10 P.M.
Two Hours until Automated Take-Off.
He stared at Soul’s dead body from the hall, his hands shaking at his side, his eyes unable to look away from his teammate's bloodied, unmoving corpse. He took a deep breath in, trying not to cry as he approached the lifeless red and black suit, pocketing the brush he had picked up in a different room, the only thing he’d found so far. And he didn’t notice anything next to Soul’s body, either from one or two things. A hoarding bug, or he had just simply not found anything, although that’s not what Heart was worried about now.
He gently lifted the lifeless body, looking around. Nothing seemed to pop out at him that could’ve been the perpetrator, the cause of his teammates death. He couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing. He let out a shaky breath, trying to make his way to the fire exit he knew was somewhere around. He had passed it earlier, he knew that. But he couldn’t remember exactly where.
Mind had only opted to stay in the ship as it was the last day on a bigger quota, and if all three of them died, they would lose all of the loot in the ship, and Soul didn’t want to take the role of staying in the ship this time. He was typically placed there in a type of “time out” in the ship, as outside he’d normally throw himself at danger and try his best to die. Although nothing really stopped him, because the man has a concerningly strong will to die. A determination, if you will. A beep came from the item lodged at his hip. Mind’s voice came through, crackled and slightly annoyed.
[Soul? Did Heart die again?]
Heart propped the body in his hands up against his knee, grabbing the walkie talkie.
(Nope... it’s me.) He noticed how his breath shook. He had to pause to breathe and try not to cry on radio- that would be embarrassing. (I, uh...Soul’s dead, yeah.)
[Oh. I’m surprised it’s not you.] Then, quietly added- [...this is why both of you shouldn’t go inside. Soul should’ve stayed at the ship again.]
Heart gulped slightly. The silence after the message seemed so loud, seemed to make his head hurt. He continued walking, his boots making the floor underneath him shake and thump against the metal grate flooring. He cursed quietly under his breath, walking into a room he definitely didn’t remember- he was lost. He continued walking around, stumbling and trying to find his way while carrying a dead body. He knew he had to rush, but he couldn’t exactly run with this dead weight in his hands. It was a miracle he could even carry it- Heart was not known for his strength.
[Are you lost?]
He cringed slightly. He would not need Mind’s help, he told himself. He did not need help. He could find his way by himself, because it had to be somewhere. The building couldn’t be infinite, right? It had to loop back somewhere. Somewhere, hopefully, near. He ignored the question, trying to avoid the vulnerability of asking for help in general- especially from Mind, who seemed to figure out that he needed help pretty quickly, and started to give him directions that ended up frustrating him even more. He didn’t need it, he was fine.
[It’s just up ahead. Keep going straight. Wait-]
Heart practically had a heart attack- pun intended -when he noticed a pink and purple box with human-like fleshy feet and one arm approaching him. It stood there, blocking his way, right in the doorway that he needed to go through. He stumbled backwards slightly, watching the jester stand still, as if deciding what to do. He put Soul down, yanking the walkie talkie out of its slot on his belt, his grip on the item almost causing it to be thrown against the wall.
(Shit, Mind- it’s a jester. I-I...I can’t get through.)
A quiet curse came through.
[Okay. Alright.] He paused. [Breathe. Let’s just go around. Leave Soul's body there- it’ll be fine, he’s just dead weight.]
Heart let out a nervous chuckle, the joke making him feel slightly better. He turned around into the darkness, glancing back at the jester every few seconds although he knew that it was passive...for now. He listened intently to Mind's directions, only really complying this time because he did not wanna die, although he didn’t have hope. Left, left, right, there’s a red dot behind him, keep going, left, right. He froze in place when he heard distant, quiet music, finding it harder to breathe as the almost soothing nursery melody entered his ears, processing what was happening. What was about to happen.
[Heart?]
(Mind, it’s fucking cranking- where’s the fucking exit, please, now-)
Mind gulped, his fingers tapping away at the keys on the terminal.
(Mind? M-Mind?)
He cleared his throat, talking into the walkie.
[Listen to me and listen carefully. You need to backtrack- the jester moved away from in front of the door. I don’t have sight on it now, but it’s no longer in the way. 180, then it’s left, right, left, right and right. I need to go silent because there are dogs nearby.] He frantically whispered into the walkie, his leaden eyes tracking the red dots doing circles around the ship on the monitor in front of him. [Do you need me to repeat?]
(Left, right, left, right and-)
[And right.] He nodded, the act purely for reassuring himself. [Good luck.]
(Thanks..?)
[You will need it.]
He turned the walkie off, the beep echoing through his ears. He climbed under the desk, squating and watching the door directly opposite of him. It was late, and all he could see was shadows walking, and he could hear the eyeless dogs growling and snarling. He could also smell their putrid, disgusting smell, and he covered his nose. He slowed his breathing as he heard something approaching, trying to minimize how much noise he was making while he waited for Heart to return, although he didn’t have his hopes up about that either.