Elkay collapsed in a heap on the first piece of solid ground he had seen in hours. He took his time just laying there, desperately trying to get his breath back. He should have been assessing the situation, scanning for enemy combatants and working out an exit strategy, but Elkay was exhausted, hungry and thirsty, covered in multiple open wounds, cuts and scratches.
Frankly, Elkay was not having a good time.
His initial escape had been such a blur. Something happened outside. The terrifying roar of fear and hatred was still echoing in his ears. A monster had rampaged through the cells where Elkay had been held hostage, destroying all in its path. Black, hideous and hungry. Escaping the initial encounter hadn’t been too hard. In fact, the monster seemed more interested in eating walls than a little Rethavok. No, it was the facility itself that had been the problem.
No matter where Elkay went, painful little things would hold him back. Snake-like critters snapping at him from gaps in the walls, pockets of gas blinding and choking him as he ran past, random lumps of fat and bone tripping and hurting him. None of it had effectively taken Elkay down (and were all probably doing nothing to that monster as well) but Elkay was now injured and struggling to keep up his pace.
It didn’t help that the entire facility was both huge and a maze. There were no signs, no arrows, no way to orientate oneself. Every corridor was the same tunnel of flesh. Each room and lab looked the same. Elkay had initially planned to go in just one direction, but for all he knew, he was going round in circles. He couldn’t have been going in circles considering the paths he had been taking, but there was still no end in sight.
This concrete room though was new. A tiny raft in the middle of a raging ocean. Nothing had tried to grab, snatch, stab, prod or poke Elkay in at least a minute. It felt… Almost good, being slightly more safe.
Finally, Elkay’s breathing and heart rate returned to normal. He cursed himself for not keeping in shape. He had to get moving though. Even if he was safe here, he couldn’t stay forever. He would be found eventually. And he would need to find food and water soon as well. There was nothing in this small, concrete box aside from a single light fitting and, well, concrete. In fact, it just looked like a little room the strange flesh had grown around.
After some more lying down, Elkay sat up straight, feeling ever so slightly better. The brief respite had helped, but now there seemed to be noises coming from where Elkay had come from. Whether they were from the monster or some other horrible monstrosity, Elkay had no idea. The noises were different though, so it could have been something else entirely. Elkay considered that maybe the Allbirther had found out about his escape, but frankly, after he had given her all the bodily fluids she wanted, she seemed to forget that he even existed.
With a sigh, Elkay struggled to his feet, then reached up to the light fitting. It was nothing more than a plastic tube, but that didn’t matter. With a little effort, Elkay snapped the tube from the wall. It may have been just a tube, but for Elkay, it was a reminder of reality. And also probably a useful thing for hitting smaller enemy combatants with.
“Well, there must be an exit around here somewhere…” Elkay grunted as he stepped back into the fleshy tunnels, feeling slightly more confident about his chances of survival.