Chapter One: Dark

Dark.

This was all Leo could see, all he could feel, and all he could hear.

He knew his name. Other than that, his memory was a blank mirror.

The Child was lying on the cold, hard floor, aching from ailments he didn’t remember. Groaning, the boy struggled to stand up. He searched the room for any sense of detail or direction in the infinite Dark, but none could be found. He started to panic, breathing heavily. Suddenly there was a flash of Light and—

Dark.

This was all Bree could see, all she could hear, all she could feel.

She knew her name. Other than that, her memory was a charred wasteland.

The Child was lying on the soft, sticky floor, aching from ailments she didn’t remember. Groaning, the girl managed to stand up. She searched the room for any sense of detail or direction in the unfathomable Dark, but none could be found. She started to panic, giggling softly. Suddenly there was a flash of Light and—

Dark.

That was all Malcom could feel, all he could see, all he could hear.

He knew his name. Other than that, his memory was a pulsing void.

The Child was lying on the hot, hard floor, aching from ailments he didn’t remember. Groaning, he struggled to his feet. He searched the room for any sense of direction or detail in the vibrating Dark, but none could be found. He started to panic, whipping his head around frantically. Suddenly there was a flash of Light and—

—==light==—

that was SO boring, [Uppercase]. boring and short. too much symbolism.

i can do it MUCH better.

the light dims, and an Old Man stands in front of Leo. he spreads his arms gracefully and speaks.

“Hello, young Child. Welcome to the first Challenge of your [Quest].”

'''umm, what?''' replies Leo.

“A great Destiny lies ahead of you, Leo. A Purpose surpassing any other”

'''um… ok. am i in a story?'''

”why would you suspect that, young Boy?”

'''because i have a quest. and a destiny and stuff. those are story things.'''

“There is a difference between the stories you reference and the [Quest] before you. The difference is that those stories are false, and your [Quest] is real.”

'''oh, ok. what’s the quest?'''

“That remains for you to find out. However, as I mentioned previously, your first Challenge begins here.

“Right now, you are in the Cell. Your goal is to escape. If you succeed, you shall have taken the first step along the Path that lies ahead of you.”

the Old Man vanishes, but the light remains. for the first time, Leo seems to notice the room around him, a room made of mirrors.

the light dims, and an Old Man stands in front of Bree. he spreads his arms gracefully and speaks.

“Hello, young Child. Welco—”

'''who are you?'''

the Old Man smiles. “I am but a humble Old Man, here to—”

'''where am i?'''

“I was getting to that, dear Child. This room, this Cell, is the first leg of your [Quest].”

'''that’s dumb.'''

“Your [Quest] may seem unsavory at first, but you must accept it in order to achieve Growth and Success.”

'''you’re boring.'''

the Old Geezer’s smile falters, just for a second.

“I shall take my leave now, little Girl.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Escape your Cell, and begin your Journey.”

the Old Man vanishes, but the light remains. for the first time, Bree seems to notice the room around her, a room made of honeycombs.

the light dims, and an Old Raisin stands before Malcom. he spreads his arms gracefully and smiles.

“Hello, young Child. Welcome to the first Challenge of your [Quest].”

Malcom regards the Man with a look of profound… disappointment? the kind your parent gives you when you’ve just done something utterly stupid.

'''this is not happening.'''

“But it is, dear Child. A great Destiny lies before you.”

'''crap.''' sighs Malcom. '''why is this a thing that is happening?'''

“This [Quest] has always been your intended Path. It’s been that way since your beginning.”

'''and my beginning was…'''

“You shall discover your origins in due time.”

'''i’m not sure you realize how INSANELY cliché you sound.'''

“There is a difference between cliché and Wise.”

'''whatever you say, man.'''

Malcom looks around the room. it’s made of (SPOILER).

'''so… where am i, exactly?'''

“You are currently in the Cell. The first step of your Journey is to escape.”

'''i see. so—'''

the Old Coot vanishes. the light remains. for the second time, Malcom seems to notice the room around him, a room made of the interior of a school bus.

Jax exits her cell. it was a harrowing experience, and by the look on her face, she would rather forget it altogether.

she finds herself in a large, old fashioned lobby. the octangular room has greenish walls and a dusty wooden floor. fancy, forgettable paintings plate the ugly wallpaper, and a few ornate chairs sit in corners.

5 doors embed themselves in the walls across the room, and a gilded square rug lays in the center of the room, with the letter '''A''' printed on it.

'''ummm…''' says Jax. the Old Man said nothing about what to do after escaping. i’m not sure what i would do in this situation.

it looks like she’s just going to pop a squat in one of those chairs. she sits and puts the hood on her hoodie up, glancing around the room, presumably waiting for something to happen. suddenly, something does happen.

THUMP. something bumps against the door next to Jax. she jumps and looks over.

THUMP. this time the door visibly vibrates. Jax gets out of her chair and backs away, breathing heavily.

THUMP THUMP THUMP. the blows against the door intensify. Jax inches over to the door behind her, never taking her eyes off the one in front. she reaches out a shaking hand and places it in the handle. THUMP THUMP THUMP. a splintering sound accompanies the blows this time.

Jax, slowly, clumsily, turns the handle of the door… and it bursts open with a BANG and a flash of grey light. Jax goes flying back with a yelp and lands, sprawling, on the rug. it slides forward under her momentum.

the explosive door slams itself shut again. Jax stares at it with a look of shock. not ten seconds later, the other door explodes into splinters.

Chapter 3: Escape

Leo was surrounded by mirrors. The floor, ceiling, and walls were all invisible, replaced by endlessly replicating images of Leo himself at various angles.

Leo squeezed his eyes shut. His surroundings were overwhelming him.

wow, what a boring thing to say. show, don’t tell, and also, stop invading his head.

Please do not interject, [lowercase].

Leo was scared, Leo was confused, Leo was lost. He knew he was supposed to escape, but he just wanted to curl up and hide. He knew he should listen to the Old Man, but he just wanted to dissapear.

The endless. mind boggling mirrors made hiding impossible. They made dissapearing a worthless endeavor. There was no escaping his fate.

Leo slowly opened his eyes. He began to carefully look at the room around him. He could just barely make out the walls of the room. It was a rectangle about 6 paces in length and 4 in width. No door was visible.

Leo walked up to one of the walls. He put his hand on the mirror, feeling for a crevasse or a seam, anything that might signify a way to exit this torture chamber. No luck. He circled the room, running his hand along the glass. Nothing.

The room had no exit.

Bree was surrounded by honeycombs. All but the floor—which was made of wood— was comprised of oozing yellow hexagons.

Some of the cells were full of dripping, sticky honey, and others were filled to the brim with squirming masses of bees.

On one wall, there was a set of honeycombs that appeared to be solid—honeycombs that appeared to have keyholes in them.

Bree figured out her Challenge fairly quickly. She walked over to the nearest honeycomb and thrust her hand into the thick liquid. She began to feel around for a key, or really anything solid, and found nothing.

Just as the little girl was about to remove her hand, the appendage brushed up against something. Something cold, something—

Something that grabs her hand with a talonlike grip. Something that begins to fiercely pull at Bree’s arm in an attempt to pull her through the hole.

Malcom was surrounded by bus seats. Empty, dirty bus seats. He could hear the bumps and bangs of the road beneath him, and through the windows he could see nighttime scenery scrolling by.

This is supposed to be a Cell? He thought.

He walked up towards the front, to the door. This should be moderately easy to escape. By the door, the bus’s control panel displayed a set of buttons for interacting with the vehicle’s computer. Malcom pressed the “Emergency Stop” button, causing the bus to slow to a stop. Malcom stepped over to the door and tried to push it open. It didn’t budge. He pushed again. It did nothing.

Upon closer examination, Malcom realized that the door was actually a screen. A very large screen. He glanced over at the windshield, showing a view of the headlit road up ahead. It was also a screen.

Each window on the bus was, in fact, a screen.