HOTEL LEX - FLOOR 6 (19/?) (Patreon)

You get up to take a look at the complex control panel.

You spot a portion of it that looks like a regular keyboard and you hit a couple of buttons to prompt the system. Dialogue boxes appear on screen with jargon you can't understand. IP conflicts? Subnet masks? Packet loss? You try hitting escape but more errors flash on screen. You look around and your finger lands on the largest button. A red microphone appears on some of the still-functioning monitors. You realize you're broadcasting over the entire ship and quickly hit it again to mute. You turn your attention toward the many cables instead. You pick and prod the many colored wires, hoping to see something familiar to work with. You notice that one of the wires isn't fully plugged. As soon as you fix it back into its socket, a few monitors flicker on. Your jaw drops.

A giant, horrific-looking creature stands at the base of a platform. You watch as its body spreads viscous slime everywhere. You can't help but shake the feeling that the silhouette looks oddly familiar in a bad way. You notice it's chasing something, trying to wall of it off. You look closer and spot a couple of figures ensnared in the puddles, frantically trying to escape. You watch in horror as long tendrils reach up out of the puddle and latch onto the two before pulling them beneath the surface. Emmett peeks from behind you and watches the chaos unfold.

"W-What is that thing??"

You watch as the monster disappears from one monitor to appear in another. Your eyes catch a glimpse of the top-right corner, where the label 'MAIN DECK' is burned into the glass. You turn to Emmett and ask if there are other paths to the other side of the ship. He racks his brain, trying to think.

"I-If we were to follow t-the red line, it passes through the Main d-deck. I'm not t-to sure about other paths; I was just f-focusing on where the colored lines went..."

Suddenly, another screen flickers on. You peer inside the room you just escaped and see movement within the nest. Many of the cocoons are now starting to swell and you think it just might be dinner time. If the queen notices you're gone, she'll probably hunt you down with all the babies she's put into you. You take one last look at the monster's rubber body twisting and contorting before grabbing Emmett's hand and leading him out of the room. You check your surroundings and only after you confirm there aren't any spiders around do you make a dash for the door down the hall where you end up in a transit corridor. You look to the left to see the white goo that had lined the hallway prior to entering navigation. Your only other option is right and you pray that it doesn't take you into the main deck.

You head down a couple of angled turns before you meet your next obstacle; that obstacle being space— literal space. You reach a locker room right before an airlock that takes you directly outside into the empty void. You peer through the airlock window and see another airlock at the other end of this hull. You look for another way and see a sign that says 'MAIN DECK.' Nope, no way you're going face-to-face with the monster in there. You look at Emmett, who is coming to the conclusion that out is the only way to go.

"S-Space... Ohhhh my g-goodness, no, no, no no-"

He drops to his knees, and you quickly grab hold of him. You pull him into a tight embrace without saying anything and let him calm down at his own pace. He burrows his head into you and you feel him shaking in fear. You ponder your options. What if you make it to the other side first and toss him something to grab onto? You look around for a tether or belt that you can use. Perhaps you can extend your arms like vines for him to hold onto; you try your best but it seems that activating them is involuntary. Then it hits you— the spool! You have Emmett take out the thread and tell him your idea.

> Brave the space walk.
> ITEM - Try to connect the two airlocks with the thread.
> ITEM - Attach yourself to Emmett with the golden thread.
> Try your luck with the main deck.

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