Who Am I? » [Stucky]

176. A Wrong Turn

Their numbers were reduced as the team splintered away, their decrease in manpower and weaponry rendered them further vulnerable and less lights travelled with them. The darkness seemed to close in on them a little further, their radius of radiance shuffling smotheringly closer. The remaining two groups carried on with their voyage into the black, venturing into the wings of the unknown. The lights faded from the subteam as they rounded the corner and sneaked off into the catacomb corridors.

"Tony, can you or your team see anything?" Steve asked with a finger tapping his ear.

"Nothing as of yet, frozone..." Tony retorted smugly.

"First, can you see anything that could have made a noise? Secondly, do you spend time googling appropriate nicknames or do you come up with them up on the spot? Because I'm genuinely curious," Steve relayed, eyes still darting about in the bleakness invading the temple-esque sanctum.

"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't looked them up occasionally," Tony scoffed. "And no. No sign of any suspicious objects lying around. We're going to scout around a little further, see what else they've got down here - perhaps try and find the computer transmitting the signal that lead us here."

"Okay..." Steve's tone was worrisome and his face remained creased with lines of philosophy as he tried to untangle the enigma that was the empty base. "Stay safe, and alert us if anything happens," he ordered.

"Roger that, Rogers." Tony's fuzzing voice was generated from the darkness.

They came to a set of double doors with a pair of stiff archaic handles. Flecks of rust came away in Steve's palm: he brushed it away before opening the unlocked door with a creak of its decrepit hinges. The team stringed through the door like a trail of ducklings, in a tight formation and regrouped at the other side. They came to a two way corridor, both ends gloomy with darkness. Ominous dripping was sourced from one end where a spiral staircase was situated; at the other was an Italian sign that read 'Archivio'.

"Okay, we're going to have to split up. Natasha, how do you feel about taking the stairs?" Steve entrusted her with captaining her own division, eyes constantly watching over her shoulders, on high alert for any sign of life in the encompassing void.

"Your wish is my command, Cap..." She said trustingly with a smile, nudging her shoulder into him, but anxiety also made a brief appearance on her features: unusually so.

"Stay in contact, stay safe, and don't hesitate to use your communications line if something happens," Steve insisted, paranoia ingrained into his every waking second and protectiveness of his entourage of comrades who had come to be family.

"You take me for a fool, Steve," Natasha cooed, flashing a smirk that died fast.

"No. I take you for someone who refuses to ask for help," Steve retorted. "Look after yourself."

They shared a brief hug before parting ways like two repelling magnets. Natasha, hand-in-hand with Clint, and Steve, hand-in-hand with Bucky. Their group stalked down the corridor at a careful pace, keeping to the periphery of the hallway, pressed against the walls of the wide berth to avoid any potentially incoming projectiles. Doors lined the walls, the team rattled each handle in a foiled attempt to gain entry to the blocked off - the metal made awful clunking sounds that echoed down the tube-like ducts that twisted like a labyrinth and sought to ensnare them eternally with its confusing loops and pathways.

Flashlights fluttered about frantically, the team mapping out their way as they went, trying to ward away the darkness that surrounded their ranks.

"This is it..." Steve whispered at the end of the corridor, where they reached an already open pair of cracked and decomposing double doors, propped open by a rubber door-wedge. There was a curve carved in the dust that was thick on the floor, unlike the thick frosting that had coated everything else in the ancient cave. It was a juxtaposition that had gone unnoticed as they swept into the room with all eyes front and hearts racing.