—Jeremy
Scratch Scratch
My name is Jeremy.
Scratch Scratch
Team Leader Jeremy.
Scratch Scratch
I have curly hair.
Scratch Scratch
I'm a female
Scratch Scratch
I'm a male
Scratch Scratch
Cael's my teammate
…
Scratch Scratch
Who is Cael?
Suddenly I felt a stare on my back, and as I turned around, he was there. black hair, skinny, tired looking eyes, Right, he's Cael.
"Who are you?"
"Jeremy. You're Team Leader."
"…" He went silent
"Who am I—?" He said pointing at himself.
"Your Cael. my teammate."
"I see—?" He said scratching his head, then.
Thud
He fainted.
—
Who am I?
Scratch Scratch
The wall says I'm Jeremy.
I trust the wall.
"Excuse me…" His voice again, right he was my teammate ████████…
Who was he again? I thought to myself as I glanced at the wall.
Cael's my teammate.
"Your Cael, my teammate."
He looked at me for a moment before he left.
Scratch Scratch
Cael asked me a question. What was the question again?
Thud.
This was probably the 200th time someone fell, possibly fainted. No one really cared anymore, it happened to often.
"SHE'S NOT BREATHING"
Thud Thud Thud Thud
As those words were said many people gathered to see her, but I didn't care, there was something far more important then it
Scratch Scratch
"TURN HER OVER" Said a voice
"No Wait—" said another.
"Why?"
"Why turn her over?"
"…"
Then there was silence, and it was suddenly interrupted
"MOVE—MOVE" Someone's voice could be heard, it sounded familiar. I think.
"27."
"26."
"25."
He muttered, then he stopped for a while
"WHAT COMES NEXT?"
Silence.
"Chest." suddenly someone spoke, It was annoying, it was shifting my focus.
Scratch Scratch
"You press the chest."
"Right. That's what you're supposed to do."
Then silence again when suddenly.
COUGH
"EVE"
GHHHK—
COUGH COUGH COUGH
The voice of someone coughing could be heard, her voice sounded familiar, but I didn't know who, and for a while that was the only thing I could hear, until she said.
"Who are you?" The girl said in a confused manner
"Amanda." someone reflexively answered.
"Amanda." the voice sounded smaller this time, scared
"Amanda?"
Scratch Scratch
I need to keep writing.
—
CRRCRCKRCK
A sound could be heard. Coming from the double sided door. As everyone collectively looked at it, yet I didn't care, I need to keep writing.
CRACK
SQUELCH
Instinctively, I finally stopped writing and turned around. What looked Black Tendrils were seeping in. Coming Closer and closer
CRACK
But does it even matter?
I need to keep writing.
Scratch Scratch
I could hear some people screaming.
I didn't care.
Scratch Scratch
My name is Jeremy
Scratch Scratch
Team Leader Jeremy
"STOP WRITING" An unfamiliar voice, I only ignored it.
Scratch Scratch Crack Crumble
Hm?
The marker ran out of ink. I thought to myself as I looked at the wall. They were red. Then I looked at my hands. They were bloodied stained bright red. Did I switch to blood again? Doesn't matter.
Scratch Scratch
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Screams. Lots of them. Noisy. They were annoying, they were interrupting me.
Scratch Scratch
"RUNNNNNNNN" The screams were louder this time, they're even more annoying. Why?
Scratch Scratch
CRACK CRACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK CRUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Then the walls cracked.
Scratch Scratch
Dust fell, It didn't matter, the words were still there
Scratch Scratch
"███████!!!!" So noisy…
CRACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
Scratch Scra—
The wall shook. The padding beneath my hand trembled, my writing turned crooked.
Scratch Scratch
My name is Jeremy
RIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
Team lea██████der Jeremy
A long tear at my sentence.
CRUMBLEEE CRASHHHH
The Padding fell off.
SQUELCHHHHHHHHHH
The walls turned black, it didn't matter
RIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
Like skin being ripped apart.
Large sections fell off. Takings words with them. Hundreds.
M███ ██ JE███Y
█AEL ██ M█ T█████TE
Thousands.
RIPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
The words vanished.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Screams.
"HIIIIK" Cries.
Where should I write? My finger with red ink can't write without any walls. My hands frozen in place. I could only stared at what used to be the Wall.
What should I do?What should I do?What should I do?What should I do?What should I do?What should I do?What should I do?What should I do?What should I do?What should I do?—
SHOVE
"WRITE HERE" Someone shoved me a notebook. Who was it? It didn't matter. The notebook opened. in the first page, it was written.
YOUR NAME IS JEREMY.
The second page
KEEP MOVING
Someone grabbed my hand, The notebook didn't say anything about stopping people grabbing me, I didn't resist. The notebook only told me to Keep Moving. People were running. Why?
Thud Thud Thud Thud
The third page
DON'T STOP
The fourth page
FOLLOW THE CRACKS
Cracks? I thought to myself as I looked around still being dragged my someone. The room was moving—No people were moving,
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG
The people in dark blue were pointing strange objects behind us. The objects made noise. Very noisy. I didn't like it. I could hear people falling, screaming, crying, laughing, everything was just loud. Really Loud
I looked back at the notebook.
TEAM LEADER JEREMY
Right. I'm Jeremy. The notebook said so. Then suddenly the person dragging me stopped. Many people wearing white were standing near a huge crack that took my writing They held glowing rectangles. Rectangles. I knew rectangles.
The notebook was rectangular. Maybe they were writing too. One of them shouted something. I didn't understand, another shouted. Then another.
Everyone suddenly began moving toward the crack. The notebook didn't explain why. So I didn't care.
KEEP MOVING
Right.
As I continued to move I could hear something. It sounded Wet. Hungry. Like something breathing, then suddenly someone pushed me forward. The notebook almost slipped. I almost stumbled. I grabbed the notebook tighter. I can't lose it.
If I lose it—If I lose it—If I lose it—
What happens if I lose it?
Shiver
I couldn't remember. That scared me and For the first time in a long time. I felt scared.
Thud
I stumbled as the notebook flew from my hands.
"No."
NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNo
Not the notebook. Please. Not the notebook.
I reached for it but someone grabbed my arm that person and pulled me forward. The notebook disappeared. I couldn't see it anymore. I couldn't remember. Who was I? Why was I here? What was I doing?
Who was the person dragging me?
Who—Who—Who—Who—Who—Who—Who—Who—Who—Who—Who—Who—Who
Shove
someone shoved me. Hard. I fell forward. Straight into the crack.
Thud Thud Thud
CRUMBLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.
And Everything went white
—Cael Lucian
I remembered using the last question of the system. I knew it did, but I couldn't remember. Only fragments remain
White walls.
Blood.
Team Leader Writing
The timid one lifting
The blonde one forgetting to eat
CRACK SQUELCH RIPPPP
and—Something Black. Something wrong
I slowly turned towards what used to be the door, black mass crawled across the floor, over the wall, across the ceiling. Whatever it touches—disappears. Someone ran pass me, wearing something white
Then another and another. One of them was carrying a glowing rectangle It was cracked. Voices echoed throughout the room.
"What ███ the answer?"
"██at did the █████████ say?"
"Does any███ remember?"
"ANYTHING WE NEED AN████"
My head hurts.
I knew the answer was important.
Important enough for me to ask the last question But every time I tried to remember, the thought slipped away. Like trying to hold water in a cracked glass.
White walls.
Blood.
Writing.
Something Black.
And—A crack, a crack in the wall, a crack in the ceiling.
A crack in reality
"The cracks..." The words escaped my mouth without realizing. And nearby, someone wearing white froze.
"What?"
"The cracks."
That was all I remembered. Nothing else.
The one with white stared at me. Then toward the black something. Then toward the fractures running across the room. Then toward the tablet. he person's eyes widened.
"THE CRACKS!"
Everyone nearby stopped.
"Check the cracks!"
"WHO STILL HAS A █████████?!?! "
"I NEED EVERY ██████ HERE!"
Suddenly the room exploded into motion. The people in gathered together. Some formed a line. The rectangles pointed toward the cracks and soonPeople began shouting something.
"█████████"
"█████████"
Things I couldn't understand, one of them pointed
"There!"
Another.
"That one!"
A third slammed his hand against a crack running across reality itself.
"It's stable!"
Stable? What's stable. I didn't know. My thoughts were becoming foggy again. But everyone else ██████ looked ██████.
For the first time since I'd arrived here.
██████ ██████ ██████
Then s██████ shouted.
"████!!!"
And everyone ran.
"Oh finally back huh?" Old Man Randy's voice could be heard.
"Thought you youngling's skipped—What the. You kids good?" And he stopped in his tracks.
Our bodies covered in dried blood out no where, Eve looked ragged, her body looked fine, yet her eyes looked hollow, Amanda was doing shoulder presses while holding absolutely nothing, and Jeremy? somehow he looked fine. Just frozen in place. Was he fine?
[No.] The system's holographic screen went before turning to [2]
Somehow it was still there, even though in there it had turned to [0] multiple time, and as I was thinking of that—
"AGGHHHHHHHHH"
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAA"
"THEIR DEADDDDDD"
Horrified screams echoed throughout the living quarters, it was obviously from the cleaners from other quarters.
This incident itself is now called as "Hotel Prosperity" an incident where approximately 20 R-classes, 300 Cleaners, 50 Security guards and 180 Researchers were transported into what seems to be a mix of countless Fiction.
In the end, the casualty ended with 12 R-class dead, 120 Cleaners, 40 Security Guards and 20 Researchers Dead.
8 of the security guards, 40 Researchers and 60 Cleaners resigned. with the most common reason being, "I can't handle this anymore."
All surviving retirees underwent memory treatment and were provided lifetime compensation under the classification of Service-Related Psychological Trauma.
And for us?
Jeremy carried a notebook and pen everywhere he went. Unless the task required specialized equipment, the notebook never left his side. Nobody questioned it. Not after Hotel Prosperity.
Eve always carried energy bars. Every pocket. Every bag. Every locker. She still smiled, still acted the way she used to. but I don't think she even realized she was doing this unconsciously
Amanda would occasionally stop whatever she was doing and perform a single repetition.
One push-up. One curl. One shoulder press.
Then she'd continue as if nothing happened. Nobody questioned that either. Not after Hotel Prosperity.
As for me?
"HAH—HAH—HAH—"
I jolted awake.
My clothes soaked in sweat.
BaDump BaDump BaDump
My heart was pounding. For a few brief moments, I couldn't tell where I was.
White walls.
Blood.
Names scratched into concrete. A girl asking how to eat. A boy asking what his name was. A door cracking open. Black tendrils. Then reality slowly returned. My apartment. My room. My bed. I had tried everything.
Sleeping pills.
Meditation.
Music.
Lucid dreaming.
None of it worked. Some memories simply refuse to fade. And that's fine. Because in the end. We survived. And sometimes—That's enough.
Humans are forgetful creatures
Alas.
We can only move on.