Were it not for the intense orange lights illuminating the scene, the stairs would have been shrouded in complete darkness. They appeared meticulously arranged along the wall, stretching quietly downward. The descent didn't seem too deep—perhaps only a few meters below.
Joey placed his foot on the first step of the staircase, but he felt Chris grab the sleeve of his heavy, old dark purple jacket.
"I think that's enough for today. Look, we've made it this far, and it's better to head back home now. That's it, Joey. I'm not saying it again!" Chris said sharply, his tone barely masking his irritation.
"This is what we came here for today, Chris, isn't it? All day, from morning till sunset, we've been getting closer to finding what we've been trying to uncover for a month now—since we met that old robot guy!" Joey shot back defiantly, continuing his descent, ignoring Chris's objections.
"We're not going any further down. We're voting on this to make it fair. And guess what? The win's guaranteed for me and Rodri.
Right, Rodri?" Chris said firmly, trying to pull Joey back up the metal stairs. But as Chris pulled, Joey kept insisting on going down, seemingly indifferent to Chris's repeated attempts.
The sound of Rodri's footsteps on the metal stairs cut through Chris's heated argument. Rodri spoke with a decisive tone, "Isn't what we came for down there? What Gary... the guy with the notebook, mentioned? I really wanna see what's going on.
I'm going down, whether you two come or not."
Rodri repeated himself, addressing both Chris and Joey as he descended faster than them, leaving Chris slightly stunned and hesitating for a moment.
Joey followed Rodri deeper down the stairs, guided by the trail of lights aligned along the left side.
It wasn't long before Rodri reached the bottom first, finding himself in a relatively spacious area with the stale smell of old air. In front of him stood large numbers painted boldly: "84." He couldn't make sense of what they meant.
On either side of the corridor were heavy iron doors, their intimidating appearance evident in their sturdy design. There was one door on the right and another on the left.
Chris finally caught up, following closely behind Joey, who was already rushing forward. Joey stood, staring at the handle of the door on the right, while Rodri moved toward the door on the left.
"A giant meat locker, huh? But where's the meat?" Chris repeated sarcastically, trying to lighten the tension filling the air.
"You scared? Haha, just hold on tight and hope you don't fall!"
Chris snapped back sharply, "I'm not scared, you idiot! It's just… it's cold, yeah, that's it. It's cold." He tried to brush off the fear Joey had clearly noticed, who now stood there smugly.
Driven by curiosity, Chris tried to open the rusty door as soon as they reached the bottom of the stairs, but he couldn't manage it.
The handle felt heavy in his grip, maybe because he was trying to pull it with one hand. Determined, he decided to use both hands, but even that didn't work.
Rodri stepped in to help, feeling it was his responsibility. Chris didn't object and the two of them pulled with all their strength.
The veins in their arms and necks bulged, sweat beading on their foreheads.
Finally, through sheer determination, they managed to pry the door open, sending dust flying everywhere before Joey even had the chance to step in.
He stood there frozen, content just to watch.
Chris cheered excitedly after their success, while Rodri remained silent, not saying a word.
On the other side, Joey opened his metal door with ridiculous ease, unlike the struggle Chris and Rodri had just endured.
Chris was the first to step inside after the door opened. The room was small, barely big enough for three people, with no room for a fourth or fifth. He felt a strange sense of comfort in the tight space.
Rodri followed him in cautiously, his eyes scanning the walls, which were covered in faint, nearly eroded engravings.
In the other vault, Joey's attention was drawn to the old engraving, much like Rodri's, as well as the digital counter hanging near the entrance. The counter displayed a countdown starting from 100, as if it were measuring something. Joey tried to figure out the purpose of the counter and the surrounding space, especially with the damaged handle hanging on the far-right side.
Despite his curiosity, Joey didn't touch the handle. Instead, he focused on gathering the available information.
He began piecing together the connections between the elements in front of him: the engraving, the counter, the handle, and the thick, sturdy exterior door of the vault.
To him, it wasn't overly complicated, and as time passed, he started to understand the purpose of the handle and the counter, as well as why the exterior door was so strong.
Joey decided to alert the others in the neighboring vault. He called out to Chris from a distance to confirm:
"Hey! Is there a handle, like an old electricity meter lever, hanging on the right or left side? Can you see it?" he asked as he slowly approached their vault, waiting for a response to confirm or disprove his observations.
Chris replied from the other side, deciding to follow the same approach:
"Yeah, it's right here, near my hand. What's the deal, man?" Chris shouted back.
Joey stopped in front of the faded black number 84 printed on the wall, then answered:
"Nothing, just wanted to warn you not to lower the handle.
It looks like it might seal the room from the inside… or worse."
He snapped a photo of the number while hearing Chris respond in surprise:
"Really? Oh man! Then why didn't anything happen? I've been lowering it over and over, and nothing's responded at all!" Chris said, laughing loudly, while Rodri looked visibly annoyed by his behavior.
"Man, one day you're gonna hurt yourself with this reckless behavior!" Joey snapped with mild anger as he started heading toward their vault.
But he didn't get far—he froze mid-step as loud, continuous metallic clanking noises echoed from above the vault opposite theirs.
Joey rushed toward the noise, his steps quick and deliberate, with Rodri and Chris immediately following him. Unfortunately, the vault doors slammed shut behind them, trapping them inside.
"Joey, what the hell is going on?!" Chris yelled, frustration evident in his voice as he banged furiously on the vault door from the inside, but his efforts were futile.
Rodri stood at the back, listening intently to the heavy noises moving above the vault. He couldn't make sense of what he was hearing.
Outside, Joey was desperately pulling and pushing at the door, trying to force it open, but it didn't budge. The mechanical hinges seemed completely locked.
"What now? When and how did this even happen?" Chris muttered anxiously, standing close to Rodri as they remained trapped inside, the eerie silence of the vault settling over them.
Suddenly, they all felt it: the pull of gravity weakening. Their feet began to lift off the smooth ground, and they realized they were falling. The vault they were in was plummeting into the unknown.
Outside, Joey kept pounding on the vault door, his fists aching, but it was useless. The strong vibrations and scraping sounds coming from within made it clear to him—the vault was sliding down, heading into the depths below.
Joey didn't stand idle. He quickly turned his attention to the other vault he had inspected earlier. He now realized it wasn't just a vault—it was an elevator.
The vault his friends were trapped in operated the same way, another elevator descending into the unknown.
Thinking fast, Joey pulled the lever down as far as it would go.
This time, it responded immediately, unlike the other handle. The metallic door slammed shut tightly, and the elevator began its gradual descent.
As the motion started, Joey felt a wave of dizziness and nausea wash over him, but he steadied himself, trying to process the situation and prepare for whatever was waiting below.
####
The elevator plunged violently, and tiny sparks of fire seeped into the chamber. Chris and Rodri were floating around in the confined space due to the lack of gravity.
Chris felt suffocated by the grim situation they had found themselves in, and Rodri felt the same. It was all so strange and dangerous, unlike anything they'd ever faced before. What was happening now was extremely perilous, and failing to act could cost them dearly.
The empty corner on the right side seemed safer, so Rodri skillfully drifted toward it, using the nearest wall for support. He reached the corner and clung tightly to a sturdy handle, hoping it would protect him if the chamber shattered during the fall.
Chris, on the other hand, stayed frozen in place, his eyes fixed on the gauge. The numbers were dropping rapidly from 100 to 30. He knew full well that once the counter hit zero, it would be over—the chamber would completely collapse.
He didn't know what to do or how to act; his thoughts were utterly scrambled, overwhelmed by fear and frustration. At that moment, Rodri pulled out his baseball bat from the nearby bag and extended it toward Chris. Chris grabbed the tip of the bat, and Rodri began pulling him toward safety. Chris wasn't too heavy due to the lack of gravity, making the process much easier.
The numbers on the gauge kept decreasing: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… and then zero.
A loud screech echoed from the four corners of the chamber as it slowed down abruptly before coming to a sudden stop, hanging motionless for a brief moment. Chris and Rodri thought it was over. But moments later, the chamber dropped sharply from a short height, shattering part of the floor. Somehow, Rodri and Chris found themselves safe, near the shed.
The chaos finally subsided, and the two stumbled out of the chamber, shaken from the close brush with death they'd just experienced.
Both of them collapsed onto a lush grassy ground, letting the dampness of the earth soothe their nerves. Chris landed face down, while Rodri lay on his back.
Rodri opened his eyes, gasping for air, struggling to regain his strength. As he slowly sat up, he felt the texture of the grass beneath his hands. He finally believed they had survived. But when he looked around, what he saw made his breath catch in his throat, stopping him in his tracks.
Rodri shoved Chris hard with his hand, snapping him out of his daze and forcing him to face the dire situation they were stuck in. Annoyed, Chris got up from the ground, ready to yell at Rodri, but the surreal expanse of the space around them stole the words right out of his mouth. Whatever he was about to say suddenly felt meaningless in the face of this scene.
Chris stood on the grassy ground and moved closer to Rodri. Massive stone pillars—four or five, maybe—stood scattered before them. For a moment, he thought they were holding up the ceiling of this breathtaking cave. But as he stared, he realized the cave itself made the pillars look like giant matchsticks.
Between the patches of tall and short grass, stones pulsed with glowing colors, casting a faint light across the area. Yet, the glow wasn't bright enough to match the radiance of what seemed like the lights of distant buildings.
"Where the hell are we now?!" Chris shouted near Rodri's ear, his fear almost choking him.
To be continued in the next chapter…