HOTEL LEX - FLOOR 6 (21/?) (Patreon)

You don't want to risk more detours so you grab on to the crystal stud. You feel an immediate stabbing sensation, as if poked by a thousand needles. You snap your hand away and examine it for a wound. You don't see anything so you rub your fingers together but everything feels normal. If you are quick, you can make it to the other side without too much pain.

You grit your teeth and grab onto the same crystal tightly. Pain sears through your hand and travels down your arm as you match both hands onto the ledge and swing wide to the next volume. Emmett follows and cries out silently in pain as he slips off the first hold. He isn't anticipating the sharp pain and in his panic, he kicks inward which sends him off the side of the ship. He scrambles to grab hold of something forgetting the string tied between your wrists. You feel your arm yanked outwards and you try your best to hold on to the gemstone as he seizes your tail in desperation. You are completely horizontal with Emmett hugging your legs in fear of drifting off. You're hanging on by a crimp and you don't know if you can pull yourself back without Emmett colliding with sharp crystal terminations below. You freeze up, one wrong move here could mean you both drift off into the void. Your heart races and you try to imagine which direction will give you the highest chance of avoiding that fate. The searing pain is almost enough for you to let go so you have to decide fast.

You crunch hard. Emmett swings down and as he's about parallel with the ship, you push down. Both of you float in the air for a couple of moments; that's just enough time for you to locate the platform beneath you and a railing that you reach out to grab. You miss, but your vines don't. Stems shoot out of your palm in response to your initial dismay at swiping air. You pull yourself hard to continue your arched trajectory downward. Emmett hits the metal with a thud and you hang to the pole for dear life. He steadies himself and grabs onto a hanging piece of metal before looking up at you to give you confirmation. You heave a sigh as best you can in the vacuum of space and lower yourself slowly to meet up with him. He mouths an apology but you're more worried about where you are now. You look around the platform and spot a small hole that the mineral didn't fully seal off. You look up toward your original destination which is now obstructed by glittering jewels; there's no way you want to risk floating off into the void again like that. In you go.

Your head pokes through the opening and surveys the space before entering. It looks like a cargo hold. The gravitational system isn't functioning as evidenced by crates and boxes floating about, their contents spilled out in every which direction. You pull Emmett up by the thread and both of you drift slowly past shipment containers and canisters. Surely there's a room that buffers between the interior of the ship and the damage to the hull; if not, you would have spotted it on the cameras or been floating before. Your best bet is to reorient yourself and continue moving along the ship. You support yourself on a nearby crate and push off to propel yourself forward. Giant pink gemstones pierce the side of the wall and you try your best not to touch them as you float on by. You study a couple of crates that have been caught by pillars and notice crystallization happening where they touch. You see a door at the end of the cargo bay and a keypad that is still glowing meaning it's on. You also spot a hatch in the ceiling that you assume leads back to the ship's deck.

> Head up through a short ladder and hatch in the ceiling.
> Continue down the cargo bay.

READ THROUGH THE WHOLE COLLECTION
START READING FROM PAGE 1
DONATE TOWARDS OUR GOAL (Read here for what goals give!)

THERE IS NO MORE STORY; UNDER IS THE POLL. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN VOTING ON THE STORY, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO THE PATREON FOR JUST $2!