Chapter Text
It was the dull click-clacks that alerted them. The impact of something heavy on cracked polyurethane-coated concrete too close to them, far too close to them; the noise echoed through the room as Kim Soleum grit his teeth harshly and tried to keep his attention on staring at nothing.
Nothing, nothing, don’t think about what was coming—
A hand gripped his shoulder, and then covered his mouth just in case (and he couldn’t even voice his thanks, could only tense in agony—) as bandages were tied tight as a tourniquet above his knee. It hurt, it hurt!! His skin was crawling, his flesh screaming as it was forcibly moved, wrapped, covered, and even in the dark of the room he could see it— his own moving flesh covering a gleam—
He didn’t scream only because he couldn’t. Falcon squeezed his hand as soon as she was done tying off the tourniquet, as if it would stop the spread of infection; as if covering the writhing flesh would halt its movements.
If I don’t see it, it doesn’t exist.
It wasn’t true, but it was a desperate attempt to keep his wits about him and not go absolutely crazy from the terror that shocked his system. A terror both within and without. Monsters outside hunting them down and even monsters inside inside inside his own body is betraying him he is warping he is in pain he is not Him he is so he had to to ignore, deny, deny, and hold on to a delusion.
In the darkness, under the tears and the sweat that dripped into his eyes, under the too-warm gloved hand held over his mouth until he felt like he not only couldn’t scream, but couldn’t breathe, under his mask and his mask and— Kim Soleum watched Falcon come closer until he could vaguely make out the shape of her mask and her tense features underneath it— he could see her slight quivering, either from cold or the shared fear that infected them, but she held onto his hand firmly and mouthed to him, close enough that he could see it:
It’s going to be okay.
Everything was going to be okay.
—
The worst part of a fall is the moment you realise you’ve lost control. The impact is a separate thing, the point past the end of a fall, the results of it, and not a part of it. Thus, the worst part of falling is the sudden realisation that something went wrong.
Before that moment of realisation, there is only blissful ignorance.
“They must have a huge filtration system,” Supervisor Park Minseong joked, hands held out in front of himself as if— well, the implication was a filtration system, but the wag of his brows underneath his mask as he mimed holding something in front of his chest— it made Assistant Manager Eun Haje laugh loudly as she slapped at his shoulder.
The two of them stood before a large tank that measured nearly floor to ceiling. It was lit from behind and filled with ethereally floating Moon Jellyfish that danced within the waters as bubbles came up gently from the bottom. The tank was one of the few not filled with decorations of the ocean, but instead clean and clear to allow visitors a better view of the nearly transparent beings in the water.
It was a rare occasion for D-squad to get a safe Darkness lately, as all their ventures had been to undocumented and unmapped territory. Even if this wasn’t as safe as Kim Soleum liked to believe, it was better than what they usually dealt with.
Oh. Was that a sign he was acclimating to his new job?
Or maybe it was the sound of bubbling water that calmed him as he stood before a children’s touch pool. There were no moving creatures in the low tank at the moment— just rocks, sea urchins, and starfish. The water happily washed over the decorative rocks and foliage to bring a scent of something a little fishy and a little slimy.
Kim Soleum didn’t mind the smell. It wasn’t of dead fish, but live ones.
There were three separate and popular Darkness entries set in aquariums in the Dark Exploration Records, and two of them were relatively tame and fun.
The third was— well. It couldn’t be this aquarium, he was certain of that. That one didn’t disguise itself as something harmless, and was far bigger to house the eldritch beings that it was trying to summon.
Of course, there were several other dangerous entries that mentioned or involved aquariums like this, but Kim Soleum had been assured that this was not one of them.
Dark Exploration Records / Ghost Story
[Aquarium Stamp Rally]
: A ghost story featured in <Dark Exploration Records>
: Daydream Inc. identification code - Qterw-D-357A fun and interactive for-profit aquarium managed by Daydream Inc located on the countryside next to ■■■■■, a town only accessible for Daydream personnel with Supervisor level clearance or higher. During its open hours, visitors may enjoy a plethora of exhibits and amenities, including a touch pool and live seal shows. There is a restaurant and gift shop included, so be sure to enjoy your full day at the ■■■■■ Aquarium! Visit each exhibit to procure a stamp and collect them all to
leavewin a prize!Be aware that after closing hours, the ■■■■■ Aquarium will come to life.
The aquarium was part of a small fishing town that had fallen into a Darkness where inanimate objects gained the ability to move, along with a rage toward other moving things. Yet thanks to the Disaster Management Bureau, all civilians were evacuated long before anything truly bad happened. Despite that, they could not dispel the curse on the town. In response, Daydream managed to buy the entire location at a steep discount on the promise that their employees would not allow civilians to wander onto the land, and that if something did happen, they would respond accordingly.
The best part of it?
During the daylight hours, the town was entirely normal with its only supernatural element being a mental haze that made its inhabitants feel safe and let down their guard. It was an extensively tested entry, with more notes from the research team than the actual exploration teams. There were constant samples brought back from this Darkness, which consisted mostly of items from the aquarium due to the stamp rally allowing a prize to be taken back.
While there were occasional dangers during the day time, it was generally non-life threatening (like with the convenience store ghost).
Within all of that, the aquarium itself had a peculiar aspect to it: unlike the rest of town which continued to develop or erode as time went on, the aquarium itself stayed perfectly preserved— reset, even, past each excursion. A broken plaque would be returned to pristine condition by the time the next team explored the Darkness. A vandalised room would be clean again.
It also helped that Kim Soleum was not alone in the Darkness this time, it wasn’t at night, and he wasn’t playing hide and seek with a ghost out to give him a heart attack. Supervisor Badger and Assistant Manager Falcon were laughing and wheedling each other several feet away, and even Section Chief Lizard looked fascinated by the display of Korean Seahorses in the corner.
Kim Soleum looked down at the pamphlet and map in his hands. They already covered three of the five exhibits, starting from the amphibians room to the fresh-water creatures to small reptiles and now to the local Korean sealife. After this stamp, their last exhibit would be Of Land and Sea— their largest and feature exhibit. The objects within were more akin to a museum as most of the animals were merely statues for children to ponder at (merely skeletons and recreated educational billboards), so Kim Soleum felt a little more settled.
It was still midday, and the dangers only came at night here.
Following his team, Kim Soleum waited for them to finish at the old-styled iron embossing stamp and eventually pressed at his map exactly where the coloured circle indicated.[1]
Four down, one to go.
The aquarium was brightly lit with freshly painted cartoon fish on the walls and carefully tacked promotional posters every few meters. On it read: Visit the new exhibition! and Learn about the long history of our waters, showings every hour! and Help keep our oceans clean!
On the ground, there were arrows that guided people along toward different exhibits, as well as little cartoon starfish which littered the ground and lower walls with bright smiles that announced, You’re a STAR! to any passerby.
The halls were slightly narrow for a public attraction and quite worn, but clean and carefully decorated, which showed a love and dedication to the space from before it had been taken over by the Darkness.
“Oh, hey, they have a blurb on Haenyeo,” [2] Park Minseong observed brightly as he read through his pamphlet/map, and made a small noise of excitement, “and dolphins!”
Kim Soleum glanced down at his booklet as well, eyes caught by the bright colours and beautiful embossed areas.
Of Land and Sea, the top of the page read. Come visit our newest exhibit covering the miraculous animals who live their lives in the water and on the land— from frogs and turtles to otters and seals, as well as many species of birds who make their homes traveling between land and ocean. A fun and educational experience for both children and adults!
Below the blurb was a multicoloured circle waiting for the embossing stamp.
Soon enough the small aquarium hallway expanded out to a room with glass displays and plastic covered signs that explained and depicted the animals being showcased. There was even a small interactive area for children that covered the life cycle of frogs, which allowed them to follow along one hop at a time.
At the center of the room was the heavy embossing stamp, surrounded by abandoned pamphlets and scraps of papers with childhood doodles where children drew fish and frogs.
Lee Jaheon approached it first, pamphlet in hand.
“It’s too bad we can’t spend more time here,” Eun Haje said behind Kim Soleum, “but better safe than sorry.”
“There’s still hours left before the aquarium closes,” Park Minseong objected., “What about visiting the gift shop, at least?”
The ■■■■■ Aquarium hours were from sunrise to sunset, same with the rest of the town. Whilst D-squad could freely enjoy the area during the daylight hours, once the sun started to set…
Therein was the danger of this Darkness. Relentless and violent mannequins, statues, toys, and even abstract art would start searching out and killing anyone they could reach. It was within the nighttime hours that the Darkness made itself apparent, changing its rating from D to B.
Luckily, Daydream was content to send their employees in regularly during the day, often asking them to bring back objects to study for the Research Teams. It was easy enough for field teams to enjoy a relaxing day collecting stamps at the aquarium, as any damage done to the surrounding area was reset before the next team entered.
Truly a place trapped in time.
They waited behind their Section Chief, but Lee Jaheon did not move.
“Chief?” Assistant Manager Eun Haje asked, curious but not alarmed. “Are you done?”
“Yes.” Section Chief Lizard answered. He finally moved to the side to allow for the others to stamp their pamphlets as well.
Kim Soleum went last, and so he didn’t notice what was wrong until everyone else already did.
“Weren’t there only five exhibits?” Park Minseong asked as he held up his pamphlet, which unexpectedly unfolded one more section under the light. “This building’s not that big…”
Yet the path to what should have been the exit was now another open door, one with a sign that announced in bright colours: Now open! Come explore the depths of the sea and learn more about our world! Grand opening: Mammoths of the Ocean.
“—Wasn’t the big event Of Land and Sea?” Eun Haje asked, her tone dark as she looked up at the sign.
“There’s another section to stamp on the pamphlet,” Park Minseong observed. He looked over to the Lizard-masked Section Chief. “Chief? What do you think? Should we continue?”
It was an aberration. They needed all the stamps to leave, but…
“Why not?” Park Minseong brightened as he continued, and glanced at each of his teammates in turn. “We’d get extra for any information that can be used to update the files, right? And this place is safe… we have plenty of time before the sun sets. Will we ever get another chance to profit from a Darkness as safe as this?”
That was true.
Yet Kim Soleum felt uneasy. He stared up at the sign, and felt the clench of his stomach even as he very carefully maintained a blank expression.
…Was there such an entry in Qterw-D-357? Did it have any exploration logs beneath the main article?
Lee Jaheon looked around; large red eyes glanced between the path they had come from and the new path that opened up.
“We should report this first,” he decided, but then his head tilted down as if he suddenly remembered something.
The rest of D-squad looked at each other uneasily. That was right— the proper protocol was to report anomalies rather than attempt immediate exploration.
For the first time since they entered this Darkness, Kim Soleum felt a spike of fear shoot through his heart. That was strange— he was in a Darkness. Even if it wasn’t a frightening one, even if he was with his team, why hadn’t he felt scared?
There were no truly peaceful entries in the Dark Exploration Records. No real guarantee of safety.
Despite feeling like everything was going to be okay even if they continued, he had the nagging sensation that he wanted to— leave. That it was better to not take the chance.
Strange. He knew this entry, and it was fine. More than that, he could feel that it was fine. Like Supervisor Park Minseong said, this was a rare opportunity to explore without exposing themselves to danger… and he could always do with the money.
The others must have thought the same thing as they lingered over the room.
Finally, it was Eun Haje who spoke up, “...Let’s follow protocol. Exploring now or later won’t change anything.”
They made their way backward through the hall and main room with the jellyfish and seahorses, and then backtracked through a hallway of tanks with turtles and frogs and salamanders they couldn’t see. All the way to the front desk with a koi pond built in front of it, and the area where the front door should be.
There was no front door.
There was no exit at the back, either, and no green exit signs to guide them. Where there had once been a few sparse windows, there were now only solid walls.
“So we have to fill out the new section to leave?” Park Minseong examined his pamphlet, and frowned down at the vague map. “At least the next one isn’t far. It’s just an extra hallway.”
“Distance doesn’t correlate with danger,” Eun Haje chided him lightly, but then shrugged, “if that’s the way that we need to go, then that’s the way we go. Isn’t that right, Chief?”
“Yes.”
Kim Soleum followed along and felt like he should object, but he did not have another option to offer. They made their way down the now-familiar path again to the darkened doorway, and then one by one, stepped through.
The hall was intentionally darker than the previous bright and cheery room, which brought a sombre feeling that made him shiver. Like a dial, Kim Soleum felt his apprehension about this Darkness rapidly rise.
“Wow!” Park Minseong called out from ahead of them as he looked up toward the area where the wall met the ceiling. And didn’t the ceiling now feel a little higher than it was just a few steps ago? The ceiling height hadn’t been that tall before, since the aquarium was converted from an old fishery with limited space and money. Why did it seem taller now? “Hey guys, come look at this! I didn’t think they had a budget for this?”
Around the lightly curved path were artworks added to the wall— downscaled representations of fish that looked like they belonged to a time before humans, masterfully made of clay and paper-mâché to seem as if they swam right out of the ordinary plaster.
“Precambrian life started in the ocean,” he read out from the lit placard placed underneath the art piece, “from cyanobacteria to ediacaran biota, producing the oxygen of Earth’s atmosphere. Oh, it’s a historical wing, how nice.”
The hallway widened out to give space to a large rock nearly the size of a person. It was imprinted with a large shell, bigger than any Kim Soleum had ever seen, and a stand with a placard placed before it that had tiny text to introduce the age and shape of the fossil.
The lights placed in the hallway were yellower and dimmer than before, bringing about shadows to the clay models on the wall that made it look as if the figures, even ones without heads or eyes, were staring at the visitors.
—Friend?
Kim Soleum wondered if the area was intended to be that creepy, or whether he was thinking about it too much. He could see how it was just a low-budget version of making the exhibit atmospheric, and they did a good job of it.
The embosser was displayed prominently on a small table between two house plants, with a light directly above so they couldn’t miss it.
But the hall continued on.
It was only after Kim Soleum pressed down on the embosser, adding another stamp onto his colourful aquarium map, that he realised something jarring.
There was another circle right next to the one he stamped down on. A second stamp to be gathered from this same hallway.
“There really is a difference between Darkness aquariums and real ones,” Eun Haje complained. “They really do just change the rules when they feel like it, don’t they?”
That disconcerting feeling was growing ever stronger.
The models on the walls were staring at him, closing in within his mind.
Kim Soleum opened his mouth to speak, but then swallowed, his throat moved before he tried again, “Do you think… Does anyone remember who sent us here?”
“It was the Research Team,” Chief Lee Jaheon confirmed, and Kim Soleum looked over to see as the lizard head looked intently back at him. “Roe Deer. Do you remember our mission objective?”
Objective? Weren’t they to enter the aquarium and collect the stamps, therefore filling up their Dream Essence Collectors? There were other teams here, too, so it would have been a bright and cheerful outing—
His jaw snapped close with a click.
If there were other teams, then where were they?
D-squad was sent in to—
The white lizard stared at him unblinkingly, but eventually turned to look at the rest of the team.
“The next stamp,” the Chief told them.
Eun Haje had an intent look in her eyes, a hand to her forehead as if she was thinking heavily about something. Park Minseong rubbed at his neck, a frown on his face. They very carefully continued down the hall, where the space widened even more— now less like a small town aquarium hastily transformed from the local fishery, and more like a proper space made for popular city aquariums. The materials for the floor and walls looked more expensive, like steel and cement rather than wood and plaster.
Finally they came upon a change: a large inlaid exhibit, still filled only with models, but lit from within and the size of a small room. Inside, there was a model shark, a dolphin, and the head of a whale.
The sign on the wall next to it read: The evolution of our ocean behemoths.
Under the exhibit, it read: Mammoths of the Ocean, and explained with scientific terminology how ancient species had come to become the modern creatures of the seas, and how many of them were greatly unchanged from their ancestors millions of years ago.
“This town definitely does not have the budget for this,” Eun Haje observed coolly. Her eyes were sharper now underneath her mask, previously relaxed and joking posture now one of deliberately placid composure. Next to her, Park Minseong’s excited smile dropped, mouth now a tense line as he examined his surroundings with newfound eyes.
No… not those names. Falcon and Badger. They were in a Darkness where it was best to leave their personal information behind. It was why they wore masks. It was why they used codenames.
Kim Soleum reached up with a hand to touch his own mask, the wooden texture underneath his fingertips clearing his mind. They weren’t here on some vacation, they were here for—
“The previous teams,” Falcon said to Chief Lizard, “how long has it been since they’ve been missing?”
“L-squad, four days,” Chief Lizard answered. “T-squad, two. One missing Dream Essence Collector.”
“No one thought to get them before the sun set?” Badger burst out, voice alarmed. “That’s…”
It was unlikely for either team to have survived, given the way the town worked. Qterw-D-357 was only close to benign during the day, but at night—
Exploration Record #22
Field officer Parrot was equipped with ■■■■■■ before entering the aquarium. This led to an anomaly which extended the map of the building. Stamp rally continued until the building destabilised.
Research teams attempted to replicate the event in Exploration Records #23-28, and #31, #33 until finally Daydream banned the introduction of unstable Darkness equipment to Qterw-D-357.
Kim Soleum did not remember a field officer under the name of Parrot. Was that a previous team? Were they now part of the 23-28th expeditions? The extended map…
Somehow, his hand felt locked in position, gripped around the flimsy paper rather than attempting to smooth it out. His eyes refused to look down. It was—
He broke out into a cold sweat.
No, it had to be more than that. Daydream wouldn’t send another field team in to rescue people— that wasn’t their job. If this was meant to be a rescue, then they would have sent a Daydream Security team; perhaps even a Special Security Team. And D-squad wasn’t even—
Kim Soleum froze.
Kwak Jegang.
The head of research team three wore a smile that grew more and more maniacal as D-squad came back safe from each undocumented Darkness he assigned them. He took it as a personal challenge to find out what would finally break them. The crazy man took glee in throwing people into situations where they would almost certainly end up maimed or dead. He must have known, and pushed for this mission for D-squad.
“We finish collecting the stamps,” Chief Lizard finalised.
The original story stated that it was safe during the daytime, but now that there was an anomaly, that wasn’t a guarantee. The danger level was now unknown.
The four of them searched through the hallway that was covered with informational posters and frames about whales and sharks and dolphins, including many buttons between boards.
Park Minseong accidentally knocked into one as he lifted the lid off an internally lit display which revealed a diagram of whale organs. The smooth, female voice over ceiling speakers (sweet and bubbly as if speaking to children) startled all of them.
“The blue whale is the largest animal on this planet! They are found in all oceans of the world except for the Arctic Ocean, and are estimated to live eighty to ninety years. That’s longer than the average human lifespan!”
“Sorry, sorry,” Park Minseong said as they turned to stare at him. He had a hand vertical to his face in apology, and they quickly relaxed and continued to search for the embosser.
“The sperm whale was once hunted to near extinction by humans due to the oil sacks within their heads called spermaceti that helps them focus sound underwater. These great behemoths, measuring eleven to eighteen meters in length, have inspired many great minds throughout history.”
“Found it!” Kim Soleum declared, brushing away fake seaweed draped over the walls to expose an alcove a little taller and wider than the embosser, just barely lit from within. He waited until the others came over before he pressed his map into the machine and pushed down on it, leaving the indent in the shape of a shark on the round, blue circle.
As he stepped back to allow the others to do the same, Kim Soleum staggered.
—That voice really is too much. It is one thing to talk to infants in that manner, but far too condescending for a normal audience. My, I would never allow such a guest to treat the audience in that manner!
The tone was smooth, low, familiar, and in his head.
His blank eyes stared down at the smooth concrete floor as Kim Soleum adjusted to the wave of what could only be described as a tingling sensation which took over his body. Increased heartrate, cool and clammy palms, the distinct feeling of being too warm but also too cold: fear.
Low and pulsing with the beating of his heart, a steady current of anxiety that was his usual when entering a Darkness.
Braun? Kim Soleum thought loudly.
—!!
—Friend! Oh, you finally remembered about your poor Braun again! Who could guess that you would suddenly be unable to hear me the moment you stepped into this place? I have to say, Mr. Roe Deer, there is something very queer about this aquarium. It is nothing like what you’ve described.
It wasn’t like anything described on the <Dark Exploration Records>, either. Kim Soleum hadn’t expected the sense of peace and calm, the surety and relaxation accompanied by his initial exploration of the space. Rather than feeling like he was delving into a Darkness, it truly felt like a day at an aquarium, where he got to enjoy watching marine creatures and learn about their basic facts.
“—sperm whale’s brain is the largest on the planet! Weighing up to nine kilograms, a whole eight thousand cubic centimetres, it is six times the size of a human brain. Does that mean they are six times as smart? Of course, by body ratio, their brains do look very small.”
The embosser stamped down on Badger’s map, and then Falcon’s.
As Chief Lizard approached the embosser, the lights in the hall dimmed a moment, and then flickered. Just for a split second, the hallway was plunged into pitch blackness.
Silence.
Then the lights came back up, the same yellowed tint, dimmed to support a warm and cozier atmosphere. The voice started up again as well, a hazy static in the background as if recorded on an older machine and played through a speaker system that was past its prime.
In front of Kim Soleum, Chief Lizard put his map into the embosser and pressed down the handle.
From where she stood next to him, Falcon inhaled sharply, quiet if not for the fact that they were huddled so close together in a group.
Her gaze was fixed on the large glass exhibit of the whale, shark, and dolphin.
Within that flicker of darkness, the exhibit had changed. Where before it was a very normal clay and plastic recreation of sealife that the aquarium wouldn’t have been able to keep, it was now…
Dripping.
The dolphin was sliced into pieces, held up on display like slides in a microscope. Between each slide were bones and organs, clean and perfectly preserved for study.
The whale head in the back was cut open, but rather than the clean pieces like the dolphin, it was wet and gleaming, brain exposed for their viewing pleasure. It didn’t look like clay and plastic anymore, the blood and viscera slowly dripped onto the floor; the barely seen eyes dull and milky.
Between the two was the shark, jaw open and dislocated, with blood trailing from its mouth and many of its teeth missing. Its gills were bloodied, top fin torn down the middle and tail nearly hacked off. And from the body, there grew an assortment of skinned human arms. From the top of its head was scraggy black hair, long, wet, and matted as if the shark had been reconstructed with the anatomy of a traditional ghostly woman.
The gills fluttered weakly against the strings holding up the display, and bubbled out pink-ish blood. Its eyes were not dull; were not milky.
It looked straight at Kim Soleum.
“For ages,” the cheerful voice from the speakers continued to say, “our beloved ocean behemoths have ruled the waters. Now, they serve the benefit of the human race! Their flesh for consumption, their oil for usage, their bones for vanity, and their bodies for knowledge!”
Within the display, the shark gave a weak flail; the skinned arms twitched as it tried to stretch out its fingers, but each movement was broken and disjointed, and it quickly drooped back into place.
“Historically, ocean life has been extremely beneficial to humans. Think to yourself: what would you kill a whale for?”
—
There was a crack and crash in the distance, the impact strong enough that it shook the ground underneath their feet. Chief Lizard caught Kim Soleum’s arm when he stumbled, while Falcon braced herself against the wall and Badger took two steps back to balance himself.
They were silent for a moment before Badger joked weakly, “Is it too late to just wait by the lobby?”
Kim Soleum steadied himself as the grip on his arm disappeared, and he looked down.
With seven stamps, he could now look down at the full map in his hands, unfolding to see the darker areas— the ones beyond the sweet and cheerful little fishery-turned-aquarium that extended far larger than the original space.
—Oh, it looks like they managed to scrounge up some funding after all! A pleasant surprise.
Whereas the ‘exhibits’ in the aquarium were small displays within a room or a hallway before, the updated map now had ‘exhibits’ set in different rooms. Large rooms, some by itself the size of the original aquarium.
Kim Soleum’s fingers trembled as he deliberately averted his eyes from the display before them. More of this? More horrific displays like this? And— what was that explosion? He could hear a faint roar even now, quiet enough that it wasn’t distinguishable.
Falcon frowned down at her map, but said in a lighter tone, “Four more isn’t so bad.”
Chief Lizard added, “We can search for what happened to the other teams along the way. If possible, we retrieve the missing Dream Essence Collector and leave.”
It was a simple and straightforward plan, but it made D-squad straighten up resolutely. That wasn’t the normal mission of getting out alive, but also a rescue mission if they could manage it.
In the <Dark Exploration Records>, Dream Essence Collectors somehow returned to Daydream Inc. after the death of a team in order to fill out the failed exploration logs. This meant that if there was one missing Dream Essence Collector, there was a possibility someone was still alive within this Darkness. So this could be a rescue mission and… Kim Soleum wanted to know what exactly was brought into this Darkness that changed it so heavily. He remembered wondering about it the first time he read the entry, but the exploration logs hadn’t been filled out at the time, inviting people to complete the story.
And now… well, Kim Soleum would prefer to read about what happened then actually live it.
(He really, really didn’t want to live it.)
They left the display of the tortured and struggling shark to step toward a faint and fluctuating light that guidedS their way. After a small while, the hallway finally ended and opened up into a grand space.
The room was far larger than should be possible for the previously small aquarium, expanding outward until the ceiling became twice the height as before and the walls and floors smooth and polished. In the middle of the grand room, there was a large circular tank easily ten meters wide and lit from within, filling the entire room with a hazy, blue undulating glow.
Within it were decorations of porous rocks and drifting greenery, the bottom of the tank sandy with several silver-sheened fish no larger than a finger drifting along lazily, moving out of the way of large starfish in the sand. Those starfish were of a size Kim Soleum had never seen before, easily as big as a human torso.
Underneath the grand cavern of rocks revealed slight movements that were barely perceivable, the light too dim to make out what was inside except for what looked like a shadowed tentacle that was languidly moving back and forth like a contented cat’s tail. It would be sweet if not for the fact that the rocky cavern made up the expanse of the tank, the gap in the middle nearly half the width.
Whatever creature lay within was much, much bigger than a person.
—Goodness! Well, that is quite a beauty. I admit, I hadn’t expected such a vision here.
Falcon frowned down at her map. “There’s no stamp for this area. It’s the central atrium— we want to follow… it looks like there are two exhibits in one direction,” she pointed to her left, toward a wide passageway, “and it might loop toward another exhibit and come back here, where we hit the last one over…”
She turned, and pointed to the last passageway on their right side.
“The fastest route,” she concluded.
“Yes,” Chief Lizard agreed with a quick nod of his head. His unblinking red eyes looked down the direction to the left as he added, “Be cautious.”
As if prompted by his words, the strange sound that Kim Soleum heard the past few seconds before entering the room trickled out toward them alongside a thin layer of water. It covered the shiny cement floor with just enough liquid that each of them (except Lizard) took a step back, worried until they realised that the water level didn’t reach past their soles.
The water was clear and clean despite the accompaniment of ocean smell and fish, but the very fact that it was on the floor, combined with the crashing sound from earlier, painted an alarming image.
“...Should we start in another room?” Badger asked as he lifted a foot, his gaze more curious than alarmed. “...Do you think whatever broke the glass is still there?”
Because this much water, enough to cover the floor of such a large area even the tiniest bit, must be from a broken tank. A very, very large broken tank.
“There might be a chance that the situation will worsen with time,” Falcon surmised. “What do you think, Chief?”
The lizard did not stop to answer, but gazed at his team for a moment before he stepped forward confidently. The others moved to follow him.
—A shame something has already broken. But sometimes the thrill of finding out what happened makes a trip all the sweeter!
And sometimes, Kim Soleum thought back, doing his best to stick close to his team without making it feel like he was sticking too close to his team, it’s good to have a calm and easy day.
—Hmm, I suppose my friend is right. Let’s see if it’s an exciting or calm day, shall we?
No, Kim Soleum thought nervously, but didn’t dare direct the thought toward the pink bunny in his suit pocket, he didn’t want to see. He just wanted to collect the stamps and leave and if he heard about what happened with the aquarium from another team that came back, he would be happy to listen.
He did not want to go in the direction the water came from. Already, his steps felt stiff, his mental reluctance to voluntarily step toward a horrifying situation seeping into his physical movements.
But he also didn’t want to be left behind— nope, nope.
A soft nudge against his shoulder made him jerk his head to the side where he met Badger’s worried countenance.
“Hey Roe,” Badger asked quietly, “how are you doing?”
Kim Soleum swallowed down the truth and answered with a voice steadier than he felt, “Fine. This is my first time in a large aquarium.”
Badger gave a careful hum as they walked. “Is it? Well, it’s usually quite pleasant and calming. I’d recommend the Seoul Aquarium if you want to cleanse your mind of this one. No mutated sharks, for one. Oh, maybe we can take a trip after this.”
He would actually rather not, but…
“Yes.”
Badger patted his shoulder and said cheerfully, “I’ll look forward to it!”
The quiet splash of footsteps in water continued as they moved through the darkened corridor toward a new light. Wide glass enclosures on either side of the room widened out to allow for groups of people to pass through at once, the glass of the tanks spanning from hip height to the ceiling, with small sitting areas that were now soaked from water.
Above them, the entryway read out: Crustaceans.
On the ground were spilled out shrimp, some still flopping or crawling weakly, as well as crabs of various sizes, scuttling about and away from the approaching humans. On the left side, one of the glass panels had shattered almost entirely, leaving only a few inches of water to remain in that tank, with plants wilted onto the rock formations.
On the other side of the room was a near identical glass, letting them see what the broken tank was supposed to look like. Within were various creatures: crabs, lobsters, crayfish, and shrimp of all sizes gathered at the front of the glass as if watching the chaos. Some were small enough they could barely be made out in the low light, but others were of monstrous sizes— one spider crab in particular loomed over all the other creatures, easily half the size of a person.
Kim Soleum shuddered and looked away from the animals, and instead glanced down to ensure he didn’t accidentally step on anything live that spilled out. He saw mollusks and clams on the floor, still in a way he wasn’t sure if they had died from the impact or not.
The exhibit looked different from the previous ones, winding like a wave, or a maze. The glass was fancy, curved, allowing one to immerse themselves from all sides at certain spots of the room, with large sculptures in the middle that at times hid one side of the room from the other. Toward the middle of the exhibit there was a half wall, also curved like a wave, that divided the room into two different sides. Installed on it were photos and panels providing information about the exhibit.
Further down in the area meant to lead to the next room, it was completely dark.
There were static noises playing from an overhead speaker, accompanied by various informational voices coming from various panels meant to be accessible for children.
“—aceans are defined by their hard exoskeletons, paired and joined appendages, and three body regions—”
“ —their ha-a-a-a-ard exo ske-le-le-le-letons—”
“Many may equate them with the insects of the ocean! But crustaceans have g-g-g-g-gills over—”
“—the invertebrates of the ocean. And that means that unlike humans and other mammals, they don’t have back bones!”
The sounds ran into each other, often overlaying and stuttering in a disjointed cacophony of noise, as the water-damaged system slowly died.
“Creepy,” Badger muttered next to Kim Soleum. “Do you think it was a safety failure, or did someone break the glass to get in… or out?”
Kim Soleum didn’t want to find out.
“Whichever it is,” Falcon murmured just ahead of them, “keep your guard up.”
Here, Badger gave a mock salute that she wouldn’t be able to see. “Will do, Assistant Manager.”
Leading the group, Chief Lizard approached one of the displays away from the broken tank. Within were several rounded skeletons that looked like a bug— or a flattened crab. As soon as he stepped closed enough, like a proximity sensor, a voice from the display started its spiel.
“Despite appearances, horseshoe crabs are the exception to this exhibit. They are not crustaceans, but instead are closer to arachnids— yet also considered marine animals. Horseshoe crabs have helped advance medical sciences due to their lack of white blood cells, and are mainly found on Asian shorelines. They are a great source of food for many—”
Another shudder of the ground underneath them, and Falcon reached out to grab hard onto both Kim Soleum and Badger’s arms, body tense.
“Many— ma— man— many— many—”
The dim lights within the tanks flickered.
—Perhaps, friend, I would suggest hiding right now.
Reacting instinctively, Kim Soleum grabbed back at Falcon’s sleeve and whispered harshly, “Hide!”
Kim Soleum dragged both Badger and Falcon away from the center of the room, and Badger reached out to pull Lizard in turn. It was then Kim Soleum was suddenly hit with the realisation that he didn’t know what he was hiding from and didn’t know where he could hide in a place like this— a room that was wide open and mostly comprised of glass— there was the low wall, but what was he hiding from? Which side should he shelter behind?
There was a large reconstructed fossil near the wall, the stone just wide enough that it might fit two people behind it if they could move it away from the wall slightly, but to fit four was too much—
Red eyes followed where Kim Soleum scanned, and Lizard sprang into action— he stepped forward to push the heavy stone display away from the wall, resulting in a low rumbling groan. It left a mark on the floor until it bumped into another display, which let out a loud electronic static noise.
“Here,” he said, and Kim Soleum pushed himself into the small space. He crunched down in order to take less room, and felt Falcon lean over him as she pushed into the space. She pressed hard on his back and shoulders as she scooted flush behind him to allow one more person into the tiny area.
Before she could adjust, Badger was pushed in as well. Badger’s knees hit Kim Soleum’s shoulders hard and Falcon grunted when he pushed against her.
“Chief,” Badger started to whisper, only for the lizard to shake his head. Despite squeezing as hard against each other as possible, there simply wasn’t enough room for a fourth person behind the fossil, not unless it was pushed out into the open where it would no longer be a hiding space.
The lights flickered once more, and all the static and noise of various displays suddenly fell silent, as if everything was holding its breath. In response, Kim Soleum held his breath in turn, heart thumping in his chest. When he looked up, through the strands of Falcon’s hair, he saw Chief Lizard had retreated away from them and was crouched next to a wooden display case. His form was not at all hidden (although it was perhaps not as obvious).
It was in Chief Lizard’s lowered head, having obviously seen something, that Kim Soleum first became aware of— of something else in the room.
His frozen body language infected Falcon and Badger enough that they froze as well, their instincts honed by numerous forays into Darknesses.
Other than the slight splash of creatures still trashing atop the thin layer of water on the ground, there were… thin clicks. Like stilettos on the ground, except the sound came more frequently, hinting at many legs.
Kim Soleum’s eyes darted toward the unbroken tank, where the creatures were still gathered to the front of the glass and stared at them. His eyes caught on the spider crab above all the rest of the creatures, legs clicking impatiently until one leg finally lifted up high and then slammed down against the front glass.
Thump.
Thump.
In response, he could almost hear the echoes of that sound behind the semi-detached wall.
Across from them, Lizard made a sharp arm gesture.
Kim Soleum did not understand what he meant, but Falcon must have as she quietly reached down to shift his head by the chin, lifting his gaze toward the side of the unbroken tank next to where several fossilised shells were embedded into the wall as decoration.. And amongst them was the embosser— planted vertically amongst the decor.
Kim Soleum didn’t dare to inhale loudly without knowing what was in the room with them. Yet he mentally lamented how having the embosser positioned amidst the chaos of the wall decor felt like cheating with how it was camouflaged in that manner.
A shadow from above shot panic through his veins until his skin felt hot and clammy from sweat. He wondered if Falcon could feel it, as she tensed as well, her skin going cold in response. Badger slowly moved his arm, ready to grab both his teammates and bolt if it became necessary.
A long, heart-stopping pause…
Then the shadow started moving again. It was casual and evenly-paced, the clicks of— something continuing on until it paused a little away from them. There was a harder thump and heavier clicks that indicated a change in pace… elevation? Sounds of settling, until finally there was a heavy shake that was once again felt through the exhibit.
Kim Soleum kept his eyes on Chief Lizard, the only one with a visual advantage. He watched as their team leader stared past the wall with wide and unblinking red eyes for a long moment, even holding up a gloved hand to halt them in case any of them decided to leave their spots ahead of time.
It was a full minute, long enough for Soleum to feel the back of his shirt start to stick to his skin from how much he was sweating, before Lizard very carefully unfurled and gave them a gesture to come out, albeit as quietly as possible. It was Badger who moved first, carefully removing himself from the pile to step silently out of their hiding spot, slow and careful as to not disturb the remaining water on the floor too much. Falcon moved next, giving Soleum’s shoulders a quick squeeze of reassurance before she wiggled herself out from their cramped spot and stepped lightly through the water so that she wouldn’t splash.
Kim Soleum stood up after that, his calves cramped from the crouch and tension, and carefully slipped out from behind the fossil to follow his team.
It was Badger who used the embosser first, quietly and effectively before he backed up to allow Falcon to do the same. She did so and then beckoned for Soleum.
Yet before Kim Soleum was to take his turn, he couldn’t help but look back to see what they had hid from—
Within the broken tank lay an oversized clam that hadn’t been there a minute before, easily large enough to swallow a person whole without even needing to compress them. Kim Soleum stood in shock for a moment, trying to process the sight with the sounds he heard earlier: the clicks on the ground when it went by… and then he saw the long, thin carapaced legs. Like a spider… or a spider crab, extended from the clam shell and curled underneath in rest.
A hand on his shoulder brought his attention back to Chief Lizard, who looked at him and slowly raised a finger to his mouth.
Kim Soleum nodded and ducked his head, going to his task to stamp his own map as well. His hands trembled as they pressed hard on the metal of the embosser, and for a moment he feared that he might drop the map afterward— that it might fall into the shallow water and then… what? Would it still count if it was water damaged? Destroyed?
He pushed those thoughts away and stepped toward Falcon and Badger, careful with his footsteps in the water. They were both ducked down slightly, as if that movement might help conceal them from what was behind the wall.
Kim Soleum swallowed. The gigantic clam looked peaceful at the moment, perhaps asleep, but it was far too close for comfort. While the distance between it and D-squad was great, the size of the creature and those long legs meant that it was merely a few steps from catching up to them. He would feel much better once they put an entire exhibit’s distance between it and them.
…With the hope that there wasn’t something larger and more frightening waiting for them in the next exhibit.
Kim Soleum suppressed a shudder. He really didn’t want to think about it!
He held his breath as Chief Lizard approached the embosser last, and recalled the previous exhibit. What if this Darkness was set up so that something got activated whenever the last person took their turn? Similarly, next to him, his teammates also tensed. It wasn’t until the map came free from the embosser with no accidents that they breathed a collective sigh of relief.
At this point, the lights had slowly come back to their previous brightness, and they quietly made their way down the rest of the exhibit, with the occasional glance down at their maps for guidance.
Lizard held up a hand for their attention, and then gestured with two fingers here to go while the rest of them nodded silently. It was best to stay quiet with no knowledge of what else awaited them in this aquarium. Things were different when the displays had been inanimate, and when everything was separated by glass.
If nothing else, the glass gave a false sense of safety— that even with the worst horrors, there was something between them and the danger. No matter how flimsy.
But now that the glass was broken, and what was originally behind glass could potentially come after them at any moment…
Kim Soleum took very careful steps, well aware of the water underneath his feet and the eyes of all the creatures on his team as they made their way down the exhibit around the winding glass and metal and stone sculptures.
Toward the end of the room where the tanks ended was a smaller section for children to interact with, a wall with blocks in the shape of crabs and shrimp that they had to match. There was also a plastic sculpture of that same cartoon starfish that guided them along previously, limbs spread out wide in welcome.
Spread underneath the large cartoon sculpture was a selection of shells.
‘Between Crustaceans and Mollusks’ the words read underneath the shells. ‘The indicator species of the waters!’
The hallway ahead was eerily dark, in a way that was unnatural, and prompted Chief Lizard to gesture to his team to stay still while he scouted ahead. It made Kim Soleum almost shake in relief— there really was a great difference between the missions they had with the Section Chief of D-squad and the missions where they didn’t have him there!
After a long minute of him disappearing into the darkness, the white lizard head returned, although the rest of his dark suit was muted in the dark. A tongue flickered out as if sensing something in the air, and then Chief Lizard looked over at his team huddled next to the starfish statue.
He gestured to them.
Falcon went first, stride nonchalant despite her careful movements in the water. She wasn’t the least bit phased by the fact that they were on high alert. In fact, she smiled at them as she carefully peeled off her suit jacket to tie around her waist and made her way over to the dark corridor that Lizard occupied.
Badger was next, a little more nervous as he examined their surroundings. He tried to keep low to stay out of sight, and brushed his hand along the starfish sculpture as he passed, giving himself a slight push to go out in the open again.
That slight push was all it took.
The lights above the sculpture lit up bright, and a loud voice came from the base.
“Despite their looks, barnacles are actually considered crustaceans instead of from the mollusk family! But don’t discount the mollusks— they are a powerful indicator species of the waters and can filter great amounts of pollution! Did you know that—”
It was like an electric shock— in response to the noise, there was a rumbling sound, and then rapid pounding against glass.
BANG BANG BANGBANGBANG—
Kim Soleum looked behind him to see all the creatures within the unbroken tank now banging claws and legs against the front of the glass. They were the same ones that had been watching and following them the entire time. Some of the creatures were even running right into it with their carapaces, bouncing off only to run into it again.
And like an infection, the displays next to them started to light up, one after another, many starting to vocalise their own factoids as well.
A heavy boom resounded behind them where they left the gigantic clam, and then a screeching, squeaking noise rang through the room, along with rapid clicks of shell clapping together.
Badger’s wide eyes met Kim Soleum’s, and then both agreed: run.
“—a city in Poland employs clams to test their water supply! If the water is clean, the clams will remain open, but if it’s dirty, the clams shut and the city knows that their water is impure—”[3]
They bolted for the dark corridor. Kim Soleum could almost cry as he heard, no, felt, the thuds of something very large and heavy race toward them, each click of pereiopods on the concrete creating a click and splash of water as it came closer and closer— and so fast! Both Kim Soleum and Badger threw themselves into the darkness outside the exhibit.
And then he could see nothing.
In the complete blackness, Kim Soleum could only follow the sounds of splashing next to him and ahead of him that indicated the footsteps of his team. His blood rushed through his ears and his head pounded from fear and adrenaline, but he kept moving. He was unsure of whether he was now in a new danger thanks to the darkness, and his imagination ran wild.
Was this the right way?
Were they running into a trap?
Why was it completely dark, shouldn’t there be at least a little light—?
Before the question could finish running through his mind, he felt a grip on his left leg, a constriction like a snake that halted him mid-step, and then pulled him backward, causing him to fall heavily onto his front, on his ribs and his chin, forcing the breath right out of his lungs and him to taste blood as his teeth gnashed into the side of his cheek with an impact that rattled his skull into confusion.
And he was pulled, pulled back even as he gasped for air and clawed on the wet ground, desperate for some sort of leverage as he knocked his knee against the concrete and his hips bounced hard on the floor, sure to leave dark bruises.
His leg, where it was being yanked back, felt like fire beyond even the other sudden pains in his body.
Kim Soleum was pulled back into the Crustacean exhibit from the darkness of the corridor without the breath to shout, and he despaired for only a moment, wondered what he could do, how he could possibly ask for help from Braun, or if there were any items within his tattoo he could deploy to save his life, when—
Hands grabbed at his arms, nails digging into his skin even through the layers of his shirt and suit jacket, pulling him back with a desperate strength. Whoever was pulling him must have leapt to help him, their height down on the ground alongside him in a desperate attempt to yank him away from whatever had him in its grasp.
A flash of white, and splash of running footsteps, and Kim Soleum could see the bleary form of Chief Lizard running to help him; could make out both Falcon and Badger grabbing tight onto his arms, their combined weight on the ground an anchor to pull him toward them.
Another moment, and an arm on his leg.
“This may hurt,” Chief Lizard said, tone as even as always.
Then Kim Soleum shouted as the fiery constriction on his left calf tightened— tightened until he thought his bones might break— and then released.
He managed to look backward with teary eyes to see the Section Chief stand over him with one arm on his leg, while the other had— had—
A piercing wail came from behind them, and the ground shook as a great weight fell onto it. Within Lizard’s hand was what originally caught onto Soleum: it looked like a massive and still wriggling tongue.
Behind Lizard, there was the enormity of the clam, crashed onto the ground and emitting noises that Kim Soleum did not think a clam should be able to produce. Its shell opened and closed with clicks as its legs scrambled on the ground to push itself up again even as it pushed away from them in pain.
Chief Lizard wound up his arm and then threw the squirming flesh as far away from them as possible before he told his team, “We’re going. Now.”
Both Falcon and Badger scrambled to their feet and dragged Kim Soleum up with them because they refused to let go of his arms. He gasped and let his weight fall against them, his left leg numb. This lasted for a mere second before he felt himself lifted off the ground, his breath knocked from his diaphragm as Chief Lizard threw him over a shoulder in a fireman's carry.
Before the clam behind them could give chase again, the team disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.
