-Apartment Block C: Unit 3-
Wake up...
"Go away..."
The haunting voice echoed more urgently.
...Wake up!
Michael's eyes snapped open with a simultaneous deep breath.
The little girl was standing in front of his bed, her face veiled by her pitch black hair. There was an odd excitement that he somehow understood however.
It's here.
Scrambling to his feet, Michael pulled out his plasma cutter he'd taken back with him under work pretenses. A silent dread filled him and in this small room barely large enough to fit a bed and dresser, he walked to the door and pressed on the door's panel.
Hiss
The lights flickered on. He couldn't keep them on due to allotted electricity regulations and potentially drawing attention. His desk was littered with maps marked to his desire, books that taught him how the Plasma Cutter and other futuristic tech worked, some tools, and his usual setup. The couch, the TV, the kitchen area, but very little else.
Across the room, the air was distorting and warping in on itself and from it, the little girl shimmered into existence while pointing at the exit door.
Look outside.
After several weeks of her existence following him around, despite the manic moments and the feeling of dread deep inside, he slowly figured out that she wasn't trying to harm him. Only pull him and direct him to places. Or at least as far as he could tell.
He'd listen to her but never followed her wandering down different hallways, telling him he had to listen and find the voice. This was because of his fear that it was the Marker's influence and not some drugs.
And even if it was just the drugs, why would he follow this horrifying little girl?
But he never got the sense that she was lying. Never the sense that she was purposely trying to harm him. So when she warned him moments ago, it didn't feel like like a lie or a prank.
Whatever it was, it was here.
Swallowing nervously, he cautiously approached the door. Residents were prohibited from having video feeds outside their residence.
This was for the company's benefit.
If anyone had a mental break, behaved criminally, or otherwise, they could send in Security with less risk exposure. It also meant that if they wanted to nab someone, there would be fewer problems.
And in Michael's situation, this was destroying his nerves.
Convergence has not started yet. The outbreak has not happened yet, Michael repeated internally.
His shaking hand touched the control panel before immediately backpedaling.
Hiss
Nothing. The gray metal apartment door opposite his own.
His eyes snapped to the little girl who appeared in his peripherals and she slowly walked along the wall's edge before blinking outside. Standing there and facing him, she pointed down the hallway.
Michael swallowed and slowly stepped toward the exit, keeping his body tilted at an angle and the plasma cutter ready at his side. He leaned forward with a wide stance and peeked outside in the direction of her finger and...
Nothing.
His head snapped the other way.
Nothing.
Not that way. That way, she reiterated while remaining still, keeping her finger pointed the same way.
There's nothing there, Michael thought, beginning to believe she tricked him. What are you...
At the far end of the block, approximately fifty meters away, the air shimmered as if it was made of water with light bending unnaturally around an equally unnatural, large being.
What is that...? Michael asked her, swallowing and flicking the safety off his plasma cutter.
A visitor, she answered with an innocent tone.
A few rapid blinks and Michael shook his head aggressively.
Is this part of the hallucination? Someone innocent might be standing there!
There are no Necromorphs yet. The Marker or the drugs are fucking with me.
He already hurt Eve and nearly harmed others by accident.
Keeping the plasma cutter out of view, he swallowed nervously and did what he believed to be the sane move to prevent himself from harming someone accidentally.
"H-Hey! Who are you?"
Whatever it was froze waist down and its head pivoted abruptly.
A high-pitched electronic humming resonated down toward him followed by soft, rhythmic clicking like something cycling. Its silhouette, very human-like, rippled in the air.
It was large. It was muscular. And it didn't sound happy.
Nah. Nope. I don't know what you are or if you're a hallucination.
Immediately with a "nope" mentality he leaned back into his apartment.
"Nope," he said aloud to himself and hit the control panel.
Hiss
"Nope."
He walked back to his room and closed the door.
Hiss
"Nope."
He laid in bed and kept the plasma cutter on his chest with a wide-eyed stare at the door.
Clunk. Hiss...
FUCK! It's REAL?!
Scrambling back to his feet, he immediately jumped atop his bed. His bed's metal frame was part of the room. The door was a sliding door anyway so he couldn't barricade it.
If I use my comms, it will know I'm here, Michael panicked as he heard the heavy thumps of footsteps on metal.
Each step was accompanied by a scratching sound. A whine of metal being scraped, a groan against its weight.
Breathe. Breathe.
Michael saw his shaking hands.
The plasma cutter's three-dot laser aim reticle was erratically jerking between the center of the door to the walls, halfway up and down the door. He took several deep, slow breaths, trying to stay as quiet as possible.
His aim refocused and tightened.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
A crackle of electricity and sparks sprayed out from his control panel. He placed his finger on the trigger and...
Hiss
Michael froze. His finger remained on the trigger but he couldn't believe his eyes, and he breathed out in disbelief.
"What the fuck...?"