It took little guesswork but a lot of effort to get out of the stasis lab for Erb, but the hall was no better.

The once clean wooden ceiling had long since collapsed, white walls now black with mould, and medicinal air replaced by a rank and mouldy smell making him choke.

He found a rebreather in his gear, the halo floating around his neck like a black steel ring that gave him a heads-up display too.

He trudged through ankle-deep water that filled the halls here, it must have been pouring in for a long time evident by the flooded stairwell he passed that was right to the top, only the railing and signs indicating it was there.

Erb made his way along the hall following signs that said “You are Here,” but nothing looked familiar. He had vague flashes now and then that made his head hurt, but nothing he could call useful. This place was a mystery, he only seemed to know stuff that seemed second nature, and otherwise followed his digistruct tool and the prompts on his heads-up guide.

Otherwise, Erb felt lost.

“Hey, puppy?”

All he had was that barking.

It’d gotten louder the longer he walked. Where at first it seemed to carry on through the air vents, now he heard it loud and clear echoing through the halls.

“I’m here bud! Keep barking!”

And as every time before Fido started barking again.

He wasn’t set on the name yet, but Rex would tell him his name when they met, Erb was sure.

So on he walked, listing all the names he could think up, till finally, a door came into view that he had to pry open.

The sound of barking was loudest, and Erb couldn’t help but get excited. So far the only other sign of humanity he had crossed was a half a man’s torso that appeared to have been scorched into a wall opposite a blown console in a hallway he had chosen to stay out of.

“I’m here puppy,” Erb grunted, forcing the crowbar into the safety latch and twisting till it clicked and started to slide.

He looked carefully through the crack in the door, the lights in this room were off too, but no power at all, it was dark. He grabbed a pair of hover lights, little magnetic balls that worked like drones. He tossed them through the gap one at a time and watched as they spun up and lit the room with a bright glow.

The room was flooded here too, the barking echoing off the walls very loudly, this was for sure where the dog was.

But all he could see was what looked like furniture under white plastic sheets.

Erb gave another heave and the door groaned and shifted a little bit more. He considered making a torch to cut the door, but something like that may not get much run time before it depleted his resources.

“Ugh, if you’re in there, come here pup,” he growled.

“~State activation code~”

Erb felt stunned, “Uh? Ow!” The memory made his head hurt but then it hit him, “Rig recall, E R B, reset.”

And that was when one of the things he had assumed was a table stood and rushed the door.

Erb rolled back as his survival rig smashed through the door, barking happily to see him.