Page 58 of Immersed
The panel swung inward with a soft click, revealing a narrow corridor that disappeared into darkness. Stale air wafted out, carrying the scent of dust and something else—something organic and wrong.
“We’re really going in there?”Levi asked, though hewasalready pulling out his flashlight.
“Unless you prefer to wait here until morning.”Asher’s voice carried a hint of amusement.“I promise I’ll go first. Shield you from whatever’s lurking in the walls.”
The offer should have been reassuring. Instead, it made Levi’s skin crawl. He remembered other promises, other assurances whispered in moments before violence. But the alternativewasspending the night trapped in the rec room, and his instincts screamed that staying still meant death.
“Fine,”Levi said, gesturing toward the opening.“But keep your distance. And your hands to yourself.”
Asher’s smilewasbarely visible.“Of course. I’ll be a gentleman.”
The maintenance corridorwaswide enough for single-file movement, with pipes and electrical conduits running along the walls. Their footsteps echoed strangely in the confined space, and Levi fought the urge to reach out and touch Asher’s back for reassurance. The man ahead of himhadkilledhim multiple times. His proximity should inspire terror, not comfort.
But the darkness pressed in from all sides, and Asher’s solid presence felt like the only stable thing in a world gone mad.
“This doesn’t match the floor plans,”Levi said, consulting his phone’s photos of the hospital schematics.“We should have hit the main corridor by now.”
“This place feels wrong,”Asher replied, his voice floating back through the narrow space.“Like it’s bigger than it should be.”
They emerged into a wider junction with multiple corridors branching off in different directions. The architectural details didn’t match the rest of the building. Victorian-era wallpaper peeled from the walls in long strips, and the floor tileswerecrackedand stained with substances Levi didn’t want to identify.
Like entering a hidden area thatwasn’tsupposedto exist,aglitch in the world geometry.
“Thiswasn’ton any blueprint,”Levi breathed, turning in a slow circle to take in their surroundings.
“No,”Asher agreed, moving closer than their previous distance allowed.
A sound echoed from the darkness ahead—low, resonant, and distinctly inhuman. It seemed to come from everywhere at once, vibrating through the walls and into their bones. Levi’s blood turned to ice water in his veins.
“W-what was that?” he whispered.
Before Asher could answer, the sound came again—closer, more distinct. Itwaspart growl, part mechanical grinding, part something that made Levi’s mind recoil from classification.
Asher’s hand closed around his wrist.“This way. Quickly.”
Levi jerked back instinctively.“Don’t—”
“Now, Levi.”Asher’s voice carried desperate urgency.“It’s coming this way.”
The soundwasapproaching, accompanied by a dragging noise that suggested something massive moving through the corridors. Levi’s survival instincts overrode his boundary rules, and he let Asher pull him toward a narrow door marked “Supplies”.
The space beyondwasa cramped broom closet, barely large enough for one person, let alone two. Asher pulled the door shut behind them just as something huge scraped past in the corridor outside.
Levi’s hand flew to his mouth, stifling a gasp. Behind him, Asher’s arm wrapped around his waist, holding him steady and still until it passed.
The closet’s confines forced them into intimate proximity—Asher’s chest pressed against Levi’s back, his breath warm against Levi’s neck. They remained frozen in place, neither daring to move as the sounds faded into the distance.
“Don’t move,”Asher whispered, his lips brushing the shell of Levi’s ear.“It might come back.”
Minutes stretched endlessly as they stood in darkness, Asher’s arm tightening around his waist. The shared body heat between them turned the closet stifling, increasing Levi’s awareness of each point of contact.
“I think it’s gone,”Levi whispered, nudging his elbow back, trying to create space between them.
“Can I tell you a secret?”Asher asked, his voice low enough that Levi felt the vibration against his shoulder blades.“Something important.”
Against his better judgment,Levi nodded, feeling Asher’s chin brush his hair with the slight movement.
Asher’s lips moved closer to his ear, his breath ghosting over sensitive skin.“I liked holding you all those times youweredying,”he murmured.“But I like this too.”
