The growls in the depths of the cave came in a rhythm, sounding for three or four seconds, then going quiet for ten.

Tenner turned the CHEK’s light off and tread.

The ground, ever so slightly, began to rock with the growling as the faint glimpses of light turned into bright crystals just ahead. Tenner stopped in front of a green one, eyes narrowing, then, a smile rising. A big, brown and round bear-like creature, with bright belly fur and floppy ears covering its eyes, huddled around the crystal, sleeping.

“Did you cause all that chaos?” was the first idea that shot to his head. He stared for a while longer and ordered his CHEK to figure the mystery out.

[Name: Cave Morono]

[Non-C creature]

It was an incredible creature. Yes, it seemed to be a little lazy, but if it had caused so much chaos on its own, then Tenner could forgive that. He glanced at his map. The white blip representing him had passed half of the cave. Not more than fifteen minutes of walking at a normal human pace remained. Twenty five if he didn’t want to wake the morono up. He’d already gotten an exhibition of what it did as a pass-time.

Behind the first morono, more of its kind slept, tightly packed around green crystals. The creatures went on and on until a narrow stream, flowing from the darkness into an opening in the rocky cave walls, cut their bedroom off.

Tenner put one foot in the water, reached its bottom, then passed the ice-cold river.

In the section of the cave that opened up past the river, were countless green crystals, but only one of the creatures. Alone it napped and unique it looked from purple circles on its white belly.

[Name: Vicious Cave Morono]

[Non-C creature]

If Tenner had a few swirls on his chest, would he also get a vicious tag? Well, vicious or not, his motivation to fight a morono remained at an all time low. Simply, he gave it a nod of respect. The possibility that he could get crushed by it in mind, he put his back against the wall and crept past.

A brown tail with some fur sharp, some fur soft and some fur wet, slivered around his chest. Tenner tried pushing it away. It kept at it. Letting out a loud “oh shit”, he grabbed the tail, jerking it with all his strength, but before he could break free, the morono opened its eyes. He froze. And keeping eye contact, pet the tail.

The whole cave rumbled. The tail heated up. Being its prisoner became way too comfortable. Just in case, Tenner’s other hand grasped the wrench. Killing the morono would be a shame.

The tail picked Tenner up. His breathing stopped and petting sped up. Threefold. Now, he was a meter from the morono’s face. He raised his hand, moving his fingers in a way which would do a card trick if he was in reach of a card. A curious expression formed on the creature. Tenner tossed the wrench into a wall. The morono took the deepest look into his eyes. Judging. Deciding if it was hungry. The morono dropped him and scoured for what had caused the crashing sound.

Tenner stumbled back and nausea ravaged him. His vision blurred. Deep inside his head, there was a corpse. But the body was his. He had to go anywhere to get away from that feeling. He fell on one knee. A second later, the animal’s tail whooshed overhead.

The nausea was gone. “What? It’s never been this clear before…”

The morono started turning back, its grumbles turning hostile.

Tenner wasn’t ready to give up his second chance. He ran, fast like when he’d chased Jesse, desperate for the money more than anything else in the world, and quiet like a band rehearsing in the night.

The shakes and roars behind him stopped.

Tenner didn’t know how long he ran, or where he was, only that, once his lungs wheezed with unfulfilling breaths, legs burned from every bump in the cave, he couldn’t anymore and fell by a wall. Tenner grinned. These thrills were a bit different from the ones a rockstar would face but no less enjoyable. Once he escaped and pursued his real passion, he might even miss this.

Being squished by a tail had damaged the chip and the holographic map flickered. Still, all the details could be made out. And they showed Tenner was on the exit.

He stared at the map in confusion then took the chip out for a closer view.

“Oh. I gotta turn around.”

Broken armor and wreckage scattered the bloodstained floor. Over the gruesome scene, a red ladder hung.

***

In front of a red door, a cross of lasers parted to reveal a keypad whose keys shifted to open a hole out of which a wire-covered cube with blinking lights emerged. The cube scanned Tenner.

[Error: No clearance level detected in RealmSystem. Please input clearance code manually]

As the cube retracted, the keypad returned to normal. Tenner opened the CHEK’s menu and reached to type the code. But the cross of lasers returned. Pain pierced through his veins and he pulled his already battered hand back, dismissing the damage message.

What buffoon had made a system to open the massive door to the outside world and deactivate the lasers, he had to enter a code into a keypad blocked by the damn lasers? To top it all off, the keypad didn’t react to Tenner’s orders nor to him walking back and forth into its range.

Grunting, Tenner turned back to the white corridor. One meter to freedom, just gotta find a way to open this paradox of a door. When he’d clambered out of the cave through the hatch in the floor, there was the maintenance tunnel on the right while on the left -- a room cramped with batteries on its walls and a massive red door.

Tenner could redirect the lasers so they’d melt the door or destroy the little emitters. But he needed tools: he turned to the colorful pipes going along the corridor’s white walls and gave them a tap.

The clang echoed for centuries in each direction.

The only things at his disposal were pipes, which had to be unbolted from the wall, and a razorod. The number of ideas to open the door? Shrinking with every thought. The weapon in his grip flipped, its razors aiming towards the pipe. He took a breath and started beating it like a drum. The pipe is key.

After five minutes of a combo of sawing and masterful drumming, cracks opened in the pipe and Tenner’s ears started ringing.

[Warning! Damage: -1 to health]

I lose health from being sore and exhausted? he thought, staring at the screen. Another damage warning popped up beside it. His calf hurt. Tenner grabbed the source of the pain and raised it up in front of his face. A Ghastly Death-Rodent hung off its fur, pinched by Tenner.

“What are you thinking, attacking someone so much stronger and bigger than you?” he said. “Where did you even come from?”

The rat didn’t stay still nor answered detective Tenner’s questions, instead opting to try to bite his fingers.

“Goodbye.” Tenner batted the creature with his razorod. “Have a nice flight!”

The rat flew a couple of meters before disappearing in the air. Hopefully, it would return to some hole in the wall and not bring a horde back. At the same time, rats weren’t ones for learning much. Sawing and beating for five more minutes, he returned to the thought of a mouse hole. Tenner ran his hand over the wall, tapping a few slots, then banged them with the razorod. One of the pipes started vibrating. One released a clackclackclack sound. The one he’d sawed stayed still.

Two black dots appeared on the floor. Tenner took a little break and let his eyes follow the dots. They were rats, one covered in blood. Without hesitation, he crushed the rodents with the razorod’s blunt side, returning to the wall to find which spot would break the pipe off.

Some pipes twisted, some even started glowing. Tenner started connecting the dots in his thoughts. He placed the razorod horizontally against the wall and slid it left, counting to twenty five. There, he struck. The pipe he needed popped out. He pulled on the pipe as hard as he could, the red metal tore, cracked and broke off.

Finally.

One rat returned and jumped at his leg. Basking in his success, he got it off as it was ready to bite. The creature died an untimely death under his foot. They waited for the right time to attack, but the lack of strength made their brains useless.

Tenner carried the pipe back to the exit room and chucked it on a laser emitter. The laser disappeared and the chunk of pipe started sizzling, a pool of molten metal forming below it.

Tenner scratched his forehead and took the pipe off. I need at least one more. He reached the spot where he’d sawed and tapped one hand with the now blunt razorod. Well, what do we have here? Looks like certain death and doom.

From the white vastness of the maintenance tunnel, a wall neared. Its bricks were hundreds of levitating rodents. Their eyes were red. No doubt, this abomination had tried to break through the door and scare Tenner to death.

Huh, I’m about to die.

Tenner stared at his goosebump covered arms and started groping the wall at astronomical speeds. In his mind, he was a war-hero, trying to decode a secret message from the evil Rat Reich. A platoon of men depended on him. Their families, wives, children -- none wanted them to get shredded into red mush.

Lost in an adrenaline-fueled daze, a few minutes passed. Tenner had still not gotten the crucial second pipe. And the wall of rats was floating almost beside him.

For a moment, Tenner paused, wiped his sweat. He backed off. Then he rammed the razorord through the wall. The pipe popped out. He pulled and it rolled right into its grip. A sense of power seeped into his skin from the metal.

Turning to the wall of rats, Tenner looked into the hundreds of red eyes and said, “Consider yourself lucky I’m not a professional exterminator. But if things don’t work out and I do become one, I’ll be back and you’ll be dead.”

Took me years to master cards, took me minutes to figure out this pipeway… It would take me seconds to find the best way to slaughter them all.

The rats did not respond. They floated ever closer. Tenner dragged the pipe to the red door and along with the other, dropped it on the lasers. The metal started melting, spewing drops onto his legs. He had sixty seconds to open the door, thirty if he didn’t want to be eaten by a wall of rats.

Tenner navigated through the CHEK and opened the clearance levels tab. There were a lot of exit entries. He chose the one that seemed right--Main--and entered the passcode it’d generated.

[Error: wrong password]

How dare you? Tenner protested then entered the “Maintenance” passcode.

[Success! Manual exit sequence activated]

[Please input 2 physical keys]

Tenner’s brow furrowed. Input what keys? Into where?!

There were two round holes in the door.

Tenner put his eyes up to one then put a finger in. He couldn’t get the keys and his fingers weren’t key-shaped. There had to be an alternative, something long and narrow, that’d just fit.

Tenner looked down. Who am I kidding? I’d need two… he trailed off as a light turned on inside his head. Turning on his heel, Tenner rushed back to the white corridor, whose entrance the wall of rats blocked. Inside, bites littered his skin and all the rodents turned to stare at him. Screaming from the pain, he grabbed the razorord and swung it over his head. A clearing opened. He ran through to the door and slammed it into one keyhole. For the second, he crouched to the melting pipes and pulled. As his skin touched the white metal, he cried out, then as he finished dragging it out of the way, fell to the ground.

[Warning! Damage: -9 to health]

The flashes of pain and heat were intense and unbearable, his hands were covered in blood and black smudges of burnt skin. Whilst he writhed, the metal cooled off and the wall of rats overlooked him from a meter to the side.

Tenner stood up. “Stop staring and kill me if you want to!” He snapped, kicking the molten pipe. When its shape was right, he threw it in the keyhole, burning his hands.

Metal banged and something clicked.

[Exit successfully opened!]

[Have a nice day!]

The lasers disappeared, pressure released from the door then the massive hinges started squeaking and the whole thing opened. Tenner backed off with a grin on his face. He’d made it. It was time to experience the real world. It was time to help those who were struggling like him.

Tenner’s thoughts vanished. No. It can’t be.