arte and sunny's guide to surviving the apocalypse

14- it seems unforgiving when a good thing ends

Sunny wasn't sure what he was expecting when the elevator doors opened- maybe some kind of horrible evil layer, with all red lighting? And whatever Samuel looked like, sitting behind a big desk, in a massive swivel chair, stroking an equally evil-looking cat? Whatever it was, it was going to be ugly, he was sure.

So, imagine his shock when they went from a posh hotel lobby to a barren hallway, certainly not the lair of any kind of king. Who knows what kinds of horrible traps awaited them at the end of it, with the single door in front of them looming ominously. There was only one place to go, and that was forward.  

It looked like Samuel Everett wasn't done playing with them yet.

The intercom crackled to life above them, that same skin-crawling voice coming over it. "I'm sure you gathered by now that you're not quite finished entertaining me, or the good folks down in the square. You've caused us a lot of fear and heartache these past few years, so it would be plum stupid of you to think I'm done with you just yet!" The trio exchanged a look, while Barley shook his head, sighing as he stepped out of the elevator.

"I don't like doing what he tells us, but what other choice do we have, y'know?"

"Yeah, still sucks," Tori growls, while Sunny sighs heavily.

"At least we're getting close to the end now, right?" Barley offered, and the optimism in his voice made Sunny want to puke.

"Not by a long shot," Sunny found himself growling. "This is the same genius behind such bangers as the mutations, the military takeover, and the actual apocalypse. He's not gonna let us rest for one second."

Barley just frowned at that, with Tori muttering something that sounded like, "Harsh." The elevator doors slid open behind them again, and they walked in, making Sunny feel regrettably obedient. Sunny felt oddly numb as the doors opened again; he just didn't have it in him anymore to get agitated, he thought.

That was, until, he saw the next room.

How to describe the next room... It was awful, to be sure, but not the worst thing Sunny had ever seen. Objectively, he knew the Research Facility, Psilocybe, and even his own home were much worse, much more damaging psychologically. It still did not prepare him for the mess that was this specific room.

It was a lavish lounge room, one that looked fit for some sort of sultan, decked out with various comfortable-looking places to sit. A bar of an odd assortment of food sat off to the corner, stuff Sunny was sure no one actually liked- sardines, green olives, cans of various processed meats. I wonder if those are actually just ground-up soldiers, like Dolion said? No way to know if he's bluffing now, after all. He's stardust at this point.

The room itself wasn't the issue for Sunny- it was the inhabitants. A bunch of doll-like women were parading around the place in bathing suits, looking somewhat chilly but not bothered by it at all. Sunny just gasped, throwing his hands over his eyes as the doors opened, while he could almost hear his companions gaping beside him. Tori nudged him through, while Barley continued to stand there, letting out a long "Uhhhhh...?"

Sunny stumbled as Tori tried to nudge him through, putting one arm out blindly to feel around. It felt rude to even so much as look at them, for some reason. Tori finally clamped a hand on his shoulder, stopping him cold.

"For god's sake, Sunny, open your eyes." He heard her swivel around a bit, calling back to Barley, "And get out of the fucking elevator. We aren't here to window-shop."

"That's a bit rude," Sunny huffed, peeking at her from under his arm. Tori didn't look amused, not at all.

"They're robots, Sunny. They're pretty lifelike, sure, but I can see where their joints connect. Stop being a prude."