Day 2: The Backrooms (Lain v Ekta v Kasia)

l a i n

I hide for what feels like hours. Only the faint sunlight from the sewer vents above dimming helps to tell the difference between day and night. I think it's nighttime. That, or I have gotten so turned around in this labyrinth that I've descended too deep for the sunlight to reach.

She killed them. The girl in purple. Both of them! My stomach spins at the thought—the scarlet girl and the other boy, who was dead before I even arrived at the tunnels. I've never seen a dead body before, or even a dying body. My parents protected me from it during the war; my mother gave my sister and me crayons and paintbrushes to occupy ourselves as rebels and Capitol soldiers alike carried bodies of men and women, boys and girls, away on stretchers. I took the cuts, scrapes, and gashes on my body as a sign to back out before I got fucked even harder. Was Charlie watching when I stabbed her clean in the shin? Was it hot or was it horrific? I mull the options over the tiny can of Adder-All that slipped through the crevices of the sewers. One pill every few hours, just enough to convince myself that either way, at least he wouldn't forget me.

Cannons shake my hiding place. Old pins and paperweights rattle and fall over on the desk above as the thunder forces miniature quakes over the room. Judging by the protection from the sewer's odors, the room must be abandoned. And to be honest, I can't blame the Capitol for leaving this musty place behind. Who'd want to travel through the sewers for their shitty desk job?

Were there twelve cannons? Fifteen? Thirty-si– wait, no that one can't be right. It's hard to tell with the way the thunderous cannons boom off the walls. However many there were, that's how many of us are dead. "Not enough," I mutter to myself, stretching myself out beneath the desk. My spear stands at the ready, just in case someone does happen to find me down here.

Whether I sleep or not is a moot point. It's so cramped under here. My feet ache from being pressed up against the side of the desk. I wish hunting were a more reasonable option than hiding. It's not that I'm ungrateful to be alive, it's just– ugh– my back strains as I try to stretch again. I'm just used to having more space, is all.

Every champagne problem ceases as the door squeaks open. Shit. Don't be as smart as me and crawl underneath the desk for a new hiding place, please! Their footsteps echo off the walls, twice as haunting as the cannons earlier. I pull my shirt above my face, masking unnerved breaths. And the door opens again. Shit. Again.

The footsteps slow from either side, barely converging upon one another. There are so many ways that this could go south for me, even if they don't know I'm here. What if they run and find me? What if they slam through the desk and land on top of me? What if I sneeze and they set aside their differences to kill the pretty boy instead? My heart throbs, loud enough that I can't hear whether they're speaking or sharing labored breaths.

I give myself time for one slow, silent breath before making the first move. My hands grip both back legs of the desk and I lift, tossing it over. I hope that it startles them both enough to buy me some time.

"GET OUT!" I yell, raising my spear and making the first move against each of them., the one in yellow first, then the one in red. "This is my hiding spot! Fuck off!"

lain attacks kasia; spear
ibl0Hb_1a9spear
[ 3055 -- Stabbed in Stomach -- 9.5 damage ]

lain attacks ekta; spear
spear
[ 3024 -- Deep Gash on Left Thigh -- 8.0 damage ]