Luminary Institute

88: Camera Clicks

Now in the complex, everyone’s hands twitched, shoulders tensed, and eyes opened. Their collective drowsiness scurried away as if battered back by adrenaline’s champion. After splitting off, each group all but lost contact with each other—their radios could pass messages, but not without enough static to blow out someone’s eardrums. 

Nyssa and Celeste, having formed one group, dove down a path buzzing and crackling with wrecked electronics. The usual smooth hum of common electronics had been replaced by an ugly forest of wires, chirping with life as sparks jumped from exposed wire to splintering casing. Wires may have snaked across the floor, making even the most careful step into one laden with danger, but a dim corridor greeted them in consolation. 

“Electra doesn’t trust this area?” Nyssa murmured while transforming from a full-body glow into a hair-only glow. “It’s... lit up, I mean not really lit up, it’s dimly lit, but that’s better than the pitch-black the others all plunged into.” 

“She says the electricity would make her lose focus, not that anything in particular gives her bad vibes,” Celeste corrected, running her hand through Nyssa’s hair with a few delicate head scratches. “Has anything caught your eye so far?” 

“I have no idea what we’re looking for, so... no,” Nyssa crouched down, leaving Celeste’s hand to float in midair with a new empty coldness. “Like these just looked like destroyed electronics to me. You could’ve told me this was some abandoned shed somewhere back at school and I would’ve believed you.” 

“Abandoned shed back at school?” Celeste took a couple steps forward and snapped a picture. As she checked the camera, ensuring she caught the mystery splotch on record. A potential soot smudge, a potential half-charred emblem, she couldn’t tell, but someone else, she guessed, would be able to. 

Nyssa waddled forward like a humanoid duck while still crouched down. Whether out of sheer laziness or a desire to inspect the ground, even she didn’t quite know. “I mean, they’re hidden away, but yeah, there are abandoned sheds in various parts of campus. I... think they’re near the area between Class One and Class Two? Bad napping spots.  Would not recommend. Zero out of ten. I got shocked once over there and decided to not go back.” 

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“... Oh. I did not realize that existed. I thought they used most buildings, and cleaned up the ones they didn’t use. Or at least that’s what they kind of advertise. You really do know the campus well,” Celeste followed along behind her new duck of a girlfriend. Together, they continued forward, marking the branching paths they did and didn’t take while stopping to take as many pictures as they could. Did it have a weird hue? Click, picture taken. Did it look funny? Click, picture taken. Did it seem at all interesting in any way possible? Click, picture taken. 

They had no real complaints. If anything, they were embarking on a sightseeing trip with a little bit of active thinking. Their trek through the labyrinthian underground took them out of the electric component complex and into other areas as they mapped out the lower and lower floors. Each staircase carved deeper into the earth, dredging the pits of the terrestrial world for warmth it seemed. 

They crossed paths with others in these stairs more often than not, as paths converged to take them deeper. After descending a few floors over the course of a couple hours, Nyssa and Celeste found a secluded, well-lit corner and took a seat. Nyssa pulled out the sealed bags of food Angelica had prepared for them, unpackaging them like school lunches—at dinner, and many floors underground, and very far from any sort of school. Sat beside her, Celeste flipped through their photos with gentle button presses. 

Click. Click. Click... 

Peering over her shoulder, Nyssa couldn’t help but to point at the screen. “Don’t you think it's getting redder?” 

“Yeah, I was about to comment on that, beyond the coloration seeming more and more red as time passed, I don’t see any other patterns,” Celeste trailed off, her lips parting to let a quiet sigh through. “Maybe we’re not the best for this type of investigation stuff. There’s been nothing to fight, and we’re just... taking pictures of random stuff.” 

“It’s okay, it’s better if there’s nothing to fight,” Nyssa leaned against Celeste, hugging her from the side. “As long as we gather enough raw data, I’m sure the experts could parse it.” 

“True,” Celeste reached out, fumbling to assemble a cracker and cheese combination. Once she pushed the two together though, she hesitated, a gentle smile broke out on her face like sun breaking apart rainclouds, and she lifted it towards Nyssa’s mouth. Pushing her visitor against the sealed door named ‘Nyssa’s lips,’ she laughed after Nyssa let her through. “You should eat first, since you set it all up. Thank you.” 

“It was no problem,” Nyssa mumbled in the middle of chewing, using one hand to cover her mouth and maintain a semblance of dignity. 

“Also, did you change color? I know I can’t, but if you did that would explain the trend in photos,” Celeste noticed Nyssa’s still glowing hair. “Though it looks the same to me...” 

“It shouldn’t have, it’s not like I transformed into an RGB led light,” Nyssa brushed her hair forward with her hand and took a look. “It’s the same. Though the red does match with the warmth we’re feeling I just realized. I’m almost sweating while lying against you right now, and usually that’s not the case.” 

“Huh, good to know, we should ask the others if they’re noticing a similar trend,” Celeste wrote a small annotation on one of the more promising photos. “And yeah, it is a little warm. Albion must be suffering.” 

“I am suffering,” Albion lumbered around the corner with Titus and Conrad trailing behind him. “We heard your voices so we came over. Mind if we take a break here too?” 

“Of course not,” Celeste pointed to the area across from her and Nyssa. “Feel free to take a seat. No taking the food though.” 

A brief thank you from the three boys later, Nyssa and Celeste asked about the shift towards red. After checking their own photos, the three boys noticed a... similar trend. Having taken different routes, the rate at which their photos shifted differed from Nyssa and Celeste’s, but their findings lined up by floor. 

“Are we walking into the maw of a monster then? Into a boss fight? Why red of all colors...” Titus unpackaged a meal of his own. “Well, I mean I assume it's because this place is decommissioned, but it does make it seem more eerie.” 

“You can say that again,” Nyssa ripped a piece of ham from her sandwich and tossed it into her mouth. Her hands and mouth moved to keep her eating as she swept her eyes over the weird catacomb they had ended up in.