Drip.
Drip,
Drip,
Drip.
The steady rhythm echoed through the cold and damp room and it was the only sound that was breaking the silence.
The floor was slick with water, reflecting the faint light that was struggling to penetrate the grimy windows.
A body lay motionless, sprawled out across the floor like a discarded doll.
Water was dripping down from a rusted pipe above and the busted ceiling, landing with a hollow splash on the concrete beside the body.The sound echoed through the abandoned, dimly room, the only noise breaking the oppressive silence.
The air reeked of mildew, decay, and forgotten dreams. A gasp escaped the body's lips.
"Haaaah..."Followed by a heavy cough."Akh Akh Akh"
Aria's eyes flickered open, her gaze unfocused.
She lay on her side, her cheek pressed against the cold and damp concrete.
Her shoulder and back was throbbing with pain.Memories began to resurface.
The helicopter,The missile,The fall.
She struggled to sit up, her vision spinning. "Ugh...gh..." she groaned, collapsing back onto the wet floor.
Her head spinning and her lungs burning.
She coughed again, wincing as agony shot through her chest, "Where the hell am at" She thought, surveying her surrounding.
Cracked walls that looked peeled to reveal a damp concrete beneath.
The Shattered windows allowed a faint glow to seep in, casting some shadows on the floor, some abandoned furniture also lays scattered, as if the previous occupants had fled in haste for survival.
A rusty metal chair leaned against the wall, the legs twisted at an unnatural angle.
Aria's eyes drifted to her own body.Her shoulder and back pain are starting to reduce leaving only some ache.
Bloodstains decorated her uniform.Her mind raced as she struggled to recall the events leading to her current predicament.
"Was I not dead" she thought "How did I end up in this place" Her thoughts swirled over, sucking her down.
She tried to sit up again and this time, she succeeded, resting her back against the cold wall for support.
Her shoulder and back pain has subdued but still she gritted her teeth and endured the head pain.
The silence was oppressive with the only sound of the steady dripping water.
Aria's gaze swept the room, taking in the cracked walls, shattered windows, and abandoned furniture.She was alone.
Completely alone.Just her, her thoughts, and the shadows.
How did she survive and Why was she here?
What happened to her comrades, Were they alive and did they survive from the helicopter.
The questions swirled around her head and she rubbed her shoulder, expecting to feel the familiar ache of the bullet wound but to her surprise, there wasn't any wound.
Confusion filled her face as she examined her shoulder more closely pulling her top down a little.
There was blood but no scars or the pain, It was as if the bullet had never pierced her flesh.
With a deep breath, Aria pushed herself back off the wall forward, her eyes scanning the room for any clue on where she was.
The faint light seeping through the broken windows, illuminated the dust dancing in the air.
Aria's gaze landed on the small, rusty metal chair nearby.
She crawled toward it as her legs was feeling like jelly and grasped the chair's leg.
Using it as support, she pulled herself up and scans the room again.
At first, she thought she had missed nothing but then, her gaze landed on a small door, almost hidden from view.
A dusty fridge blocked the door, positioned strategically as if to protect the occupants who once lived here.
Aria's curiosity was piqued. What lay beyond that door, Was it a way out or a trap?
She hobbled towards the fridge, her legs shaking beneath her and with a deep grunt, Aria pushed the fridge aside with her body.
The door creaked open, revealing a narrow hallway that was dark with no light.
Aria hesitated, her heart pounding in her chest, should she investigate it or wait for whoever might come here.
But Aria was not a sit and wait individually as she began her walk out of the room and into an uncertain future.
The air grew colder and damper.
Aria's senses heightened as she continues hey walk, her hands on the wall guiding her
The air grew heavy with the scent of mildew and decay.Aria's senses heightened as she continued her cautious walk, her hands trailing along the cold wall to guide her through the darkness.
Her fingertips detected subtle changes in the texture, tracing the outlines of old pipes and rusty electrical conduits.
Aria's ears strained to detect any sound that might indicate she wasn't alone but there was nothing.
Only the echoes of her own footsteps as she descended deeper into the darkness, the wall beneath her fingers gave way to a metal handrail.
She gripped it tightly, her palms growing sweaty.
The handrail led her down another narrow corridor, the walls closing in around her with thick air.
Suddenly, Aria's foot struck something solid.
A door that was hidden in the shadows.Her heart quickened as she pushed the door open, inside the room was dimly light from a small bulb, that was going on and off.
Shelves upon shelves lined the walls, stocked with canned foods , medical supplies, and bottles of waters.
A small logbook lay open on a makeshift desk and a pen was resting across the page as if the writer had just stepped away.
Aria approached it, her eyes scanning the handwritten entries.
"We are the Resistance," she read aloud "We fight to live and we fight to die."
Her gaze moved to the final sentence. "Trust no one to Survive." Who would write this and where the hell was she?
This couldn't be Earth.
The desolation, the ruins, the eerie silence...It all felt like a nightmare.
Aria's thoughts swirled, her mind racing with questions. Was she in some kind of purgatory?
Or had she been transported to a different planet?.The possibility sent a shiver down her spine.
Her stomach growled, interrupting her thoughts and she walked back to the shelves lined with food, her eyes scanning the labels.
Canned beans, energy bars, dried fruits...
The selection was sparse but sufficient. She grabbed a can of beans and a bottle of water, her hands shaking slightly as she opened the can.
The smell of cooked beans wafted up, and her stomach growled louder, she took a hesitant bite, the flavors bland but with the hunger it tasted like heaven.
As she ate, she surveyed her surroundings again.The room was small, with concrete walls and a metal door.No windows.
No visible exits.Just the door she had entered through.
Aria's gaze returned to the logbook, what would she survive from