pulls open a drawer, glancing nervously over her shoulder, whispers "Shit... This place gives me the creeps. Any luck on your side?"
Pearson
Hold that thought Ava. I’m coming your way! I call out, moving towards Ava while looking around for anything out of the ordinary
closes the drawer abruptly, takes a deep breath, sighs heavily when disappointed "No, no luck so far. It's like they just left everything here...
Pearson
Maybe not. Look at this Ava. I say pointing to what looks like a small fridge. Instead of normal shelves and glass windows, its covered in screens. Some that show images, others blank, and one thats showing a graph of some sort. Do you think that’s the clue we’re looking for? I whisper loudly.
walks towards the fridge, her eyes scanning the screens with intrigue "This...this could be it! Pearson, take a look at these images.
Pearson
They all seem normal enough. Except for the middle one. There’s clearly something growing inside there. Whatever it is, it’s been living here long before we walked in. And it’s probably contagious. Do you really want to open it? I ask Ava, eyeing the fridge closely
pauses for a moment, her mind racing with possibilities, then takes a deep breath, opens the fridge door "We need to find out what's going on.
Pearson
Interesting…I don’t remember seeing a way to view whats inside the fridges without opening it from the outside. Whats inside? I wonder, trying to remember how our journey got us here
leans closer to the screen, her face illuminated by the glow, murmurs "Pearson, I think I found something... It's a log entry from one of the scientists.
Pearson
Let me see.
zooms in on the text, quickly scrolling through the entries, whispers "It says here... Experiment #427... success... groundbreaking discovery...
Pearson
That doesn’t sound good at all. Why would anyone think that was a good idea. Something about those words just don’t sit right. I mumble, looking away from the screen to contemplate the implications
takes a deep breath, trying to steady herself, whispers "No... it can't be... Pearson, do you think this is connected to the fungus outbreak?"
Pearson
I’d rather not jump to conclusions just yet Ava. I say, stepping back slightly to look around us. There must be more to this place than a single lab or two, or a lab as unusual as this. Lets keep poking around. But…im worried about that ‘Experiment’ now. It sounds terrible, and honestly does make me wonder about a possible connection
paces back and forth, biting her lip in frustration, whispers "Pearson, we need to find more information.
Pearson
Moving into the next room over, my mind finally focusing after stumbling across it earlier, I suggest, if you find nothing else, let alone anything helpful, let’s try and figure out what Experiment 427 is. Besides, you know I am curious to know just what sort of ‘groundbreaking discovery’ could ‘cure’ our problem in such a terrible way.
pauses in her pacing, a determined glint in her eyes, whispers "I have an idea.
Pearson
You usually do Ava, especially when I need to keep myself distracted from overthinking things. whats up?
grabs a nearby computer console, types furiously, muttering under her breath "Let's see if we can access the security cameras.
Pearson
Good thinking Ava, I yell over my shoulder, already heading to a camera viewable from outside the lab. Either way, hopefully we’ll see some other clue to piece together our mystery.
types faster, furrowing her brows in concentration, whispers "Damn it, Pearson. I can't seem to access the security cameras. It's like they're locked down tight."
Pearson
That’s really unfortunate, because that camera upstairs, as much of a stretch as it may be, was my best lead. Well, we need to move further down the hallway anyway, I say reluctantly heading back out into the hallway. At least we saw where we came from. Not that we have much of a choice anyway…
sighs heavily, crossing her arms and tapping her foot impatiently, whispers "Come on, Pearson! We can't just give up like this.
Pearson
Fine fine, calm down. Probably best to stick together even if the cameras aren’t working properly anyway. At least we haven’t gotten bitten yet, right? That’s good sign. Maybe the strange lack of fungus outside means whatever Experiment 427 is, its useless against what happened to the outside world. Or maybe it does work, and whatever doing its job perfectly, so nobody out there knows about it yet. Or something like that anyway. Can we cross the hallway bridge just yet Ava?
rolls her eyes, mutters under her breath "You always find a way to twist things, Pearson.
Pearson
Cause thats what I do best. Now let’s go, I call out, already having started walking into the bridge leading into the next section of hallways. When is that ship your parents promised arriving anyway?
grabs Pearson's arm, pulling him back "Wait, Pearson! Before we go any further, we need to find a safe place to regroup. This hallway feels too exposed."
Pearson
Agreed. The halls were a bad place to be at night anyway, let alone when we have such a huge mystery over our heads. There’s an office coming up we’ve been passing for awhile. Probably best to stop there
spots an open door at the end of the hallway, whispers "Pearson, over here. This room looks empty. Let's check it out.
Pearson
Hmm? Didn’t you notice the makeshift barricade at the doorway. Looks like whoever closed this section first, tried to defend it against something. I point to a desk at the entrance of the room. All clear.
peeks inside the room, scanning for any signs of danger or useful information, whispers "Okay, Pearson. It looks clear. Let's move quickly and grab whatever supplies we can find in here."