The screen lit up, showing a closed-off garage. Tools were scattered everywhere and a car was hoisted above the ground. Zooming in through the car’s windscreen, the footage focused on Nico tied up in the middle of the car. Watching him slowly wake up, Ed nodded as he saw him keep his calm and not knock into the gear stick. At least his fate isn’t immediately sealed before he could do anything.

“Okay, very funny guys, now that you’ve had a laugh can you let me down? The client will be really pissed if they see us goofing off in their car.” I’m sorry Nico, but this isn’t a prank.

“Good morning, Nico. Right now, you should be finding yourself in an environment that you are quite familiar with... Gas is slowly leaking into the car, and the wires are faulty and could cause a spark at any time. Because of this, the vehicle has found itself in your repair shop, and it is your job to rectify the issues before it endangers anyone’s life. There is just one problem. You are currently on the inside of the car. You are used to breaking into cars, but how good are you at breaking out of one? Good luck, Nico.”

Hearing the engine roar to life, Ed hoped that Nico could quickly pull himself together and escape. Knowing what was to come, Ed watched him quickly release the front two belts, and stretch back to the other ones. Good start. Hearing the clicks and snaps of the belts, Ed watched him make quick progress towards his freedom.

Nico clumsily unravelled himself from the belts, carefully shifting towards the driver seat. Watching him try and open the door with all his might, Ed shook his head. Did he forget what Buddie said? It seems like the effects from the leak are starting to kick into gear. Ed winced as he watched Nico slam himself against the door, knowing that it was only making things worse.

Ed sighed as Nico stumbled towards the passenger seat, knocking into the gear stick. It looks like this one is over. The screen zoomed back out, showing the wires spark, setting the trail of oil alight. Through the window, Nico burst into action, looking around for a chance to escape.

Watching him slow back down, Ed knew that he won’t be able to escape. Watching him try and squeeze himself through the opening gap in the roof, Ed prepared for the inevitable explosion. Shifting his focus away from Nico, he watched as the fire trailed up the car, causing the trapped gas to combust.

BOOM!

Watching the explosion on his monitor, he turned around, expecting to find signs of the explosion in the room. Instead, he was met by near silence, the only sound in the room coming from the monitor. Why was there no sound? The room should be on the other side of the hallway by now, then why is there no signs of it at all, no sound, no rumbling, nothing. This doesn’t make any sense. Turning back to the screen, he watched as the fire covered the entire room, leaving nothing behind.

“Unfortunately, Nico, it seems like your nimble hands and the skills your father taught you failed you in your final moments. As a mechanic, you used your knowledge and skill illegally, and pinned the blame on your competitors, solely because your business couldn’t keep up. Their livelihoods went up in smoke, and now so has yours. Enjoy Hell Nico, Goodbye.”

The footage turned off, leaving Ed to think about what just happened.

“Congratulations Ed for another successful project. What would you like to eat?”

“Can I have my meal later Buddie? I have something I need to check.”

“Yes, that is fine.”

Getting up out of his seat, he walked out into the hallway. Walking up to the fourth door, he placed his head near it. Not feeling any heat coming from the door, he placed his head against it, trying to hear the fire. I can’t hear anything at all. The rooms must have some sort of soundproofing. Well, considering that he can put my consciousness into another body, it wouldn’t surprise me if the rooms are isolated from each other in space. It would make sense since Buddie was able to create a door to my room right next to me when I was far down the hallway.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Preparing himself, he went to open the door. Slowly pulling the door open, heat burst through the gap, flames pushing through into the hall. Slamming the door shut, he leaned against the wall. Okay. So, the fire is still very much active on the other side of the door. It seems like when I open the door, the spaces are immediately connected. Keeping it closed, the door acts as a barrier, isolating the room and anything that is inside it.

Heading back to his room, Ed asked for a hamburger with fries and some water. Digging into his meal, he thought about the implications of his discovery. I have to assume that I’m in some sort of isolated space, and not in some building on Earth. Could I be in another dimension perhaps? That would mean that other dimensions exist, potentially an infinite amount, similar the many worlds' interpretation tells us. Buddie would most likely be from one of these dimensions. Or is it better to call it a different reality. How advanced would a civilisation have to be in order to break through the fabric of reality and push into other dimensions? Clearly much more advanced than our own.

Finishing his meal, he looked around the room, trying to see if there was anything that could give him more information. Thinking about what he’s done so far, he questions the goals of this civilisation. Since they have the ability to enter other realities, why would they not just take over Earth directly? And why would they need me to work for them at all? Surely, they would have conquered countless dimensions, and wouldn’t lack people. Are they just doing this for fun? To see what would happen if you give a person the power to control other people’s fate?

Leaning back, he stared at the screen, lost in thought.

“Is something on your mind Ed?”

Hearing Buddie’s voice, he pulled himself out of his spiralling thoughts. “Uh, yeah. I have a few questions. Am I not on Earth?”

Silence fell on the room for a moment. “That is correct.”

“Does that mean that I am in another dimension or reality right now?”

“No, you are currently still in your home reality.”

Knowing that he’s still somewhat close to home made him feel better, “So that means that other realities exist. Also, you used the word reality, does that mean that other dimensions don’t exist or are they the same thing?”

Pausing for a moment, Buddie seemed to think about what he was allowed to say. “Dimensions and realities are two separate things. Think of reality as the overarching whole, while dimensions are independent bubbles found within.”

So, they are different. The rooms must be separate dimensions then. Or is the whole building its own dimension, and the rooms are just isolated spaces within? This is too confusing. If I keep thinking about this, I’ll be stuck here for a long time. “Then does that mean the company is from a different reality? What is it trying to achieve by doing this?”

“You are correct, the company is from a different reality. As to our goals, that information is classified, and you are not allowed to know that.”

I have so many questions, but I should probably leave it at that. I don’t know how much more I would be allowed to get from him. However, I am genuinely surprised with the amount of information Buddie was willing to tell me. Is it because I had figured this out on my own, so there was no harm in telling me, or is it just something that every employee knows. Regardless, this is probably a good thing for my chances of getting the job. “That’s all the questions I have for now. Thanks for answering Buddie.”

“You’re welcome, Ed. Now I have a question of my own, how did you figure this out?”

Taking a minute to figure out how to answer, Ed decided to just go through his thought process. “Well, when I was going on my run earlier today, I noticed that there was no smell coming from the other rooms. Logically speaking, John’s body should have started to smell at this point considering how many days have passed since he died. But I couldn’t even smell anything. Not even blood. With this and the fact that the door appeared next to me to get me back into the room, I knew that something was strange about the hallway."

"Reading through Nico’s file I figured that I could test to see if I would hear or feel anything by setting up an explosion. However, when the explosion happened on camera, nothing changed in this room. Later I went out to test it and noticed that the door to the room was completely cold and that there was no sound coming from it. I opened the door, and the fire and heat immediately tried to burst out into the hallway. This helped me confirm that the rooms were isolated in some way that was impossible for humans on Earth to accomplish. Then it was just a matter of running through the possibilities and, naturally, some questions popped into my mind, so I had to ask.”

“Thank you for your detailed account. You have done well, Ed. You should rest now; you have another day of work ahead of you.”

Heeding Buddies advice, Ed fell asleep.