Dark Corridors
Chapter II

The blue-furred fox leaned against the blood-tainted wall, breathing heavily and just looking at the destruction. A total of ten corpses, all covered in blood as the rest of the room. And judging by the damage, this was no accident. The clothes of the bodes are ripped and some even miss limbs. The fox nearly vomited to the view. He closed his eyes and placed a hand on his chest to make it stop beating so hard. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Whatever caused this doesn't seem to be around anymore and he was spared. He should be thankful.
When the idea of being spared came, the fox realized that he no longer felt any pain. He opened his eyes and examines his body as fine as he could in the dim light. Hs fur was wet and covered in the blood from the floor, but otherwise he seemed and felt fine. Scared and nervous, but still fine. The fox closed his eyes. Why did all these people die and yet he survived?
After a while, he opened his eyes again and looked at the bright computer screen in the next room. He was going to go there, when he almost tripped to the corpse. The fox took one careful step and when he was sure that his feet could carry him, he started to head towards the computer.
While on his way trough the room, the evidence of an assault became more and more clear. The equipment in the room where destroyed in a way no accident could have done. One of the computer screens had a hole in it as if something had been hit trough it. And the bodies had massive wounds that looked as if some monster had torn them with its claws and teeth. The sight was horrible and the fox quickly turned away and concentrated on the computer in the next room. The window between the rooms was still in one piece, so it must be enhanced. The fox head for the open door and carefully stepped over a body lying in the doorway.
The second room was in better condition. Except from the few blood-taints in the doorway and no working lights, everything seemed to be in order. The fox went to the computer. The screen had only a gray window in otherwise black background.

EMERGENCY PROGRAM ACTIVATED!!

ALL SYSTEMS SHUT DOWN.

In order to access the system, reboot the system from the Main Control Room.


So, the computer didn't help. The fox tried every possible button he could find, but the screen didn't change. The computer was locked. He sighed and looked to the destroyed laboratory trough the window. At least he thought it was a laboratory, considering all the equipment. Then the fox saw another door behind the one he had come in, and since he had no better clue, he decided to try it.
The door opened without too much effort and gave a view to a dark, gray hallway: It was like those in hospitals. Several other doors like this one stood at both sides of the hallway. There was no destruction like back in the lab, no blood on the wall or corpses lying around. Tough the hallway had no light at all; the strange glow around everything still remained, most of the time seeming to be the only source of light.
The fox listened carefully while gazing on both directions, before finally leaving the lab. The sound of his footsteps echoed trough the empty hallway and the floor plates felt cold under his bare feet, as he tried to find something, anything he could remember. His best bet now was to find the Main Control Room and try to gain access to the labs files. Perhaps they would have some information on who he was.
All of the doors the fox came by where closed and locked, supposedly due to the system lockdown. A digital sign over each door showed, what it was used for, like Lab, Dressing Room, Dormitory etc. They also had this box next to them with a linear hole and a red light. They most likely could only be opened from the inside, like the lab door, or then by a special Key Card. Few times the fox wondered, if he should go and look, if one of the corpses had something that would look like it, but he really didn't want to return to the bodies, so he kept going.
For a long time, there was really no change besides a few turns and crossings in the hallways. And all the doors were closed. The constant silence and the darkness started to get his pulse up again and he searched for a switch to turn on the lights, but none was found. He tried to remain as silent as possible; being afraid that whatever killed the scientist might still be around. Then, after a while that seemed like hours, he finally found the sign he was looking for. Double doors at the end of one hallway that said "Main Control Room". But unfortunately and as he had feared, this door too was locked tight. The fox tried to push, pull turn the handle, ram to the door. He tried everything he could think of, but the door remained shut. He thought of calling, if someone was in there, but was still too afraid to make sound. For a while, he stood leaning to the doors and stared that the dark hallway before him. All the light was that of the signs over the doors and the strange glow. His imagination started to gain wings. More than once he thought he heard something. Footsteps, Breathing and other sounds, and each time his heart jumped to the throat. His eyes widened as his gazed to the darkness and awaited something to appear from it. But nothing ever came. And the sounds never came twice in row.
After several paranoid moments, the fox finally decided to head back to the lab and try the find, if some of the corpses had a Key Card. He walked trough the dark hallways and kept telling himself that his imagination was playing tricks on him. Somehow the darkness seemed even more threatening as it did before. He wanted to close his eyes, but that would only make him imagine his surroundings to be far worse. His mouth was completely dry and he was shivering from head to toe, but kept his eye for the darkness in front of him, and carried on.
Then suddenly, at the darkness, the fox distinguished something different from the other hallways. He carefully came closer and then he felt small rocks under his feet. There were bigger rocks further ahead. Then the fox's eyes widened as he noticed that he had walked into a dead end. A huge pile of rocks, betony and dirt blocked the path before him. But since he hadn't heard anything resembling a collapse, this had most likely happened quite a while ago. The fox's heart started to thump faster again as the situation became much clearer. Before, he had been so sure that he would never go to the lab room again and was constantly keeping an eye on anything that could engage from the darkness that he had forgot to look, where he went. And now, he was lost. All the hallways looked exactly the same and the darkness didn't make it any better. Angry with himself, the fox turned around and then he saw it! Something small dashed to the cover of darkness right at the edge of his vision. The fox let out a sudden squeal, as his heart nearly jumped to the throat, and he backed away few steps. This time he had really seen it! There had been something right there! This time, it wasn't just his imagination. Or was it? Though the fox tried to listen, there were no sounds. And everything was again completely still. He backed away to the rocks, holding his chest and gazing to the dark hallway. Had he really seen anything at all? Was it just his imagination again? Or as the fear finally driven him paranoid?