Everything went downhill

As they entered the decrepit castle, her three rookie companions remained as chatty as stone gargoyles. No names, no chatter—just focused on the task. She had tried introducing herself earlier, but they'd shut her down quickly,faster than she could blink, leaving her with no idea who they were and no desire to make small talk anymore. Fine by her,no name game then. After all, they were mercenaries, not a social club. When she had tried earlier to exchange names, they'd shot her down faster than she could blink. Fine.

Byte's voice crackled in her ear.

"Alright, gang, let's keep it simple: standard sweep —nothing fancy. Each of you cover your assigned areas. If you find anything weird, don't touch it, just report it. I don't want to explain to HQ why one of you is missing a limb because you poked a cursed vase."

"Got it, captain obvious. What a confidence booster. Makes me feel super safe," she muttered, earning a slight chuckle from him.

One of the rookies shot her a look."Shh. No distractions.This isn't a joke."

She raised an eyebrow. "Right. God forbid I mess up this well-oiled machine of silence". She said that and then shut up but continued internally "or make this grim scavenger hunt even remotely tolerable".

Byte ignored the banter.

"Rookie C, you're clearing the second floor.—" he didn't bother with names since no one had them, "—Rookie A, you take the west wing. Rookie B, you're on the north corridor. You—head to the alchemy lab on the top floor. There should be some 'historically interesting' items there." 

She sighed. "Historically interesting? I bet it's just broken furniture. Or I'll find a collection of spider webs and maybe a cursed book or two."

Byte chuckled again.

"Lucky you.Just don't summon any demons, alright?"

They moved quietly through the castle, swiping each room with well-rehearsed efficiency. The rookies split off, as directed, leaving her to ascend to the top floor.

Byte's voice kept coming through, directing them where to go, giving them tips about certain rooms, and generally ensuring they didn't get themselves killed by tripping over something. She couldn't deny it—despite his nerdy exterior, Byte knew his stuff.

The staircases creaked under her weight, making her feel like the castle itself was groaning in displeasure. As she reached the alchemy lab, she was greeted by what looked like the set of a low-budget horror movie lab or if you want to be a bit generous, a room straight out of a Gothic novel.Shelves lined the walls, covered in cobwebs and filled with jars and vials of dubious content. A large wooden table in the center had a display of bones, strange relics, and what appeared to be dark, brown stains. Gross.

"Well, someone really loved their tobacco," she muttered, crouching down to take a closer look.

"Nope," Byte's voice cut in, matter-of-factly. "That's dried blood."

She froze for a second. "Oh, fantastic."

"Just grab a few samples, like I instructed. Three places should do it."

She sighed and pulled out her kit, carefully collecting the samples without touching anything directly. The air in the room felt heavier the longer she stayed. The dull light filtering through the cracks in the old shutters did little to comfort her, casting shadows that seemed to stretch out in odd shapes. Something about the place gave her the creeps.

Everything was going smoothly, until one of the rookies—Rookie C the C class guy—stumbled upon a hidden door on the second floor. It looked like an ordinary piece of the wall, but with a push, it creaked open, revealing a staircase that spiraled down. The stairs disappeared into the darkness below.

Byte's voice broke the silence again. This time with a tension she hadn't heard before.

"That... wasn't on the map."

"Great," she whispered sarcastically. "Isn't this where the horror movie starts?"

Byte didn't seem amused. "Rookie C, head down there. Take a partner. The both of you continue the sweep."

The Rookie C rookie hesitated but followed orders. Another rookie B, the quieter of the group, joined him. Both vanished into the shadows, their footsteps growing fainter.

——————————————————————————————

She collected the samples, careful not to touch anything directly, and just as she tucked the last one into a secure pouch, everything went downhill.

 Byte: Hey, where's C-class? He's not responding."

She froze, her heart skipping a beat.

"Wait, what do you mean? Isn't he with his partner?"

"Yeah, but I lost their comms feed. The tracker shows they are still in the building—somewhere below. The thing is... there shouldn't be any 'below.' My maps don't show any basement or lower levels."

She gripped her weapon tighter, the urge to get the hell out of the castle growing stronger by the second. "I don't like this, Byte. Something feels... off."

"Noted," Byte replied. "But you have your orders. Hold your position."

A chill ran down her spine. That wasn't good. Her instinct screamed at her to get out of there. Go to the west wing. Escape. Forget the mission. Run. But she wasn't here to make her own decisions. She was a hired mercenary, and mercenaries didn't get to have free will.

 Byte's voice interrupted her thoughts again.

"Okay, I'm losing signal down there. Something's wrong. The rookie's tracker shows he's still in the building, but there's no visual. It's like there's a dead zone. My maps are satellite-based and sonar-calibrated. There shouldn't be any blind spots. A , you go down and report back. Don't wait, don't engage, look and come back up again."

She was left alone in the dusty alchemy room, staring at old bones and relics that seemed to whisper in the silence.

She let out a shaky breath. "So, what do we do? Send in me too to get eaten by whatever's down there?"

"Funny," Byte replied dryly. "But no, we wait until we know more."

She stared at the staircase in front of her, biting her lip.

"Are you sure about that? Something tells me we shouldn't be waiting around."

"I'm running simulations right now," Byte said, his usual coolness back in place. "Don't worry. We've got this."

She didn't like it, not one bit. The eerily silent forest outside, the gray sky, the cryptic hidden doors—all of it was unsettling. Every fiber of her body told her to leave. Byte might trust his tech and data, but she trusted her instincts. But orders were orders. So, she waited, heart pounding, as the remaining rookies disappeared into the dark stairwell, leaving her alone in the room with only dusty occult artifacts and her own growing unease for company.