《The Dog with a Chair》Chapter 14 Underground
Advertisement
Cold. The side of his face was immeasurably cold. Stanley stood up, only to realise he couldn’t see anything. It seemed that whatever surface he was previously lying on was responsible for the coldness on one side of his head. He scanned his surroundings, trying to find any traces of light. There were none. Everything was dark.
“Hello?” he asked worriedly.
The response he received was far from his expectations. The sound of rocks grinding against each other. And gears struggling to do their job, accented by the irregular clashing of metal on metal, which belayed the state of disrepair the machinery was in. After a short while, the sound stopped.
“Is there anyone out there?”
His voice once more brought about change in his surroundings. A distant sound like heavy levers being activated started. Each sound a repeat of the last, only closer and louder. Every repeat started with the grinding of metal gears, before ending in a satisfying set of three clicks, each of a slightly different pitch. The noises were progressing towards him. He backpedalled a few metres, but almost tripped in the process. The heel of his shoe had hit an immovable object. Regaining his balance, he realised a wall was blocking his retreat. He resolved to await his fate. Upon reaching him, however, the sounds stopped. He looked up, gazing into the darkness, searching for anything to provide contrast to his world of nothing.
“Hey –“ he started, but was cut off by an aggrieved voice.
“If you don’t shut up you’re going to kill us. So please, be quiet while I think,”
It seemed to be coming from both his left and right simultaneously. Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Stanley’s eyes narrowed as he considered his situation.
Distance from speaker sounds like 25 metres. Two directions suggests a stereo system of some kind. They’re not physically in the room with me?
Advertisement
Stanley knew his estimate was unreliable, but it helped him to assign numbers to unknown variables. He decided to use this time of silence to recall how he ended up in his situation.
There was a snake. Then I fell? It seemed like a long way down, so why am I uninjured?
Stanley was interrupted from his introspection by a light ahead of him flickering to life. He squinted, trying to adjust to it. The light only barely illuminated the edges of the room, the walls of which appeared to consist of stone bricks. The light originated from a lamp that was sitting on a desk, a book was the only other object on top of it. All of this residing within a room around 10 metres wide and 30 long. Stanley and the desk were at opposing ends from each other. He had already encountered the shortest side.
“Alright, walk straight towards the desk and we’ll be good,” said the disembodied voice.
Stanley again searched for the source of the voice, but even with the increased light, he was unable to. Only noticing that it was coming from slightly above eye level, and seemed to originate from the longest pair of walls.
Sure. Let’s do what the strange voice says. What could go wrong?
He hesitated, but started walking when he couldn’t find a better option. During his walk, he meticulously scanned the surroundings for anything out of place. Past the half way mark was a blue carpet with white octagons tastefully distributed along it. The shapes seemed to flow in the direction of the desk, which is where the carpet ended. The floor on either side of the narrow carpet was almost bare of objects, defined only by a shiny hardwood surface. A small wooden cube sat next to the desk. It was four centimetres long.
Advertisement
Upon reaching his destination, rectangular lights embedded in the ceiling began turning on one by one. They were all red.
“Don’t move,” came the man’s voice.
After they’d all turned on, the colour slowly shifted to white. They settled on a brightness that wouldn’t hurt a human’s eyes, but would also allow them to comfortably read a book. Stanley was surprised how fast his eyes were able to adjust to the new conditions.
A sigh came through what Stanley could now identify as small speakers attached to the walls. “Sorry about all that. The program governing this facility is a bit glitchy. My name’s Albert, and the way out of here will open up within thirty seconds. At which point you may leave if you so choose,”
Stanley’s eyes darted from one side of the room to the other, unwilling to communicate further with Albert. The wall closest to him parted, revealing a dimly lit pathway through a cave.
“This passage will lead you back to the surface, just follow the lights” said Albert.
He had barely finished speaking when Stanley started walking out of the room at a brisk pace. The wall re-joined soon after his departure. Another sigh sounded out through the speakers. The man behind the curtain, Albert, was seated at a desk in a room adjacent to the one Stanley had just been occupying.
“I didn’t want to let him go, but it’s not like I feel comfortable just kidnapping people,” he said shaking his head. “This place really is a piece of work,”
He considered the computer screen in front of him, and the tab he had minimized that he was pretending didn’t exist. Albert had already checked what it said ten minutes ago: Thirty one days until self-destruct. Obliteration of nearby population centres may result unless centres are hardened against nuclear assault.
“So more like, will most definitely be obliterated,” he mocked. Albert, discouraged, sat back in his chair, hoping the earth above might be willing to just bury him and all of his problems together. “What now?” he asked hauntingly.
Advertisement
Eldritch Entity On A Journey Of Self-Discovery
Shold'ler has made a reality before. It was pretty messy, the physics didn't work properly, and his designs were just terrible. This place has flawless physics, a whole set of natural laws, and the most detailed everything he's ever seen. The air moves sometimes (but not all the time), the grass has layers underneath it, and the trees sometimes have things living in them. All things considered... it's depressingly good. What's he supposed to do here?
8 198The Normal Dungeon Core: Lethe
Just a normal, standard, no extra frills or gills, dungeon core LitRPG novel in a fantastical world. And as usual, a system exists! Prologue: You know all those stories about reincarnation? Where our beloved (or hated) protagonists are transferred to a new world to conquer, defeat the demon lord, rescue the princess. or are made into mythical gems of power with control over Monsters and Men (psst..a dungeon core)? Where they get a cheat-like ability, are special, granted privileges, or have knowledge from another world? Well, I read about them too in my spare time before I came here. At least, I think I did. Now, you might be asking, where is 'here' ? To answer your somewhat specific, yet vague, question my dear audience...I don't know! But what I do know is that...well nothing other than I had a past life...I think... Anyway...You are correct in assuming that I was indeed reincarnated into a dungeon core! But... ..I have no idea who I was. ...I don't seem to have any special powers or skills or cheats. ....And I was specifically told by Mr. S that I am not, and never will be, "special." Now, if you are confused, then I'm doing a great job, because you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, I haven't given you a background story, or taken you through the last few hours of my new existence. We will get to that! I promise! The main reason I am telling you this absurd and completely delusional preface, is to introduce to you the idea that I, as in me, the new dungeon core, am not "special".............. With that out of the way, how about we rewind time a bit to when I...developed my consciousness? Yes? Great! Lets goooooo! ---------
8 157Legend of the Seven
Humans were cast out of Eden for committing the original sin. Now Seven will answer, should Humanity live forever? But first, join Team Six in their rescue mission turned daring prison break from death. Author's Corner: Welcome to the Legend of the Seven series #LOTSseries, my Guardians.This is my first novel turned webnovel. I'm returning to this fictional world after a 6-year hiatus with a lot of personal growth and insight. Insights gained from being a lifetime reader.I was the kid who read Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. I was the new adult who read I Shall Seal the Heavens and Ark. I've lost count of how many fictional worlds I've visited and lived through for I grew up on western novels but discovered eastern novels in my college years. This is my attempt to marry those two literary styles.It's my hope that this journey becomes more than just a book. If you're reading this simply expecting an ego power trip then turn back. There'll be action but with a lot of metaphysics and discussion on life with its accompanying issues. I strive to ground and make this webnovel relatable with verisimilitude. This webnovel is about choice. Freewill and its consequences. I give my characters autonomy to do and be themselves which sometimes leads to me rewriting and replotting because of pleasant surprises from my characters. Even the character who dies within the chapter they are introduced can have a massive impact with several ripples. So, there'll be stories on love and loss, hope and despair, but most importantly, it'll be a story. Release schedule: M, W, F - I aim for afternoon (1pm to 6pm) MST. I'm working on a project, codenamed "Guides' Sanctum", to make LOTSseries even more alive with special voice-overs, extra stories, behind the scene stuff, and so much more. But it can only come online when certain benchmarks are reached. The listed goals will help us get there. Goals:50 readers will unlock 4 chapters a week - Extra release on Thursday100 readers will unlock 5 chapters a week - Extra release on Tuesday250 readers will unlock 6 chapters a week - Extra release on Saturday500 readers and Project Guides' Sanctum comes online!Links:Lotsseries.blogspot.comSocial:@tonyswag0 - twitter@lotsseries - FacebookI'm thrilled at what is happening and what is still to come. Never be afraid to drop a comment. My DM is open. I'll work to keep this work free to access but I ask you to enjoy it from official sources so that you can be part of the discussion. There's magic in reading together to form a shared experience.Again, welcome aboard, my Guardians.
8 144Sieg's Glory : World of Ellus
A retired pro gamer unknowingly embarks on a journey to save the world. *** The world of Ellus is on the verge of collapse. Hope dwindles every day as invaders snatched their lands one by one. The strongest warriors asked for the help of the spirit. But they too are helpless. Their strength, the inhabitants of this world, is insufficient. "This is a list of gamers who might be able to help us." So they looked for people from another world. With his intervention, will this world be saved?
8 108The Heroic Tales of Silas Horne
In the year 1858, the system came to the world. It brought with it beings from fantasy and mythology the likes of which the world had never seen before. In the American frontier, a place already known for being a dog eat dog world the system gave bandits the capacity for untold violence, not to mention monsters and system loving fanatics hell-bent on the murder of the innocent. But are they truly so innocent? No one knows what the system is or why it came, they do know one thing though. That the world post system isn't a place for a hero. Luckily for the world, U.S Marshall Silas Horne is no such man. ----- AN: This story is a litRPG inspired by "Randidly Ghosthound" and "The New World" but after reading many such stories and finding them to be a tad samey I decided to write this in a new setting, the Wild West. Also, my release schedule is chaotic, expect at least one 1000 word chapter each day but probably like two more will also be released.
8 71Say I do
Adeline's life consisted of part-time jobs, college and gawking at a particular guy every now and then. Her life was going perfectly normal until a certain someone entered it. She was not prepared for the arrogant, handsome and feisty billionaire to get down on one knee and propose to her in front of 100s of people, specially when she has no idea who he is! How does the life of two strangers go about as they learn patience, friendship, midnight tantrums and the real meaning of love? Read to find out!
8 77