I had a dream about this so I decided to write it. The rhyming was unintentional, it just happened, sorry if it bothers you. This is more of an experimental chapter, so feedback would be awesomeXD
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I looked out the window...where am I going?
It was dark...very dark…
The darkness was here, the darkness was with me...and it swallowed me whole...where was I going again?
-screech-
It stopped, it stopped. I must get off this stop...but why?
I got off and the vehicle fled into the darkness like a fugitive would seek for refuge...what was I doing again?
There was a mansion that loomed over the darkness. The mansion was bright but no one was near to see the light...except me.
I felt myself step towards the light
-step, step, step-
Step after step I pulled closer to the mansion, like a moth drawn to candlelight...what was I doing?
The doorway was ever so close...
10 steps, 5 steps, 3 steps.
I was at the doorstep...who am I?
I was at the door…
I saw my hand go to the doorbell. Before I rang the doorbell, there I saw it...a white ticket peeking out of my clenched fist...I don’t remember this ticket...
The bell rang, 2 times that night.
A shadow answered the door. A shadow made by the dazzling light.
He took the ticket in my hand and smiled at me...Who was I?...
I blearily opened up my eyes and promptly saw my worst nightmare. It was a giant skeleton hand with piercing yellow eyes. The eyes were between the thumb and the index finger and between the pinky and the ring finger. When I noticed the eyes, the eyes also noticed me.
“Hey, he’s awake.” the skeleton hand said.
The skeleton hand drew away from my face and I was able to see the whole picture. It was not a skeleton hand monster thing but a person. Although he did have a skeleton hand on his face. It didn’t matter, it would have freaked me out just the same. But my mind seemed to be in a complete shock.
There were 3 people in total. I say ‘people’ but I’m not really sure.
First was the skeleton hand guy. There was a freaking skeleton hand on his face. It seemed like he was using it as a mask? Almost half of the hand was cut off to reveal his mouth. The mask was really scary but the way it was worn made it seem like the helmets in the medieval times. It was a really big hand though.
Other than the mask, the man had dark neon green hair.(don’t know if that made sense) His hair color made it seem to be able to glow in the dark. The man was also wearing a black robe that was in tatters. Without the hair color, he would look totally like a grim reaper(shinigami).
There was another person in the room. He was a mountain(metaphor). I mean he was huge. He wore a simple t-shirt but his muscular body was clearly shown. If he tried flexing, without doubt the shirt would be ruined. He would definitely be able to snap me like a twig.
His looks were also super-sized. He had a wide face and large nose but looked much more friendly than the masked man.
The last person in the room was a huge contrast between the giant. He was significantly smaller than the giant and me. If you stand the two of them back to back, the giant would be twice his height if he bent his knees. This person looked rather young but had white hair in a crazy bed-headed style. He wore a lab coat with glasses and had a wild look on his face. He fitted the image of a mad scientist perfectly.
“WELCOME! YOU ARE AWAKE!” the giant boomed. Unfortunately his intellect was not as large as his body. Of course I’m awake, my eyes are clearly open. And welcome to what?
The masked man, obviously the smarter one, started introducing himself.
“I am Glave. This is Legion, and Ical.” he started as he gestured towards the giant and the mad scientist respectably.
Knowing proper manners, I got off the bed I was sitting on and started introducing myself.
“I’m...uh...I’m…” Weird, I can’t remember my name. I know I have one…
“Don’t worry, give it a couple of seconds.”the mad scientist, no, Ical said knowledgeably.
“Oh! My name is Rue.” It was like a light bulb suddenly turned on and the wheels of my brain started to move.
Ical started convulsing and it eventually turned into a loud cackling sound. He was a really weird person.
Glave gave out an exasperated sigh. It seemed to be an everyday occurrence.
“This is the Mansion. I’m sure you have questions but please wait until I have finished what I’m about to say.”Glave restarted the introductions.
After I gave an affirmative nod, he continued,
“Basically we are all people who came to this mansion. We came from many places, many worlds. We don’t know why or how, but this mansion is a place we will live now. There are rules in this mansion. Rules we placed and natural laws of this residence. You will come to understand them later but for now; welcome to room 216, we’re glad to have a new roommate, Rue.”
All three of them began to clap. Legion had a huge smile on his face while Ical grinned creepily. I was still a bit baffled by the situation but I felt happy to be accepted.
“Now there are some important things you need to know here. Really trivial things but it’s common knowledge around these parts.” Ical stated.
“Oh, oh, like the 1-meter-clothing rule!” Legion interrupted.
“Shut up! But yeah, that’s a prime example of a natural law. Those clothes that you came in last night must be with you at all times. You must not have it more than 1 meter away from you.
I looked down at what I was wearing. It was my school uniform. The idea of not being able to change clothes was...distressing.
“Oh, don’t worry. You can still change and shower, I mean, you can always carry your clothes in a sack.”
“What if the clothes are more than a meter away? What happens?”I asked, a bit scared to know.
Glave replied, “Nothing really, it just reappears back onto you, underneath whatever you’re wearing at that time.”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“There are other rules you’ll need to know, but you’ll learn that in class.” he added.
“You need to leave now, your guide is waiting for you outside. I need to go to work now.”Legion announced.
Guide? Class? Work? Everything was getting more and more confusing by the second. I didn’t have a chance to ask all my questions before I was pushed out of the door. Luckily there was another guy outside that cushioned my fall.(unlucky for him)
“Sorry…”I mumbled as I helped him get on his feet. He seemed my age and rather normal looking. Except the glowing tattoos on his face, under his thick rimmed glasses.
“It’s fine. Anyways, I’m your guide, Caslo.” Caslo replied. He took a look at his clipboard and made a mark. Then he looked up and asked,
“What is your name? If you remember?”
“Rue...just Rue.”I answered.
“Okay Rue, I’m going to give you a quick tour and then guide you to the administration office.” Caslo said as he wrote down my name in a hurry.
And so, we started on our tour.
One thing I’ve noticed is that my roommates are not the only ones strange. There was weirder people around. People with blue skin, extra limbs, tiny bodies. Or people that were weird in general. I was not overwhelmed by the type of people but by the sheer amount of people. It was very impressive. And the mansion was equally impressive to house this many people.
“And this is Hallway 9...Rue, are you listening?” Caslo voice snapped me back into reality.
“Yeah, yeah.” I replied. Caslo had disbelief written on his face but he continued to explain the features of the hallway.
On our way to the dining hall, Caslo approached a topic that piqued my interest. The existence of monsters.
“I don’t know if you had monsters from where you came but there are monsters here. The basement, or what we call the Dungeon, is a lair infested with monsters. We haven’t mapped the whole Dungeon yet, but we’ve got at least 11 floors down. There are also monsters outside of the mansion. So it is very important for you to not venture outside and underground for the time being. Do you understand?”
I nodded hastily. But I also took note of Caslo choice of words… ‘for the time being’. What did that mean? I quickly understood the meaning of his words.
On our way to the administration office, Caslo told me what I needed to do for the time being.
“The first week in the Mansion is what we call Newbie’s Week. You will receive free lodging and food for this week only.”
So it seemed that we had to pay for our own food and rent. That sucked.
Caslo, seeming to understand what I was thinking, told me,
“Yes, you have to pay for your food and rent. Of course you can sleep outside the mansion, like somebody does.”
Caslo scowled as if the memory of that person himself irritated him.
I, myself, would rather not sleep outside and be devoured by monsters.
Caslo continued, “There are other necessities that require payment too. That’s the reason for Jobs. The form of payment is...a bit peculiar...but you’ll get the hang of it when the administration office assigns a job to you.”
Caslo turned to a door that had a sign [Administration Office]. He entered the room and I followed in.
The Administration Office was strangely spacious. There was a large counter in the center of the room and it used up most of the room. A few people behind the counter were busy writing things down, calling people, or sorting files. There was no one else besides an old man snoring on a bench on the other side of the counter.
Caslo came up to a lady in a uniform that was writing things down.
“Excuse me, do you have the schedule ready for the newcomer at 8:30pm?”
8;30? That was strange to call someone. Could it have been the time I arrived here?
I glanced at the grandfather clock beside the snoring old man. It was already 10:30 pm.
The lady thought for a while, then went to a few files sitting besides her desk, looking through the folders. In a few minutes, she looked at me and asked,
“Name?”
“Uhh, Rue.” I responded.
She didn’t spare me another glance and started writing my name down on sheets of paper. After she finished she handed the papers in a folder to Caslo. And went back to writing as if nothing had happened.
Caslo thanked her and took out a small slip of paper out of the folder for me. It was my schedule.
Apparently I had morning classes at 9 to 12 in room 101. Then I would be having lunch immediately afterwards. I also had a job; cleaning at 2-6pm.
“The classes are self-explanatory. You go to room 101 and the teacher would cover basic knowledge, like rules and other stuff. The job is also a form of learning. You’ll learn the way things work around here. By the way, you’ll be meeting at the cafeteria for the job.” Caslo explained.
He then handed me a silvery card with a neon pink sticker on the corner that said; New. There was my name, date, and other information written on the card.
“This card will let you have the free meals and stuff, but only for a week. You’ll need to fend for yourself when this sticker comes off. Keep this identification card safe, it’ll be troublesome to lose it. And also on your first week, you're only allowed to be around the first and second floor. For your own safety of course.”
I nodded. There was a lot of information stuffed to my head today but there will be more things to learn starting tomorrow morning.
“Don’t be late to class tomorrow. Well, so long!” Caslo said as he sped out the office, leaving me behind.
...Crap, I don’t know how to get back to my room...
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I'm going to go more in detail about the mansion next chapter. The word ticket is going to be all around the story. It may give you an idea of what's going to happen...
Please point out any mistakes in grammar, story, etc. I can revise it that way
Thnx for reading~