Lost in the Archive
Lara stood shakily, her body trembling from adrenaline and exhaustion. The room around her stretched endlessly, its walls filled with shelves crammed with books, scrolls, and objects she didn't recognize. The air hummed faintly, as though the room itself was alive.
Her fingers clenched around the journal, its pulsing warmth now a steady thrum against her skin. Margot was gone, dragged back into the darkness, and Lara's heart ached at the thought. She couldn't let her sacrifice be for nothing.
"Margot!" Lara called out, her voice echoing into the vast, endless space.
Nothing answered, save for the faint whisper of air moving through unseen passageways.
Lara forced herself to move, limping toward the nearest shelf. The books were bound in leather and cloth, their spines etched with symbols she couldn't decipher. Some glowed faintly, others appeared warped, their shapes defying logic.
She pulled one at random, the cover rough under her fingers. As she opened it, the pages seemed to rearrange themselves, shifting into a language she could understand.
It wasn't a book—it was a record. A memory.
She saw a woman standing in a narrow hallway, her face twisted with fear. Shadows loomed behind her, just like the ones that had chased Lara. The woman screamed, but the sound was muffled, as though it were happening underwater. The shadows overtook her, and the page went blank.
Lara slammed the book shut, her breath coming in short gasps. "What is this place?" she whispered.
The journal in her hands seemed to vibrate slightly, drawing her attention.
Lara opened the journal again, its pages blank at first. But as she stared, words began to scrawl themselves onto the parchment, written in a jagged, hurried script.
"You are in the Archive. The City's memory. Do not linger. It will find you."
Her hands trembled as she turned the page, more words appearing as though written by an invisible hand.
"Look for the Door of Return. Follow the trail of red light."
Lara glanced around the room, her heart racing. Red light? There was no light here at all, only the dim glow of the books and shelves.
"Margot?" she whispered again, her voice breaking. "Where are you?"
As if in answer, a faint sound reached her ears—a low groan, like the creak of a heavy door. Lara's heart leapt.
She followed the sound, her footsteps echoing faintly on the stone floor. The shelves seemed to stretch taller as she moved, their shadows growing deeper and more ominous.
Ahead, a faint red glow began to appear, pulsating like a heartbeat. It was distant, but unmistakable. Lara quickened her pace, ignoring the sharp pain in her leg.
"Margot!" she called again.
This time, there was an answer—a faint, muffled cry.
"Lara!"
Lara reached the source of the red glow: a tall, arched doorway carved into the stone wall. Its surface pulsed faintly, the light casting eerie shadows across the floor.
Beyond the door, she could hear Margot's voice, faint but growing louder. "Lara, hurry!"
She hesitated, the journal growing warmer in her hands. The light around the door shimmered, and for a moment, she thought she saw the shadows from before writhing on the other side.
Her grip tightened on the journal. Whatever was beyond that door, she had no choice.
With a deep breath, Lara stepped through.
The air changed instantly, becoming heavier and colder. The ground beneath her feet was uneven, jagged, as though she were walking on broken glass. The red light illuminated the space around her, revealing a cavernous room filled with towering stone pillars.
Margot was there, leaning against one of the pillars. Her arm was bloodied, her face pale, but she was alive.
"Margot!" Lara ran to her, relief flooding her chest.
Margot looked up, her expression weary but relieved. "You made it," she said weakly.
"What happened? How did you escape?" Lara asked, her voice trembling.
Margot shook her head. "I don't know. The shadows… they dragged me back, but I found this door. It brought me here."
Before Lara could respond, a low growl echoed through the chamber, reverberating off the stone walls.
Both women froze.
From the shadows beyond the red light, something began to emerge. It was massive, its form shifting and twisting like smoke. Its eyes glowed faintly, two piercing red orbs that locked onto Lara and Margot.
"It followed us," Margot whispered, her voice filled with dread.
The creature let out a guttural roar, its body flickering as it surged forward.
"Run!" Margot shouted, grabbing Lara's arm.
They bolted, the uneven ground making every step treacherous. The creature gave chase, its massive form moving faster than seemed possible.
Lara tripped, the journal slipping from her hands. She scrambled to grab it, but the creature was too close.
Margot turned, pulling another vial from her jacket. She hurled it at the creature, the glass shattering against its chest. The liquid hissed and burned, but the creature barely slowed.
"This way!" Margot shouted, pulling Lara toward another doorway illuminated by faint red light.
They stumbled through the doorway just as the creature lunged. Its claws scraped against the stone, missing them by inches. The door slammed shut behind them, the red light fading into darkness.
Lara collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air. Her hands clutched the journal tightly, its warmth now a comforting presence.
Margot leaned against the wall, her breath ragged. "We can't keep running like this," she said. "The City's not going to stop. Not until it has you."
Lara's chest tightened. "What do we do?"
Margot didn't answer immediately. She stared at the journal in Lara's hands, her green eyes narrowing.
"That thing," she said slowly, "is connected to whatever's in there. If we're going to survive, we need to figure out why."
The silence in the chamber was as oppressive as the darkness. Lara clutched the journal tightly, her fingers aching from the tension. The door they had just slammed shut vibrated faintly, a reminder of the monstrosity they had narrowly escaped.
Margot stood a few feet away, leaning against the wall and catching her breath. Her green eyes flickered to Lara. "If you're opening that thing," she said, her voice low, "do it quickly. We don't have much time."
Lara nodded, her hands trembling as she flipped the journal open. The pages glowed faintly, the eerie light casting shadows that danced unnaturally on the walls. The jagged script that appeared earlier began writing itself again, line by line.
"The City is alive. Its shadows, its streets, even its people—they are pieces of a single, consuming entity."
The words burned into the page as Lara read, her stomach twisting. The glowing letters twisted and re-formed, revealing more:
"The reflections are not just replacements. They are the City's way of feeding. It devours identity, memory, and self. Those it takes are trapped forever in its mirrors, becoming part of its fabric."
Margot leaned closer, her face grim. "So that's what it's after," she muttered. "You."
Lara's breath hitched. "Why me?"
The journal answered, its words appearing in a rush:
"Because you saw the cracks. The moment you noticed, you became a threat to its control."
Margot stepped back, her expression darkening. "That's why it sent the hunter."
Lara closed the journal with a snap, her heart racing. "We can't stay here," she said, her voice shaking. "If that thing finds us again…"
Margot nodded, her lips pressing into a thin line. "The journal said to look for exits. If we keep moving, we might stay ahead of it."
They scanned the room, their eyes adjusting to the faint glow of the remaining red light. Another doorway stood in the far corner, its outline faint but visible.
"Come on," Margot urged, tugging Lara forward.
The air in the room grew colder as they approached the door, and the faint sound of whispers began to echo around them. The voices weren't clear, but Lara felt her name threaded into the noise, tugging at her mind.
"Lara…"
She froze, her legs trembling. The whispers grew louder, wrapping around her like chains.
"Keep moving!" Margot barked, grabbing her arm and pulling her toward the door.
The doorway led into a long, narrow corridor bathed in flickering red light. The walls were lined with mirrors, each reflecting warped, twisted images of Lara and Margot as they ran.
Lara's reflection stopped mid-stride, staring back at her with hollow, black eyes. It smiled, baring jagged teeth, and began pounding on the glass.
"Don't look!" Margot shouted.
Lara tore her gaze away, her heart hammering in her chest. The pounding grew louder, the sound echoing down the hall.
"Margot, where does this lead?" Lara asked, her voice trembling.
Margot didn't answer immediately. Her face was tight with concentration as she scanned the corridor. "It's a transition point," she said finally. "A space between layers of the City. If we make it to the end, we'll be one step closer to the center."
"And the hunter?"
"It won't stop," Margot said grimly. "But we'll make it harder for it to catch us."
The pounding from the mirrors turned into shattering as the reflections broke free. Jagged shards of glass rained down, and the twisted figures inside stepped out into the hall. They were grotesque versions of Lara and Margot—distorted, hollow, and hungry.
The first one lunged at Lara, its claw-like hands swiping inches from her face. She ducked, stumbling backward and nearly dropping the journal.
"Run!" Margot shouted, throwing a knife she pulled from her belt at one of the creatures. The blade struck its shoulder, but the creature barely flinched.
Lara sprinted down the hall, her legs screaming in protest. The reflections followed, their distorted bodies flickering like static as they moved.
One grabbed her wrist, its icy grip sending pain shooting up her arm. She screamed, twisting free and slamming the journal into its face. The creature hissed, its hollow eyes narrowing before it lunged again.
Margot appeared behind her, slamming another vial against the creature's chest. The liquid hissed, and the reflection shrieked, dissolving into black smoke.
"We're almost there!" Margot shouted, pointing toward the faint outline of another door at the end of the hall.
The hunter's guttural roar echoed behind them, closer now. The ground beneath their feet began to shake, cracks spiderwebbing through the floor.
"Go, go, go!" Margot yelled, shoving Lara from the floor
The door at the end of the corridor wasn't solid—it shimmered like water, its surface rippling as though it weren't entirely real.
"Is that even a door?" Lara shouted.
"It doesn't matter!" Margot yelled back. "Jump!"
The hunter's roar filled the hall as Lara and Margot leapt through the shimmering doorway.
They landed hard on a stone floor, the cold seeping into their skin. The door behind them vanished, leaving them in a vast, open space lit by a faint blue glow.
Lara sat up, clutching the journal tightly, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Margot groaned beside her, cradling her injured arm.
"Did we lose it?" Lara asked, her voice trembling.
"For now," Margot muttered. "But it'll find us again."
Lara looked around, her eyes adjusting to the dim light. The space was lined with towering stone pillars, their surfaces carved with intricate patterns that seemed to move when she looked at them too long.
"What is this place?" Lara asked.
Margot shook her head, her expression grim. "Closer to the City's heart. And closer to the truth."