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Part 6 took a little longer than I thought
We followed the corpses like Hansel and Gretel, eventually arriving at Vault M. Calling this cell a Vault isn’t an exaggeration — or wasn’t. The once solid vault door now distorted, barely covered the entrance. Turrets and surveillance cameras were either damaged or out of power, red stains spreaded all over the hallway, even colored the ceiling. Considering the casualties around the entrance, what the vault used to contain was no longer caged.
I peeked into the room carefully, it’s filled with the smell of rusty metal. Complete darkness occupied the space, yet whatever lurking inside still radiated a strong sense of danger. Shiori put a finger on her lips and signaled me to stay quiet, as we heard a tiny voice came out of the void.
“I’m alright.”
“Un-un.”
“No! That’s your fault.”
“You set off the alarm, not me.”
It sounded familiar, a bit lower and more childish than I remembered. Shiori asked softly to the pitch black room. “ FuwaMoco, are you in there ?”
The whispers stopped. Everything went back to dead silence, the only animated object in the corridor was the last functioning camera on the ceiling, meaninglessly scanning for targets.
“Shiori?” A young girl emerged from the room and looked at us hesitantly. Her short pale yellow hair and ripped jumpsuit were sprinkled with dark pink, scars and wounds could be seen through the holes on her outfit.
“There, there. It’s alright Mococo. I’m here.” Shiori embraced Mococo tenderly, wiping blood off her forehead and giving her soothing head pats.
“What about Fuwawa?” Mococo mumbled in Shiori’s arms, snuggling like a puppy. I stood in front of the entrance waiting for another one to come out, yet it felt like not a nothing was left in the cell.
“Don’t worry, I will get you both out of here.”
Shiori patted the air beside Mococo until she nodded with satisfaction.
“Un-Un.” Mococo paused for a few seconds, like she was waiting for someone to speak. “Thank you.”
“It’s alright.” Shiori replied, looting some gas masks from the dead. ”How did you break the cage?”
“Extreme Violence.” Mococo said proudly with a smug face. “I did it with Fuwawa backseating.”
“Good job.” Shiori measured the mask with Mococo’s face, making sure it fits. “Are you ready to go?”
“How about this guy ? Huh.” Mococo leaned on me, frowning as she climbed on me and started sniffing. She observed me with her blue pupils carefully, then gave her conclusion. “Un. He smelled funny. Are you sure he’s good?”
Holding the urge to spill my questions, I did my best to give her a comforting smile, hoping that it helped ease her doubt.
“I’m sure he’s good.” Shiori assured Mococo while putting a gas mask on her, added teasingly.
“Although he IS a bit funny.”
Before I had the chance to refute, Shiori took Mococo’s and headed towards the exit.
As we headed back into the smoke, I took a last glance at the vault. Through the blurred glasses of the mask, I saw a silhouette standing in front of the Vault. She’s still wearing the same blueish outfit, but this time I could vaguely see her expression. She’s no longer horrifying, the darkness on her face was gone. I squinted my eyes trying to see it more clearly.
It’s a relieved yet lonely smile, watching us leaving.
“ Remember what I said, professor.”
Shiori came back and grabbed my hand, pulling me deeper to the dark. After a blink, I can no longer see the figure through the dense smoke.
“It’s not real.”
