My eyes slowly opened and I uncontrollably winced. I hadn't noticed when I first came to my senses inside the room but it was extremely bright. It made sense that in the morning, when waking it would be especially glaring.

Wait, morning?

I couldn’t accurately say the time of day now that I thought about it. It seemed the room was this constant state of white, and bright, 24/7. I slowly rose up in bed. At the very least, if nothing else was good, the bed was extremely comfortable.

Sure, L’ Boh may have brought us here against our will but at least he had good taste in mattresses. Then again, that might have been a vain attempt at coping with the insanity of the situation I found myself in.

I raised my arms over my head, stretching. If I had to rate the stretch it would be a decent 7/10, I didn’t bask in the sensation too long though. There were things to accomplish.

I hopped out of bed. “Alright Gabby. I didn’t think of anything before sleeping but I think we could figure something… out?”

Huh? There was no Gabby. I was looking at the opposite side of the room, where Gabby’s bed had been prior and now it was noticeably gone. Also, the girl’s figure was absent. “Gabby?” I repeated, rubbing my eyes before opening again and she still wasn’t there.

Before my confusion, which was already sky high, could increase, I heard a familiar voice.

“Good afternoon my alien.”

My head quickly whipped to the right, my eyes raising up to the monitor screen. Once again, L’ Boh was filling it. The background seemed to be the same, being a room of white with a desk and computer; but unlike the previous day he had a black button up on.

“What’s going on!?” I shouted, a mixture of confusion and anxiousness pouring from my mouth.

L’ Boh chuckled, a no-good-smirk dressing his face before he responded. “A lot actually. It seems, while you were sleeping so leisurely, your fellow alien decided to take off.”

“B-but how? There was no way out.”

The man scoffed, “Well, there clearly is if she was able to leave.”

Never before had I wanted to punch someone so bad.

If it was his tone or simply the situation to begin with, I was beyond irritated. I couldn’t even blame Gabby for her initial outburst the first day we arrived. When someone treated you like you were stupid; irritation was a natural response.

It took all I had to respond calmly. “So, what do I need to do?”

“Just the same thing as last time. Find the exit.”

“And… how would I do that?”

L’ Boh released a genuinely disappointed sigh. “Argh, I’ll give you a hint. Stop trying to see with your eyes.”

“Huh? What do you mean—”

“Okay, great awesome talk goodbye!!” And then, the screen cut to black. Silence filled the vast white room.

He really just left didn’t he….

“You gotta be kidding me!” I yelled. My voice full of anger reverberated, a bi-product of solitude.

I couldn’t really say how long I sat in silence after that. After all, there were no clocks, no natural light to display a passage of time; the only thing I had were my ragged breaths. I may have put on the cool guy act earlier, like I wasn’t really bothered, but that was because I wasn’t alone.

The fact Gabby was with me meant figuring out a way to escape wouldn’t be a solo project. It meant I would be able to send words outward, and receive vocal feedback in return. However, now that it was just me, the only thing I could do was receive from myself. From now on anything I would say, anything I thought had nothing to separate it. It would all blur together.

After however long I sat in silence, I stood. I traced the walls dozens of times; each go-around I tried a different area. In my mind I split up the space in different rows, going over each part slowly and meticulously. Eventually, when that grew old, I returned to my only place of respite; my precious queen sized bed.

I fell onto it back first; bouncing up once before lying still. I stared at the ceiling, having little to no thoughts filling my mind. I simply stared upward.

Before I could space out, effectively retiring my brain from further function for the foreseeable future, something stuck out as odd to me. Even though there should have been a ceiling above, due to everything being white; I wasn’t actually sure of the distance of it. Was it close? Super far?

Even when I stood on the bed, reaching my hand upward it didn’t seem any closer or further to me. It also didn’t help that as far as I knew, even if I was touching it; the sensation wouldn’t register. Then, L’ Boh’s words seemed to echo in my mind.

“Stop trying to see with your eyes.”

I stepped off the bed, my fleet planting themselves onto the floor.

Reflecting on L’ Boh’s words was equally confusing as when I heard them initially, but nonetheless I decided to listen; shutting my eyes. Having them open didn’t bring any results anyway.

I took a deep breath in, before letting a long exhale out. I must have been standing still, eyes closed, doing nothing but breathing in and out for about a minute, before I felt something. At first, it was like a gnawing feeling, ebbing in my chest.

It wasn’t my heartbeat per say, it was… different. I couldn’t quite place the exact word to describe it, but my chest felt full. A sense of peace overcame me. With my eyes closed, and being all alone, I should have felt vulnerable, anxious even, but neither of those things were my current state.

If anything, I felt powerful. As if I was in control.

Removing this jarring room of white from my direct focus, helped me to take a step back, and recollect myself. The full feeling in my chest, spread out through my whole body. It rose from my chest to the top of my head, and then sank to the soles of my feet.

But, it didn’t stop there. That sensation spread out even beyond my body. Though my eyes were closed, I felt like I could see my surroundings, or to be more specific feel them. It was like I was becoming one with the room.

I realized it might have been something similar to what bats or dolphins experience, a form of echolocation. However, unlike those animals, which had to emit sound, I could sense everything just by standing where I was.

With my eyes open, the room would have appeared to be pure white, with no differences to be gleamed, but with the observative state I was in, it was much more distinct. Besides the monitor placed higher against the wall, I noticed something else: a long rectangular structure. It took me a few seconds to recognize it as a door. But, there was no handle. It appeared to have a singular button on the right side where a traditional handle would have been.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

While still having my eyes closed, I turned to my left, taking step after step until I was in front of the structure.

I raised my hand to where the button would be, but before pressing I opened my eyes. In front of me, appeared to be the plain white wall, just as it had seemed before I sensed differently. I shut my eyes again, taking a deep inhale before exhaling once more.

Once again, I felt like I could properly see in front of me. The door was in the same place, unmoving; my hand was in the proper place to press should I choose to move it forward.

My lips curled into a smirk. “Well this is weird. Maybe I am an alien after all.” I joked to myself.

Then, without further thought, I pressed the door’s button. Instead of it opening like I expected, under where I stood, a hole suddenly opened up.

“Wha—arughtsvudsg!”

Without warning, I slid down the hole, my eyes opening in a mixture of surprise and fear. I was gliding down what I could only hope was a slide of sorts, going extremely fast. It was a dizzying descent down the slide, the sensation of speed and movement intensified by my inability to see anything in the pitch-black tunnel.

The seconds stretched on like an eternity, and I began to wonder if I had made a terrible mistake. Panic bubbled up within me as I hurtled through the darkness, throat sore from my continuous screaming.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the slide came to an abrupt end, depositing me onto a solid surface with a thud. I groaned, disoriented and sore from the rapid descent.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a place utterly unlike the sterile, white room I had been in before. First of all, there were dozens of voices filling the space. I appeared to be in… a cafeteria? That was the only way to describe it. From the long rectangular tables to short stool-like seats. It was clearly a cafeteria.

People filled each table, as some were walking to their own with trays in hand. Several people shot glances toward me, some mistrusting, others merely curious.

I raised my hand, giving the most confident wave I could muster. But given the instant break of eye-contact from all in the room I’m guessing it wasn’t much.

I released a sigh. With my introduction falling flat, I turned to look at my surroundings. Behind me, was the exit to a slide. That’s where I came from, I thought. However, a sudden panel appeared from inside it, sealing the open hole. Now, I was truly stuck here.

The cafeteria was very plain, with basic beige coloring for the walls and oak-like tables. Besides the lack of windows, once again keeping it vague where we were, it was nothing special…

As I was casually admiring the woodwork of the tables, at one table in particular a familiar patch of blonde hair caught my eye. In an instant I started making my way toward the table, walking in between tables and passing by people walking.

“Hey!” I said, grabbing the woman’s shoulder.

Turning her around, I was able to see her clearly—it was Gaby. She was around roughly four people, and given the sudden hush at the table it was likely they had been talking. That wasn’t my concern however.

“Oh. Astrello… Hey.” She let out an awkward chuckle. It was like she hadn’t expected to see me.

“You left me!”

“Okay—look, you can’t be mad at me. I discovered the door, and was let out fair and square.”

“Really?”

Gaby released an indignant huff. “Yeah. I mean, it’s not my fault you were slow to catch on.”

“The least you could have done was wake me!”

“Well, I didn’t, and you’re here now so why does that matter!”

“You know what…” I paused. It was clear this conversation was going knowhere. I was hoping to at least get an apology or semblance of the impression she felt guilty but no. It was clear she held no such feelings.

Also, I started noticing many eyes fixed on me. I was making a scene.

I took a deep breath to calm myself before releasing. “Fine. Whatever.” And then, I stormed away from the table, not looking back.

I wasn’t going to let my emotions get the better of me. In that situation, I would have alerted my other roommate about the escape hatch, but I couldn’t expect anyone to be like me. After all, I didn’t really know who “me” even was.

I approached what I could only guess was the food line. I fell into it, and while a few people in this line were talkin to each other, most weren’t: appearing uneasy. It was good to know I wasn’t the only one uncomfortable here.

After a while of waiting, I eventually stepped up far enough to scan the options. They were… lackluster to say the least. Rice, a singular piece of some kind of meat and an apple. What were they trying to do, starve us?

Regardless, I took each option. The way the food was placed was a sort of conveyor belt. There was a tray that was sent out, each having the same options.

So far, from what I could see, besides those of us on the outside who were getting food, there was no kind of kitchen staff. I mean, it was possible there was someone behind the wall, operating the conveyor belt but besides that there was no one.

“Do we not have to pay for this…?” I heard someone mutter from behind me.

I turned around, seeing a man. He was scrawny, no wider than a twig. He was shorter as well, having brown hair and freckles. We made eye-contact, and just then I realized I had been staring somewhat. To break up the awkwardness I spoke. “Doesn’t look like it. I’m Astrello, what’s your name?” I asked, outstretching my hand.

“Archie.” He said, returning the shake. He then grabbed his own tray and we continued walking.

“Isn’t this crazy?”

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“This whole situation. I mean, you were brought here against your will—right?”

“Yeah. I don’t remember how though,” he answered.

We both arrived at a table, this one was a bit close to the food-pick up area. I noticed Gaby seated a few tables away. She was chatting with people at her table, with a smile on her face. It took a decent amount of effort not to shoot daggers her way. I had resigned to let go of the situation anyway. She didn’t owe me any loyalty but it still sucked.

“But you do remember stuff before coming here, right?” I asked, turning my attention back to Archie.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I?” He asked, taking a bite of his rice.

“I don’t.”

He blinked. “Really?”

“Yep. It’s pretty strange. I only remember my name.”

He gave me a thoughtful look. Surprisingly, it didn't hold doubt in it, he just seemed curious. “Well... have you tried asking anyone else if they’ve experienced the same?”

“Not really. I'm still getting my bearings honestly—”

Suddenly, a pained scream erupted through the air. The cafeteria instantly silenced.

I turned toward the source of the sound. There was a man standing over another with a blood-soaked fork in his hands. I instinctively flinched at the sight.

“W-why did you do that!?” The man who was on the ground cried out, sliding back. He was clutching his neck, which had blood leaking from it.

The one holding the fork had bright red hair, which was unique to say the least. It had to be dyed, or at least that’s what I thought. The man didn’t look old, probably not a digit over twenty. A manic smile dressed his face. “I just wanted more food. And thank you for supplyinggg,” he said, with a little singing tone.

Then, as if nothing happened he sat down at the table, grabbing a tray to his left and sliding it over in front of him. He then proceeded to use the bloody fork to scoop the rice with. The sound of his humming along with his occasional bites filled the room, as he seemed pleased with himself.

The wounded man whimpered, as he continued to slide away, a few people rose to their feet to help him.

In this situation, it was clear no one knew what to do. I almost wished something would have happened, someone calling the guy out, asking why he did what he did, but instead, conversation simply resmed in the cafeteria.

I felt a chill run down my spine. What just happened?

It was clear some people were uncomfortable, from the gazes they shot toward him, but others seemed unbothered. I turned my attention back to Archie, to ask him if that was weird to him but his face said all I needed to know. He was horrified.

“Right?” I said, a slight breath of relief leaving my lips. “What just happened, man?”

“I… don’t know. But whatever that was, I didn’t like it.”

“Yeah. Same.”

The wounded man was patched up now, several napkins were wrapped together then used as a sort of bandage for him.

Both Archie and I just sat in silence for a while, deep in our minds. But, eventually we too continued to eat, and talk to each other. However, in the back of my mind I had one thought. I have to get out of here. No matter what.