What happened? Where am I? Ugh this headache is killing me. It doesn’t feel like I’m in that room anymore. Maybe that was all just some weird dream. Though it’s definitely colder than the library was. Ed shivered as the cold wind seeped into his veins. Sitting up he looked out, finding himself in a clearing. A dark expanse of trees beyond it, and an old park bench beneath him. What am I doing here? Cough, fuck, it’s really cold here. I need to find shelter. Getting off the bench, Ed starts walking down the footpath, hopefully I'll run into someone who can give me directions. After walking for a few minutes, he found himself in another clearing. Whoever designed this park did a really good job making sure it had adequate seating. Continuing on, another few minutes of walking and he spotted another clearing. Picking up the pace he jogged past it, coming to another clearing.

Somethings not right here. I feel like I'm just going in circles. Maybe the path is a bad idea, I’ll just cut through the forest. Jogging past the bench he ran into the forest the cold wind battering his face. Once again, he stopped at a clearing with a bench sitting on the other side of a footpath. Cough, maybe I should just catch my breath for a minute. Sitting down at the park bench, he breathed deeply, trying to get some air back into his lungs. I should leave something here to see if I’m in a loop. Getting up he found a small branch and etched his name onto the bench. Setting the branch aside, he followed the path, but was now moving at a slower pace.

I’m definitely stuck in a loop. Looking down at his name that was etched into the bench, he knew that something strange was going on. Maybe that room wasn’t a dream after all. What happened in there again? Something about a punishment. But how is this related to what happened? Looking around he tried to see if there was anything that stood out. That’s it! That homeless man died in a park, maybe that psychotic machine is punishing me by putting me in his situation. I might as well stay here on this bench since I can’t go anywhere. Sitting on the bench he looked out across the trees. It’s really quiet here, I can’t hear any animals at all. Not even crickets. Cough. I need to find some way to keep warm, but I still need to keep an eye out for anyone walking past.

According to that machine Larry should walk past me sometime tonight. It’s already dark out, but I can’t see the moon at all. If I guess that the sun went down at 6, then that would be the earliest that I was left here. At most half an hour has passed so I’ll just say that it’s 6:30 right now. Assuming he works a regular 9-5 job, and considering that he’s working overtime, the latest he’ll finish is probably 9pm. That means at most I’ll have to wait for 3 hours before he shows up, then I’ll ask him for help. I should be able to last that long.

Lying on the park bench, Ed faced his head into the backrest, blocking the wind. Time ground to a halt as the night got colder and colder. His face burning up with the onset of a fever, sweat soaking his clothes. An hour passed as all his energy was sapped from his body, as a permanent fatigue set in. His body ached all over. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he gasped for every ounce of air available. A sharp pain stabbed into his lungs, causing a coughing fit that quickly turned to vomiting. The spew clinging to his lips, where am I? He thought, his mind wandering.

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An hour passed, his body was shaking constantly in the wind, his lips were a pale blue under the bile and blood. His mind churning slowly, thoughts eking through with great difficulty. What time is it? His muscles ached as he curled his blackened fingers in his jacket.

The light tap of footsteps shattered the silence in the park, like a thunderous cacophony rumbling in Ed’s ears. Larry? As if a switch was flipped, his brain burst into overdrive. His memories of the past hours spent in the room and the park flooded back to him with each footstep. His mind urged his mouth to open. To call out for help. Instead, all that came out was a hacking cough and some blood. The words in his mind refused to come out. No this can’t be happening. Come on please, just do something, Get his attention somehow. His mind raced as he tried to find a solution. His body retched as the last contents of his stomach shot through his throat. The footsteps echoed louder in his mind, coming closer to the clearing. This is my only chance.

~

Man, work is killing me, I still have a few vacation days saved up, maybe I can take Sally to visit my parents, she loves the meadow behind their house. At least they didn’t have me stay back too long this time, I don’t think I could take another day of that. Larry made his way through the park, glad to be on his way home. He passed by the clearing, spotting someone curled up and lying on the bench. I wonder if they're okay. Feeling a buzz in his pocket, he took out his phone, and picked up the call.

“Hey honey, yeah, I’m almost home, I’m just in the park now. How was your day? That's nice, and how is Sally? That’s good. I plan on taking a day off work. I’m thinking of taking Sally to my parent's place, I know how much she loves catching butterflies, and I think it’ll be good for us. Yeah, we’ll figure out exactly when later, I’ll be home soon, love you, bye.” He put his phone back in his pocket as he walked out of the clearing.

~

“... love you, bye.”

FUCK. No, no, no. Come on, just fucking move. Do something, anything. Ed’s body collapses on the bench, refusing to move. It’s useless. Well, I guess this is how I die, alone and covered in my own vomit. What a brilliant way to go. At least I can die knowing that I didn’t harm an innocent person. Ha, that robot can go and screw itself. His thoughts dissipated as his breathing came to a stop. The park around him ground to a halt. The trees no longer moved in the wind. As if glass was shattering, the world around him fell apart. First the trees, then the footpath outside of the clearing. His body protected in the clearing, as around it stood a dark void, eclipsing the clearing on all sides. Bit by bit, the ground fell away into the abyss leaving the bench floating there, before it too disappears.

~

“Hello Ed, welcome back to work. I hope that you will behave yourself and complete the quota this time.”