Dear Diary,
I have been trapped in this confinement for what seems to be nearly a month. I have estimated this from the number of times I have fallen asleep (excluding the dream sequences) and the state I wake up in. Now that it has been a month, I have started to piece together a few things. Firstly, I have been locked in here with two of my friends that I had met during this journey, Harold and Jolynn. This man, who calls himself The Scientist, is a very prominent figure in this field and an incredibly famous person as well. I base this off on the fact that he has such a large accumulation of wealth to be able to conduct such things, and due to his fame, he is easily able to cover up what is really happening here.
Secondly, he has this weird trick that makes us fall asleep and live an unusual fantasy. I say this as the majority of the gases I know about that do not have the capability to cause such a thing. This is something new entirely, and I feel as if the gas was just a cover-up from the main source. The dreams itself are pretty simple. Either we relive a past memory, or he places us in a completely new environment filled with otherworldly things. The previous dream sequence I had; I was stranded on a lone desert surrounded by man-eating centipedes that chased me for what felt like ages. Upon being caught, they viciously teared me alive, and I had awoken from that dream. The pain I feel in the dream does have a lingering after effect in reality, and so I am not able to move for a while after.
On the other hand, it is much easier to realise that I am in a dream now as there are certain aspects of it that point it out. Otherworldly creatures, objects that are not real, the random glitches that appear on walls, and the over exaggeration of places I am placed in. I do not think that he is trying to cover up the fact that I am placed in a dream, but instead wants to use the fact that I am in a dream to do whatever he pleases. Because, even after the dream has ended, the mental toll that was taken on my brain in the dream continues afterwards. At some points, I feel sick to the point that I throw up.
Surprisingly, he has not placed me in many dreams and instead has opted to converse with me in the meantime. I must admit that he is, in fact, a very intellectual being, far superior to me. The things he talks about are very advanced, but thanks to my expertise in sociology, I am able to keep up. Another bizarre thing about him is that he has a huge lack of emotion. At certain moments, I feel as if he shows some bits and pieces of his feelings, but overall, he is very stone cold. Maybe it has something to do with his past? I may have to ask him more about it.
At this point, I must also add in the concern I have for Harold and especially Jolynn. A while back, I had heard Jolynn scream. My heart aches as I fear something bad must have happened. However, I must also take into account a new viewpoint. Today, I found that the clock planted on my wall was indeed fake, and on the other side, there were clusters of scientists scampering around. Eavesdropping in one of the conversations, I had learnt something terrible. We are not the first! And we may not be the last! So, maybe the scream I had heard was not Jolynn's and possibly another stranger next to me. Disgustingly, I feel somewhat relieved that it isn't Jolynn who is suffering.
As a sociologist, I should feel much more empathetic towards everyone as my job is to help the people, but, as a friend, my morals disappear. I cling towards those more important to me as I set aside anyone I don't know. Humanly, it may be wrong, but even so, I still can not remove the bonds that I have with those closest to me. The next thing I want to discuss is the people. If we are all placed into this experiment for the same reason, then how come we are being treated differently. It may not seem like much, but his mannerisms towards me are much more special. It feels almost romantic, dare I say. I must also expect that the same is being done for Jolynn and Harold.
That begs the question, why? What is so special about us three? I have a few conditions that may be the reason. First, it may be because of our fame. Harold is a well-known businessman; Jolynn's family are well-known farmers, and I am a well-known sociologist. Forgive me for sounding arrogant, but that it the truth. So, if we base it of that, maybe the people before us were less known or even normal strangers that he had picked which would make sense as to why we were not told any big news about disappearances.
The second condition may be our intelligence. From what I have heard, Jolynn was in the newspapers and was labelled as a prodigy being able to attend university at only seventeen. Harold, I have not heard of much, but there may be something special about him that has poked the attention of The Scientist. Speaking to Harold on the train, he was a well-spoken individual and had this lingering intelligence covering him, which would fit in with the condition. And not to sound arrogant, but I also have been awarded based on my intelligence and recognised as well by various famous people.
The third may be something much more personal. If he bases our dreams of past experiences that are either traumatic or sentimental, then it means that there are things within our past that are crucial for his experiment to continue. I also believe that the reason for our special treatment is that he may have also experienced such an event that changed his future. So, the two options that remain are that all the conditions are being met and so gives us the impression that he wants to test on intelligent, wealthy people that have been traumatised in the past or if it is individually then he most likely has chosen the intelligence part or the past experience part. Whichever one of those is true helps me get closer to his goals and the reason for our special treatment.
Knowing him, he is probably watching as I write everything down right now. I bet he has this demonic smile upon his face as his eyes stare into the camera with such intent that it will kill any ordinary person that was present. Whatever the case is, I know that nothing remains hidden in this room. Not even my thoughts. Something else has been bothering me. The knocks. At my estate, I had heard the knocks for the first time. At first, I thought that it was nothing much other than someone here to deliver mail, but when I opened the door, there was no one. That is almost impossible, however, as there is a vast piece of land in front of me that would make it impossible to hide anywhere. So, this may sound foolish, but what if it is something supernatural? Maybe a ghost? Or an alien? When I write this down, I can't help but laugh at my foolishness. Of course, ghosts do not exist. Nor do aliens. That is just something made up by sceptics that try to make life more entertaining for themselves. However, that same pattern followed me to his building. As much as I do not believe in this foolery, some part of me feels as if this is the only possible answer. Strange, very strange. Well, that is all I have to write for now. I must continue to figure out ways to escape until we meet again.
Goodbye.
Leaning back in my chair, I stared at the speaker in the corner of the room, waiting for him to start talking. My mind has already accepted the fact that he was watching, and all it waited for was him to come in and start spouting his nonsense. I waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. Nothing. No sign of his voice, nor was there any sign of the static sound of the microphone.
Was he truly not watching me? That is hard to believe. I do not think that he would miss such a moment like this. Where has he gone?
I thought, trying to find answers to my never-ending questions. Bored, I tapped my pencil on the desk, humming a quiet tune that I learnt from my mother.
How is brother doing? I hope he is still focusing on his studies. God, please watch over him for me and protect him from all the evil in the world.
"Time for bed Annabeth. Goodnight." A voice said from the speaker, but it wasn't his. It was new and much higher pitched. He was still a man but sounded almost feminine.
"Wha..." Before I could even react, my eyes shut close as I hit my head onto the desk and lost consciousness.
Waking up, I let out a groan as I felt a sharp pain in my head. Rubbing it slowly, I tried to pick myself up. After a few minutes, my senses came back to me as I started to look around at my surroundings. It was dark, and the walls around me were made of stone. A few torches were lined up, making it just visible enough so that I did not run into anything but still hard to look further than a few feet. On my left, there was a small exit that eld into complete darkness. Walking around the room, I pressed my hand on the stone-cold walls. There was nothing significant that caught my attention, so I grabbed one of the torches that was lit with fire and made my way into the dark abyss. I could hear the irregular taps of water in front of me, as the ground below me was wet and muddy. Making my way through the narrow passage, I made sure that I did not slip and injure myself. It felt like eternity, walking through his tight squeeze. The more I walked forward, the longer the passage felt. An ice warm breeze brushed over my back, sending shivers down my spine as I cuddled myself to keep me warm. The torch I held up high and in front of me so that I could see everything that was happening.
After what felt like hours, I finally made my way out of the tight passage and into a large, spacious room. There were statues lined up on either side, each holding a different weapon or instrument in their hands. In front of me was a large gate with ancient symbols on it. It was not Latin and not any other language I had known off. This was something far more ancient. On the walls, there were pictures of these creatures that I had never seen before.
How peculiar.
I thought. Walking over to the pictures, I moved the torch closer to it to get a better view. The drawings were similar to the works of the Egyptians, yet it almost resembled the modern day. The creatures were not human as far as I could see. They had long, thin arms and no face. One of them held a staff and wore a long robe whilst the rest of them bowed in front of it. The next picture was of that same leader meeting with something that looked familiar. The shape, size, and build were all so familiar. And then I realised what it was.
The first homo sapiens! They came here!
My eyes couldn't believe what I was witnessing. It was like a fairy tale that I would have listened to as a child. Aliens existed. And they came here. The picture beside it was also a picture of Earth. Everything that we knew of. All shattered in that one moment. My beliefs and ideals, everything science lived for had come crumbling down. This changed everything, and I felt excited. I felt excited for the new knowledge that awaited me. Walking up to the gate, there was a line written in ancient Latin.
"Time Deum." I whispered as I brushed my hand across it.
Suddenly, the door started to open. It was so loud that I thought my ears would fall off. On the other side was what seemed to be the entrance to a labyrinth. I stepped foot into the maze cautiously, making sure that nothing jumped out and attacked me. Making my way to the starting point, the door behind me started to close. Scared, I quickly turned around and tried to make my way back, but I was too slow. I was trapped inside this labyrinth, my only choice being to venture forwards into the unknown. I walked straight for a while, darting my head left and right, keeping my torch high above, making sure that I was able to see far enough.
Rustle.
My body froze. Slowly moving my body to my left, I looked at the vines, which hung down to make a large second wall, trying to see where the noise came from. Gathering the courage, I made my way towards it and slowly reached out. I flung the vines out of the way, bracing myself for any creature that was lurking behind it. Nothing. A sigh of relief left my body as I continued forward. The floor was muddy, and I nearly lost my balance a few times, but I remained steadfast and ventured forward. The wind whistled as the vines swayed side to side, almost forming the illusion of someone standing there watching me. Nervous, I slowed down my pace and started to look around to see any unusual behaviours. Walking towards the vines, I grabbed one of them and started to pull down to see if anything happened.
Snap.
Looking up, a large portion of the vine broke off and headed straight at me. Luckily, I jumped out of the way in time, landing straight into the muddy water.
Such an idiot.
I thought to myself as I stood up. Brushing myself off, I grabbed my torch (which thankfully didn't go out) and continued forward. After a while of walking, I reached a crossroad. Looking to my right, it was pitch black and looking to my left. It was pitch black.
Well, great. Now, what do I do?
As I aimed my torch at the left route, I squinted my eyes, so try and find something that I could notice. In the distance, I noticed some slight movement.
Yeah, no, not going that way.
And so, I opted to go down the right route. The air got colder as the wind started to blow intensely. As I continued to walk down the passage, I heard faint whispers from the vines. Fear started to well up inside me as I tried my best to ignore the eerie whispers.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
The constant sound of water dripping nonstop started to make me go insane. I could feel my patience running out as I walked down this awfully long passage whilst enduring the annoying sound of droplets. Suddenly, the wind stopped as I felt the atmosphere turn tense. I stopped in my tracks immediately and started to look around for anything suspicious.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
My body froze.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
My eyes filled with fear as my body tensed up. I felt myself going crazy again. Deep down, I begged that what I heard was something else. That it couldn't be here as well. It surely couldn't. And then I felt a cold breath on the back of my neck. I clutched onto my torch so tightly that I had a feeling it might break from the pressure. In the back of my mind, I had this urge to look behind me, but the fear was too strong. I then felt a hand placed on my shoulder. It was bony and slimy. Every time the hand squeezes on my shoulder, the bones let out an ear-piercing crack that numbed my ears. Slowly, my eyes moved to see what was grabbing onto me.
As I turned, I felt immense fear wash over me. Behind me was a skeleton. Yet it wasn't a skeleton. It morphed into a human. But it wasn't a human. It morphed into something alien. It looked robotic. And as it noticed I was watching; it tilted its head towards me and reverted back to a skeleton. In an instant, I ran as fast as I could away from it, screaming like a madman. My heart thumped, and I struggled to breathe. Taking a look back, I saw it chasing me on all fours, its bones cracking louder and louder. I ran. And ran. And ran. And ran. As fast as I possibly could. I took a left, then a right, then another right.
Slip.
Landing flat on my face, I wasted no second to get back up and wipe the muddy water of my face, and I continued to run. I felt blood trickle down the top of my eyebrow as a droplet entered my left eye. I winced in pain, but I brushed it off as I had bigger problems to think of. Looking back, the creature had ended up running on the walls and jumping across each wall to gain momentum. In an instant, it leapt towards me, reaching its hand out and pinning me to the floor. I struggled and wailed, but nothing helped. I was trapped. Staring at it, my left eye was covered in blood, and my right eyes started to well up. A tear dropped out as I screamed at it to let me go. It raised its hand and stabbed me right in the side of the stomach. I screamed. The pain was excruciating. I continued to scream, begging it to let me go, but it dug deeper into me as I felt it touch the bottom of my rib cage.
Crack.
My eyes shot wide open, as I felt my bone break in half. It yanked its hand out, and I saw that it was holding a part of my rib cage. For a second, there was no pain, and then it kicked in. I screamed intensely as my mind started to lose consciousness. Blood poured out and started to stain my clothes. It then stabbed me with my own bone in the middle of my stomach. I coughed out blood as my lungs filled up with my own blood. My eyes felt weary, and I could barely see anymore. I faded in and out of consciousness as I saw it dig the bone deeper into my stomach. I knew that it was time. There was no way I could survive this. Even though I knew that I would wake up and that it was all just a dream, the pain I would feel after would still be excruciating. My eyes closed as I faded into the dark. I was dead.
My eyes flew wide open as I sat myself up, letting out a groan as I held my head.
What kind of dream was that? I thought to myself. Wait, no pain? I held onto my chest. For the first time, I didn't feel any pain after experiencing any type of injury. It was really unusual.
Getting up, I waited for my eyes to adjust to my surroundings again. It was dark. My eyes hadn't fully adjusted to the room yet, so I waited and waited and waited. Finally, they had gotten used to the area, and I started to move happily. And then I stopped. A drop of sweat trickled down my forehead as I couldn't believe what was happening.
I'm still here? How?
Looking to my left, the same row of torches were lined up, and the exit was in the same exact place it was before. Realising that I was not going to be able to wake up any time soon, I grabbed a torch and made my way through the narrow passage. It was the same exact way I had left it when I first walked through. The same muddy water and the same exact stone-cold wall. Behind me, the same exact icy warm wind struck the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. Finally, I made my way back to the statue room, where I decided to linger around for a while. I walked around, looking at all the pictures that were drawn. After a while, I started to create a timeline that helped me understand the whole story.
So, these things are from another galaxy, and they have been travelling the universe since the big bang. Apparently, they have existed before the Big Bang and call themselves nobody. I think due to the fact that they have no origin nor a home place. After travelling a while, they located Earth and were intrigued by the life on here. And thus, they came in contact with the first Homo Sapiens. They gifted them with special powers that allowed them to...to put people in dreams. That is how he can do this. And they dreams were special. They were not real but real at the same time. Each dream was actually a real place, and the pain that was felt during the dream was translated into real life. It wouldn't kill them, but the pain would bring them to the feeling of death.
The first Homo Sapiens used this power a lot to the point that they turned on one another. After a while, The Nobody got bored of them and stripped them of the power. They tried to attack them to get it back but failed and were kept prisoners past the gates. So that labyrinth holds dead people. So, these things have a collective name called The Nobody, and they are basically ancient. But why choose the Scientist after all this time? It had been millions of years. What sparked their interest again? And where in the hell is this place? I guess the only way I can escape is by finding the exit. Oh God, please give me strength.
Making my way to the gate, I pushed it open and began my treacherous walk into the face of death. I held my torch up high and remained vigilant of my surroundings. As I trekked further down, I ignored any strange noises and continued forth. I finally reached the crossroads, and instead of taking a right, I opted to take a left. I walked further down, the passage getting darker and darker. It reached a point to which I could only see right in front of me. I could hear whistling in the distance and the rustling from the vines. Behind me, I heard sluggish yet fast footsteps, but I continued at my usual pace, ignoring everything. I walked and walked for what seemed like ages until I found another crossroad.
Left, or right?
I asked myself. I continued left, the footsteps behind me getting louder and louder and faster and faster. Not long after, my hair was yanked back as I was thrown across the floor, my torch leaving my hand. I was tossed into the pitch darkness. Getting up, I could see the faint light of the torch. However, it was too far for me to reach without being attacked. As I took a step, I was attacked from behind as I was punched by what felt like steel. I could hear my bones crack as I wailed in agony, squirming on the floor. I could hear it walk towards me as it picked me up by the hair and threw me into the wall. I coughed out blood as I tried my best to get up, but before I could, it kicked me in the stomach. I lunged at it, but it grabbed my hand and ripped it off like paper. I screamed in fear and pain as blood blew out of my right arm. I knew that this was it for me as I gave up and let it finish me. It picked me up by the neck and thrust its fist through my stomach.
And I died. Again.
I awoke back at the beginning. Wasting no time, I entered the labyrinth again. I took a left, and then instead of another left, I went right. I could hear the loud footsteps behind me. They sounded metallic, yet the metal had bone-like crunches following it. I could feel the cold breath of it on my back, but I paid no attention. I continued forward without end, making sure that I did not change my pace by the slightest.
If I am correct, this labyrinth should follow some rules like it does in the books. Maybe I am foolish for trusting fiction, but now I don't even know what is real and what isn't any more. Firstly, if I choose the correct path, it won't attack me, but it will just follow me. As soon as I choose the wrong path, I am as good as dead. It is all based on trial and error. Next is that if it senses that I am rushing in any way, then it will attack me even if I am on the right path. Next is that I must not respond to any noises at all, nor should I pay attention to them. And lastly, stay away from the vines. If I go near them, they will also attack me.
Once I reached another crossroad, I decided to continue right. I took a deep breath and started walking. I could hear the footsteps, but they were not getting any louder or closer. A small smile appeared as I found out that I was on the right path. The wind became colder as time passed, as I could feel myself starting to slow down. But I pushed forward. Another crossroad.
Left.
I took a breath and continued forth. A few seconds in, I felt my hair get pulled, and I was flung across the floor. The creature wasted no time and ripped my arm off, and this time, my leg was as well. I wailed in pain and cried out, telling it to just finish me off, but it didn't listen. After a while of torture, I thrust its hand through my stomach, and I was dead. Again.
Left. Right. Right. Right. Now, right. Dead. It tore both my arms and crushed my head.
Left. Right. Right. Right. Left. Left. Safe. Now left. Safe. Now, right. Dead. It tore both my legs and drove them through my stomach.
Left. Right. Right. Right. Left. Left. Left. Left. Now left. Dead. It picked me up and dropped me from a big height.
Left. Right. Right. Right. Left. Left. Left. Right. Now left. Safe. Right. Dead. It ripped my head off.
Left. Right. Right. Right. Left. Left. Left. Right. Left. Left. Now left. Dead. It ripped out my heart.
Left. Right. Right. Right. Left. Left. Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. Now, right. Safe. Now, right. Safe. Now left. Dead. It crushed my eyes and broke my jaw.
Left. Right. Right. Right. Left. Left. Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. Right. Right. Right. Now, right. Safe. Now left. Safe. Now, right. Safe. Now left. Dead. It ripped me in half.
Left. Right. Right. Left. NO! Dead. Wrong way, and it crushed my head.
Left. Right. Right. Right. Left. Left. Was it right? Wrong. Dead. Strangled me with the vines.
Left. Right. Right. Right. Left. Left. Left. Right. Left. Left. Right. Right. Right. Right. Right. Left. Right. Right. Now, right. Safe. Now left. Safe. Now left. Safe. Now, right. Dead. It severed all my arms and legs and ripped my head off.
Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.
Dead! Dead! Dead! Dead! Dead! Dead! Dead! Dead!
DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD! DEAD!
I can't go on. I can't! I can't! Please, someone save me. Anyone. I can't anymore. I've had enough. I...
I give up...