Prologue
Days spent in the wasteland with skeletons of villages and toxic air. My suit, covered with more patches than original fabric, was long past its expiration date. I hadn't seen an oxygen pad in days, and I was running out. There was one more tank left on my person, half full but somehow containing more O2 than any place left on our plane. In that moment, walking slow and wondering when I would finally run out, my mind was left to wonder. Would I have let myself slowly fall asleep, would I have ripped off my helmet and let the air kill me had I not caught sight of the mansion in the distance? My near-death experience seems almost like a minor detail in comparison with the rest of this story. And what I would give for that lack of breathable air to be my only problem now.
I walked carefully up to the doors and knocked, momentarily forgetting that no one would answer before pulling out a device to hack the security system. All standing homes had a system like this, residents inside often long dead from starvation or insanity. I hoped for the latter; maybe there was still food. I pried the single door open and prepared my gun not knowing what I may find. Right away I knew this wasn't just a safehold for some rich family trying to survive the end. The first room was some sort of sign-in area/waiting room. Signs on the walls politely told incomers to wait patiently and stay in the sealed area until released. What was this place?
As silently as possibly I made my way into the next room, obviously a kitchen but devoid of food. Shit. I turned back through the waiting room and ascended a flight of stairs. At the top there were two doors. Turning left, I saw I door that led to a large ballroom-like place with hundreds of sealed windows. I opted for the door on the right. Open spaces like that were a death trap and I could be sure there was no way out had I encountered anything. The other door brought me to a hallway lined with rooms. Upon further inspection, I realized they were dorms meant to house four people each. I was raiding a chest in one of the rooms when I heard a noise paired with incoherent mumbling. I froze, held my gun before me, ready to shoot but my panic was interrupted by the sounds of feeding. Colasas. I guess it was their place now.
Getting out while they were distracted with what was probably live pray was much safer than fighting my way out. Unfortunately, peeking out the doorway made it apparent that I had neither option. Five of the deformed monsters crouched down, tearing apart something that was no longer recognizable. They were blocking the exit. Knowing I couldn't fight five at once, I turned my head to the other direction. There was one more door, different in appearance than the others. I quietly ran down to the door, covered with warnings, and threw myself inside. Right away the Colasas came barreling after their newest pray. A chase was far more exciting.
I used an independent door latch to jam the door and lock myself inside before exploring further into the dark space. They would stalk me for hours, maybe days, before giving up which meant I had no choice but to search for a new way out. In the corner of the room there was a small trap door that seemed to lead down into more darkness. I pulled out a flash, lit in, and threw it down to make sure there was nothing down there before following. After five minutes of nothing but the sound of the five monsters trying to break in from the hallway, I descended. When I reached the end of the long ladder, I took a minute to check my tank. I might have had an hour left if I avoided running more. The room was cold and completely silent save a slight hum coming from the ground. In the corner, there was one dim light that flickered with its remaining life. The strangest thing though, was what lied in the center of the floor. It appeared to be some sort of hole, filled with...stars? Mesmerized I reached my gloved hand in, but I could feel no substance. Maybe the lack of oxygen was finally getting to me. As if coming to terms with my approaching end was a queue, the door in the room above me bursted open with a loud clash. The nonsense murmuring turned in to celebratory screeching and they began to search once again for their pray. One, smaller than the others dropped down the hole into the dimly lit room. I raised my gun but before I could shoot it snapped at me. The horrid face and the sudden movement of the Colasas made me stumble back and before I could meet my end, I fell into nothingness.
