“I followed a line of bare footprints across the dry carpet for a good while. At the end there was nobody, of course.”
Anyone who walks through Level 0 leaves footprints, steps stamped into the floor in the exact shape of whatever the survivor wears on their feet, and others can follow them. Creatures leave them too.
Footwear decides the shape
There are only three distinct prints:
| Footwear | |
|---|---|
| Boot | wide sole, staggered lugs, heel with bars |
| Sneaker | thinner sole, zigzag waves |
| Barefoot | arch, heel, five toes, soft outline |
What you are wearing registers a second late, not on the exact step when you put it on. Odd footwear counts as a sneaker. The left foot is the mirror image of the right. The print has relief: the inside pressed down and a slightly raised edge.
The floor decides whether there is a print
It depends on the material you step on, and nothing else:
- Only Level 0 and Level 2 keep footprints. Everywhere else, nothing.
- Metal, glass, tile, ceramic, marble, rubber, water, plastic, wood, stone, asphalt and linoleum: no print.
- The office carpet of Level 0 keeps the full print. Concrete only leaves a faint dust, barely visible. The wet floor of Level 2 keeps a wet print.
- If the carpet of Level 0 is damp, the print turns wet and the foot sinks in deeper.
The metal floors of the ducts never keep anything. The foot sinks into carpet and wet floor, but not into concrete.
How long they last
A print in carpet lasts 420 seconds, seven minutes. A wet one only 150. During the first third of its life it loses its sheen, and then it fades until it disappears. The wet print does not reflect light and simply looks darker and with more relief.
How to read them
A line of bare footprints on dry carpet means someone passed less than seven minutes ago. If they are dark and the relief is sharp, less than two and a half minutes ago. The footprints of other survivors and of creatures follow the same rules: if you see prints, someone or something left them. For your ears you have the footstep echo and the sound of footsteps.
How to survive
- Cross concrete or metal when you want to leave no trace. Carpet gives you away.
- Barefoot you make less noise, but the print is the easiest to recognize.
- If you see prints that stop for no reason, don’t follow them to the end.
What people say
- Prints have been seen that matched no known footwear.
- Some prints vanish ahead of time, and nobody can agree on how much.