Asher turned his gaze towards the holographic projection of BOI-TEK, a simple blue ball with a smiley face, his eyes filled with curiosity and dread. The room fell silent, save for the faint hum of machinery in the background.
"Before we proceed further, let's inquire about our current situation," Shadow suggested, his gaze fixed on a monitor displaying a simple happy face. "Ask BOI-TEK where everyone is."
"BOI-TEK," Asher's voice quivered slightly as he spoke, "can you tell us where the people inside this facility have gone? Why is the facility seemingly empty?"
A brief pause filled the room, followed by the solemn voice of BOI-TEK resonating through the air. "The facility isn't empty," it declared, sending a chill down Asher's spine.
Confusion etched across Asher's face as he asked, "What do you mean? Are there still people here?"
"Not people," BOI-TEK's voice filled the air once again, and the room's monitors sprang to life.
As Asher's gaze fixated on the monitors displaying the footage, the room became a macabre gallery of horrors. The screens flickered, each revealing a different corridor or room within the facility, each one painted in a palette of blood and despair.
In one frame, he witnessed a dimly lit hallway, its walls smeared with streaks of crimson. Shadows danced ominously, stretching and contorting as if mocking the remnants of humanity. From the depths of the darkness, silhouettes emerged, moving with a disjointed gait, their rotting flesh clinging desperately to their skeletal frames. Sunken eyes, devoid of life, stared vacantly ahead, a chilling emptiness that sent shivers down Asher's spine.
Another screen showcased a cramped laboratory, once a place of scientific inquiry and innovation, now a charnel house of chaos. Broken equipment and shattered glass littered the floor, evidence of a struggle against an unstoppable force. The air hung heavy with the stench of decay, mingling with the acrid scent of spilled chemicals. Among the debris, figures lurked, their decaying visages contorted in perpetual anguish. Their elongated limbs twitched with grotesque spasms as they shuffled aimlessly, seeking nothing but the taste of warm flesh.
A third monitor depicted a cafeteria, a once lively space that now resembled a desolate graveyard. Tables were overturned, chairs scattered haphazardly, and half-eaten meals lay abandoned. The walls bore deep claw marks, remnants of desperate attempts to fend off the encroaching nightmare. And there, amidst the wreckage, the undead roamed, their mouths agape in perpetual hunger, their moans echoing in the space like a mournful dirge.
The monitors continued to cycle through countless scenes, each one more horrifying than the last. Corridors soaked in blood, shattered windows revealing glimpses of a desolate world beyond, and rooms tainted with the lingering scent of death. The images were a haunting reminder of the twisted fate that had befallen the facility and its inhabitants.
Asher's heart pounded in his chest, his breathing shallow and ragged. The weight of the truth bore down upon him, the sheer magnitude of the catastrophe too overwhelming to comprehend. It was as if the entire facility had been transformed into a nightmarish labyrinth, its every corner infested with ravenous undead.
"1323 days ago," BOI-TEK continued, its voice ringing with a mix of sorrow and limited knowledge, "a failed experiment unleashed a supernatural energy wave, a force capable of manipulating the very essence of human souls. My understanding of this energy is limited, but it has transformed living creatures into something else entirely—creatures that crave the living. What you see before you, Asher, is one of those things. And what makes them even more perilous is their ability to turn any living human into one of their own."
"Three years..." Shadow's voice trailed off, the words barely audible. He turned towards Asher, who was looking at the screens with lifeless eyes. "Asher, it mentioned that this creature is 'one of the things humans turned into.' Ask it what it meant by that."
Asher swallowed hard, his fear mingling with curiosity. He mustered the courage to speak again, his voice trembling. "BOI-TEK, what do you mean by 'one of the things humans turned into'? Are there more creatures?"
BOI-TEK's holographic form flickered momentarily as it processed the question. Finally, its voice filled the room, carrying a sense of gravity. "According to the facility's research, there are individuals with special souls, souls possessing unique powers that, due to the previous state of the world, remained dormant. After transforming, these individuals exhibit unique and more potent abilities compared to normal creatures. However, the percentage of these individuals is very low."
Asher's mind buzzed with a mix of fear and curiosity. The sudden flood of information overwhelmed him. Moments ago, he had been a young boy leading a happy life, and now he found himself trapped amidst thousands of flesh-eating monsters.
"Ask BOI-TEK if there are similar creatures within the building," Shadow urged, recognizing the importance of understanding the threat they faced.
Taking a deep breath, Asher directed his question to BOI-TEK. "Are there any other creatures like these within the building?"
BOI-TEK's holographic projection wavered momentarily, and its response carried a note of uncertainty. "For reasons unknown, I have lost contact with the other floors, except for this one and the one above. I can't reach the other thirty-three floors. Therefore, I cannot confirm if there are unusual creatures on those floors."
Shadow, growing frustrated with BOI-TEK's limited answers, suggested, "Ask him if there is still footage from the day when all this started."
"BOI-TEK, do you still have footage of the day of the catastrophe?" Asher asked.
"Yes, there are forty videos of that day captured on floors 35 and 34. However, you only have access to 15 of them. Would you like me to play them?" BOI-TEK replied.
Asher's eyes were transfixed on the monitors as they displayed the chaotic scenes from the fateful day of the catastrophe. The room fell silent, and the flickering light from the screens cast an eerie glow across his face. Shadows danced in the corners, adding an extra layer of unease to the atmosphere.
Among the multitude of videos playing simultaneously, one particular footage caught Asher's attention. It depicted the corridor that extended from the room where he had awakened. The images were shaky, but there was no mistaking the intensity of the moment.