First time tuning in? Start here.

When last we saw our protagonist, they had found the storeroom and retrieved what they sought. You can catch up with Part XX here. Now, with supplies in hand, they must once again traverse the labyrinth and return to the elevator. Will they escape the sub-level, or will they be lost to myriad twists and turns that threaten to shut them off from their above-ground reality? Let’s find out.

There are two entrances to this storeroom, the one I came in through, and the other next to the chipboard lids, just opposite the first. Which is great because it doesn't make sense for me to go out the way I came. Leaving by the second entrance, I walk a short way on white linoleum tiles and come to the first junction. Do I go left or right? I cannot go straight, there's a wall in the way forcing me to turn. Looking down both ways, they appear identical; if I hadn't just spent who-knows-how-long wandering the red and blue halls, I would assume either way would get me where I want to go. Except I did just spend who-knows-how-long wandering the other halls and now I'm suspicious as to the importance of my present decision.

Well, I'm already lost, it's unlikely I'll easily find my way back to this storage room, so I decide to go left. Right away, the ambiance turns blue, as if by deciding, the whole environment changes. I turn around and look behind me to see everything else is blue: the other direction, the short hall I just walked down, everything. This gives me pause, but it doesn't stop me. I mean, I've already dealt with much stranger shit tonight. What's a little mind-reading color-shifting hallway when things like the green mist exist? I commit to my decision and saunter down the hall.

I come to the next junction and must decide between turning right or continuing on ahead. I took all left turns at first and that landed me in a dead end. I took all right turns from that point and it brought me to the storage room. Maybe this time I'll alternate and it'll take me straight to the elevator. Only one way to find out. The halls are wide enough where I don't have to worry about bumping the walls or getting stuck behind the lid on a turn, which is nice. I turn into the intervening hallway and continue on.

Right away, the hallway shifts to red. Okay, no problem there. Blue on the left turns, red on the right turns. Knowing this from the start could have helped me figure out what turn I had last made had I been turning in different directions rather than just keeping to the left or right. This is good to know. I think I'm starting to get the hand of this. At the next juncture I turn left and the hallway turns purple?

Oh hell no. What the fuck?! What is this shit? Just when something starts making sense to me, this place decides not to make any sense at all. Oh fine, whatever, I don't have time for this. I'm running on frustration and hope at this point. I push forward without a second thought.

Carrying the chipboard lid under one arm with the tools in the other makes for some pretty awkward movement. The lid is just a little too long for me to hook my fingers under the side of it, and so I walk with it pressed tightly between my elbow and ribs. I manage pretty okay at first, as I'm fueled by my excitement over finding the storage room, but my arm soon tires and I'm stuck having to switch sides at almost every juncture.

And there are so many junctures! Left here, right there, blue here, red there, purple again. Despite my frustration with the hallways, I begin sensing a pattern through it all. All left turns are blue, all right turns are red, but if I turn left and then right, or right and then left, the third turn is purple. Maybe there's something to this after all. I ponder how I can make use of this information to learn my way around down here, but as I approach the next juncture I see the shotgun display on my right.

Fuck. Yes.

I turn left and sure enough, at the end of the hallway is the elevator. My stomach drops a little at the thought of being brought up to the surface by that hell ride, but I have little choice. How much longer will I spend wandering down here looking for the stairs? I'd rather not find out.

I walk right up to the doors and press the button to call the elevator, half expecting the doors to pop right open as they did at the top. Except they don't, because the elevator rose once I crawled out of it, and that would be super creepy to find it back here at the bottom waiting for me. Before I can elaborate to myself why that is, the doors pop open, and that great big yawning mechanical mouth once again awaits my entry. I take a deep breath and step into the elevator once again.

They made it back to the elevator, and in one piece! This is phenomenal. All that remains to be seen is if they manage to escape the elevator alive, escape the mausoleum alive, escape the zombie re-internment process alive, and escape their shift alive. Whew! Can they do it? Will they? The only way to find out, is to tune in next week!

Are you enjoying the story so far? Please consider sharing this with someone you think will enjoy it as well! After all, things tend to be much more enjoyable when you can experience them with acquaintances, coworkers, friends, and loved ones.