This day… Can it get any weirder?

Immediately after Stanley left the mysterious underground facility, he was confronted with a partially lit cave system.

Just follow the lights. Right. Except, where am I? I don’t remember any caves being nearby, and these would make for a great tourist attraction. Really hoping I’m not in the middle of nowhere.

The lights lit a relatively flat path that slowly sloped upwards. Stalagmites studded the area to the sides of the path, to the point of making it a natural hazard for bare feet. Stanley was tempted to try breaking one, but decided against it when he considered just how long it would’ve taken to form.

“Hmm, probably Limestone,”

Deciding that he had spent enough time surveying his surroundings, he continued his trek. He made it to the entrance after a ten minute walk. Freedom awaited in the bright light ahead of him. And amazingly enough, it was a place he recognized. An abandoned grazing property close to his neighbourhood. Stanley was about to step into the light when he heard a distant voice coming from the depths of the cave. His eyes widened and he made to sprint outside.

Nope. Not going back.

He dove into the knee high grass when he heard the entity reach the surface. Stanley kept still as he observed his opponent, which from his perspective may as well have been a fearsome snake.

“Hey. Can you please come back? I really need your help,”

It was a small wooden cube, just bigger than a hand. It was floating a metre off the ground, a blue circular eye at the centre of one of its faces. A fraction of the cube on the opposite side to the eye was slowly spinning, somehow allowing the object to float.

“I’m pretty sure I’m going to die if no-one helps me. Like, actually maybe everyone within a hundred kilometres but still,” the floating piece of wood possessed Albert’s voice. “And I heard you back there. You knew the name of the rocks back there. Mimestone or whatever, anyway, if you’re like a geologist that’s really great,” he continued, sounding out of breath. ”Because this stupid operating system that runs the base is gonna kill me unless I can tell it the name of some minerals! Minerals! Who even cares about those?!” he exclaimed, distraught. “I just, really need your help,” his voice got quieter. “Are you even still here?” Albert asked, dread creeping into his question.

Stanley considered the odd contraption, wondering if running would be a good idea at this point.

I’m not that far from civilization. Would I make it? Is anything they said even true? He did let me go, but only after kidnapping me in the first place. So that’s not lending him much credibility. Is it even human? Sure sounds like it.

Stanley decided to write something in some nearby mud before sneaking away. Albert began to search the surrounding grassland for any sign of him. He operated his drone to search near a puddle when something caught his eye. There were words written in the mud.

“Mineral Calcite? Wait, could it be?” Albert pulled away from the drone control terminal and moved to the central command computer. A warning was open that stated:

‘Safety of base must be guaranteed or core facility will self-destruct’

Albert closed it, only for another warning window to open.

‘Survey of nearby rock formations and minerals must be conducted before facility defences can be activated’

“Alright, here goes,” he said as he activated a manual survey program. He typed:

‘Mineral = Calcite, Rock = Limestone’

“And, submit,”

‘All prerequisites complete. Self-destruct sequence cancelled. Facility has entered standby mode. Commander is permitted to leave for extended periods. Guests may be re-labelled as permanent residents. Automatic abduction of nearby inhabitants for information gathering purposes will cease. Please activate additional systems as their functions are required’

“Nice!” he exclaimed. “I’m going to get out of here!”

Albert sank into his chair as the joy of finally being free dawned on him.

“Today, is a great day,” he said with a grin. “Wonder what’s out there though?”