Or, more precisely, it had simply shown the remaining charge.
What’s more, the light streaming from the ceiling dimmed suspiciously at exactly the same moment. Noah glanced at the ceiling, then at the tablet’s screen, trying to make sense of the situation. Were the two events somehow connected? Or was it only a coincidence?
Coming to his senses, he turned on the tablet’s flashlight and switched off the screen, intending to save as much energy as possible. Returning to the room with the bed and the table, Noah walked around every corner, searching for something like an outlet with a charger left behind. For how ELSE could he charge the device? By rubbing it strongly against his shirt?
Unfortunately, there were no outlets in the room. Not behind the bed, not under the bed, not anywhere. Convinced he hadn’t missed anything, Noah stepped into the corridor and examined its walls. Same result. There wasn’t the slightest sign that any electrical installation existed here at all.
The only suspect was the black door. Maybe behind it, a generator had been left? Maybe that generator was powered by liquid from the pump he had seen earlier? That would explain the two buckets. But the black door wasn't about to yield willingly, and Noah didn’t know how he could overcome it. Maybe with the help of the pole…
Remembering the pole, he hurried off to fetch it. If he didn’t manage to charge the tablet in time, it would shut down, with the YouTube page. That was the only app he was desperately trying not to close.
Approaching the black door, Noah carefully examined the handle and thought over from which side it would be best to hook it. After rehearsing the sequence of actions in his mind, he lifted the pole and tried to slip it behind the handle.
The very moment the wood touched the metal, an unimaginable cold seared both of Noah’s hands. Shouting, he dropped the pole and leapt back several steps. A little more, and the wave of cold would have reached his head. The pole, a meter and a half long, was of no help at all.
Now, Noah was certain that this wasn’t an ordinary cold. It resembled some kind of spell, one that knew exactly whose fingers to slap.
“Would they really have hidden a generator in such a place? What would happen if I were too late to find a solution for this door?” Noah wondered, rubbing his hands and shoulders. The feeling of cold had already ebbed, but he still instinctively tried to “warm up.”
There was nothing in the room. The corridor walls were also bare. All that remained was to check the great grotto. Just one problem—the grotto’s ceiling was very high. If the admin had placed an outlet somewhere up near the ceiling…
Picking up the pole from the floor, Noah returned to the grotto and began examining every meter of the wall. Having checked around the water pump, he started climbing the stairs toward the edge of the abyss, carefully shining light on every suspicious patch of stone. From the very floor up to above his head—just in case the damned admin really was inclined toward dark humor.
Reaching the edge of the abyss, he inspected the inside of it.
Nothing. Not the slightest sign that electricity had been introduced anywhere.
Unwilling to give up, Noah went back, checking the same walls a second time. Once certain there was truly nothing there, he began checking the floor. Somewhere, something had to exist!
The tablet beeped demandingly in his hands. At the same time, the beam blazing high overhead dimmed even more. Only a narrow, faint strip of light remained. Noah no longer doubted that the tablet’s charge was somehow linked to the grotto’s lighting. Turning on the screen, he saw a new red message:
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Attention! You have 4% charge left! If you do not replenish energy reserves in time, your existence will be terminated!”
What the heck... Now, even the tablet was threatening to terminate his existence?!
Noah noticed that the message didn’t mention any battery. It spoke about “charge.” Perhaps this “charge” was something entirely different, something that fed both the tablet and the light streaming from the ceiling?..
In that case, maybe it wasn’t electricity at all?
Noah glanced at the water pump suspiciously. It was the only device he hadn’t yet tried.
Without delay, he stepped toward the two buckets. As he approached, he clearly felt it—his own movements had become strangely slow and heavy. As if his body itself lacked energy.
“Looks like it’s not just the tablet that’s low on charge…” he tried to joke, but the sense of approaching danger only grew stronger. “I should have tried everything much earlier, instead of making YouTube movies…”
Sliding a bucket under the spout, he got to work. He moved the handle up and down, feeling his fatigue grow ever heavier. After half a minute, the pump gurgled, and water began to flow...
But... was it really water? Noah had never seen water that glowed with a ghastly bluish light. After a few more pulls on the handle, the dreadful liquid poured out properly, quickly filling the bucket to the brim.
Noah moved the bucket aside from the pump and bent over it. The glowing liquid gave off no suspicious smell. It behaved almost like real water, rippling quietly. Through it, Noah could clearly see the bottom of the bucket. It looked extraordinarily clean. Only that eerie light…
Was this the source of energy he needed? And if so, how was he supposed to use it? The tablet had said nothing about needing a charge itself. And judging by the phenomena in the cave, everything here was somehow connected. And if everything was connected, Noah was the only one who could drink the water.
“But I don’t want to drink this radioactive waste!” he shuddered. “What if I dipped the edge of the tablet into this… water? Maybe it would charge itself somehow?”
Grasping the tablet with both hands, he carefully lowered a plastic corner into the water.
Two seconds, five…
Nothing.
Noah dipped the tablet a little deeper.
The device’s screen suddenly went black, showing the words “Shutting down.” After a few moments, the tablet switched off completely. The light streaming from the ceiling began to flicker rapidly, as if about to go out entirely. Noah felt his body slowly becoming heavy as lead.
“That’s it! Nothing works, so I’ll have to drink it myself!” he decided instantly.
Clasping his hands together, he dipped them into the glowing water, intending to scoop some up.
The moment his palms submerged, Noah felt a wave of voices surging uncontrollably into his head. Male voices, female voices… Children’s voices, shrieking incomprehensible words. Voices soaked in pain and rage. They all intertwined, becoming an inextricable cacophony. Not a single clear word or language. Whatever the owners of those voices had endured, Noah couldn’t begin to imagine. His hands flickered like the ceiling light, for an instant becoming transparent. Noah's eyes rolled upward, his knees gave way, and he fell backward.
The moment he pulled his palms out of the water, the voices vanished. Noah lay helpless, staring at the black cavern ceiling. The light streaming from it now flickered in much longer intervals, at times going out entirely for a whole second. The energy was draining unstoppably.
So... The water wasn’t meant for him… unless the cursed admin wanted him to drink it while listening to those terrible screams. And if the water wasn’t meant for him, where ELSE could it be used?
Noah propped himself on his elbows and sat up. The filled bucket still stood in its place. Between it and the second bucket, the pole lay on the ground.
The pole… of course. If the water were meant for him, why on earth would they have given him the pole? The pole was there to make it easier to carry both buckets somewhere else. And in the entire underground, only one place remained where the water could be poured.
Clenching his teeth, Noah got to his feet and reached for the second bucket. Now every movement forced him to strain hard. Even his eyes slowly closed of their own accord. Sliding the bucket under the spout, he filled it with the glowing water. Luckily, this time it didn’t take so long to pump.
Lifting both buckets with the pole turned out to be even harder. They seemed to weigh more than they should have. Regaining his balance, Noah stepped toward the stairs and began to climb.