Ollie grunted as he turned the wheel with both hands, his face flushed as he used his whole body.

  "Pfft. Pansy." Kyle pushed off Ollie and put his hands on the wheel. He turned the wheel too, face flushing red as well. He backed off, scratching his hair.

  "Idiot," Ollie said.

  "Hey, this shit's probably already rusted like this. Can't turn it like this. Better to blast it open, right bro?" Kyle looked to Clyde.

  Clyde immediately brought down his long gun on his shoulder.

  "Why do you guys always default to shooting up everything?!" Rachel pushed up the long gun aimed at the door. "You might cave in the whole tunnel system."

  "She's kinda right," Clyde said.

  "Kinda right?" Ollie said. "She's completely correct."

  Rachel looked to Gale. "Can you open it?"

  All eyes looked to Gale. He moved towards the wheel, trying not to meet their eyes. Twisting the wheel, it groaned before giving way as metal scraped against metal. Dust from rust fell down onto the floor below the wheel.

  Kyle whistled. "Bambam's got some muscle."

  "Shut up," Rachel elbowed Kyle.

  The door finally opened, and cold damp air flooded the basement. Water dripped down somewhere below, and rusted pipes lined the upper walls of the tunnel. Ollie shined his flashlight down the tunnel, revealing nothing of whatever was down there.

  "Come on. Let's just get this over with." Ollie stepped through first, drawing his deagle from his jacket.

  The others followed, Rachel and Gale second, and lastly the twins. They moved in silence until they hit a fork in the tunnel system.

  "Two tunnels," Ollie pointed his light down each. "We should split up."

  Kyle snorted. "Of course we should. Because splitting up always works out great in horror movies."

  "Twins, you take right," Ollie ignored the comment. "We'll go left."

  "Splitting up sounds like a terrible idea," Clyde said.

  "Got a better one?" Ollie asked.

  "Fine," Kyle said. "But I'm jacking whatever looks shiny first."

  "Just stay in radio contact," Ollie said. "Report anything unusual."

  "Define unusual in an underground bunker with a warning sign and Chinese magic paper," Clyde muttered.

  Kyle pulled out his phone, opening the walkie app then turning on the flashlight. "Channel's open. Don't forget to check in every five minutes. Pssht over."

  "We're standing right next to each other," Ollie said.

  Kyle grinned. "Come on, bro. Adventure awaits."

  Clyde grinned as well, then followed Kyle. "Awaits is the adventure beyond."

  "Let's go," Rachel sighed, lighting up her torch hand that was brighter than a phone flashlight.

  Ollie led them forward down the left tunnel. The passage was wide enough for two people side by side. The walls were white with dark spots and mould.

  The tunnel curved before opening to a wider area. Metal doors went on at even intervals on both sides of the hallway.

  Before Ollie could push open the first door they neared, Gale put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, what if theres those thingies?"

  Ollie's eyes glanced behind him at Rachel. "Gale, ghosts don't exist!"

  "But what if, just you know, what if?"

  "I'll stay near you, always. Come on. Let Ollie check the room," Rachel said.

  Gale sighed, moving to Rachel, now shoulder to shoulder.

  Ollie pushed open the first door immediately, deagle up. "Just barracks."

  Opening the door wider revealed rusted metal bunk beds against all 3 walls. Empty footlockers sat at the end of each bed, most open. Black stains marked the concrete floor.

  "Blood?" Rachel asked.

  Gale went over to the blackened spot, put his nose all the way to the concrete floor, and smelled.

  "Don't tell me you're going to lick it?" Ollie asked.

  "Shhh, he's working," Rachel said.

  Pinching the blood and rubbing his fingers together told Gale all he needed to know about the blood. Didn't even need Analyze to do this.

  "Blood's old. Very old. Couple of months. And someone else has been here recently." Gale pointed at the older footprints and one of the newer ones.

  "Shit, didn't see that," Ollie said. "Whoever they are, hope they don't meet the twins first."

  Ollie signalled for Gale to come back and then moved to the next room. Another barracks, just like the first. Same layout with the bunk beds and the same footprints, old mixed with new. The third room over was the same.

  "This doesn't look like any normal shelter I've seen," Ollie said.

  Going deeper into the tunnel, the smell of rotting flesh could no longer be ignored, growing stronger with each step. Rachel covered her nose while Ollie did the same. Gale didn't. This wasn't even as bad as some of the half decayed forest beasts that roamed the Eclipsed.

  "The hell is that smell?" Ollie asked.

  Rachel made a stink face. "You know what it is."

  They reached another door where the smell was too strong that Ollie just ignored it.

  "Let's skip this one," he said, moving past.

  No one argued.

  The next room was different. Filing cabinets lined the walls instead of bunks. A metal desk sat in the middle, covered in dust and old papers.

  "Administration," Rachel said, picking up a yellowed sheet. "These look like personnel records."

  Ollie checked the filing cabinets. "Most of these are empty. Someone took the files."

  "Not everything," Rachel said, holding up a folder. "Project Threshold."

  "Like the asylum?" Gale looked over her shoulder.

  Rachel flipped through the folder. "Same name, different location. Has to be connected."

  Ollie's phone crackled with static as Kyle’s voice came through. "Team Right checking in. Found something weird. Big room with old computers. Looks like some NASA level spaceship moon landing mission control setup... whatever you call that. Pssht over."

  Ollie pressed the push to talk. "Any idea what it was for?"

  "Negative. But there are four metal pillars curving toward the centre of the room. Can't figure out what they do. Pssht over."

  "Copy that. We found personnel records mentioning Project Threshold."

  "Interesting. Keep us posted. Pssht over."

  Gale checked another room while Rachel and Ollie looked through the documents. This one had an armory setup, but most weapons racks were empty. A few rusted gun parts lay on the floor. Tendrils fed him that this room basically had nothing, making him go back to the administration room.

  "Hey, I have a question." Gale walked over to Rachel.

  Rachel looked up from the folder. "Yup?"

  "How do you kill a ghost if you don't have fire?"

  Rachel and Ollie shared a look. "There are lots of ways."

  "Like?"

  "Get an incantation of blessing on your sword. Have to ask the knights for that," Ollie said. "You could also just buy a blessed glyph sword. Costs about as much as a car, though."

  Well, that was out of the question. Best not to even think about leeching off of Rachel.

  "The key is converting them to ectoplasm first, the physical kind before you hit them," Rachel said. "Once they're in a semi-physical state, you can damage them normally."

  "How do you do that?" Gale asked.

  "Multiple ways. Jiuling on the west coast sells ghost-bane spray cans. Coat your sword with it and it'll do the job." Rachel smiled. "Want me to buy you some?"

  "N…no thanks. It must be expensive."

  "You sure?" Her smile faltered.

  "Next time, I'll ask you. Ok?"

  Rachel nodded.

  "Ugh, you two." Ollie grumbled. "Let's get out of here. Explore more."

  Before they could exit the admin room, Ollie's phone crackled again.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  "Team Right again. There's a door here with another warning sign. Thinking about opening it. Advice? Pssht over," Kyle said.

  "Hold position," Ollie said immediately. "We'll head your way after we finish here."

  "Roger that. Hurry up though. Kyle's getting itchy fingers. Pssht over," Clyde said.

  Rachel spread more papers across the desk. "Look at this."

  Gale moved closer. The paper showed diagrams with handwritten notes in the margins.

  "What is it?" Gale asked.

  "References to an organization called Spotlight," Rachel said. "Same name as the person we've been tracking."

  "Let me see that," Ollie said, taking the paper. He studied it, then grabbed another document. "This doesn't make sense. These documents are old. Really old."

  "I thought Spotlight was recent," Gale said.

  Ollie shook his head. "Well, that's what we thought. Looks like the rabbit hole goes deeper than this."

  Rachel flipped through more papers. "According to these notes, they were providing something called 'fuel' to this facility."

  "Fuel for what?" Ollie asked.

  "It doesn't say," Rachel said, reading, then holding up the paper. "Here it is. The fuel is referred to as 'dust.'"

  "That can't be a coincidence," Ollie made eye contact with Rachel.

  "There's also reports here about Spotlight operatives performing what the scientists called 'impossible feats.' They didn't understand what they were seeing," Rachel said.

  "Like what?" Gale asked.

  Rachel read from the document.

  Subject T displayed unusual strength, lifting a 500-pound piece of equipment without strain. Subject K manipulated electricity without tools or equipment. Subject R healed a severe laceration in minutes.

  "They're talking about Awakened," Ollie said. "These scientists were working with Awakened and they didn't even know it."

  "Some of them call it 'magic,' technically right though," Rachel flipped the page again. "And some others said it's 'ether manipulation.' They were trying to figure out how it works. We should take these. The Path needs to see them."

  "Or not," Ollie said. "Depends on what else we find here."

  "What do you mean?" Rachel said.

  "I mean information is power," Ollie said. "And they shot me in the back. I'm in no mood for sharing."

  They checked the remaining rooms. An office, a small kitchen, and what looked like a medical bay with equipment that looked like it was from the 80s. The corridor ended at a large room with desk cubicles. Old computers sat on each desk, covered in dust. Papers were scattered on the floor, with fresh footprints visible.

  "Research station," Ollie said, looking at one of the computers. "IBM. Ancient stuff. Ringo bought them out decades ago."

  Rachel picked up some on the desk. "Research notes. Looks like they were studying some kind of energy field."

  "Similar to the asylum?" Gale asked.

  "Could be," Rachel said, skimming the pages. "They mention 'dimensional barriers' and 'cascade effects.' Sound familiar?"

  "Rifts," Ollie said. "Bad idea to do whatever they were doing."

  "Why?" Gale asked.

  Ollie and Rachel exchanged looks.

  "Rift explosions could happen if they don't close it fast enough," Rachel said softly.

  Gale picked up a dusty photo from one of the desks. It showed scientists in lab coats standing in front of what looked like the pillars the twins had mentioned.

  "Guess we should check out what the twins found," Ollie said, pocketing the photo. "Grab as much as you can into that storage box of yours, Gale."

  Gale, without hesitation, filled the storage box with as many of the piles of paper that were near him. Tendrils tugged at him, coming from the room they had skipped, humanoid movements.

  "Wait," he said. "There's something... moving."

  Kyle and Clyde watched the others disappear down the left tunnel before turning to their own passage. Their flashlights lit up the dark, showing wet concrete walls that reflected the light.

  Twenty bucks says we find something cooler than they do, Kyle thought, pointing his gun forward.

  Clyde followed, keeping an eye on the corners. Forty says we find a dead body first.

  The tunnel they walked through ran in one straight line, with no doors or offshoots. Their footsteps hit puddles that echoed against the concrete walls.

  No side rooms. Kyle moved his light across the walls. Very weird design with this tunnel, eh?

  Means whatever's at the end is important, Clyde thought.

  After walking for about 5 minutes, they reached a heavy metal door. No warning signs here, just rust and a simple handle.

  Ready? Kyle drew his dagger, raising his glock forward.

  Whenever, Clyde drew his high-pen Glyphed SCAR from the straps on his shoulder and aimed forward at the door, a couple of steps away from Kyle, who was beside the door.

  GO

  Kyle pulled open the door, immediately threw in a flashbang, and closed the door. Once the bang popped, Kyle pulled the door open again as Clyde, already on his knees, aimed down his sight.

  Holy fuuuuck bro, Clyde thought, standing up, pointing his SCAR down and entering the door. Kyle followed close behind.

  The room they entered was shaped like a big dome. Four metal pillars curved from the ground toward the centre without meeting. Between them was what looked like a command centre with old computer terminals, control panels, and monitors in half-circles.

  Straight up looks like some NASA level spaceship moon expedition control mission control setup. Kyle thought.

  You said control twice. Clyde thought, walking towards one of the control panels. Reminds you of 80s movies, eh?

  No shit. Kyle laughed. Better call it in.

  Pulling out his phone, Kyle pressed the push to talk on the walkie app. "Team Right checking in. Found something weird. Big room with old computers. Looks like some NASA level spaceship moon landing mission control setup... whatever you call that. Pssht over."

  After reporting their find and getting Ollie's response, Kyle put his phone away and started exploring. There was a main raised platform overlooking where the four curved pillars met against the wall. It had specifically one chair, surrounded by screens and panels. Dust covered everything.

  No cobwebs. Kyle thought.

  Only dust. Could have had activity a couple of months ago.

  Or at least general maintenance that don't care for dust.

  Clyde swiped a finger on one of the cleaner spots on the computer monitor by the main platform. Dust distributed unevenly. Means cleaning has priorities.

  Kyle moved over to the panels with coloured buttons and switches.

  Don't tell me you're going to-

  Before Clyde could finish his thought, Kyle had already pressed the big red button.

  Nothing happened. What about the blue one? And the two switches? And the big ass red switch.

  Still nothing.

  It's all dead. No power. Kyle thought.

  Good, Clyde thought.

  Find anything worth stealing?

  Nothing valuable yet. Just junk and paper.

  Clyde opened a cabinet to find boxes filled with files and papers. He pulled one out and flipped through it.

  More Project Threshold stuff, Clyde sifted through the cabinet. Looks like research notes.

  Kyle didn't answer. He wandered to the far side of the dome where a large junction box was on the wall. Cables as thick as his arm ran from it up into the ceiling and down into the floor.

  Hey, Kyle thought. Found what looks like a main power source.

  Clyde barely looked up from the papers he was reading. Whatever. Not like these pieces of junk do anything anyway.

  Taking one of the lower platform folders, Clyde flipped through the research notes that detailed experiments about dimensional barriers and attempts at creating rifts. One page described something that came through such an artificial rift.

  Subject escaped containment. Three researchers killed before security responded. Entity displayed characteristics inconsistent with terrestrial biology. Moved at speeds exceeding normal parameters. Consumed organic material from victims. Physical damage ineffective.

  A diagram showed what looked like a humanoid figure with long limbs and a mouth filled with too many teeth.

  Across the room, Kyle had removed the panel from the junction box and was looking at the wiring inside. A large industrial plug was disconnected from a socket.

  Found the problem, he thought. Someone pulled the main power.

  Without waiting for an answer, Kyle shoved the plug back into its socket. It connected with a loud clank.

  Lights flickered overhead. Not all worked, but enough came on to light up the dome in a yellow glow. Equipment started up, screens showing static and error messages.

  Got it! Kyle thought.

  The new light showed things they'd missed. Scratches in the floor. Dark stains on the walls. And a heavy security door on the far side with warnings all over it and lots of lined papers that said "DO NOT OPEN."

  Don't open it, Clyde thought, still reading the research notes.

  Kyle ran his hand over the door. Wonder what's behind it.

  He leaned closer, putting his ear against the metal. His eyes widened.

  There's something in there, he said. I can hear movement.

  Clyde looked up from the papers. Get away from the door.

  Relax, Kyle thought. It's probably just rats or something.

  Not rats, Clyde replied. According to these notes, they created a rift here. Something came through that wasn't friendly.

  Kyle stepped back from the door. Shit. Serious?

  Dead serious. And not the good kind of dead. Clyde grabbed his phone. We should call the others.

  Clyde pressed the button on the walkie app. "Team Right again. There's a door here with another warning sign. Thinking about opening it. Advice? Pssht over."

  Ollie's voice came back right away, telling them to hold position. Clyde acknowledged with a pssht over at the end and put his phone away.

  Guess we wait.

  Kyle nodded reluctantly, eyes going from Clyde back to the door. What exactly did they let through?

  Before Clyde could answer, the lights flickered. Once, twice, then steadied again. Kyle took his dagger from his hip and raised his glock at the security door. Clyde steadied his SCAR on the railing, aiming down at the same door.

  Power fluctuation? Clyde thought.

  The lights dimmed again, longer this time. From behind the warning-covered door came a sound so low and deep. From the sound of it, its vocal cords were either damaged or it’s not human.

  This is not fucking good. Kyle thought.

  The growl came again, louder. Then another joined it. And another.

  There's more than one in there, Clyde backed to the entrance.

  Something hit the door from the other side, causing a loud boom. The metal bent slightly from where it was hit.

  Tell them to hurry the fuck up. Kyle shouted in his head.

  Clyde pulled out his phone, but before he could make the call, the lights went out completely.

  Something bashed the door. Metal creaked.

  If we die down here, Kyle thought. I'm going to be seriously pissed.

  You and me both.

  The emergency lights came on, making the room red. The door bent inward, metal tearing.

  "Fuck waiting," Kyle said, aiming his gun at the door. "Whatever's coming through, we drop it."

  They saw fingers first, curling around the edges. Then an arm, human-like with bones sticking out. A face popped out, scanning the surroundings. Clearly, it was human, except with bits of flesh rotting off of its bones.

  It saw them and screamed in a high pitch that hurt their ears. Then it moved, fast.

  Kyle fired three times. The bullets hit centre mass, but the thing barely slowed.

  Head! Clyde shouted, squeezing the trigger and hitting the thing square in the face. It dropped to the floor, but behind it, more pushed through the bent door.

  Fall back! Kyle thought as he retreated to the entrance of the room.