"This wasn't here before..."

Han didn't know what to think as he was looking at the fork in the hallway. His eyes strayed to Helen, who was touching the divide with confusion.

"What do we do?" Abigail was equally frazzled by the unexpected scenario. "We had definitely been this deep into the hallway when we arrived into this world."

His mother looked troubled by what they had found. Turning towards Han, "We'll need to figure out what to do, though I don't think it's a good idea for us to split up."

"That's not an option, especially without knowing about the strength of the monsters deeper into this level," Ji-Min spoke up. She was standing in front of the hallway leading towards the right. "Dividing our strength could end up destroying our chances of reaching the others."

Katya also stood in the hallway, heading left, deep in thought. "The question is why Bella didn't wait until we arrived? It doesn't make sense for her to make such a rookie mistake."

Observing the display inside of his helmet, Han tried to detect any signs hinting where Abigail's companions had gone. From what he found out about the woman, Bella, she was someone who was a trained professional and not an individual who'd make rash decisions.

"This might be crazy, but is it possible that she didn't encounter a fork?" Jackie tossed out an idea. With her helmet deactivated, her expression clearly indicated her confusion about the matter. It was as though she didn't believe the words coming out of her mouth.

Ji-Min and Katya both turned around to look at Jackie.

Seeing how the two women reacted, it felt like they could have been sisters. Both still had their helmets, obscuring their faces.

"I mean," Jackie fumbled with her words. "If this Bella person is as trained as Abigail told us, then why would she have kept going without leaving behind some kind of clue. I would think she'd have stopped at the fork." Pointing at the floor, "There's also no signs of a fight."

"But the bodies of the monsters would have disappeared, not even leave behind blood," Michelle pointed out.

Nodding her head in agreement, "Yes, but the items take longer to disappear." Using a hand to make a circle, Jackie motioned, to include everyone from the Facility. "We've never taken everything that was dropped since we didn't have the room to carry all of the items dropped."

"The items would have still been on the floor!" Jae-Hwa smacked a clenched fist into an open palm, connecting the obvious.

Pointing repeatedly at Jae-Hwa, "Exactly!" Jackie looked back at Ji-Min and Katya. "If there was a fight, I doubt she'd have been able to grab everything."

"Meaning there wouldn't have been a reason for her not to wait at the fork," Katya softly thought out loud. Nodding her head as she processed the idea presented by Jackie. "That would make sense regardless of how crazy it sounds."

Hearing Jackie's words, the hallway soon became quiet upon the thought that Bella hadn't seen anything suspicious and continued as though everything was normal. As the words were mulled over in their mind, slowly, a dread crept over them like ivy on a wall.

"If Bella didn't have a reason to stop...," Abigail began her thought.

"Then something changed about this place," Katya spoke the words everyone was dreading to think about.

Michelle's face appeared drained of blood when the words were said.

Next to Michelle, Liam didn't look any better, finding the thought to be terrifying.

"What is this place?" Lacy asked the obvious question in everyone's minds.

Following along, Han could now understand how the lizards were able to attack Helen and her friends without having to go through Bella's group. Somehow this floor altered its layout. "Was it purely random, or is it done with intent?" Han couldn't help but think such things.

During their entire time, they had never encountered a floor where the layout changed. Each of the layers stayed the same throughout the dive, regardless if they left and came back. The question was whether this session was different than the others of if this layer, or some future one, would have been similarly set up to provide more of a challenge to those living in the Facility.

It made him think of the Labyrinth set up in the Stronghold, guarded by his adorable Minatoria. The question was whether this level was something similar.

"What happens if we go down one of the hallways branching off and the layout changes?" Hina broke the silence. As though worried about a hidden and nefarious threat, she had moved closer to Jae-Hwa as though desiring to protect her friend.

"It's possible that it's not something we'll be able to know," Ji-Min offered with no reassurance.

Clenching her fists, body shaking, "We have to help Bella! We don't know if they've run into stronger monsters in this horrible place!" Helen shouted, unable to handle the unknown.

"But how do we help them if this place is just going to change the layout?" Liam's voice came out in a panicked high-pitched voice.

As the two argued, Han tried to understand what was happening. The problem was whether the people they searched for were still alive. Though he didn't enjoy tapping into his abilities, he felt like it was unavoidable.

---------------

"What have you learned?" Bella looked at Olivia. Seeing her second coming back from the mysterious hallway with several subordinates.

Olivia shook her head, her face clearly showing the exhaustion they were all experiencing.

Bella clenched her teeth as she looked back at the darkened area behind Olivia. "How the hell did we get lost in a hallway that only went straight?" Her eyes flickered to Olivia. "What is it?"

"It's worse than just getting lost," Olivia hesitated.

"Out with it!" Bella demanded. Olivia had been through challenging missions, one of the oldest members of her team. Bella could only imagine what had shaken the woman.

Taking out a small tablet from its compartment on their battered suit, Olivia tapped on the screen. Holding it out to Bella, Olivia pointed at the display. "The hallway is no longer just straight. We discovered a fork that materialized out of nowhere." The screen flickered before stabilizing. A reminder that their equipment was slowly failing after such harsh conditions.

Placing a hand on her face, Bella was able to calm herself. "Where did I lead my people? Should I have tried to figure out a way to leave the building instead of gambling with the portals?" Doubt once again crept into her mind.

"Squad Leader?" Olivia asked, concern in her voice.

"How are our supplies, especially the torches?" Bella changed the subject, not willing to dwell on something she had no control over.

Isabel standing next to Bella answered, "Our supplies are beginning to dwindle..."

"Fuck!" Bella shouted in her mind, making sure to keep her expression composed. "How many still have helmets?"

"Only a few are left. The previous encounter with those wolf creatures." Isabel offered more bad news. "Our attempts to repair the equipment are unsuccessful."

Thoughts about her subordinate, Catharina, went through her mind. Adding to the growing list of women lost under her command. The fatal wound on Catharina had urged Bella to find someplace safe further ahead, making her split the group. It was a decision she was forced to make to search for anything that could help them. Bella had hoped that they would encounter monsters on the way and find something that would give them some kind of hope.

"Squad Leader. Permission to speak freely?" Olivia asked. Seeing the slight nod, Olivia continued, "It was the right decision to retreat back into the hallway that night. It was also the right decision to delve deeper into this place in hopes of finding something that could save Catharina. You've done everything right, Squad Leader." Olivia's eyes softened at the end, understanding the immense pressure of command and the doubts that would fill a person's mind in such troubled times.

Bella couldn't help but smile at the words of encouragement. Reaching out to touch Olivia on the arm. She couldn't help but feel proud to have such women serving under her. Even though they were tired and could feel their situation being hopeless, they continued to fulfill their roles and trust in her leadership.

"What would you have us do, Squad Leader?" Isabel asked.

In her mind, Bella tried to think about what to do. The question was whether they should continue deeper or try to find their group. She chuckled in her mind, glad to know that woman, Katya, was with them.

A strange sensation was felt in her mind. Reaching to touch her temple, she hoped it wasn't anything serious.

"Squad Leader? Are you alright?" Olivia quickly stepped closer, as though worried Bella would collapse from some unknown injury.

Raising a hand, Bella shook her head. "I'm good." She smiled, "I must be getting old to be tired so quickly." Forcing a laugh.

Bella tried to ignore the pain and strange sensation, the highly developed senses from years of covert missions and combat, making her think someone was listening in on their conversation.