Chapter Text
I’m unsure of how long I’ve been here. Time seems to slow down when you’re unaware of it for too long. Has it been days? Weeks? Months? Years? I have no idea, I lost track a long time ago. I don’t really even know how I got here in the first place.
All I remember was hiking through the woods, tripping over a root, and when I stood up, I was here.
I had woken up in a pale yellow room, yet the walls didn’t connect, almost like a maze. The ceiling lights were almost too luminescent, almost bright enough to be blinding, yet dark enough to where it didn’t hurt my eyes.
All I remember is being terrified, not knowing where I was or what happened to me. Terrified of my no one knowing where I was.
I let out a sigh as I walked down the abandoned streets of this empty city for what seemed like the hundredth time.
In the time I’ve been here, I’ve “unlocked” countless “Levels” of whatever Hell I’ve seemed to have fallen in.
Some of these “Levels” are safe, like this city I happened to make camp in, but some of the others have these horrid entities that have tried countless times to hurt me, that’s one thing I’ve noticed, they don’t try to kill me, it’s almost as if they want me to eternally suffer like them.
Most of the taller buildings have doors to different levels, and those levels have other places inside of them, it almost seems limitless to how many places there could be.
I kicked a small pebble out of my way as I made my way back to the little house that I’ve claimed as my own.
A small, pale blue, two-story house nestled between two massive skyscrapers.
I walk in and take my boots off by the door and then walk over to the little kitchen area.
For some reason, the food and water is always restocked here, no matter how much I eat or drink.
I take out a can filled with what I assume is some kind of tomato soup and pour it into one of the little saucepans I had found in one of the small wooden cupboards. I light the fire on the stove and set the pot on it. Then I set a small timer on the kitchen counter to alert me when the soup should be warm. I wonder if anyone else had ever been here and escaped, or if I was the first and only person to ever be here. What if I never get out? What if I'm stuck here forever? I wonder if anyone has noticed I'm gone. Would they even care?
A small ‘ding’ interrupts my thoughts as the timer alerts me that it’s time to eat. I grab a bowl out of a cabinet above my head and pour a little bit of soup into it. I then sit at the little, black, wooden table in the middle of the room and eat my food.
Once I finished, I threw the bowl in the sink, knowing it would be put away, as if nothing had even touched it, when I woke the next day.
I’ll probably keep looking for clues in level zero tomorrow, that’s how I discovered this city.
There had been small, almost notepad-like books in some of the different levels that had given me some insight on some of these places, like one of them told me about this city, also known as Level 11.
That’s also how I found out about the Howler from Level 0, that was not fun to run into.
I walk up the narrow staircase, which leads to a small entry room, with a single bedroom on the right and a bathroom on the left.
I walk into the bedroom and finally change into one of the random pairs of clothes that are always neatly folded in the drawers. I picked out a plain black sweatshirt and a pair of black shorts.
I then let my hair out of the random updo I had it in so it would stay out of my face.
I then went to the small mirror and looked at my reflection. I looked so different from when I first came here. My once icy-blue eyes were now a duller grey, but if I looked close enough I could still see hints of the bright color that used to be there. My round face still looked the same, even if my cheekbones were a little more prominent. My white, curly hair used to go only to my collarbones, but now it has grown down to about the middle of my back. I may have to cut it again soon if it starts getting inconvenient. My skin also got a lot paler. I remember having a little tan, but that has long since faded away.
I then walked away to the queen-sized bed in the back corner in the room and crawled into it, shuffling myself under the pale grey covers.
I then drifted off to sleep, my last thought was wondering what was in store for me tomorrow.
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I awoke when the sun had just gone past the horizon of the abandoned city.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes, letting out a yawn as I clambered out of the bed to get ready to go to the dreaded Level 0.
I took the sweatshirt off that I had been wearing and threw it in the basket that was by the door.
I walked to the wardrobe and grabbed a plain dark blue long sleeve shirt, black stretchy cargo pants and a black jacket. I changed into those clothes and made my way down the staircase.
I snatched a randomly spawned banana that happened to be on the dining table.
After I had finished it, I put on my boots and started my walk to the building that held the doorway to Level 0.
I always felt a wave of nostalgia and deja vu looking around this city, almost as if I had been here before. Perhaps once in a dream.
I love looking up at the tall buildings, and looking at the broken down cars that are too far gone to be repaired.
But it was so, so lonely. I would give anything to just be back home, or to at least be stuck here with at least one person.
After a little while longer, I had finally reached the building that contained the doorway I needed. The best part is that all the doors are themed to look like their level.
I entered the building and walked up to the pale yellow door, with the oddly printed wallpaper that covered it.
I mentally prepared myself before entering. I pulled a book out of my little backpack that I had thrown on and flipped the page until I reached one labeled “The Howler”.
I studied the page to make sure I knew everything about the creature and how to avoid it.
Ok, ok. ‘break line of sight if spotted, usually by taking multiple turns around walls’.
Ok. ‘Will hear knocking when it gets close’.
Got it. ‘Not good at tracking, but incredibly fast. Bad eyesight, good hearing.’
Great… Just great.
I take a deep breath before opening the door and stepping through it.
I make sure to look around all of my surroundings to make sure nothing is waiting for me.
All clear.
I started walking down the twists and turns I had memorized, taking a black crayon I had and scribbling poorly drawn arrows on the walls to point in the direction of where the exit door was.
I reached a little room with cabinets that I hadn’t been in yet. I started rummaging through them to see if there was anything useful and I had found another book.
Score!!!
I had just opened the book to see what it said when I heard a loud screech.
The Howler.
I jumped up as fast as I could and quickly looked around to see where it was. But I didn’t see it. Where was it?
I then heard it again and realized it wasn’t very close to me. I breathed out a sigh of relief but then realized.
Wait…
The Howler only shrieks if it sees someone. Does that mean…?
I hear it screech again, this time slightly closer to where I am, and I start running towards it.
Does this mean someone else is here?
Or is there another entity that it sees?
I wonder as I run faster and faster.
I skid to a halt and peek around the corner, hearing its footsteps slowly walking in the opposite direction of me.
I slowly start creeping behind it, making sure to keep a reasonable distance though in case I have to book it out of here in a moment's notice.
I then see a flash of green and the Howler screams again and starts chasing it. I quickly follow behind it, making sure I don’t lose it.
When I look around the corner again I see something I never thought I would see again. Kneeling down in a little corridor where the Howler can’t fit was a person.
They had on a bright green hoodie, brown pants and a strange looking white mask with a poorly drawn smiley face on it. I can’t believe it! There’s actually someone else here!
My excitement is short lived when I realize the person isn't sitting far enough back, if they make even a single noise, the Howler will be able to drag them out. I watch the Howler getting closer and closer and I decide to make a move.
I stuck my thumb and pointer finger in my mouth and made a high pitched whistle.
That caught the Howlers attention. I quickly dove behind a pillar as the Howler shrieked and ran past, quickly sprinting down the corridor.
I walk past the wall and see the person crawl out from the space they were hiding in. When they stood up, they looked straight at me but didn’t say a word.
I just stared at them, I couldn't even form a coherent word with all the surprise boiling in me.
They finally took a deep breath in...
“Where the hell am I?” The person, or should I say, He asked.