From Moving Crates to Killing Gods-Chapter 17: Bloop

The creature didn’t flee as we gathered around it. It continued its gentle bobbing, occasionally drifting a few centimeters in one direction or another. Up close, I could see it was semi transparent, with a faint blue glow emanating from its central body.

"Can you... communicate with it?" I asked Rolen.

He nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving the floating creature. "I think so. If my ability works."

Mira appeared at my shoulder. "Do it then." she commanded. "It may have useful information."

Rolen took a deep breath and stretched out his hand, palm up, stopping just short of touching the creature. His face took on an expression of intense concentration, his eyes half closing behind his glasses.

"Hey there." he whispered, his voice taking on a gentle cadence I’d never heard from him before. "It’s okay. We won’t hurt you."

For a long moment, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the jellyfish like creature drifted down until it hovered just above Rolen’s palm. Its tendrils extended, not quite touching him, but reaching toward his fingers in what seemed like curiosity.

"That’s it." Rolen murmured. "Good... Bloop."

"Bloop?" Phinyx repeated.

A faint smile touched Rolen’s lips. "That’s what it calls itself. Or at least, that’s the closest translation."

"You can understand it?" Mira asked sharply.

Rolen nodded. "Not words exactly. More like... impressions. Feelings. Simple concepts." His brow furrowed in concentration. "It’s curious about us. We’re... different from the others it’s seen."

"Others?" Kira asked. "Other humans?"

"No." Rolen said. "Other things that walk upright. I think it means Corruptors."

A chill ran through me at the thought that these creatures had some way to categorize us alongside Corruptors. Great. So we’re not prey, we’re just the ugly, less dangerous competition.

"Ask it about the building." I suggested. "Does it know safe paths?"

Rolen nodded and closed his eyes, his hand still extended toward Bloop. After a moment, his eyes snapped open. "There are more of them." he said. "Many more. They live... below."

"Below?" Mira echoed. "In the lower levels?"

"No." Rolen said. "Under the floor. There’s a network of... maintenance tunnels? Service corridors? The translation isn’t clear. But they use them to avoid the Corruptors."

The jellyfish, Bloop, pulsed slightly, its glow intensifying.

"It wants to show us." Rolen said. "There’s an entrance nearby."

"We don’t have time for detours." Mira cut in. "Our objective is to reach the roof and meet with Darien’s team."

I glanced at the atrium visible through the store entrance. The Corruptors were still there, drifting in their unsettling patterns. One had moved closer to our position, though it didn’t seem to have detected us yet.

"Keep the information in mind." Mira continued, "But we stick to the plan. We need to get to the roof."

Rolen looked disappointed but nodded. With visible reluctance, he lowered his hand, and Bloop drifted back up to its original position. "Thank you." he whispered to it. "Stay safe."

We left the store, continuing our careful progress toward the stairwell. I found myself wondering of what lay beneath. A network of tunnels, populated by passive, floating creatures that had somehow survived in this ruined world.

We had almost reached the stairwell when Mira suddenly thrust out an arm, stopping us in our tracks. Her body tensed, her head tilting slightly to one side. Following her gaze, I saw it, a Corruptor had materialized at the top of the stairs, blocking our path.

This close, the sight of it sent ice through my veins. It was larger than it had appeared from a distance, its form constantly shifting like smoke caught in contradictory air currents.

"Back." Mira whispered, her voice barely audible. "Slowly."

We retreated, step by step, until we reached the entrance of the clothing store. But as we turned to enter, another wave of cold dread washed over me.

A second Corruptor had appeared behind us, hovering near the store entrance. It hadn’t spotted us yet, but it was blocking our escape route.

We were trapped.

I could feel the panic rising in the group, the desperate control slipping. Fear was seeping from us like sweat, calling to the Corruptors. I saw Phinyx close his eyes, his lips moving in silent desperation as he tried to project vibes of nothingness. Yami’s throat worked as she fought the urge to cry out.

My mind raced. Switch was still recovering, still fragile after the collapse in the tunnels. I could maybe use it, but not in a way that could help against these entities.

Then I remembered Bloop, floating between the clothing racks. Rolen’s passive mob, with its knowledge of hidden passages below.

"Rolen." I whispered, my voice tight. "The tunnels. Is there an entrance in this store?"

His eyes widened behind his glasses. "I... I think so. Bloop showed me impressions of a hatch, somewhere near the back."

Mira shook her head. "Too risky. We don’t know what’s down there."

"We know what’s up here." I countered, nodding toward the two Corruptors that had us pinned. "And it’s death."

Her eyes met mine, calculating, assessing. I could see the struggle, stick to the plan, the training, the hierarchical thinking that had defined her existence, or trust this scroungy collection of "useless" abilities.

"Fine." she said finally. "Find this hatch."

We scattered through the store, searching frantically behind counters and under display tables. Kira pressed her hand to the floor, her eyes closed in concentration.

"Here." she called softly. "I can feel water flowing beneath this spot."

We converged on her location, a small alcove. The floor was covered in ancient carpet, molded and decayed. Rolen knelt and began tearing at it, revealing a partially open metal plate beneath.

"This is it." he said. "Bloop showed me this."

Below was darkness, and the faint sound of moving water.

"I can’t believe we’re doing this." Mira muttered, but she was already helping us widen the opening.

"No time." I said. "Down, now."

One by one, we slipped through the opening, Petra’s sticky ability helping us grip the rusty ladder that led into darkness. As Mira, the last one through, pulled the hatch closed above us, I couldn’t help but feel a grim satisfaction.

The team of misfits, the leftovers, the ones with "useless" abilities, had found a path the combat ready team hadn’t. Maybe Mira was right, the abilities Darien didn’t understand were exactly the ones that would keep us alive.

In the darkness below, something glowed faintly blue. It was Bloop, or one of its kind.