Climb

They're all gone. Everybody's gone.

I climbed the recessed ladder up the lift shaft. I climbed in complete darkness; sometimes the ladder would be slick with fluid. After what seemed like hours, a dim glow appeared above me, and I climbed toward it. I pulled myself out of the lift shaft and into the corridor.

The corridor was lit only by the flickering emergency lights. The doors to the lift shaft were jammed half-open, and dark liquid puddled around them. I couldn't see anybody. There was blood and debris everywhere, but no bodies.

I explored. The whole floor was deserted, the scientists gone and the holding cells empty. Parts of the floor were dark, or lit only intermittently. The bodies might have been in one of those dark areas; there was no way I was going to check, though. They felt wrong. Twice while I was exploring, the main lights flickered on with a burst of sound from the equipment nearby. Both times, the lights went straight back out again.

The last thing I checked was the lift to the level above. If that lift were destroyed, maybe the whole facility had been taken down. I turned the corner and saw the lift. The doors were intact and closed. The control panel was dark. I walked up to it and hit a few buttons. Nothing happened.

I found a utility cupboard and hid. When the power comes back, I'll go up in the lift and see what happens.