HOTEL LEX - FLOOR 6 (9/?) (Patreon)

"P-Percy, I'm sc—"

You cup his hand in yours and reassure him that everything's fine. You feel your body react to the rubber and you shut your eyes tightly, focusing only on dissolving it and not Emmett. You feel roots extend from your palm into the white mass and you experience a vision of a small blue flame flickering in the dark. You feel its desire: to seek anything that moves, to capture and control, to serve a master. The flame slowly grows brighter and emits a freezing cold instead of heat. You reach out and extinguish its fighting spirit and the cold turns into warmth between your hands. You open your eyes and so does Emmett. The two of you peer down at his hand and it looks similar to you; gnarled roots have taken hold of his forearm and short, stocky fingers extend from his palm. You carefully let go and Emmett wiggles his paw to ensure motor function. You wait to see if the goo spreads but it seems to have solidified in place. Emmett lets out a deep sigh and you pull him into a tight hug. Have you forgotten that you are no longer alone? Your actions may not have consequences on you but there is still someone who counts on you to make them. You let go and see the charm you made him dangling from his neck. You apologize for being reckless; next time, it might be more than just his arm.

Emmett shakes his head, expressing relief that both of you are safe.

"I-It's okay! W-With how dangerous everything seems to be, t-this is just a scratch." Emmett laughs it off but you feel a cut deep in your heart.

Suddenly, you hear the sound of roots crackling and both of you look over at the collapsed figure attempting to stand. You quickly stand in front of Emmett in case it lunges at you again. Instead, it stands upright and stares blankly at the opposite wall. You get the sensation that you can communicate with it so you reach out and tap its shoulder. It turns around and looks down at you before holding its palm out. You cautiously reach up and place your palm against it. You close your eyes and hear the familiar vibration that came from the planters in the greenhouse. You feel its desire to find growth, to plant its roots and flourish. You feel its distaste for the sudden cold and you nod your head in agreement.

"W-What are you doing?" Emmett asks curiously.

You tell him you're communicating with it, like it were a seed born from you. You tell the figure that you're trying to get into the core to investigate the seed vault. The creature turns its head to look toward the door it was guarding moments before.

'Inside... cold...' you feel it think. 'Inside bad, more... me, waiting.'

You ask what they are guarding.

'Master... once my master, no more.'

You turn to Emmett and tell him that there are more creatures inside and they're protecting someone who is controlling them. Emmett shakes his head, "Nope, n-no, we're not doing that."

You nod; it's not worth it. After having seen what could happen to Emmett, you listen to his words.

"I-Is he... coming with us?" Emmett inquires.

You turn to look at the tall figure who is waiting for your next command. You think now that he's on your side, it might be beneficial to have him guard you. His size alone makes him a great asset, but also should you come across any more rubbery creatures, you have a second line of defense. You tell the creature that you are heading up and out of the cold, if it would like to follow. It nods and you look down the corridor Emmett pointed out earlier. It walks first, its feet leaving small puddles of moss wherever it steps. You and Emmett follow slightly behind and on the lookout for any potential goo monsters. You ascend a set of stairs into a long hallway with a yellow line painted on the floor. Emmett tugs at your elbow.

"This is the ship's h-highway! The yellow l-line is m-marked on the map. We're on the crew-only deck and if I remember correctly, we c-can follow this line to the crew quarters." Emmett looks at the end of the hallway.

"And there's the red l-line; that'll t-take us to navigation."

> Head to the navigation system.> Head toward the crew quarters.

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