Isaac Woodman
T1 2025 - I awoke to the sound of anger and fear. Various figures stood around arguing, holding pieces of paper similar to that of which I had been given myself. To my left, I saw someone pop into existence, it was as if she was there all along, but my eyes were just unable to perceive her. I half crawled backwards, putting my back against the white pearlescent wall. I looked about the room, the walls, floor and ceiling were the same creamy colour, which made it difficult to discern where the floor ended and the wall began, however, along one of the walls, was a black door which contrasted the white of the walls surrounding it. The whiteness of the room gave off a chillness to the environment as I looked about. Most of the people in the room all wore similar clothing to mine, wearing an assortment of pyjamas or oversized t-shirts. Some, like me, were fortunate enough to have grabbed a dressing gown to cover ourselves. I noticed that there was a couple that were naked, now being harassed by a haughty man, luckily wearing a business suit, connoting a late night profession. My eyes began to well at the uncertainty of the situation as the shouting voices grew ever louder. I heard a few people mention aliens, can't be, that's just, stupid, it can't be aliens. The more I dwelled on the thought, the more it seemed to make sense, but my thoughts were interrupted by the shouting of the man who had just sneeringly mocked the naked couple.
"Where the fuck are we!" the man shouted which drew the attention on himself, he turned and advanced on another figure who was suitably dressed. "Do you know where we are?" I didn't hear his response, but I did see his crying face shake in response to the question. He looked about, scorn masking his features as he took in the environment around him. I could see the crowd parting anxiously as he barged his way through.
"Hey man, just calm down for a second, we are all unsure of what is going on, we need to dis-" the man in the dressing gown abruptly stopped talking as the malignant stranger grabbed his shoulder, applying pressure.
"Don't tell me to calm down!" he spat, before facing the ceiling, "you sick fucks, let us out!" the people around him just watched on, even the man who had spoken up kept quiet now.
"Ummm," a soft and quiet voice piped up, "what about these?" she waved the sheet of golden paper in the air which caused those around her to pause, taking out their own paper. "Umm, could, could this mean anything ?"
"I don't want to play your games!" the older gentleman shouted at the ceiling, tearing up his own paper. Nothing happened, apart from a high pitched scream which cut through the heavy unease in the room. The screaming figure was covered in blood and was wailing uncontrollably. I felt bile rise in my throat as I turned away from what could only have been described as the aftermath of an explosion. Entrails slithered down the wall next to where the figure stood and blood dripped from the ceiling. I wretched as the smell hit my nostrils a few moments after. Judging by the sounds, I wasn't the only one who felt nauseous at that moment. "What happened!" the stranger grabbed the bare shoulders of the teenager, shaking him vigorously.
"She, she, begun reading, then she, she just-" the words caught in his throat, but we understood the implications. After a few moments of painful silence, the gentleman stalked towards the lone door, throwing it open amidst the ramblings of confusion. I didn't know what I was expecting, but a long corridor lined with lit iron sconces was not it. Fear kept my body rooted to the ground, sitting in my own sick. It felt off, the unending corridor. The man breathed out audibly, then stepped into the hallway. He walked forwards, then kept walking, and nothing happened. Whispered murmurs led others to follow and soon, I was left with those too afraid to move. I looked around the room, noticing the sobbing forms of several others, including the teenager covered in blood, but when I turned to look at the door once more, it was gone, claimed by the white walls. My body shook as unholy screams of agony rebounded around the interior of the room, causing those who were weeping, to block their ears with their hands, I did the same as I brought my legs closer to my chest. The sounds were horrifying, the screams of those in pain were punctuated by the sound of what seemed to be flesh being ground into a pulp. This sent another wave of nausea through me as tears rolled down my face. Frantic banging could be heard from where the door used to have been, along with voices pleading for help, but not one of us dared to move, too afraid of the repercussions if we did. Soon, the sounds died down, but their echoes could still be heard throughout the room.
T2 2025 - The nightmarish room, white in colour and sparse with any decorations brought back the haunting sounds of death to my ears. It was horrible, the screams echoing around the inside of my head. Stop, that was the past. I tried to breathe, but my throat seemed to have closed, not permitting me to take a breath. I, I can do better, I, I've got another chance to make it right. I collapsed to one knee, my strength taken from me, my experiences in hell stolen from my memory. I could feel stares on me, could feel them judging. He let us die, so painful, how did this coward survive, it hurts. The voices reverberated around my head, No, no, I will do better this time. I felt a hand on my shoulder and a distant voice speak, but I heard nothing as I felt my breathing shorten. Help me, help us, help us, don't let us die, please. Then darkness engulfed my vision.
Sebastian Vassinari
I pushed my way through the crowd, finding Isaac on the cold floor, his face was wet with tears and his hand grasping his chest. A pained expression twisted his otherwise solemnity into something that gave me chills. As I saw him there, I remembered what he had said, and the weight of it all fell onto my shoulders like a physical thing, finally putting his mission into a clear perspective.
"Isaac!" I yelled as I placed my hand on his shoulder, he didn't even flinch as I gently shook him, "Isaac!" I repeated once more, but still nothing. Confused mutterings rose around me as I tried to wake him. "Is anyone a doctor ?" I yelled from his side, the mutterings grew louder, but no one stepped forward.
"What's wrong with him ?" Henry asked from behind me, closely followed by Jacob.
"I, I'm not too sure. Please help me move him over there." I pointed to one of the walls and Jacob and Henry bent down to help me pick him up. We moved slowly in case he was somehow hurt more badly than it appeared. We laid him down gently beside the wall, checking his breathing again, it sounded better, but still sounded shallow. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the floor.
"What's wrong with him?" Jacob muttered in that way of his that sounded indifferent, but to those who knew him best, he was genuinely concerned, no doubt believing in his insane story a little bit more now that we were in an unknown place.
"He's had a panic attack," the voice was new and I turned to face the source. She was beautiful, even with her short brunette hair being unkempt and her face withholding slight traces of old mascara and lip-gloss, she wore a pair of slightly too large grey tracksuit bottoms and a t-shirt that looked more like a miniskirt, the displayed band logo had been stretched and distorted. She moved her hand to his head, and leant over checking his pulse, "nothing to worry about, looks to me like the symptoms of PTSD." She stood again, wiping her hands on the fabric of her tracksuit bottoms.
"Thank you," I said, standing also.
"No worries, but-" she paused as she looked over the room and its distinct lackness of anything. The only thing of note was a black door that stood out amidst the creamy white of the walls, ceiling and floor. There seemed to be no source of light, it was as if the light was being shone from the walls themselves. "Where the hell are we?"
"We've been abducted!" I heard someone shout. "Oh god's, we've been abducted by aliens."
"Aliens?" another figure responded, laughing at the other stranger. "Aliens aren't real, it has to be the rich, I've seen films with similar concepts before."
"Could be the government," added a new voice and soon the room was rife with discussion, that the four of us just watched. There were a few others who were standing on the sidelines, too confused or believing, like us, that this discussion was stupid and pointless. I turned to look down at Isaac, who hadn't stirred. We need to wait for him to wake up, then we will have our answers.
"Jacob, Henry, we need to make sure no one leaves the room until Isaac wakes up. Move there quietly, but if anyone tries to leave, stop them as best you can." Henry was quick on the uptake, Jacob followed shortly after, quickening his pace to catch up with Henry.
"What are you doing ?" the woman asked, unsure to be panicked, scared or glad that someone was taking the initiative.
"Stopping the worst case scenario." Seconds bled into minutes as arguments ran rampant around the room, which slowly evolved into people cursing and laying blame to those more suitably dressed than themselves.
"Hey let me out!" The voice easily rang out over the crowd and the conversations seemed to die down. "Let me out!" she repeated, and more eyes turned to watch the situation.
"Just calm down, this is for your benefit, we don't know what's out there." Henry stated in a placating tone as he jabbed a thumb at the door at his back. "What if there's some scary beast out there, then you would be putting us in danger."
"How do you know that it's not dangerous in here!" another stranger shouted in response.
"True, very true, but you have all been bickering for the longest time, and you all seem ok don't you ?"
"Then what about him, he wasn't even in here for that long, but he's unconscious." A few pairs of eyes looked over at me and the helpful stranger who was standing in front of Isaac.
"That's irrelevant, he collapsed from stress, not from this invisible danger that you are thinking is real."
"How do you know it's irrelevant?" A few voice's spoke up in response, agreeing.
"Look, we can sit here arguing all damn day, but we need to wait until he's conscious again, then we will know what is going on."
"Just drop it Henry, if they want to leave then they can do so." Jacob stood forwards, causing those at the front of the crowd to step backwards. "Move forwards Henry, I don't want to injure you." Flames ignited in his palms and he sent a torrent of swirling flames at the door, sending it up in a burning beacon of fire.
"Ah," Henry jumped forwards, barely missing the flames shooting past him, "fucks sake man, give me more time to move first."
"What?" a few awestruck voices echoed. Stupefied gazes fixated on the now burning door and on Jacob. Some of which muttering words akin to freak. I looked over at Jacob who, noticing my gaze, shrugged.
"Can I leave you to take care of Isaac?" I asked the also stupefied woman to my left. "Hey, can I leave you to keep an eye on Isaac?" she seemed to nod slowly, but I wasn't sure if she had actually heard me. I made my way over to the mass of confusion that was amounting.
"There, you can try to leave now if you would like," Jacob scoffed as he crossed his arms, leaning against the wall to the right of the wall of flames.
"How can we leave now!"
"Yeah, fucking let us go!"
"He's the first one here to make a sound judgement," Henry piped up as he saw me heading over, "isn't that right Sebastian."
"Yeah, I know that this is scary, having been abducted and all, but we need to keep a cool head." I finally made it to Henry's side, I didn't like the looks in their eyes, but I kept talking anyway. "We need to figure out the reason behind this, and I think-" I reached into my pocket, retrieving the golden piece of paper, "that this is intended to be a clue of some sort, judging by how it was written. Were you all given one of these too?" Ripples of agreement sounded through the room, shortly followed by rustling of pockets. Those in the crowd who seemed to want to speak up didn't as they nervously shot glances at Jacob. "I think that these were given to us as a riddle of some kind. So why don't we figure this out together?" As I and others began to read aloud, a familiar voice stopped us.
"STOP!" Isaac commanded. I turned to look in his direction and he was standing with the support of the woman. "Don't read it aloud. Whatever you do, don't read it aloud," his voice was back to its usual solemnity.
"Why?" someone questioned, their voice barely loud enough to be heard.
"Because you will die." Isaac pushed himself away from the woman's support, stumbling as he did so, but managed to stand upright.
"How do you know that?" The accusation and hateful intent was laden in the woman's voice.
"Do you remember that person who gave us these," he waved his own copy in the air, "I just asked her."
"That's bullshit."
"Yeah, she didn't answer any of my questions."
"You probably didn't ask the right ones then," Jacob pitched in, an annoyed tone lacing his words.
"They should all say the same thing however, Sebastian, can I look at yours ? don't worry it's safe," I hesitantly handed the paper to Isaac and he gave me his. I gave it a quick read;
~~~~~
The first trial
The actors awaken from their slumber.
The game has begun and those that don't panic begin to wonder.
Why am I here? How do I leave?
But only those that are patient don't encumber.
Only then are their questions answered.
~~~~~
Isaac's piece of paper displayed an exact copy of what mine had said.
"Why can't we say it aloud?" I asked as we swapped our copies back with each other.
"Because you would be dead, exploded from the inside," he looked uneasy as he answered. "In the future, we who survived this, called these trials, Theatres. Reason being because of their similarities to the real thing. Being called actors, was the first real hint. Easy to figure out when you look at the rules."
"So what are we meant to do ?" Jacob asked, intrigued by the conversation, spite no longer in his voice.
"You actually made the right choice," Isaac gestured to the wall of flames, "the answer is to simply wait for the time limit to pass, anyone who leaves through that door dies." Those in the crowd who overheard the conversation let out a gasp, even the woman who was most vocal on leaving, stayed silent, keeping away from our gaze. Isaac placed a hand on my shoulder, "follow me." As we reached the corner of the room farthest from everyone else, he started to speak in a hushed tone.
"Do you remember what I said before we got here?" I nodded.
"Not to use my power."
"And I take it that you haven't?"
"Only Jacob, I haven't really had the time to think about it, and I doubt that anyone else here has -" I stopped as a beam of bright green light exploded against the ceiling of the room, the detonation leaving a cloud of green smoke in its wake. Confusion once again ran rampant in the room as the crowd dispersed leaving a single child in the center, hunched over on the floor, tears streaking down his face. Different colours glowed from within his clenched fists.
"What is, why is-" he was too scared to form the sentence and I noticed Henry moving towards him.
"Hey, it's ok, calm down." Henry said placatingly as he weaved under stray blasts that escaped from cracks in the child's hands. As he reached him, he placed a hand on his back, whispering into his ear. Whatever he said, had caused the child to calm down and soon, the light was gone, but he remained hunched over, weeping.
"Harold," Isaac muttered under his breath, his eyes wide.
"Do you know him?" I asked and Isaac shook his head.
"I did, he was a dear friend, but now he is but a stranger, and a child." His words made me remember his supposed age. He looked like he was in his early twenties, but if he is indeed being truthful, then he must be in his forties. It was an odd thought.
"Should we, make him an, ally." I tentatively asked and Isaac nodded.
"Yes, but keep him safe, as he is now, he will only be a burden, but, if we nurture him, train him, he could become someone much more powerful than he was when I knew him."
"He's a child, surely we shouldn't involve him."
"It won't matter, those watching don't care. As long as we are entertaining, they don't care about their precious Actors ages."
"What do you mean, by those watching?" I asked but Isaac shook his head.
"Another time, not here." I wanted to press him, but Isaac had already walked away, leaning against one of the walls.
"What are we meant to do in the meantime." I shouted over to him.
"Nothing, we wait for this to end." I looked around at those in the room, some had taken the situation well and were now sitting on the floor or making idle chatter to those around them. Others were softly sobbing by themselves or keeping their gazes from crossing ours. But the situation in the room was much less tense now that everyone had no choice but to wait and see what would happen. I joined Jacob, Henry and the child, Harold.
"What was that all about?" Henry asked me and I shrugged.
"He just wanted to remind me of something, I will tell you later."
"Do you believe him?" Jacob asked.
"About what?"
"About what he said about his past, about what he expects of you." I shrugged.
"I believe him a bit more now, even though this seems a little too coincidental, but I believe that having him around as an ally is much better than alienating him."
"I agree on that," Henry stated. "I don't think this is enough proof of his claim, but as you've said, having him as an ally will be beneficial in the days to come, especially in regards to future events like this," he gestured to the surrounding room. "If he already knows the answer to these sorts of situations, then we won't be in as much danger." I looked over at Isaac who looked to have tried sleeping.
"He's definitely something, sleeping in a place like this." Jacob muttered.
"I'm going to try to do the same, If anything happens, come get me." I said as I headed over to an open space along one of the walls. Waiting for this to be over.