This is the third part of an adventure series where YOU determine the next step in the story. Read part one and part two.
You decide answers are more important than an exit and head to the mainframe. Your tracker leads. The team’s sniper goes next and you can hear your tech specialist grumbling behind you as he brings up the rear.
The dark corridor spirals away. According to the map there are no straight passages. Everything in the complex centers around an enormous round room.
At least you think it’s a room. It’s drawn like one, only it has no doors.
Every few feet, other hallways branch off and curve into darkness. As your team moves through the passage, you strain your ears for other noises, but hear nothing. The sounds of your own movement seem amplified. As you continue toward the center of the complex, you get an itchy feeling like you’re being watched.
You step into the hallway that circles the center room. It’s even bigger than the map suggests. The unknown symbol from the first hatch is carved into the concrete wall every ten feet. According to the black box on your belt, the symbols are active.
You snap your fingers, calling for a stop. You flip through a small, dog-eared notebook from your bag and compare the symbol to a few that you had jotted down. It doesn’t even have the same base construction as the ones you’ve studied. It may not even pertain to demons. You copy the symbol and direct your team to continue down the hall.
You start to see more control rooms like the one from which your team leader disappeared. They’re small and sparse and the computers are all off. A few minutes later, you reach the mainframe.
The room itself is quite large. Two black towers stand in the center. The rest of the room is filled with electronic medical equipment. There’s two of everything and it’s all turned on, blipping and flashing.
Your tech approaches the mainframe and sets his duffel bag on the floor. He pries off the front panels, slides out the terminal, and starts typing. The keys sound like little bones clacking together. He grabs some gear from his bag.
While the tech works, your team surveys the room. You circle slowly, wondering what the equipment is monitoring. In the last half hour you’ve seen no evidence of survivors, yet you stand before two EKG units that blip with activity.
“Research,” the tech says, pulling everyone’s attention.
Your team gathers around the terminal.
“This place is a research facility. There’s not much here except ancient religious texts about the apocalypse.”
Your tracker snorts.
“Why read? All they have to do is look outside.”
The tech nods his agreement.
“Most of it’s about the Seven Seals and the Riders of the Apocalypse.”
He types another command and more text scrolls up the screen.
“There’s another level below us. There are dormitories are to the north and labs to the south. The two wings aren’t connected, but we can get to them by stairs at either end.”
He packs up his gear while you discuss which end to search first. You turn toward the door and freeze. You realize all of the tabs on your belt are pointing at the door.
An enormous sword leans against the wall to the right of the door. You’re sure it wasn’t there when you entered the room — you would have noticed. It stands as high as your chest. Its black blade gleams in the light. A slender fragment is missing from the front of the blade.
The tech steps toward the sword, eyes wide. You’re worried he may try to touch it, but he stops three feet away.
“Where did this —”
Before he can finish, the lights cut out and all the machines go dead, encasing you in black. You hear a scuffle. A hand clamps down on your arm. The tracker shouts.
Before you can pull yourself free, the lights return and the machines whir to life, each casting their glow about the room. The sniper is holding you and the tracker by the arms, as if he’s afraid one of you might disappear. The tech’s bag is on the floor. The tech is gone. So is the sword.
The sniper releases you and reaches for his pistol. He flicks off the safety and looks to you for direction.
What do you do?
A: Head north to the dormitories
B: Head south to the laboratories
Vote in the comments or on Twitter at #site27. Voting ends Tuesday night. The highest vote will be the next step in the story, posted on Fridays.
Image courtesy of Brenda Starr.
UPDATE: Voting is now closed. This Friday, you will head to the labs. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Jen Kirchner 
This is awesome, Jen!
B!
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B. We need information… information…. I am number 2. Who is number 1? You are number 6…
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I am not a number, I am a free man!
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For the first time, I don’t have an immediate gut instinct on where to go.
Head for the dorms. A.
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I needed this to get through the rest of my work day! I can stop refreshing my Google Reader now – haha!
To the labs baby, I need to know wtf is going on around here! Let’s do this thing!
insert some “rawr” like noise here
B
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When in doubt, I have to ask myself…what would Beaker do?
To the labs!!! Maybe we can find out what’s happening and, if we’re lucky, make some Jell-O while we’re at it!
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This is a tough one but I am going to say “B” – head to the labs. At a research facility the staff are likely most comfortable in that environment (with their research equipment) and that’s where they would have left any clues as to what is going on….
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Arrrrgghhh.
Hmmmm. The labs are more likely to provide information about what was going on in the research facility. They are also more likely to contain a giant radioactive ravenous potato/human hybrid destined to eat us all. The dorms might give us a personal journal or something about the happenings. On the other hand, they might house a half-crazed one-footed lunatic survivor who makes cryptic remarks and cackles a lot.
It’s a struggle, but I’ll go with B. Better a potato/human than a crazy dude with one foot.
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An Apocalyptic Predator, snatching yo people up. Hide yo leaders, hide yo tech specialists… I vote A. Yeah our guys may be getting demon-raped, OR the demon is taking our cool kids for a badass demon frat party in the dorm! WOoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Doing grave stands, and soul bongs!! Don’t you wanna be one of the cool demon crowd?! Come on, all the embodiments of God’s judgement are doing it!!
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B. Let’s go find the freaky experiments that broke out and killed everyone.
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Need some answers. Gonna have to go with B.
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Dorm seem smartest now. W/o the tech the labs might not do us much good.
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This is a tough one because there could be survivors in the other areas, but I think heading to the labs for more answers is the smart thing. B
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Wow, which direction to go… The labs would provide more information. I don’t see a reason to go for the dorms. Although…
Now that I think about it, 2 people are gone. Everyone in my group is planning a surprise party for me! It’s my birthday, and they want to creep me out. Well, I’m going to foil that, and go to the dorms. That’s where the parties are held, right? A!
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Labs, definitely. B, please.
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If it hadn’t been for the bizarro power outage, magic sword, and missing mate, I’d say go to the dorms and get some rest….but, let’s go B – to the labs first.
BTW, I’m picturing Barry Pepper as the sniper.
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Labs! Thank you, Jen.
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Hard choice, but, I’m staying with my belief that knowledge of what is going on is the only real solution and that will be found in the labs.
Vote: B
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I’m going to throw my vote in for the Labs.
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I’m going to have to go with the labs. For personal reasons. You see, I was working in the labs one night, it was kind of late, and my eyes caught something. It was rather eerie. I had this monster, he was laying on a slab, and he began to rise. But then, out of nowhere, he did the mash. The monster mash! It’s safe to say I was more than a little surprised.
ahem..
B – labs
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I choose B, the labs. Maybe there we can find out what these machines are monitoring.
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Oh, shit! I choose A, for no good reason.
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Journals and non-tech info are most likely to be kept in the dorms. Those will have better clues than the lab. Go to A, the dorms!
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Let’s think this through. Clearly we are in over our head. Severed feet, odd symbols, scary swords. I think it goes without saying that we are all going to die, so one must ask what we should do with our final hours. Do we:
a. Go to the dorm and have a follow up chat you had with lieutenant sexy that started, “if you had just one hour to live before you were eviscerated by demons …”
b. Go to the lab and find something that brings you to your happy place. Drink any fluids that are florescent, and enjoy the high. Avoid anything brown or yellow.
Clearly A is the better option. Barring the distant possibility that they may be creating a better KY in the lab, the dorm is going to have better facilities for pre-death pleasure.
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Game over, man! GAME OVER!
A. We are dead anyway, so we might as well raid the dorms for any leftover recreational drugs and booze. Go out blazing, I say.
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I need answers – definitely B.Labs
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Oddly, I am feeling a wee bit vulnerable at the moment, it will pass. It never fails to do so. I just need for someone to drag me along… either/or destination will suffice… please.
Jen, you be the solitary judge and jury as to my survival.
Going very deeply into myself… I will be singing, ‘Heroes’, by David Bowie, in French, upon arrival; its on my life’s soundtrack; my happy place; my friends from the orphanage are there…
If these ne’erdowells love Bowie or speak any French dialect – It’s all good! If not, we’ll set their $5:00 dollar asses down and make change 🙂
–Moi, je souhaiterais que tu nages
Comme les dophins, les dophins savent nager
Bien que rien nous gardera ensemble
Nous les vaincrons, les vaicrons jamais
On pourrait tre hros pour jusqu’ jamais
Moi, je serai un roi
Et toi, tu seras ma reine
Bien que rien, rien ne les chassera
On pourra tre hros pour jusqu’ jamais
On pourrait tre nous pour jusqu’ jamais
Je, je me rappelle – je me rappelle
Debout, prs du mur – prs du mur
Les gardes tirant
Au del de nous – au del de nous
Et on s’embrassait
Comme si rien ne tombait – rien ne tombait
Et la honte tait de l’autre c
Oh nous les vaincrons, nous les vaincrons jamais
On pourra tre hros pour jusqu’ jamais
On peut tre un heros
On peut tre un heros
On peut tre un heros Pour jusqu’ jamais
–lp
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A might find some personal items revealing more than in the labs.
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Labs! Nothing interesting ever happens in dormitories! Well, okay, that’s not true. Still: gotta say Labs!
(Sorry I missed voting on the last two instalments, Jen!)
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Voting is now closed! Thanks for your participation.
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