Shadow on The Left

He mumbled to himself as he awoke. He was, as far as anyone was concerned, a weird, old, drunken man. He had hit his head a few times to remember the current date. A spark went through his head as he found out he was to start his job today. Dazed, the drunken man slowly crept up to his legs, and walked towards his door. He accidentally knocked his head on the door, and forgot the button he was supposed to press on the side of the wall before leaving. This now 42 year old man was one of the only four people to be alive after what seemed like the end of the world in 2064.

At this time, a group, a sort of council of investigators, had found a large sum of land drenched in shadows. This dark land had new, unrecorded creatures they needed to understand. They looked for land research specialists but every single one laughed at even the mention of this place. These men did many terrible things, and only a few people were left alive after what they had done in just 13 and a half years. These men were spared for one reason, everyone else would rather die than look to this land. The men of the group divided the land into five regions. Though it is temporary, they are named the shadow on the Left, Right, North, and South. The awkward naming for the ‘Left’ and ‘Right’ regions was just to make them easier to remember.

This man only ever went to one sector by the time he finished, but this is the most retold of the five stories. There was more information about this side as this was the only part of the land the investigators dared to glance at. Anyway, after leaving his room, the man walked down through an empty area and went through the suction powered passageway the investigator’s created. The passageway was slow compared to the standard, taking a long 128 picoseconds, but they were investigators, not scientists. Starting in this moment, the mid-life man’s adventure has just started.

As soon as the drunken man entered the office he spotted a few people. He walked to the desk and was greeted by a twenty-ish year old man. He was wearing a dark coat and a red, white, and purple tie. “Welcome to the Shadowless Exploration Office, or the SEO. You may walk through the door on your right, where you will meet two men." The man took a gasp of air and continued. “We will give you the information and items required for your first expedition inside.”

The multi-color tied man then walked to his left and went through the door. The drunken man took a small while to limp towards the room. Shortly, he entered and sat in the nearest chair. The man across from him was about his age and had a long, big beard that went down to the bottom of his neck. “Hello sir, you are one of the five living men (not in the SEO) in the world!” He then stretched his arms after scratching his beard. “As you may know, you cannot talk as your vocal cords have been removed. This is so you cannot quickly refuse your later mission.

He then stood up and went to another seat. A different man sat in his seat and grabbed a glass of water from one of the workers. This man had large glasses and a large shirt. “Your mission will be fairly simple. As we searched the area in the past, we found a few oddities and creatures. You must get a few photographs of those creatures.” He took a short pause and continued.

“Get a few DNA samples for research, and also to try the meat of these creatures. He had thought about mammoths for some unknown reason, and felt quite disturbed. “Heh, those aren't the only things we need of you, but either way.” The man put a suction powered backpack and a small glass container on the table. “This backpack can hold about 10,000 times its mass. This is due to new and improved vacuum suction technology.” The drunken man looked in to his new backpack. He found a small knife and some water.

“These items are what you should need for this first expedition. The backpack items are for your survival and minor expedition uses, the small glass container is for DNA collection.” The drunken man was about to put the small glass container into his new backpack. However, the researcher had stopped him. “For your knowledge, our suction technology is too pressurized for that glass, it wouldn't make it.” The drunken man had to awkwardly stick the glass into his pocket. The man continued. “After you put on your backpack, go to the north door and have someone lead you to the suction expository.”

The drunken man stood up with his backpack and was about to leave. Though, the bearded man had one more thing to say. “Remember, these missions are for your life. If you come back with nothing, you aren’t going to be dealt with nicely.” The bearded man smirked and slowly exited to his office. The drunken man gulped and left through the north door. Looking around the north room he spotted a woman who gave him a small map and walked away

The drunken man spent a while making it through what seemed like a cavern until he finally made it to the suction passageway. He held his breath, and entered.