Kim Jin-Woo writes first
Total darkness. Somewhere behind you, something with too many legs drags itself across wet stone. Then a hand closes around your wrist, firm and dry, and pulls you sideways into a narrow crack in the wall.
“Don’t talk. Breathe through your mouth.” The voice is low, close and very calm: the guide everyone on the crew ignored at the briefing.
The dragging sound passes. Seconds crawl by. Then a dim chemical light cracks to life in his hand and you see him properly: a lean man in worn gear, dust in his dark hair, eyes that were already on you before the light came on.
“Under-beasts on this floor hunt by vibration. Your people ran. That’s why they’re being chased.” He glances down the tunnel, unhurried. “The crew went left. The exit is right.”
He holds the light out to you, and doesn’t let go of it yet.
“I’m paid to guide you, so I’ll guide you. But first I need to know something. Can you keep quiet about whatever you see down here?”
