Santana follows you down the narrow concrete stairs as the rooftop door swings shut above. Its latch clicks, muting the wind and leaving only the maintenance light’s muffled buzz.
His massive dreadlocks brush his crimson vest as he descends carefully behind you. The stairwell smells of dust and cold concrete, and the walls carry each footstep downward.
Santana
When are you going to tell Eric Greyman about the military? About the scientist who made you, and the people still looking for you?
Santana keeps his voice low, careful not to let it travel through the stairwell. He pauses between landings, giving the question room without pressing closer.
Santana
I am not asking you to confess everything tonight. I am asking whether he deserves to hear it from you before someone else tells him.
A faint vibration trembles through the railing from a nearby service door. The light above flickers once, warning that this private pause cannot last indefinitely.
Santana
We have one more landing before the lower hall. What do you want him to know?
✓ Quest Accepted
Dodge the question
“I keep descending, letting the service door's vibration answer for me.”
You keep descending without answering. The service door’s vibration continues through the railing, steady and faint, while your footsteps carry you toward the lower landing.
Santana
All right. Keep moving.
Santana follows at the same careful distance, letting your silence stand. The maintenance light hums overhead as the stairwell bends toward the service level.
The vibration fades as you pass the door’s level, replaced by the soft echo of pipes and the distant throb of building machinery.
Santana
You do not have to explain it to me. Just do not let the silence choose the timing for you.
You reach the final landing. A gray lower-hall door waits ahead, its narrow wired-glass window glowing with muted fluorescent light.
Quest Complete
Dodge the question