I'm writing all of this down while it's still fresh in my mind. I didn't expect that it would get to this point, I can't say any of us did. You can never really predict when disaster is going to strike. If I would've known that anything like this was going to happen, I wouldn't have agreed to any of it. I just want to be done with it.
I only vaguely remember that night before we got in the cab, despite it not being that long ago. Jack and I were both exhausted from something, most likely a long night at the house party. Ryan had vowed to stay awake and make sure we all got home safe and sound. He had been a bit anxious throughout the night, he was convinced that the drinks we had had were spiked or had some kind of substance in them. I understood his concern, there was no way to make sure that they were safe. I let him go along with his plan to stay up, and I fell asleep.
When I woke up, I wasn't in a cab. Or anywhere I recognized.
I was awoken to the lights around me abruptly flickering on, as bright as daylight. I squinted my eyes groggily at the vividness. The first thought through my head was, "What were the guys doing?" They were never up this early. At least, not on off days. Something wasn't right. That, then, was when I began to remember the events of the previous night. I was supposed to stay overnight with Jack and Ryan, then head home to my own apartment in the morning. Ryan never woke me up in the cab. What had happened between then and now?
I fully opened my eyes and was greeted with a dual set of fluorescent lights nearly blinding me. I squinted them shut again and sat up in whatever "bed" I was in. I rubbed my watering eyes with the side of my hand and got myself back on my guard and in the moment to deal with whatever this was. I was able to see my surroundings now. I sat, and slept, it seemed, on what looked to be a rather barren and uncomfortable hospital bed. There were no sheets or blankets, and the mattress itself sat only on a thin metal bed frame. The atmosphere was deathly quiet, the only sound being the buzzing of the fluorescent lights. The room itself had dark stone walls and floors. There were a few dark stains scattered across the floor. That didn't make me feel well.
The room was empty other than the bed and a white jumpsuit hung on a hook on the far wall next to a heavy door. A tag was attached to the sleeve of the jumpsuit. I felt as though I needed to investigate everything in here further, but I wasn't sure if I should, or if I was even allowed. I didn't even have any kind of semblance of where I was, or if Jack and Ryan were safe. By God, I hoped they were.
Against any kind of reservations I had, I got up off the bed and slowly approached the opposing wall with the jumpsuit. My stomach knotted itself more and more with each step. What had I gotten myself into? What had we? I brought the sleeve of the jumpsuit up and looked at the tag. A message was written in red pen and rushed handwriting:
Put this on & come outside.
It seemed I didn't really have a choice. By the looks of my accommodations and this garb, I felt like I was in somebody's custody. Like I was somebody's prisoner. What anyone would want to do with me, I didn't know. But I had a feeling I wasn't going to like whatever came next. I changed into the white jumpsuit and went over to the door. Come outside? The door was just unlocked in a place like this? I pulled on the handle and the door clicked and swung open to reveal a dimly lit hallway. I guessed I shouldn't have questioned it.
I stepped out of my space and into the hallway. The ambience out here wasn't much different than in the other room. I was surrounded by more stone in every direction, and the electrical hum of the lights was still prevalent. It was at least a lot more open, that was a plus. But I wasn't really sure where to go from here, the note on the jumpsuit hadn't given me any instruction past this point. I started to walk in one direction, hoping there'd be some kind of answer somewhere along the line.
I had barely taken a few steps before I heard a noise behind me, not far off from where I was. I stopped in my tracks. I was too terrified to turn around. I kept listening for a moment, frozen in place and silent. I didn't even let out a breath. I heard the noise again, and then again, closer and closer still. I realized what it was.
Footsteps; and they were running in my direction.
I began to panic. There was no way on Earth that was a good sound. I wanted to run, but any way I ran, I was going to make noise and attract attention to myself from whatever was coming my way. I had to act fast. I had to think of something.
I gave up on trying to be strategic and started sprinting. Whatever, or whoever, was behind me probably already had sights on me. It didn't pay to be quiet or stealthy, especially with time being this sensitive. I had so many thoughts racing through my mind; who was chasing me, where could I go that was safe, would I find Jack and Ryan? As I ran, I could hear the footsteps behind me inching closer. They were still a ways off, but not far enough for me to be safe. That was when I noticed something I hadn't picked up on before. A second, similar noise within the threshold of the first. A second set of footsteps.
I didn't know what to do now. I wasn't sure what to expect to begin with, but now I knew there were two of whatever it was. All I could do was run faster, but I could feel my adrenaline wearing thin. My legs were starting to feel shaky and sore. It was getting hard to breathe. I wasn't sure how much more I could take.
Behind me, the footsteps were only seconds away. At this point, whatever was chasing me was bound to catch me. I slowed to a walk before leaning against the wall, eyes closed and wheezing from exhaustion.
"Whoever you are...whatever you are," I addressed between breaths, "I'm tired of running. You can take me. I'll do whatever you want. Just...if you have my brothers...don't hurt them. Let them go...please."
"...Adam?"
I froze. The voice sounded familiar.
Too familiar, and too good to be true, I thought to myself.
I forced my eyes open and turned my head back to face the stone hallway. My exhausted, blurry vision could make out two fuzzy white shapes, side by side, just a few feet away from me. I reached one of my hands up and rubbed my eyes, hoping to clear them up a bit. Blinking, I saw two definite familiar faces, donning the same jumpsuit as myself. They smiled with tears in their eyes.
Jack and Ryan.
I tried to stifle a sob, but after everything that had happened, it was no use. We all collapsed into each other, our cries and sniffles drowning out the ambience. If I could've held onto them forever at that moment, I would've.
"You're alive!" I mumbled between sobs, "Oh my god, you're alive..."
"So are you!" Jack replied.
We all came closer, not needing to say a word. Whether we were all enjoying each other's company or just needed to calm down, I wasn't sure, but in either case, having everyone there was a million times better than being alone.
"We should...probably try to find a place to talk that isn't in the middle of a hallway," Ryan pointed out after a minute or two.
"Oh," Jack concurred. "Fair point."
"There's a lot of other hallways that branch from this one," I suggested. "One of them is bound to have a safe room for us to hide out in."
"Yeah, I noticed that while you were running your half-marathon," Ryan teased.
"...Listen-"
"Guys...?" Jack interrupted, an intense expression on his face. He gestured down the hall, in the direction we just came from. "Do you hear that?"
Ryan and I exchanged uneasy glances before I shifted my attention to where Jack was pointing. I was afraid to find out what it was. I didn't want to risk losing my family again, not after I just found them. At first, there was only silence in the distance. Then, a faint static sound, followed by what sounded like someone talking over a walkie-talkie. My eyes widened.
"We need to go," I commanded.
"Don't have to tell me twice," Jack agreed.
As fatigued as we all were from running before, now there was something near us that may just be a real danger. Rather than just break into a dead sprint again, we huddled near a corner wall of a branching hallway. This time it was better to be strategic. I peeked around the corner, the path seemed to be empty and silent. I looked back to Jack and Ryan with a nod, and we speed-walked single-file as quietly as we could. From there, we ducked into an open door of what looked to be a small, empty office. On the desk inside sat an empty medical needle with a label I couldn't make out. What was this place?
"Where are we going?" Ryan whispered, his eyes darting around the room before finding me.
My gaze never left the hallway as I slowly pulled the door shut. "I guess here is good."
We all made our way toward the back of the room and sat on the floor. I hoped whatever was in the hallway with us hadn't seen us duck in here.
"You never got to tell me," I mused. "How did you guys find me?"
"I guess all of our cells were near each other," Jack responded. "The two of us came out into the hall at the same time, and a few minutes later we heard you and tried to catch up with you."
"God...'cells'. You say that like it's a prison," Ryan interjected, in a not-so-confident tone.
Jack's expression shifted to something less inviting. "What would you rather I call it?" He snapped. "'Cause by the looks of it, it sure as hell isn't summer camp."
Ryan looked like he was taken aback. "Right...sorry..."
We all stayed quiet for a time. Jack hadn't been like this since we were kids and he hadn't gotten his way about something. Honestly, this time I didn't blame him.
"It's...fine," Jack said. "I'm just testy, I think. I'm sure we all are."
Ryan and I nodded.
"Where...do you think we are?" Ryan asked.
I shrugged. "Who's to say?"
Before anyone could contribute any thoughts, there was a thud, and the door came crashing open. A tall, dark, intimidating silhouette stood in the doorway. The three of us backed up further to the edge of the room. The figure hovered at the doorway for a moment before proceeding into the room toward us. I could feel my entire body begin to tremble. I started to wonder if I was going to make it out of this alive. The figure retrieved a boxy-shaped object, presumably another walkie-talkie, from its waist and spoke only one disconcerting phrase into it:
"I've found them."
The three of us exchanged terrified glances. Loud, thundering footsteps could be heard in the distance, gradually approaching. Soon after, two additional figures appeared next to the first. It was unclear what their intentions were, but it seemed we had no other options but to do whatever they asked. I wanted to resist. I wanted to fight tooth and nail and run. But more than that, I wanted to survive. My eyes fell to the floor and I put my hands behind my head. Jack and Ryan hesitated a moment, seemingly not wanting to give up just yet. I watched as the light in their eyes slowly died out. They followed suit. One by one, we were led out of the office. Little did I know that would be the last time I would see a gleam of hope in my brothers' faces for a long time.
****
We walked for what must've been, realistically, only a matter of minutes, but to me felt like forever. I suppose fear will do that to you; time slows almost to a standstill in the most ominous of moments. I wasn't sure where we were headed, but I know I had the worst premonition about it. I kept hoping that at some point I'd wake up in my bed and that this would all be some freakish nightmare I could put behind me. It was the least I could tell myself to help cope with it all.
"Am I allowed to ask where we're going?" Ryan spoke up after several long minutes of uncomfortable silence.
"No," One of the Figures answered without missing a beat, and without further explanation.
"...Right," Ryan muttered under his breath.
No one said anything else on the topic. We continued the rest of our journey in silence. Eventually, we came to a locked door, not unlike any of the other doors we had passed on our way here. One of the Figures retrieved a keyring from within their coat and withdrew one particular, golden key from the rest before turning it in the lock and opening the door. The other two shoved us forcefully from the back, giving us each a start. It seemed this was our destination.
This room was very much unlike the rest of the building. The walls were decorated with ornate, geometric patterns and painted with a shiny gold color. Sconces dimly lit the right wall in addition to a tarped window on the far one. A settee sat in the center of the room on top of a low platform, under which looked to be some type of track. This room could have been beautiful, but it was confusing as ever now. I looked back at our chaperones to this new location, who stood back at the now re-locked doorway. Not one of them spoke a word or moved a muscle out of place. I should've figured as much. I glanced back to Jack and Ryan, who seemed to be just as clueless as I was in this endeavor. I could only assume we were supposed to sit on the settee, and the rest would make sense after that. We each gave each other a shrug and a look of uncertainty before taking our respective seats.
I had no idea what to expect. For a moment, nothing happened. We just sat, motionless and in uneasy silence, waiting for whatever was going to be done unto us. Then, a pair of gloves came into my peripheral vision, grasping a blindfold. There was something along these tracks we weren't allowed to see. I was growing to dislike more and more of this place, but there was nothing I could do to fight it and ensure my safety. Now unable to see, a click sounded, and the entire platform beneath us began to move.
We passed through an arch and set of curtains into a different location. I couldn't make any reliable guesses about it based on intuition alone. I didn't want to try to, either. The only thing I could pick up on was that there was an uncomfortable energy. Something unwelcoming resonating from all around us. I didn't like that I couldn't see anything on top of that.
"Guys?" I heard Jack's voice call out in a hushed whisper. "I'm...scared."
I nodded before realizing, again, that we couldn't see each other. I reached over and grabbed one of his hands, and it felt like Ryan was doing the same. He was shaking with anxiety.
"It's gonna be okay," Ryan reassured, his voice ever so slightly trembling in a tone just as worrisome. "We're...we're gonna find a way out of here...one way or the other--"
"Quiet!" A voice behind us bellowed commandingly.
We all jumped, and a slight whimper was heard from Jack. He gripped my hand tighter. I didn't blame him. I didn't show it, but I was just as afraid as him or Ryan.
Behind me, I could feel the blindfold begin to loosen against the back of my head before dropping off of my face. I hesitantly opened my eyes. All around, there were vintage box television sets, every single one of them turned on. Some displayed only a black screen, some the infamous horror-movie picture of white static. Others, however, showed messages in a variety of languages. Russian, Spanish, German, even some languages I couldn't recognize. Nonetheless, none of the messages were things I could understand. That was until one television screen flashed a word in English: Truth.
There was suddenly a loud glass breaking sound. I looked around to see that one of the TVs behind us had been smashed. We each tried to take a second to slow our breathing again, but it wasn't long enough before another one of the Figures took a mallet to a second one of the television sets, sending us all back into high gear. There were more and more of the Figures in this room now, and they were breaking the televisions one by one, sending shards of glass flying into the air. We hunched over and huddled near each other so as not to sustain any injuries from all the shrapnel.
The glass breaking continued for quite some time. I felt a piece of glass nick me on the cheek. I winced at the sting. As gentle as I could, I brushed the shard off of my face. A tiny smear of blood was left on my hand. It didn't go unnoticed.
"Are you okay?" Ryan called over the cacophony.
"I'm fine," I called back. "Just a little cut."
Ryan and Jack each gave me a worried glance before turning their attention back toward the track ahead. My face felt warm where the glass had scratched me. Seconds later, Ryan flinched and pulled his hand up to his neck. I could only predict that he, too, had been injured by the glass. When he brought his hand down, his fingertips were lightly stained a dark red color. It seemed we weren't going to make it out of this unscathed, after all.
To our relief, the piercing sounds of glass shattering abruptly stopped. I peered back at the track behind us to see what must've been a dozen Figures standing side by side, still as statues amongst the chaos they'd created. They stood in complete silence, mallets in hand and in perfect formation. Somehow, they seemed to be untouched by all of the glass shards. That was all I could see before the same black blindfold from before was replaced across my eyes. It appeared we would have to go back to only wondering about what was going to happen to us. We passed through another set of curtains, so it seemed to me that we had at least reached the end of whatever hell trip we had just had to endure. In that, I could find solace.
The next room was a bit more humid, as well as a tad bit warmer. Once again, I felt the knot loosen before the blindfold was lifted off of my eyes. The room had a red-orange hue, illuminated by spotlights along the walls. A smoky mist flowed throughout and made it a bit difficult, but not impossible to breathe. The platform we were seated on slowed to a stop at a block on the track. It looked as though we had reached our final destination. Just off the tracks, we could hear clamoring and lots of loud noise. On Ryan's side of the settee, there was a decent-sized clearing that opened out into an outdoor area of some sort. I began to wonder if this was our chance until I saw the vague shadows of other people, and what looked to be a fence. Unfortunately, we were supposed to go there.
Jack cautiously led the way, and Ryan and I followed. We were all apprehensive of what to expect once we rounded the corner. None of the noises were good noises, and we had been through so much already that anything new just made us more anxious. I almost didn't want to find out what was awaiting us--no, scratch that--I just didn't. At that moment, part of me was still expecting to wake up in Ryan's apartment in the hopes that it all was just some nightmare I could put behind me and one day forget about. And yet, my face still felt warm from the scratch of the glass...
We rounded the corner to see something somewhat unexpected. On either side of a fenced path were swarms of people; some were dressed in the same attire as the Figures while others were more discernible. In either sense, they behaved chaotically. Fires were lit on either side of the path, people were yelling, some of them were fighting. Whether or not it was targeted at us or something unrelated, I didn't know. I certainly didn't feel comfortable. The three of us said nothing, to each other or the people on either side of us. In the distance, there sat what looked to be a warehouse-type building, similar to the one we just came from. We kept walking amidst the calamity until our last steps reached the doorstep.
Past that, everything is black.