Dysphoria

Put flesh

Jake's eyes widen, his lungs in- and exhaling swiftly. With a look of panic on his face, he reaches down and grabs his pistol in one motion. He aimed at the exit to the tiny room, where a shadow resided calmly inbetween the corners of the empty door jamb. It looks human, though it's eyes glew with vigorous intensity. As soon as the weapon pointed at the creature it disappeared alike a shade in sunlight. Ellen watches confused, her eye's asking the question before they exit her mouth. She as well was alerted, yet did not draw her gun already. Her breathing was calm, her eyes lingering with rather doubt than fear. "Jake, are you okay? You aren't this easy to scare, espacially not by your own shadow." After a very deep exhale Jake lowered his weapon and strapped it back into his holster located near the torch on his belt. He answered fast, as though he held his breath for minutes: "This... was just unsetteling, I'm sorry. I thought something was standing there."

Ellen watches the floor as if to find answers within it, the opaque cement impevious to the light of their flashlights. Suddenly a smile crossed her face, one of reassurement. "It really felt strange, but it was just a shadow. It's gone now". Ellen poked his side with her elbow as which Jake replied with nothing more but a soft nod . He recovered from the shock, his body calming from the adrenalin. With a voice turning back to determination, he laughed: "Probably, let's get going." He sighed once more, closing the distance between himself and the door with slow but stable steps, that soon led him into the next room. "Pretty tiny rooms here", he reported, his voice blunt at telling the obvious. But he was right.

As soon as he took a step inside, he found himself in a pretty dimintuive room, in which the walls partly touched Jake's shoulder. The fact that he was a tall and wide man did not help at all. Ellen followed him with a few hasty paces. The room was too small for even her to squeeze herself inside. Infront of Jake was a typical bunker door, yet in liue of the door being shut tightley, it was diagonally blocking the hallway behind the door frame. It wasn't just montaged down, no, something had to rip it off it's hinges, for them to become fully broken. The door itself was bent inwards, as though a machine folded it together.
Jake stumbled a step backwards, a visible drop of sweat on his face, whilst Ellen simply surveyed it with a sly smile curling her lips when she commented: "Someone really wanted to get out of there". Jake's eyes widen in realization, taking a pace backwards. He wasn't sure, but he's always been a littel but pessimistic. "Or into there...", he hazed. Ellen did not answers, for she was fully emerged in trying to lift the leftover metal up and free the way. Jake watched her futile attempts for a few moments, before interrupting: "No chance, those doors weigh more than even I could lift"

Ellen rolled her eyes at Jake's report, turning to face him. While she leans on the metal, she took deep breaths, visually spent at her attempts to tear the weighted steel away. A inquiry look brought a confused smile to her lips: "And then... How exactly are we getting inside?". Jake's eyes survey the room for every fine detail, which pays off in the end. Behind a heap of rubble and debris, obscured by heavy shadows was a small spark of light as his flashlight hushed over a particular spot behind the bricks. He fixated his eyes upon it, the thought of not being able to enter slowly ceasing as he recognised the cover of a ventilation system. He stepped closer, kicking away rubbish laying in his way. "I may have a idea. Look what I've found," He bragged proudly, veering around to Ellen, "We could simply use a stone to bash in the cover and simply crawl in!"

He seems to have no doubt in the fool-proof plan of him. Ellen looked like she was about to protest, but took a brief moment to overthink the situation. There's absolutley no other way in. Doubtfully she nodded and went closer, rummaging the wrecks on the floor for a big enough stone. It did not take her long, bowing down and grabbing a flat, sharp rock. Without hesitation, she passed it towards Jake: "Come on Jake, you open it". Jake rolled his eyes amused, catching the rock and turning around. He glances at the glooming metal infront of him. Kneeling down, he ram the sharp side repeatedly inbetween the edges of the ventilation cover and the wall. As the sides started to carve in and shaking violently by each hit, he became more and more careful. After minutes of silence, it merely hung on the 4 last screws. Fatigue became visible in Jake's face, after the final blow sent the metal plate shattering to the floor. "What a honor," he choked forth. But a strange feeling of forebonding surged through his mind, "L... Let's go"

With a final breath he stepped into the vent...