no rapid currents, and everything was relatively calm. So swimming would be easy enough.
Finding land was another thing. If what he guessed was correct, the elevator would leave off at the last place he had been. Erin figured that if things worked out correctly, he could swim for a while, and then rest. The backpack with supplies was just there as a precaution were he to be somehow stranded, whether it be the home button not working, or some other situation.
His long legs dangling over the edge, Erin slowly unhooked the backpack from his hands and dropped it.
*Splsh….*
It dropped into the water in a cascade of small ripples, floating to the surface. It seemed to barely move about, Erin smiling happily with the results. Putting on the googles, he clenched his fists. Taking one last look at his beloved rock formation, he took off, down into the water like an arrow, diving in with a loud splash.
*Kaploosh!*
He felt the water sting his face as bubbles rose into the air, his figure piercing down to a sizable depth before he shot back up to the surface. It was surprisingly easy to push through the water, a lot easier than normal.
The water was cool, but not to an uncomfortable degree. In fact, it was at a pretty nice temperature. And…. This whole dang ocean seemed to be freshwater. There was not a tint of salt to it. His hips rotating and arms trailing through the water, he kicked out, reaching the backpack in no time. Looking up, the "sea stack" was little more than a small clumping tower of rocks sticking out of the ground.
Shaking his head, he took another deep breath, Erin grabbed the backpack by its handle, before dragging it forwards. He shot through the water, muscles tensing and flexing as whitewater frothed behind him. Facedown in the water, he stared out into the depths below.
Erin had a much clearer view of the sea below than before. It was a brilliant place, filled with vibrant wildlife and other ecosystems. Through the tinted goggles, he could see many things.
Long silvery fish adorned with whiskers and shimmering scales, darting about through vibrant colorful reefs. These reefs consisted of coral of all sizes and shapes. Bubbly pink coral with a spongy texture, fuzzy reed-like coral, a deep violet, and so on.
Smaller minnow-like creatures with amphibious flippers and tails swarming about in large schools. Lush kelp forests sway from side to side serenely. Down deep, he could vaguely see a giant whale creature still and silent, its large fins tingling with tentacles of some kind.
Taking a breath of air, he continued onwards, adrenaline pumping as he swam at a steady pace, his bare feet propelling him through the water. All in all, it was a surprisingly pleasant experience that did not expend as much energy as expected.
He continued to swim in a straight line, his backpack flapping about awkwardly at his side. Erin's journey continued on for a few minutes more before he saw something in the distance. Was it an island? He was a little stupefied that simply swimming in a straight direction would actually yield some results, so he stopped for a moment, squinting.
He swam more fiercely, the white water really coming now as he disturbed the water below him. Soon, the shape became clearer and clearer, before Erin could clearly see what seemed to be a fishing wharf. He could see a line of wooden buildings and docks, large mechanical ships drifting ever so slightly from time to time.
And then, after a few minutes, he stumbled about, stepping onto dry land after a mere thirty minutes in the water. His stamina was seemingly a lot higher than he'd anticipated, but then again, adrenaline was truly pumping through his veins.
Stepping onto the flat sandy beach, he rolled over, feeling water subtly lap at his feet. Placing the backpack to the side, he threw his goggles across the sand, sitting up. Reaching into the backpack, he procured a sports drink, inspecting it for a moment. It was a transparent bottle filled with misty blue sparkling water.
He popped off the cap and drank a good third of it down in one go. It was bubbly and sweet, with a tinge of berries too. It was truly refreshing after an annoying journey like the one he'd just gone through.
Putting the bottle back into his backpack, he got up, taking in his surroundings. It was a thin stretch of pale-white sand stretching on for a while. The grains of sand were soft to the touch, and fragmented easily, showing their fragile texture.
While one part of the beach was relatively uncultivated, on the other side were the docks. Clambering up the side of a worn wooden dock, he found himself in the first new civilization of this strange "Sea".
It was a small fishing town of some sort. The architecture was vaguely Germanic, with a slight Nordic feel to it. Most of the buildings were made of large stone bricks, worn and covered in small crawling algae. The docs were long and rectangular, made from large wooden planks and logs tied together by thick rope and chain.
To the side, a small empty stall held a row of large carp hanging from iron hooks. Large lamps hung on small brick steeples, and a nearby billboard was plastered in yellowing newspapers, along with other posters. In the near distance, Erin could see a few human silhouettes busying themselves about the docks in peaceful silence, hoisting about large wooden crates and other things.
They were dressed in thick trench coats and sheep-skin garments, some wearing wooly caps that covered their ears. A few others were bare-chested, their muscles bulging in full view. Stereotypical of a fisherman's dock, anyway.
Inspecting them, Erin twisted his foot. Before he would talk to anyone, he needed to be certain of a few more things. For all he knew, understanding their language might be out of reach. Peeking behind a pillar, he flipped his dripping wet backpack aside, and turned away, about to stroll back into the cover of the lower beach…. When someone burst out from a few crates in front of him.