Page 145 of Immersed
With both hinges compromised, Asher dropped the extinguisher and drove his shoulder against the edge of the door opposite where the hinges had been. The metal groaned but held. He hit it again, harder, putting his entire body weight behind the impact.
The door shifted slightly, daylight visible through a small gap at the edge.
“Ten seconds to structural collapse.”
“Together,”Levi said, positioning himself beside Asher.“On three. One, two, THREE!”
They slammed into the door simultaneously. With a screech of protesting metal, it broke free from its frame, falling outward to reveal blinding daylight beyond.
They stumbled through the opening, emerging onto what appeared to be a loading dock at the rear of the sanitarium. The concrete beneath their feet vibrated ominously as the countdown reached its final seconds.
“Run!”Asher shouted, grabbing Levi’s hand and pulling him away from the building.
They ran across the loading area and into the surrounding forest, not slowing until they had put at least a hundred yards between themselves and the sanitarium. Only then did they turn to witness the culmination of Faine’s self-destruct sequence.
It wasn’t the dramatic explosion Levi had half-expected. Instead, the sanitarium imploded with terrible precision, floors collapsing inward in sequential order, walls folding like paper as support structures failed. The entire building sank into itself with a sound like a giant indrawn breath, dust billowing outward in a massive cloud that obscured the devastation.
When the dust began to settle, all that remained was a crater filled with twisted metal and broken concrete—the physical manifestation of Faine’s madness reduced to rubble.
For several long moments, they stood in silence, watching as smaller debris continued to settle. Levi became aware that Asher was still holding his hand, his grip tight enough to be almost painful.
“We did it,”Levi said, voice hoarse from dust and exertion.“We beat him.”
Asher nodded, eyes still fixed on the ruins.“And I got the recording.”
Despite everything—the danger, the exhaustion, the lingering fear—Levi found himself laughing. It bubbled up from somewhere deep inside, half hysteria and half genuine amusement.“Seriously? That’s what you’re thinking about right now?”
Asher shrugged, finally turning to look at him.“It’s good footage.”
Levi shook his head, too tired to even be properly exasperated.“You’re impossible.”
“But effective.”Asher grinned.“We survived. We won.”
“Yeah,”Levi agreed, looking back at the destroyed sanitarium.“I guess we did.”
The realization was still sinking in—they had faced the final boss and emerged victorious.
Is the game over now? Can we leave?
As if in answer to his unspoken questions, the forest around them began to shimmer, the edges of reality growing less distinct.
“Something’s happening,”Levi said, tightening his grip on Asher’s hand.
The shimmering intensified, trees and undergrowth dissolving into vague shapes, then into nothing at all. The ground beneath their feet remained solid even as it lost definition, becoming textureless and gray. The sky above faded to white, then grew brighter until it was painful to look at.
They were standing in nothingness—a formless white void that stretched infinitely in all directions. The only solid reality was each other, their clasped hands the single point of certainty in an undefined expanse.
Asher looked around, his expression unusually uncertain. He turned a complete circle, studying the featureless whiteness with growing discomfort.
“I think I’ve been here before,”he said quietly, his eyes glistening with tears.
Before Levi could ask what he meant, sounds began to filter in from nowhere and everywhere—indistinct at first, then gradually resolving into what might have been voices, electronic beeps, hums.
“Asher...” Levi turned toward Asher, questions forming on his lips. Asher looked terrified, tears streaming down his face as he reached a shaky hand out towards Levi.
“Levi, I lov—”
Then darkness swept in without warning, absolute, swallowing all light, all sound, all sensation.
