I clutch my clipboard close to my chest as I tread through the cold white tile; the sound of tapping from my black work boots loudly echoing through the halls. My eyes jolt across the area surrounding me, going from focusing on the pale blue walls to suddenly staring at the ivory of the buzzing fluorescent lights, then glaring at the unlit red emergency lights. The pessimistic voices in my head are growing louder and louder and louder and louder. Every moment I'm down here they remind me that I'm vulnerable, they remind me that anything could go wrong and there would be nothing I could do to truly save myself.. It would’ve been nice if the company got around to letting me have my annual therapist appointment, on the surface. I miss the warm welcoming glow of the sun, and the way it wrapped around my body comfortingly. I miss the bright cerulean of the skies, and the emerald green grass blades. All I have now is eye-straining artificial luminescence. 

The color of the walls are supposed to calm the employees and.. creatures down here, but after looking at it for a while it just drives you into a dark dwelling pit of anxiety.. Something feels wrong. I turn around expecting to be faced by the grotesque maw of some sort of entity or anomaly, but I am only slapped in the face by the silence of emptiness. No, there's no way I feel like this for no reason, I’m not paranoid.. There has to be something here. In front of me, behind, or beside me.. But in the end there is nothing. I shake off my thoughts and continue to walk past the unnaturally bland walls. I then realize I have been walking aimlessly for a while. The checklist stapled to my clipboard glares at me through the corner of my sight, reminding me that I should get back on task. ‘Stabilize room temperature of the library.’  I should do that before anyone notices I'm off task. If it means they get a promotion or they get on his good side, anyone here wouldn't hesitate to be a rat.

Step after step, I finally reach the end of the seemingly endless hallway, then large automated doors open in front of me, allowing my entrance into another set of complex halls. Numbingly cold air bites at my neck the moment I walk out. I cringe briefly, then turn to my side to look at a luminated facility map. My suspicions are confirmed. I somehow had walked a full 345 blocks away from maintenance where I was supposed to be hours ago. I clench my jaw and redirect my path to the maintenance room. I notice that I can hear the breezes coming from the ventilation. Why are the halls so empty today? World war III ended about 8 years ago. There is still very high radioactive and chemical activity underground, it should be another ten years or so until the earth is fully cleaned. Maybe some radiation traveled over here and poisoned the workers. 

The past few months here have been oddly uneventful, the latest memorable news I've heard was a rumor about a prisoner sent down here about two months ago, her name was Rocio I believe? I’m not quite sure. But according to some of the staff here, they believe that instead of being used to interact with entities, they tortured her for classified information about a rival company and kept it a secret from anyone below a V-Rank. I don’t personally believe in that rumor, GrandGaurde is a… questionable… Company to say the least. But even I don’t think they would've set the bar that low. Nor do I think they would be able to keep a secret like that. But I haven’t heard any news of that specific prisoner dying, maybe she was simply pardoned of her crimes.

The wind of the air conditioning rustles loudly in my ear. The silence is deafening. That isn’t saying the facility is normally loud, quite the contrary. But there is usually light chattering and tapping with the occasional screeching, but right now there is nothing, only noises coming from the building itself. I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, attempting to stop anxiety from creeping up in my intrusive thoughts again. I pass by a few more identical rooms before reaching maintenance. I step inside the wire filled area, soon after I hear a loud beep bounce through the walls, soon after followed by a masculine voice.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Levine, what is your purpose for being here?” I recognize his voice, but I don’t know his name, like most of my co-workers. We collectively refer to him as ‘Intercom Guy’.

“Greetings, I’m here to stabilize the Library’s room temperature.” He didn’t respond immediately, instead silence broke, staticy ambiance echoing throughout the room.

“Isn’t she the librarian? I thought the handymen- nevermind. That would be subsection B-5.” He mumbles the first bit of words. He should be a V-Rank, why wouldn’t he be informed about this? Albeit, it is a little strange that I’m the one doing this, but maybe there is a staff shortage..? Then again wouldn’t he have been told about that? If he did know, why would he be surprised seeing me here? The memory of the empty halls comes back to me in the middle of my pondering.

“Hey before you go, do you know where everyone is? I haven’t run into anyone today.” He pauses for a moment before returning.

“The servers are overloaded at the moment, I will be taking my leave now, goodbye.” Monotone beeping blasted from the speakers, indicating that he has ended the session and is no longer on the mic to assist me. 

I decided to dismiss the fact he ignored me and headed to the correct subsection, recalling my brief training on how to adjust the room temperatures, avoiding tripping on any wires below my feet. This place is a mess, it looks as if a hurricane passed over it. From what I remember in employee training, this room was a lot more neat. Whoever was last doing maintenance here jammed the wires into incorrect ports. I would fix them if I had the time. It's annoying seeing those kinds of imperfections, not only that but I’m pretty certain that's a fire hazard. I make it to a sign above a series of panels and notches labeled ‘Section B- Temperatures’. 

I gently graze over the panels until I find an ingrained label in one of them reading ‘B-5’. Before I adjust the notches, I look up to the rest of the room and truly observe the sheer size of it. It would take a few minutes to reach the nearest exit. I looked back down at the dull metal plating, the welding seemed to be done very poorly, that shows a lot on how rushed GrandGaurde was to finish building this facility. I place a hand on the slider and begin modifying its position. A cold chill creeps down my spine. What if I don’t do my job well enough? What happens when I fail to finish all of my tasks for the day? There is faint electrical buzzing heard in the distance. I slowly turn to look behind my shoulder, half expecting something to be there. There is nothing. I can’t quite shake off the feeling of being stalked by someone, or something. I think the seldomness of human contact today is starting to get to me. I turn back to face the paneling, finishing my final task for today. 

I rush myself out of the room, I no longer wish to be in a dimly lit and almost completely silent room. I direct myself to go back to the library, where I normally spend my time alone, away from most personnel. But, I wouldn't mind some human interaction today, I would be grateful even if it was shallow.. The feeling is still there. The cold atmosphere of the  space around me feels like it's trying to suffocate me. I look up to see the harsh white lighting. The halls are almost completely monochromatic, the only thing preventing it from being so are the subtle blue hue of the walls. My anxiety constantly reminds me that no matter what, I should remain hypervigilant at all times, there is always something that has broken out of containment.