Chapter 7 – Escaping (4) - Light

*Number 7 POV*

‘UP vacuum chamber’

‘Somehow this seems to be connected to the surface… I wonder what is outside. I heard some scientists saying that humans no longer existed there and just wild animals who managed to adapt to the new ambient and the particles…Anyway, I need to get out of here, this Station is going to be destroyed’

I had nowhere to go but the surface, as the Station was going to be destroyed. Without much time I entered the chamber. Inside the UP vacuum chamber, the ceiling and walls were all made of some sort of metal and dozens of metal pipes hung in the ceiling aiming at me.

“Starting the UP suction”

A computed voice sounded thorough the chamber and seconds later the metal pipes started to tremble, suddenly I could feel the air becoming lighter as if a great weight was lifted and I could feel that the Universe Particles in the air were disappearing.

‘This chamber seems to be used to purify the air. Those pipes are absorbing the UPs in the air…but it didn’t affect the UPs inside my body… Why?’

I couldn’t come with an answer as I knew too little about the UPs. After two minutes the pipers finally stopped and all the UPs particles in the air disappeared.

“Task successfully completed”

The computed voice resonated again; as the pipes stopped and a strange white steam came out of the chamber’s corners, cleaning all the blood that dyed my body.

All of sudden I heard gear noises running; the ground trembled and slowly began to move up towards the surface. After some seconds the gear noises stopped indicating that I finally arrived, in front of me stood a rusty metal door and attached on it a big hand crank

‘Damn… This is going to be tricky’

Holding the hand crank and putting strength in my arms I started to spin the hand crank, it was so rusty that it was too tough to open it; if not I no one could open this door without the help of some machinery.

After some seconds I finally heard a noise coming from the door denoting that it had finally unlocked, pushing the metal door forwards and quickly opening it a strong air pressure hit me and sent me flying through chamber till I hit the wall, the force was so strong that it bended the metal wall.

‘Damn…’

Shaking my head trying to get rid of the dizziness, I slowly got up feeling pain all over my body; with the crashing I must have broken some ribs. Looking outside the chamber all I could see was darkness.

‘I can’t stay here’

I slowly walked towards the darkness; letting it embrace me till I could see nothing and the only sound that met my ears was my own echoing footsteps, but after gradually guiding particles to my eyes I could finally see in what kind of place I was.

‘I am in a fuck*** cave…’

Small, loose stones littered on the floor, innumerable stalactites descended from the ceiling joining with the stalagmites, small and large water pools were scattered through the cave, and the cave itself was thousands upon thousands kilometers wide. There were numerous passages where you could find or not the exit.

‘What should I do now? What was that...Airstream…where?’

Closing my eyes and focusing all my senses into finding from where the airstream was coming, suddenly I felt a freezing cold and at the same time a warming feeling embrace me.

‘Found it’

Opening my eyes, I glanced at the right side where stalactites and the stalagmites joined forming a narrow and dark path, squeezing my body between the rocks so that I could pass and enter the tunnel.

Crossing the rocks what entered in my field of vision could only be considered as beautiful, hundreds of colored gems embedded in the ceiling, like stars lighting up the dark night.

‘This is…beautiful. I have never seen the starry sky…but…I think that it should be like this’

I mesmerized looked at the gems losing track of time….I just stood there looking at it engraving it in my mind, In my heart a desire was slowly taking shape

‘I want to see more of this world’

Engraving this scene in my mind I impatiently started to run, passing like a bullet through the tunnel, evading all of the rocks that showed up in front of me…the will to see the world made eager to quickly get out of this cave… so that I could see the outside world. Since the beginning I was caged in that facility, where everything was hell.

After some time of running through the tunnel, I could finally see the light…it was warm.