Strap skin

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*Cough* "Holy fuck", both Ellen and Jake, who were just crawling through the ventilation, were coughing of dust while sticky webs entashed with their clothing. Neither of them could have imagined that the shafts were so neglected and weak. Before them darkness reigned, hiding what lay further than a metre infront of them. They precautiosly continued their path throughout the dirty metal.
Jake felt the steel bulge beneath his weight. But at the time he turned his head to inform Ellen... "AHHHH-!".With a loud slattering, the weak metal broke open. Jake was fast, attempting to grasp the brink of the metal, but ultimately failed. His hands slip, and he followed Ellen in descending to the floor. "Tcha- Ah!! Fuck!", Ellen spat the word out like a curse after she collided with the floor, closely followed by Jake, who merely grunted, like he was waiting and preparing for this. However, he had visible trouble standing up.

"I won't be getting a retirement without severe back injuries, eh?", he scoffed, a bit sarcastic. He offered his help, swaying down his arm to help up Ellen. She accepted gladly, hopping to her feet. "Could've went better. Now, you have a idea where we are?", Ellen asked, glancing around. Unlike the entrance, this room was rather big. It was still the monotone, grey walls that made the room feel smaller than it actually was however. Cheap, wooden furniture, or what's left of it, lain in pieces all over the floor. It was dark, the only thing spending light being their very own torches. "Not... Really. This wasn't supposed to happen". Jake did not sound suprised. He surveyed his surrounding as well. Aside from the destroyed furniture and the silver ventilation above their heads, there was nothing but a doorless corridor in the furthest back of the room, barely visible as even the entry did not have any type of decoration. Jake seems to have noticed as well)

"Maybe this is a way out?", he asked indifferent. Ellen followed behind him, Neither of them deviating from their stable steps. After reaching their destination, they glared down the hallway. It appeared endless, the end obscured by fog.
"strange..."
"Thank you for the remark, miss obvious"
"Oh, shut up! Do you have a idea where it leads to?"
Ellen did not wait for the answer because she already knew it. Just as she was about to step forward she froze. Disbelief struck her like thunder, her head quickly veering to Jake to see if he felt the same or she was hallucinating.
No, he had the same look of confusion and fear. Out of instinct, she grabbed her weapon.
A humanoid silhouette plodded towards the fog. their back turned, they couldn't identify who or what it was.

"HALT!"
"STOP!"
They yelled for no avail. The figure moved unwaveringly, as if the threatening calls had not been heard at all. And soon, it disappeared inside the grey mist. Ellen wanted to follow, but Jack grabbed her shoulder and hindered her actions. Silent both stared startled. They felt watched with every breath they took. And finally, Jack lowered his hand. "We should... follow?", inquired Jack, who's voice was hollow of any emotion. Ellen only nodded as a responds, for a  huge mass was expanding rapidley in her lungs. She caughed, taking tiny steps forward, the only reassurement being Jack just behind her Each step they took merely brought them closer to the unbeknownst, whereas no one dared to talk, to interrupt the silence hanging in the air like a tender thread. A thread reaching deep into their mind. A thread, that could break so easily if anyone tore on it. But nobody did, and so it remained. Hanging.

It felt like a eternal torture walking through the neglected halls. It was cold, colder than it was outside, the air was moisty and sticks inside one's airways, causing you to caugh and feel ill. They both realized their presence wasn't welcomed in whereever they were, but they knew that there was no back, no undo for their stupid, naive actions.
They were facing a wall of fog a few steps later. Reassuring a look to each other, Ellen and Jake stepped forward into the mist. The white smoke effortlessly penetrates into his nose, mouth and ears, finally pressing against their eyes, which began to water in a attempt to fend off the sentient-looking mist, yet it brought no avail. But dull pain, regret, confusion and fear weren't the only things the body of both Ellen and Jake perceived. There was this sensation of serenity. Calmth. Soothing silence. And tranquillity. Everything seems to spin around them, their feet unable to balance their body, until they fell down. Their eyes felt heavy, tore their eyelids down until they closed. Despite the amount of concentration needed to inhale, they slowly fell asleep. Very agonizingly, slowly, with the feeling of insecurity pulsing through their body...

[Please vote for this chapter if you liked it, it REALLY helps others to find this book and interact.
Love, Destiny <3]

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