Work Text:
06/18/1990
The expedition starts off normal enough. Aaron and Bill are chatting idly about office politics and the minutiae of their work day. Naren follows closely behind them, contributing the odd quip to the conversation, but mostly looking around, occasionally panning the camera at anything vaguely interesting he sees. There isn't a lot so far; this particular stretch of hallway seems pretty nondescript.
Until he sees it. A brief, easily missable flicker of movement disappearing around a dark corner in one of the connecting passages.
What... what was that?
He knows it's probably nothing. Things move in the Complex. It's par for the course. Doors and windows open and close on their own, curtains move, things rearrange themselves when no one's looking. In some rare cases, even entire rooms can change. But this feels different somehow. He can't help but be a bit on edge in light of recent events. They're unlikely to run into any people, at least, but Complex-native life is still a possibility, however remote. They know there's life in here now, and it's not always friendly.
And this section is mostly unexplored.
He files that thought away in the back of his mind, in case he needs it later. If worst comes to worst, they might have to run. But again, it's probably nothing.
Their journey continues uneventfully for a little while. Soon they're not too far from their destination. They consult the directions again and turn down another well-lit hallway. Then after a moment, something happens that's undeniable. Something they all notice, and none of them can write off.
THUNK.
The noise is loud and makes all three of them jump. It's the unmistakable sound of something hitting a wall nearby, and it's coming from an unlit passage on their left. With trepidation, they all turn towards the doorway and peer inside. They can't see anything. Hesitantly, Naren turns on his flashlight and shines it into the dark corridor. He's not sure what he's hoping to see; something or nothing, neither option seems good.
Suddenly, there's a flash of purple, and before anyone can react, something slams into him, knocking him to the ground. The wind is instantly knocked out of him as he lands directly on his oxygen tank, and the camera tumbles out of his hand, coming to a stop against the wall. Startled, Aaron takes a step back and stumbles straight into Bill, sending them both falling to the floor in a crumpled heap.
Naren tries to get up, but he can't. Something is pinning him to the floor, something he can't see. Between the restricted visibility from his mask, the awkward position he's trapped in, and the colorful spots just starting to fade from his vision, all he can see is a narrow, blurry view of the ceiling tiles above him.
Shit...
Whatever it is is on all fours, slowly crawling over his body until it comes face to face with him. Only it doesn't seem to have a face. Or a head, for that matter. All he can see of it is a perfect dark line obscuring most of his vision as the thing fixes its eyeless gaze on him. He shoves ineffectually at it, trying to force it off of him, but it's no good. It's heavy and strong and won't budge. It doesn't even seem to register his attempts to move it.
But he does manage to roll over slightly onto his side, giving him a better view of the creature.
What the fuck? Is that a... is that a fuckin' table?
Sure enough, the thing looks like a table: a flat surface sitting on four legs, all made of what seems like wood, painted a glossy purple. But on closer inspection, that's clearly impossible. It moves like it's made of flesh and bone. Its legs are bent in the middle, like it has knees. Its top even curves slightly, like there's a spine inside. It also has what looks like two small drawers, one on each end, just beneath the top part. OK, so maybe it's more of a desk than a table. It doesn't really matter.
This whole thing is wrong on every possible level.
The thing finally eases up off of Naren, sitting on its back legs and just... watching him. As much as it can without eyes at least. It still has his legs imprisoned, but his upper body is now free; he could sit up if he wanted to. But he's hesitant to move, still unsure how the creature will react. Sure, it doesn't seem malicious. If anything, it almost seems... curious? But that isn't exactly comforting.
Finally he does sit up, and sure enough, the table creature lunges forward. He braces himself, but it doesn't attack. Instead, it rests its legs on his shoulders and begins gently nudging the face plate of his suit with its edge.
Huh?
This thing is strong. It could easily break the glass if it wanted to, surely. Which means that's not what it's trying to do. It's not ramming so much as... nuzzling? And then it dawns on him. He realizes, with a mix of confusion, relief and renewed horror, what this thing is.
It's a fuckin' dog. This thing is supposed to be a dog.
And right now, it's attempting to lick his face.
Naren's an open-minded guy. And it's a good thing, too, because he's already had to reevaluate his worldview several times in the six months he's been working here.
But this? This might be the thing that finally breaks him.
“Awww, I think it likes you!”
If his coworkers don't get the job done first.
He turns to his right to see Bill and Aaron, who have been watching this whole thing play out, no doubt struggling to contain their laughter. He can't see their faces, but Aaron's shit-eating grin comes through perfectly in his voice.
Assholes.
“Guys... what the hell?!”
Naren hopes his voice will adequately convey the death glare he's giving his teammates right now, since they can't see his face either.
“Sorry...” Bill says meekly, “but... well, it wasn't hurting you.”
“Tell that to my back. I'm gonna have one hell of a bruise there later.”
The table dog finally seems to notice the other two, giving Naren a moment of peace as it fully releases him from captivity. He slowly stands up, then picks the camera and flashlight up off the floor. Turning back to face his teammates, he chuckles to himself as he sees that the strange creature has lovingly knocked Aaron on his ass, and again as Bill suffers the same fate shortly after.
A couple minutes later the thing turns its attention back to Naren, and he braces himself against the wall just in time to avoid being knocked over again.
“Whoa! Uhhh... g-good... table?” he stammers out, giving its surface a hesitant pat.
“It's a desk,” Aaron corrects. Naren rolls his eyes.
The desk dog gives his face plate one last playful bump before returning to all fours and sprinting away, seemingly satisfied with the attention it's received.
The three men watch in bemused silence as it disappears down the hall in search of its next adventure.
Eventually Bill breaks the silence. “So uh... that... that just happened. Right?”
“Yup,” Naren has already turned around and started walking down the hall, not even bothering to wait for the other two. They can catch up. “Now let's get the fuck out of here before it comes back.”