Page 57 of Immersed
“A-Asher!” Levi jerkedbackward.
“Trauma consistent with a fall,”Asher explained matter-of-factly.“The knife wound is now masked by blunt force injuries.”
Levi stared at him in horror.
Asher paused, a flicker of uncertainty crossing his features.“Wasthat wrong? I thought you wanted us to work together.”
“I...”Levi struggled to find words. “Just... warn me next time.”
“Noted.”Asher returned to fiddling with the electronic equipment, but his movementswerehalfhearted now. They both knew he didn’t understand how it worked.
The room fell into an uncomfortable silence broken only by Asher’s frustrated sighs as he tried different cable combinations. Outside, the light continued to fade.
“How long do you think we have?”Levi asked.
“Until what?”
“Until night falls. Until whatever rules this placehaschange again.”
Asher looked up from the equipment, those eyes reflecting the dying sunlight. “Does it matter? We’re together now. That’s what I wanted.”
The simple honesty of it made Levi’s chest tight. Even trapped and facing unknown danger, Asher seemed almost... content. As long as Leviwasthere with him.
“That’s not normal,”Levi said.
“Neither are you,”Asher replied.“Neither is any of this. But here we are.”
As if summoned by their conversation, a loud banging echoed through the building—footsteps on the stairs, voices calling their names. The teamwascoming to look for them.
19
Intimidation Check
Therecreationroom’soverheadlights flickered sporadically, casting shifting shadows across the bolted door. Levi pressed his ear against the cold metal, listening for voices from the corridor beyond. The muffled sound of his teammates calling his name made his chest tighten with guilt.
“They’re looking for us,”he said, pulling back from the door.
Asher sat cross-legged on the floor, examining the door’s locking mechanism.“They won’t find us. These old hospital doors... once they seal, they don’t open again until the building’s electrical systems reset.”He glanced up at Levi with those unsettling eyes.“We’re stuck here together until then.”
Unless we die first.The thought carried less terror than it should have. Death meant reset. Reset meant another chance.
Levi turned away from the door, scanning the room. Pool table, dusty chairs, and recreational equipment scattered across shelves. The space felt designed to mock—a place meant for leisure that became a prison.
“Therehasto be another way out,”he muttered, running his hands along the walls.“Hidden passages, maintenance access, something.”
“Looking for secrets?”Asher stood with fluid grace, moving to the opposite wall.“I can help with that.”
Levi kept his distance, maintaining the length of the room between them as they worked. But the space felt smaller with each passing minute, Asher’s presence a constant pressure against his peripheral vision.
“Here,”Asher called softly.“Something’s different about this section.”
Levi approached warily, noting how Asher stepped back to give him space. The gesture felt calculated—a predator demonstrating restraint to lull prey into complacency. But the wall panel Asher indicated did look different, the wood grain slightly off from the surrounding sections.
“It’s got to open somehow.”Levi ran his fingers along the visible seam.“But I don’t see a handle or—”
Asher’s hand moved past his shoulder, fingertips brushing Levi’s knuckles as he pressed on a circular pattern in the woodgrain. The contact lasted only seconds, but it made the hair on the back of Levi’s neck stand on end.
“Sorry,”Asher murmured, not sounding sorry at all.“Hadto reach around you.”
