Chapter 30
[Survival]

A glowing red timer in an otherwise dark room counted down. Five. Four. Three.

Soon it reached zero and began flashing. A nearby display lit up. "Dead Man's Switch Triggered. Uploading..."

A progress bar appeared on the screen, working its way steadily. After several minutes, it was full.

More soft light spilled into the room from the inside of a curved, oblong chamber. Slowly, the lid lifted itself and pulled to the side.

Bare feet slapped on the cold, metal floor. He pulled on a white lab coat from a nearby hook, covering his nakedness. His hand flicked a switch, and the long, narrow room was bathed in cold, artificial light.

"Current date?" he asked the room.

An artificial voice responded. He'd only lost one day since his last memory backup.

He sat at a computer station. "Transfer all video logs 36 hours and newer."

Professor gently tapped his lip as he watched the videos. He could create a new body for the stasis chamber later. Now he needed to find out what had gone wrong.

He leaned back and watched the video feed, sparing a glance down the long room. Nearly three dozen other stasis chambers ran the length of the wall. Only the one was open.

Author's Afterward:

Thank you for reading.

I had intended for this to be the last entry in the Ladder series. Most of the mysteries of the series have been revealed or could be pieced together, and there's much less horror to be found in the known.

However, we are left with stories yet to be told. Holes in the past as well as an uncertain future. Perhaps these shall be fleshed out in a future Halloween season.

Until then, thank you for sharing this journey with me. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have.