2. The Filing Cabinet

(Author's note: Sorry for this long chapter two,  Everyone. Hopefully you enjoy it all the same! I'll try to make the next chapters a little shorter for you. <3)

...

Reaching for the handle of the door, Percy inhaled sharply. Looking back, I saw just how tense he'd become.

I laughed. "Percy, no one is forcing you to come with me. Stay here, if you're so scared."

"The hell I'll let you go in there alone," he shot back, eyes popping out of their socket. "I'm your mentor. My job is to keep my eye on you. So, either you come back to the office with me, or we both go in there and risk our jobs."

The timer for the lock timed out, and I was met with resistance the moment I pulled down the door handle. I slam the access card of the flat screen again and the red light went green. A soft beep announces that the doors had successfully been unlocked once more.

"Chill out, Perse. My dad works for management, remember? You're not going to get fired. You can just tell him you were forced to follow me in here, and stop me from exploring, and save me from any dangers. There, plan B. You're welcome."

My father would believe that story, and Percy knew it too. Dad knew me to be unapologetically curious. Ever since I was old enough to walk, I've always thrived to quench my everlasting thirst for knowledge.

Father always thought that this curious trait came from my late mother. She was a researcher at the Agency before I was born. She spent her entire life studying paranormal phenomena, and seeking answers for its existence. I guess it's always been in my blood to finish what she'd started; continuing her pursuit of "the truth," no matter the consequences.

"Come on, let's go have some fun." I nudged his elbow. "Or are you getting too old to have a little fun."

"Hey! I'm only thirty-one, you little brat."

Percy playfully pushing me back, hard enough to make me lose my balance for a breath. "Yeah. But you have a wife and a son. That ages you another ten years."

"How so?" He asked, incredulously.

"That's just how it is. Watch, in two years you'll have the beer belly and a receding hair line just like those sitcom dads on TV."

"Don't say shit like that!" He placed a hand on the top of his thick black curls. "You're going to manifest it."

Covering a smile with my gloved hand, I looked up at his head. "I'm so sorry," I said, then pressed my back to the unlocked door, pushing it open. "I meant to say that in two more years you'll look like a runway model, with a six pack, and flowing locks that dance in the wind."

He looked pleased. "That's more like it." Then it was his turn to turn his attention to the camera behind us. A silver dental filing glistened behind one of his canines, as he waved towards it happily.

Percy had a good friend in security, Everett, who was in charge of the cameras. Tonight, he was willing to turn a blind eye as we snuck into The Filing Cabinet; A name given to the restricted room we had just breached without permission. It was home of what we called "Documents." The code name we used to denote paranormal objects, substances, recordings, as well as any strange organic material the agency had collected over the years.

A big smile spread across my lips as I glanced at the camera again, I had yet to meet Everett, but when he agreed to help us with this little field trip, I instantly liked him. So, I politely waved a thank you, before turning back to my task at hand. I opened the metal door fully, and as if creaked open, the room sucked in all the air around Percy and I.

For a moment, it seemed like time stopped as the hinges gasped to a halt.

"Ashlyn?" Percy glanced down, eying me carefully. "Has anyone ever told you that curiosity killed the cat?"

I narrowed my eyes. "I mean, Sure. But have you ever heard the last part of that proverb? Curiosity might have killed the cat..." I gazed up at him, with a cheeky grin. "But satisfaction brought it back."

He pointed a stern finger towards me. "What have I told you about being a smart ass, huh?"

I lifted a shoulder. "That it will get me in trouble one day?"

"Damn right it will."

My laughter was short lived as I turned back and stared into the void awaiting us. It was dim in that room, too dim, making me re-think my decision about going inside. I was not a fan of darkness, never was, but I gathered up my courage nonetheless, and took a big step forward.

Wordlessly, Percy followed.

After a few steps, Percy spoke guardedly: "You going to be okay wondering in here? It's pretty dark."

The door closed loudly behind us and we both flinched.

"I think so," I said, low and carful. "As long as it doesn't get any darker."

"Once your eyes adjust the space will feel brighter," Percy said, his voice reverberating across room that resembled a long hallway. "Just give it a few minutes."

I looked around, letting my eyes adapt and watching the shadows morph into tangible shapes. As we walked on, I noticed that everything seemed to be covered by a blanket of blue light. And on both sides of the hall, long thick cylinder pipes ran from one end to the other. Some bigger than others, and one of them – the one closest to me – was leaking water and shooting out jets of steam.

"What even is this place?" Even my whispers seemed too loud.

Percy was rubbing his hands along his arms, and looking at his surroundings cautiously. "Beats me."

A hiss of steam broke through the silence, making us jolt. It seemed to have come from a machine at the very back of the room. "What the heck was that?"

"You know what? This might be in the Boiler Room," Percy suggested.

I narrowed my eyes. "Why would they build the boiler room inside the Filing Cabinet?"

He shook his head. "Beats me. But these piles seem to be running hot water through the building."

I acknowledge his statement with a nod. The sound of water falling on the floor echoed in the distance as we silently ventured on. Percy's dress shoes click-clocking against the stone floor, so loudly, I could have sworn he was wearing high heels. My shoes, thankfully, were flats. My steps were nearly soundless as I strolled down the long corridor of machines, save for the occasional scuffing of my feet here and there.

Somewhere between the maze of pipes, a small fire flickered lovingly against slow-moving machines. The light was casting a lovely orange color against the overwhelming canopy of blue lights. Just then, a realisation came to me.

"Hey. What if this boiler room is just some decoy for the Filing Cabinet?"

"I really doubt that..." Percy frowned up at the ceiling, then looked at something behind him. "There is no way. This has to be the real deal, or else Everett would have informed me."

"Are you sure he would have? I mean, can you really trust what he tell you?"

"Definitely. I fully trust the man. We just need to travel further to see the good stuff, I think," Percy decided. He pushed passed me, and walked to the end of the hall until he was faced with a set of double-sided doors. I went to his side, glancing up at the caution sign that read: Biological hazard Authorized Personnel only. The doors reminded me of the sort of doors you see in hospitals but without the rectangular little windows. The wall to my left even had a set of hooks that held four long white-coats and a few dozen surgical masks.

"Should we be putting these coats and masks on?" I asked Percy, rubbing my arms to keep my hair from standing on ends. It was surprisingly cold in here. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind the extra layer."

Another hiss in the distance made me turn around.

I looked behind me, eyeing the silhouettes danced against the machinery. My eyes were playing tricks on me, morphing the darkness into strange shapes. I knew that if I stared too long, my eyes would begin to create people that weren't actually there. So, I refused to allow my stare to explore further. Watching my shadow dance against the two large doors instead.

Percy sighed. "Though I hate the look of these masks, it's probably a good idea to put on the 'Personal Protective Equipment' before entering any 'hazardous environment.' We can't anticipate what awaits us past this point. It's always better to be more safe than sorry." Extending his arm over my head, he took one white lab coat off the hanger. "Am I right?"

Following his lead, I wrapped myself inside a frigid lightweight coat and found that it did absolutely nothing to keep me from shivering. "Oh my gosh, Percy. Look at you. I don't think I've ever seen you in plain white before."

"Probably the only time you'll ever see it too. Best to take a good mental picture while you can."

"Already ahead of you." With my index and my thumb, I took a fictitious picture of him. "This is going to be placed in my core memory folder forever."

"You're such a noob, kid," he said, tossing me aside playfully, and grabbing for the door. He too was wearing latex gloves, as a precaution. "Put on a mask and let's go."

I placed one of the surgical masks over my mouth and nose and – hopeful that it had not been worn before today - I took a deep calming breath and let Percy push the double doors open.

An even colder gust of air welcomed us and clung to me like glue. "Why does it keep getting colder!"

The long frigid hall led to another room, it was properly lit by motion sensored neon-lights. Though the room beyond was obscured, I realised that, from this point onward, the motion sensored lights would come on the minute we walked into the next room.

"Perhaps they keep the thermostat so low, to keep stuff from decomposing?" Percy suggested.

"I'm sorry." I chuckled awkwardly. "Did you just say: 'to keep stuff from decomposing?'"

"Yes, Ashlyn. You know, because our scientists occasionally do autopsies in here... And usually Autopsies happen after something has died."

"Then..." My lips parted. "Do you think it's likely that we'll see a dead Document in there?"

He shrugged, concentrating on his surroundings. "Maybe."

I shuddered. "Welp, I sure didn't think about that, before I waltzed in here."

"There is a lot that I doubt ran through your mind before you came in here," he corrected. "I stand by my original statement that this is a bad idea."

Percy made his way down the hall. Now that the machines were behind closed doors, his shoes echoed even louder against that polished floor.

It was comical to see that the further we were going into the filing Cabinet the more anxious I was becoming, and the more curious Percy seemed to get. It was as if our energies had switched.

"Should we turn back?"

His brows jumped up. "Are you about to chicken out on me, Miss Gibson? Should I remind you that you're the one who insisted on coming here."

"I'm not about to chicken out. I just... would prefer to have a fair warning before I stumble upon something dead." The corners of my mouth dipped under the mask. "And if there is little grey alien laying on a surgical table, I'd rather be able to avoid it completely. If I can help it, anyway. I knew there would be a chance I'd see something extra-terrestrial stuff, of course, but I haven't heard rumours of anyone finding an alien body in decades." I felt a chill run up my spine that had nothing to do with the temperature. "So, I didn't think I'd ever happen upon one in here... though now, that's what I'm afraid of."

Percy took my elbow in his hand and halted my steps. "Ashlyn, listen, Aliens are very difficult to capture. The only time we humans even got to examine one, was in 1947 when a UFO mysteriously crashed over Roswell." He leaned closer. "If it makes you feel any better, Everett told me that they have a separate room designated for anything Extra-terrestrial. So, even if the U.N.P.A miraculously did capture an alien without our knowledge, we would never just casually stubble upon it." He let go of my elbow and waved the thought away with both hands. "There's really nothing for you to stress about, Girlfriend. I promise."

"Rest assured, if I heard that aliens were living within these walls, I would never have attempted to visit the Filing Cabinet at all. I'm okay with seeing U.F.O s, but only from afar. I'm not sure how I would feel being in the same room as an extra-terrestrial." One of my brows jumped up. "I probably would barf."

He gave my shoulder a comforting tap. "Ew." And we walked on.

A neon light flicked-on, and series of wooden book shelves appeared, seemingly holding more than just books. The shelves lined up one after the other in a queue that faded into somewhere beyond.

We reached the first bookshelf. It was filled with animal feed, toys, a tranquiliser gun and some clothing that looked like - some kind of armor?

"Well, that's an interesting little setup, isn't it?" I said, running my gloved fingers over the firearm. My fingers could feel the chill of the metal through the fabric. "My god, it's real."

Then, with the same attention-grabbing-power as lightning across a cloudless sky, I noticed a big zoo-like glass enclosure that covered the entire wall to my left. It seemed to be approximately the size of a high school classroom. And from the look of it, it had to contain something big. Something very big. For a minute, it was like being a child again, visiting the zoo and waiting to catch sight of some wild animal.

"Perse, look!"

My body crawled with invisible insects as I eagerly walked to the cage to press my hands firmly against the glass. It was warm. The inside of the enclosure was filled with vegetation and was canopied by heat lamps that warmed the tips of my fingers.

Percy said something, but from this distance, the mask encumbered his words.

"What did you say?"

"I said: 'be careful.'" Percy warned, taking off his face-cover so I could hear him better. "You don't know what kind of beast is in there. Keep a safe distance from that glass, please."

The situation became less juvenile once I realized that the enclosure could contain something lethal - I took a few steps back without arguing. Pulling my skirt down as I stationed myself a few meters away. Damn, I wish I would have chosen pants this morning.

"What do you think is in there?"

His brows furrowed. "What?"

Like him, I took off my mask and repeated myself: "What creature do you think is in there?"

"Oh." He shrugged. "No clue." He narrowed his eyes at the large enclosure, studying its contents. "Let's have a look at the paperwork and find out." He pointed to a spot beside the enclosure door, and click-clocked to a clipboard that had been placed in a transparent plastic pocket. Percy delicately skimmed through the many pages of the creature's file, careful not to accidentally dogear the paper as he did. His gloves - at times - snagged on the corners, but he took his time flipping through the pages. "Let's see..."

Growing impatient, I turned away and concentrated on the clusters of trees behind the glass. I narrowed my eyes at the shadows, unsure if I could see movement or if it was just my imagination playing tricks on me. For a second there, I could have sworn I saw two eyes staring back at me.

Unable to help myself, my hands found their way back against the tall glass and I squinted as if it could allow me to see more clearly.

Percy snorted, and I flinched.

"What?" I asked.

"You're not going to believe this."

"Okay." I crossed my arms with a smirk. "Try me."

"It's a freaking Sasquatch."

My mouth slacked. "Sasquatch?" I scoffed. "As in Bigfoot? Are you serious?"

"One of its kind. Yes. There's more than one out there," he informed me.

My head snapped back to the heap of shadows before me. "Holy shit! Bigfoot?" I groaned. "Argh, why can't I see anything?"

"It's probably because he's a nocturnal creature."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course, he is." I bit my lower lip. "What else does his file say?"

"Um... It says that the Sasquatch likes to be around water, and... Oh, apparently he can eat a human whole in one bite."

I gaped.

Percy shrugged.

"Well, it's a good thing we're on the other side of the glass then."

"I'd say," Percy said, walking up to me like some kind of professor doing a lecture, file at hand. "He is omnivorous. He apparently doesn't have a neck... Ha, just like my uncle Larry. Maybe my uncle Larry is part Bigfoot. I wouldn't be surprised, he has the hairiest back I've ever seen... Oh, and it says, here, that Bigfoot uses whistles and tree-knocking to lure his victims to their demise." Percy looked down at me and wiggled his fingers in my face. "Spooky stuff."

I slapped his hand away. "Tree knocking? What's that even supposed to mean?"

"I assume it means: knocking on trees? His file also says that he was born in the era of the first sun." Percy hummed with interest. "Sounds poetic. And records show that this creature has been around since Aztec times."

"Oh wow." For a moment, I debated knocking on the glass to get Bigfoot's attention. Would he find it rude if I did? Or be angry if I woke him? "So, does that mean he's 'immortal' or something?"

"Pfft, nah." Percy pushed his red glasses up the ridge of his nose. "I think they mean the species has been around since the beginning of time."

"Right. That makes more sense."

"Should we continue on? I don't think he'll be awake anytime soon, it's only four in the afternoon."

I sighed heavily. "I guess so."

"Don't be so discouraged. I'm sure we'll be able to come back and try to spot the Bigfoot before we leave," he said, shoving the clipboard back into the plastic pocket. "If time permits."

"Fine!"

As we walked away from the vegetation-dense Bigfoot-enclosure, some motion sensor lights turned on, and any oncoming darkness quickly dissipated. A long queue of bookshelves came into view.

A library of cassettes. Rows after rows of VHS cassettes and boxes upon boxes of – what I could only assume – was evidence captured throughout the years. All aisles were ordered by dates, ranging from early 1900 all the way to the 2024.

Looking above the multitude of shelves, I noticed a round green light shining straight ahead just below the ceiling. It beckoned me. All the way towards the back of the library of records. Ignoring all the bookshelves, I got closer to the leaf-green light. It was the size of a baseball, and as I turned the corner of the last bookshelf, I saw that this peculiar light crowned the top of a metallic chamber door. The strange Vault-like room that was isolated from the rest of the Filing Cabinet.

Nearing the door, I found that the Vault could only be accessed through the use of a hand print. Yet, despite that fact, the door was already ajar.

The word "access granted" flashed across the Handprint-Lock-Screen. I debated cracking the door open, just far enough to have a peek inside. That was until I noticed the words 'extra-terrestrial' engraved atop the thick silver handle.

The shock turned my hand to stone, and my breath caught. A flashback I had long tried to obliterate from my memories surged faster than I could stop it, and before the fear could encumber me, I managed to shake off long enough to back away from the thick metallic vault.

"Ashlyn, where did you go?" Percy said from the other side of a bookshelf. "You'll never guess what I found over by... Hey, what's that?"

"Better question is..." I swallowed. "Why is it open?"