The World Below (ON BREAK)

Chapter 14

Lab, Sanctuary city

The faun was running at full speed through the hall, his lab coat flapping, his hoofbeats echoing in the empty corridor. His breaths were heaving and rushed, for he had important news for the boss.

He nearly ran into his coworker, a dryad named Ivy, who had a bundle of her namesake in a bag on her hip, a few leaves just peeking out. A few documents slipped from her grasp onto the floor, and she bent to pick them up, giving a brief look of annoyance at the faun.

He quickly apologized, resuming his race to the boss's office. Once he reached the door, he knocked and, before waiting for an answer, pushed open the door. He was met with the shadowed figure of the boss, the dim light further obscuring his already shadowy appearance. He was a Minotaur, a great creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man.

The faun collapsed in the chair in front of the desk, inhaling deep breaths of air before speaking.

"Sir, we received a call from a Naga lady. From one of the houses near Storage. She seemed very worried, saying that she hadn't seen her son since he left for school this morning. We suspect he..." He took a breath. "That he may have left Sanctuary."

The Boss stood up, leaning across the table.

"Who is this boy?"

The faun was practically vibrating with fear. "His name is Tanner, sir. He was sent to check his family's storage but never came back. He still hasn't returned."

The minotaur sat down again.

"This is a matter of Sanctuary and everyone in it. Contact Jack. This boy, Tanner, must be located and neutralized. He could give away all our secrets."

The faun's eyes widened.

"But sir... isn't Jack a human? We're trying to keep humans away from our activities. Right?"

"Do not defy orders. Contact Jack."

"Yes, sir."

The faun, as soon as it was possible, scampered out of the dimly lit room and back to room 3b. He suspected something was amiss. When he got there, he trotted over to the chelves with the Switches, to check inventory. Also because he had a feeling that something was wrong here.

All the centaur switches were there. Ten in all. Same with every other switch for every monster in Sanctuary. But when he reached the human Switches...

There was one missing, with only nine on the shelf. The faun stepped back. He knew what the boy, Tanner, did. He stole a Switch. The faun grabbed the box with all the human switches and ran back to the boss's office, nearly ramming into Ivy a second time. He stood outside of the boss's door, because he heard more than one voice coming from inside.

He opened the door ever so slightly, to peep inside, and was met with the figure of a man, but this man was different. He was a human. He wore a gas mask that covered his whole head, as well as what looked like a full body suit underneath a large trench coat, with a gun strapped to his back. The faun backed away slowly, making sure the door was closed fully before running back to his assigned room.

A short but necessary chapter :3