"Tap – Tap – Tap." Haidar, Henry, and Helena stepped out of the altar room into complete darkness. The double doors they had blasted open now looked like a gaping square hole with no bottom.
"Kyaa—THUD!" In the middle of their escape, Helena tripped over her own feet and fell. Henry immediately turned and rushed to her side. Haidar quickly raised his revolver, alert for any threats.
"Are you okay?" Henry asked, concern etched on his face as he helped Helena up. She nodded, standing again with Henry's support, wincing as she tried to put weight on her right foot.
"Sorry, especially at a time like this," Helena said, exhaustion showing on her face.
"No problem, madam. Seems like nothing's chasing us," Haidar replied, glancing toward the double doors now far behind them.
"Are you sure?" Henry asked seriously.
"No reaction," Haidar said, checking the compass in his pocket.
"Those creatures just stopped like that?" Henry wondered aloud.
Haidar understood what Henry meant. From the start, every creature they faced had been tough, yet somehow they all stopped at a certain point and retreated. Haidar holstered his revolver but kept a firm grip on his axe. He turned and walked over to Henry and Helena.
"That's good if they stopped, but we still need to get out of here quickly," Haidar said.
"This path leads to the big staircase, right?" Henry asked seriously.
"Yeah, it seems to just loop back — we'll return to the staircase where we entered," Haidar explained.
Still alert, Haidar walked beside Henry, who was supporting Helena to move, as it seemed Helena's foot had been twisted from her fall earlier. It didn't take long before they reached a large room with a big staircase leading upward—the same staircase Haidar and Henry had used to enter. Step by step, they moved cautiously, even though Haidar didn't sense any immediate threat or danger. But everything they had gone through, especially what had just happened recently, made them reluctant to lower their guard.
Reaching the top of the stairs without any trouble didn't make them feel relieved enough, because they still had to find a way out of the corridor room they were in now. Walking away from the stair entrance, they entered a large corridor, which wasn't a difficult choice since there was only one straight path ahead.
"Do you know the way out?" Henry asked Haidar.
"We will check other routes at the branching paths and the iron door ahead using the border compass, but we have to be ready if the way out is still far to find," Haidar explained, looking very tired.
"Are you okay?" Henry asked, noticing Haidar's condition.
"I'm fine, we have to keep moving," Haidar replied.
"Are you sure? You look paler than Helena," Henry asked again.
"Yes, it's nothing, just a side effect from the booster I used," Haidar answered with slightly heavy breathing.
Henry didn't ask more and just nodded a little, accepting Haidar's answer.
"We can get out through the iron door," Helena said suddenly.
Haidar and Henry looked at Helena.
"Helena, how do you know?" Henry asked.
"I don't really understand myself, it's just that this room and the one downstairs feel familiar. I feel like I've been here before, and if I'm not mistaken, the iron door ahead will lead us outside," Helena answered, confused.
Henry looked at Haidar with a worried expression, as if he wanted to ask something. Haidar understood Henry's concern.
"We will check that iron door, so let's move quickly," Haidar said, walking ahead and leading, followed by Henry and Helena.
Not much happened during their journey through the large corridor, except for the wind blowing in and out like a breath, and the quiet atmosphere where sometimes faint whispering voices haunted their heads. It didn't take long before Haidar, Henry, and Helena stood in front of the iron door. Haidar checked the border compass; the blue needle that had been spinning suddenly pointed straight at the iron door.
"Click," Haidar closed his compass and put it back in his pocket. Then he grabbed the iron door's pull handle.
"Are you ready?" Haidar asked seriously.
Helena and Henry stood on either side behind Haidar, mumbling and nodding. Confident to open the door, Haidar put his strength into pulling the handle, gripping his axe tightly in the other hand, ready for whatever awaited behind the door.
"KREEEEK—TANG!" The handle Haidar pulled broke off and came loose from the door, pushing Haidar slightly backward, almost losing his balance.
"Eh!" Haidar said, surprised and confused.
"The screws on the handle seem old and fragile," Henry said, looking at the broken handle.
"Or maybe there's some kind of force blocking us from getting out," Haidar said seriously.
"Maybe there's another creature coming," Henry said, checking around.
"GRRRNK-KREEEAK…" As Haidar and Henry suddenly became alert, watching the corridor around them, Helena tried to push the iron door. With almost no effort from Helena, the iron door swung wide open to the other side. Haidar and Henry just stood frozen, still in a guarded stance.
"It seems this door should be pushed, not pulled," Helena said with a flat expression.
Henry looked at Haidar with a serious, blank face. From Henry's gaze, Haidar could feel a sharp sting of disappointment and doubt.
"Alright, you two stay behind me. We have to be ready for whatever comes next," Haidar said, leading the way calmly into the room behind the iron door.
Ignoring what just happened, Henry and Helena followed Haidar into the room. Inside, there was only one thing that caught their attention: a staircase leading up to the ceiling. At the top of the stairs was a closed wooden door attached to the ceiling.
Haidar checked his compass again; the red needle spun steadily with no shaking, which meant no sign of danger, and the blue needle pointed straight at the stairs ahead.
"No sign of danger," Haidar said as he put his compass back.
Haidar moved toward the stairs, followed by Helena and Henry. Halfway up, Haidar gave a hand signal for Helena and Henry to stop. He climbed the stairs toward the ceiling door, and just as he was directly under the door, "CLAAANG!" the iron door behind them slammed shut loudly.
Startled, Haidar and the others immediately went on alert, looking back. But Henry noticed the door seemed to have a mechanism to close itself after a certain time.
Haidar took a deep breath and shook his head, relieved it wasn't an enemy attack. Then he examined the ceiling door, noticing it had no handle or knob to open it. Haidar tried pushing the door.
"GRRRT–JINK!" The door opened a little and was stopped by something. Through the small opening, Haidar saw two chains holding the door, preventing it from opening fully.
"Not surprising anymore," Haidar said, looking at the chains in front of him.
"Should we look for another way?" Henry asked, sounding a bit panicked.
"No, we'll get out through here," Haidar replied.
Haidar then checked the situation in the room they were about to enter. Because of the low light, Haidar threw a glow stick inside, staying alert in case something was waiting in the room. There wasn't much to see, but it looked like the room was some kind of storage or warehouse with several boxes stacked along the sides.
"Looks safe," Haidar said.
"That's good news. Now how are you going to open the door?" Henry asked.
Haidar put the axe he was carrying back into his holster, then got ready with his revolver.
"Better step back a little," Haidar said seriously.
In the dark, quiet room with piles of boxes along the sides, there was a wooden door locked with two chains, blocking it from opening. "BANG! – BANG! – BANG!" A series of bullets pierced the chains' supports, breaking them. "BLAM!" The door on the floor then slammed open loudly, causing the unsupported chains to fly forward and lie flat on the ground.
Half of Haidar's body appeared from the lower room as he stayed ready with his revolver, aiming at any possible danger. Haidar slowly walked out, making sure there was no threat. When he was sure it was safe, Haidar looked back to the lower room and gave a hand signal for them to follow. Helena and Henry came out from the lower room, and without much talking, the three immediately checked the room they were now in.
Besides the piles of boxes and the door on the floor, there was nothing special in the room. Luckily, Helena seemed to find a light switch. "Click" The warm yellow-orange light lit up the room, replacing the limited glow stick light. Dust scattered everywhere showed that the room had not been used for a long time.
"It looks like there's a door behind those boxes," Henry said, pointing at a pile of boxes.
Haidar, who was near the boxes, immediately checked it. He tried to make sure that behind the boxes was indeed a door and began moving the boxes blocking it.
"Yes, this is a door," Haidar said while moving the boxes.
Henry quickly moved to help Haidar, followed by Helena. But as Helena tried to lift some smaller boxes, she suddenly felt pain in the leg that had been injured when she fell earlier.
"Leave this to me and Haidar, you just rest," Henry said worriedly.
Helena obeyed Henry's words and sat down to rest, checking her aching leg. The boxes that blocked the way contained old household items and some clothes. With Henry and Haidar working together, moving the boxes didn't take long.
After clearing the boxes blocking the way, a wooden sliding door was revealed. Haidar immediately tried to open the door, but as feared, it was locked.
"Locked again," Haidar muttered.
"Haidar, try to break it. It seems the support and sliding parts are already fragile," Henry said.
"Okay, worth a try," Haidar replied.
Haidar switched his revolver for his axe, trying to strike the rail support where the door slid, while Henry pulled the door with all his strength to free it from the track. Luckily, the fragile support made Haidar and Henry's work easier, and together they pulled the sliding door.
"BRUAKK!" The door came off its support, revealing what it had been hiding. But what awaited Haidar, Henry, and Helena was not hope — with shocked faces, they saw a wall blocking the exit behind the door they had struggled so hard to force open.
Henry turned around with his hands on his hips, his face tired and disappointed. Helena sighed, holding her sore leg. Meanwhile, Haidar examined the blocking wall, feeling its texture with his hand.
"KLINK-KLINK" Then he tapped the wall with his axe, producing a sound like glass.
"It's too soon to give up, Mr Henry," Haidar said with a smile.
Henry and Helena looked at Haidar.
"CLAAANG–KRISHH!" The wall shattered under the axe blow. Haidar then cleared away the sharp fragments still stuck, opening a path that was once closed.
Light from a new room behind the broken glass wall caught Haidar's attention. He looked inside — the room was clean, with soft carpet flooring and glass walls all around. There were also some neatly arranged sports equipment.
"Haha, wow, looks like we got an anticlimax," Haidar said with a small laugh.
To be continued.