Nick dragged himself to his feet after a short rest. Thankfully he had only run straight, so he slowly made his way back to the ramp without much effort. Then followed the signs deeper into the car park, hoping to find his family at whatever this ‘hotel’ was.

Nick tried to organise his thoughts as he shuffled down the aisles, past empty parking lots. Where were all the cars? On all the lower levels there were cars in most of the parking spots, but since the 70th floor there was a significant lack of cars. There were still a decent number pushed up around the walls, but nowhere near the amount found on the lower floors.

The people here must have moved the ones against the wall, so what did they do with the other cars? Wait, why were there even cars here? Where was ‘here’? Why was ‘here’ a weird underground car park? What the hell had he just been in a fight with?

Nick had to focus on his breath and clear his head. The questions were seemingly endless. He had no idea what was going on or where he was. He’d just done something completely insane, he had fought with a massive nightmare boar-bear thing covered in plates. Wait, from the start.

His dad’s car had gotten stuck on a railroad crossing and then bad had gotten worse when the boom gates dropped on the back of the car and a train made itself heard.

Then his dad had gotten the car working, only for the world to become coated in shadow stuff and they’d fallen into the said shadowy void stuff. They’d all gotten headaches from looking at the stuff, the same stuff that surrounded the car park. Then they’d landed in this spooky car park.

“Yaknow, I don’t think we’re underground.” Nick said to himself.

Not to mention the inhabitants of this place. Infected, almost zombie like, folk who seemed to be able to speak and nightmare creatures of malice and destruction. Wait, were there even humans here? He and Lily had just assumed that the barricades were made by people because of the shoe prints and sofas. What was to say they were actually built by people?

What had he sent his family towards?

Nick picked up his pace as he felt anxiety course through him. He didn’t think he’d have any adrenaline after his extended foray with the beast, but his body found a way. He continued to pick up his pace, breaking into a jog, taking corners hard. He almost didn’t notice the black vine-like object stretching across the parking lots, hiding in the shadows. He came to a stop just before it and backed up quickly.

Thinking quickly he went over to the nearest car and yanked out one of the car's headrests. He then threw the headrest onto the vine, which wrapped around it and dragged it into the shadows.

“Righto then. Fuck that, fuck that immensely.”

Nick learnt his lesson from thinking too hard and just started jogging on before whatever that thing was could reset itself.

After following the signs for a bit longer Nick found himself at another encampment. This one was rather large and thankfully undamaged, he didn’t think he could go for any more rounds with nightmare pigs. He’d decided that the creature most closely resembled a giant boar of evil descent.

Inside the encampment he found a couple of signs, one pointed towards another exit, labelled ‘hotel’. The other sign continued on in the direction he’d come from, labelled ‘down ramps’. Looking at the way he’d come he saw signs labelled ‘up ramps’.

“Well at least we used the right ramps.” Nick chuckled to himself.

He then set back out on his journey. A pang of anxiety fueling his hastened steps. He looked into the shadows occasionally, spotting silhouettes or strange shapes moving between darker shadows. He tried not to look too hard. If the void looked back at him, he didn’t doubt these things would either.

Soon he saw something new. It looked like the edge of the car park, but instead of void, there was a wall. It was a little separated from the car park, but there was another building there. Nick approached it cautiously, not quite sure what to expect. Was this building the hotel? Well it had to be right? What else could it be?

As he got closer he noticed a white concrete staircase running up the side of the wall, leading to a door. There was a man standing on the platform the staircase ended at.

“Hello there?” Nick called out.

“Fuck, you’re a bit late aren’t ya.” The man replied.

“Sorry what?”

“Well the Floods on the rise, what are ya doing out there kid?”

“I uh, I don’t actually know honestly.”

“Fuck, you’re a piss poor attempt at an trap if I’ve ever seen one.” The man put his hands on his hips.

“What? No, my family and I kinda fell in here.” Nick stammered out.

“Uh huh, then where’s your family?” The man questioned.

“Well I was hoping they’d made it here before me. We got separated by a giant boar in platemail.”

“Sounds like a Brute right there, hope you said your goodbyes to them kid. They’re as good as done.” The man said with a sigh.

“Oh nah, I led the thing away. Told my family to head this way.” Nick said.

“OH now I KNOW you’re a Trickster's trap. A kid beating a Brute. When pigs fly.” The man laughed.

“Well uh, can I come up? Pretty nasty down here.” Nick asked.

“Sure kid, if ya can.” The man shrugged.

Nick walked over and much to the man’s apparent surprise he started walking up the stairs. The man looked positively shocked when Nick walked right up to him. Nick could now get a better look at him. He was a gruff looking man, wearing what looked like poorly made armour out of various sheets of metal. Well that’s where the cars went it seems. The man also had a small hatchet holstered on his belt.

“Well fuck me. Looks like we got some fresh blood.”

“You really haven’t had a family come by? A man, a young boy and a girl?” Nick asked.

“Nah mate, not yet at least.” The man shook his head. “How’d you end up here kid?”

Not really having much else to do, Nick told the man about the train tracks then his family's trip through the floors. Eventually getting the man gripped in his highly over-dramatised fight with the ‘Brute’ as the man called it.

“And then as I kicked it off the edge I yelled, SORRY, PORK AIN’T KOSHER!”

“Fuck me kid, you’ve had the hell of a trip.” The man gave him a hearty slap on the shoulder, sending him tumbling towards the edge of the platform. Realising all too late that there wasn’t any sort of barrier, just a straight drop into the void. A quick grab from the man stopped Nick from falling right off.

“Oops sorry about that kid.”

Nick let out a nervous chuckle. “No biggie, so uh, where are we?” Nick tried to casually breach the subject.

“Wouldn’t we all like to know huh.” The man said glumly. “Can’t really tell you kid, everyones got their own ideas at this point. Some of the real religious nuts think it's purgatory HAH!”

Nick felt more questions bubble up, he just didn’t know what to ask first. The man clearly noticed this and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Name's Gareth kid. If I give you a word of advice, don’t ask too many questions. People don’t like being reminded of their circumstances, especially here.”

Nick gave him a puzzled look.

“Look, just watch and listen for a while. You’ll learn a lot. You won’t make any friends pestering folk with questions. Now sit here with me and we’ll wait for your family.” The man sat on one of the steps and patted next to him.

Nick sat. “I should probably go back in there to find them…”

The man shook his head. “I won’t let you kid. That place shouldn’t be traversed during the Flood. I’m amazed you made it as far as you did.”

So the pair just sat there in silence for a while, watching the car park. It wasn’t too long before they heard someone yelling.

“Wait, that sounds like my family!” Nick jumped down the stairs.

The man reached out to stop him. “KID STOP!”

Nick caught himself and turned back to the man. “What?”

The man dragged him back up the stairs. “Give it a minute. You gotta make sure these things are real.”

Nick was incredibly confused but he followed the man's advice, he didn’t ask questions and tried to think why the man stopped him. He remembered the first interaction he had with the man.

“Trickster?” He queried.

“Aye, they lay dastardly traps and mess with your head. Scary fuckers they are.”

Nick saw some silhouettes approaching from the darkness and almost made a move towards them before Gareth’s hand stopped him.

“Wait kid. Wait.”

The silhouettes came closer and Nick began to realise something was off about them. They were shambling towards the stairs, dragging their feet, shoulders slumped. Then he saw the faces, yellowed out eyes with wounds covering them.

“Here we go kid, stand behind me.”

Nick did as he was told and watched as the small group of infected folk moved towards the stairs. As they started climbing Gareth pulled out his hatchet and moved down to meet them. He front kicked one of them in the pelvis, sending it careening off the open edge of the platform. He then swung the blunt backend of the hatchet into the head of another, sending it toppling off the edge. Now there were just two left. With Gareth sandwiched between them. The man focused on one of them, blocking its lunge with a leather bracer on his forearm.

Nick decided to not leave the man alone in his fight. He ran down and kicked the other infected person in the side, sending them tumbling into the other. Gareth used the distraction to slam the backend of the hatchet into the side of one of them, knocking them both off the edge.

“Nice work kid, saved me a pill or two there. Thought I’d get scratched.” The man walked back past him and sat on the step.

“Uh, did I just help kill someone?” Nick looked down into the void, where all the bodies had fallen.

“What the fuck are you doing, stop looking down there kid. You get sick from looking at it too much, probably what happened to your dad on the way in.”

“Wait, my dads turning into one of those things?!” Nick freaked. Oh god, he could see it now. His dad’s lethargic movements, the moans.

“Well in a few weeks yeah. Nothing a few pills won’t fix though.” Gareth said casually.

“Pills?” Nick needed to ask these questions, advice be damned.

The man sighed. “I guess some peace and quiet is too much to ask for. Yeah kid, we’ve got these pills that cure the infection. Get your hands on some and you’ll fix your dad up.”

“Can you give me some?” Nick pleaded.

The man sighed again. “Gahhh you know. I’ll give you one. What you probably saved me earlier.” The man handed Nick a small white pill. “Don’t lose it kid, your dad will probably need a fair few from the sounds of it.”

“Nick, are you buying drugs already?” A feminine voice chastised.

“Lily!” Nick spun around. “Benny! Dad!”

He was about to run over to them when he stopped. “Wait, come up the stairs.” He commanded.

Gareth nodded in agreement with his words.

Lily looked puzzled but complied. “Alright dude.”

Her and Benny helped their father over to the stairs and stepped up onto them. As soon as they were on the stairs Nick looked at Gareth and the man nodded back at him. Nick assumed that whatever was out there in the car park couldn’t get onto the stairs, but the infected could? Whatever, he’d work it out with time. He ran down to his family and gave them all hugs.

“How did I make it here before ya’ll?” He asked.

Lily recounted the story of what had happened to the trio once Nick had led the Brute away. Apparently they’d been rather slow pulling their dad along and when they encountered the vine thing, which Nick assumed was another Trickster, they’d decided to go around it. After they left the path things had just gotten worse for them. They snuck around quietly, avoiding large shadows and spooking looking shapes but they had to make lots of detours. It had taken them longer because to avoid detection they’d moved much slower than the anxiously jogging Nick and while he was on the direct path, they were forging their own.

“Well you made it! Thankfully. Meet my friend Gareth by the way.” Nick introduced the man to his family and Gareth inspected his father. After a moment he gave Henry a slap on the back.

“Oi you dog!” Henry complained. “Beat him up for me kids!”

Gareth let out a hearty chuckle. “Your old man’s fine Nick. Five or so pills and a good rest and he’ll be right as rain.”

Nick sagged, a lot of tension he wasn’t even aware of left him, suddenly he felt rather exhausted. It had been an exceptionally long night.

Gareth led the family up to the top of the stairs and to the door he’d been standing in front of.

“Head on in guys, good luck.” Nick's family walked through. Gareth stopped Nick before he could follow. “I’ll tell the big wigs about you when my shift is done. Get some rest kid.”

“Thanks Gareth, have fun out here.”

With that, Nick walked through the door.