I raised my head, disoriented. The world swam back into focus, revealing a desolate landscape of dust and cracked earth. Car tire marks scarred the ground, disappearing into the horizon, the only evidence that we had ever been here. I couldn't quite grasp what Sweet meant by home. All I saw was an empty wasteland, an expanse of parched nothingness stretching as far as the eye could see. The sun beat down mercilessly, turning the air into a shimmering haze, an oasis of despair.
I tried to speak, to demand an explanation from Sweet, but before I could utter a single word, a deep, resonating hum filled the air. It began as a subtle tremor, a gentle vibration that tickled my skin. But it quickly escalated into a full-blown seismic event, the ground beneath my feet throbbing with an unnatural energy. A shiver traced its way down my spine. This wasn't just a tremor; it felt… intentional.
I was scared. My breath hitched in my throat, and my heart hammered against my ribs. I wanted to scream, to run, to do anything to escape this bizarre, terrifying phenomenon. But the others – Sweet, Zara, even that infuriating Koji – seemed strangely unfazed. Zara was pulling out her phone to check her social media. Sweet was trying to remove a stain from his clothes. He really cares about cleaning his clothes now?
And then, it happened. The ground split open with a deafening roar. A colossal cylinder of caven steel, a material known for its impenetrable strength and dark, metallic sheen, began to rise from the depths. It ascended slowly, majestically, its sheer size defying comprehension. As it reached its full height, it dwarfed everything around it, a monolithic monument against the vast, empty sky. Sweet was humming and Zara was posting to the phone now. They didn't care at all!
It was approximately 250 meters tall, rivaling even the Burj Khalifa in its imposing grandeur. The surface of the cylinder was etched with intricate patterns, glowing with a faint, otherworldly light. A circular opening materialized near the base, revealing a dark, gaping maw that promised untold secrets and unknown dangers. This isn't home I said. This is a nightmare.
I was petrified, rooted to the spot. I couldn't move a muscle, couldn't utter a sound. My mind struggled to process what I was witnessing, my reality shattering into a million pieces. What had I gotten myself into?
Without a word, Sweet gestured towards the opening, his expression calm, almost… bored. Zara, smiling gently, placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, urging me forward. Koji, ever the antagonizer, smirked and nudged me with his elbow, the sly grin that told me my life will be even more horrible than it already is. He even put one hand across my shoulder I swear, I am going to punch this jerk.
We drove into the gaping maw, into the underground facility. It was massive, a subterranean city teeming with activity. Countless individuals, clad in identical gray uniforms, scurried around, attending to their duties with focused intensity. The air hummed with the thrum of machinery, the scent of ozone and metal thick in the air.
The scale of it all was overwhelming. I was perplexed, dumbfounded, my mind struggling to reconcile this hidden world with the desolate wasteland above. This place was far fetched, an impossible anomaly in the middle of nowhere. Where are you going to bring me, Sweet?
We walked down a seemingly endless corridor, the walls lined with identical metal doors, each marked with cryptic symbols. Finally, we stopped before one labeled "Early 9". I frowned, confused. What did that even mean?
I hesitated, my hand hovering over the cold metal surface of the door. A sense of foreboding washed over me, a premonition of the unknown challenges that lay ahead. What's on the other side?
Zara chuckled, sensing my apprehension. She reached past me, grasped the handle, and pulled the door open with a flourish. "Don't be such a scaredy-cat, Yoru," she said, her eyes twinkling with amusement. "What's the worst that could happen?"
I reluctantly stepped inside, bracing myself for whatever awaited me on the other side.
I was immediately greeted by the sight of an old, bald man seated behind a cluttered desk. He wasn't unkempt, but his smile was unsettling, a grotesque curve that didn't quite reach his eyes. His face was weathered, etched with lines of experience and a hint of… malice? This is pencil. Great, I thought.
Sweet stepped forward, introducing me to the man. "Pencil, this is Yoru Okonogi. He'll be joining our team."
The old man looked at sweet with disdain, "Are you serious? Another recruit? Have they found the culprit to who has been sending the government documents to the public!?" I was sure that guy was going to kill him.
Sweet smiled sheepishly. "Not yet, Pencil. But Yoru has… potential. I'm sure with enough experience he can definitely rise to the occasion."
The old man's smile disappeared, replaced by a scowl. "Potential is worthless without results. We're wasting our time and resources on these greenhorns when we should be focused on finding who has been leaking the documents to those bastards."
As if on cue, Koji sauntered into the room, his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face. "Speaking of results," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I'm still waiting for the credit to that mission I did 2 weeks ago pencil!"
This is it. I am never working with these guys if the whole point is to argue with each other.
Sweet said that was the man I'd be working with for the mean time, and, to my utter dismay, Koji would still be under him. I could already envision the endless torment that awaited me, the constant bickering, the petty rivalries, and the never-ending stream of snide remarks. Koji wasn't just a rival; he was an annoyance, a constant thorn in my side.
Then, the old man approached me, his gaze piercing and intense. His eyes, the color of faded steel, seemed to bore into my very soul, dissecting my thoughts, exposing my fears. He was getting too close for comfort, his presence suffocating, invasive. A shiver traced its way down my spine, and I instinctively took a step back. I tried to back away but it was not enough.
A grin emerged on his haggard face. It was scary. I felt like he knew everything about me and like he knows I cannot escape. I started to think that I might actually die in this place. This is it! I am going to be a corpse.
Reaching a hand inside of his jacket, he must be carrying a weapon! Is it a knife? A gun? Or maybe a bomb? What is it?!
He pulled out something from his pocket, a worn-out measuring tape, the metal casing dented and scratched, the numbers faded and barely legible. He slowly opened the tape and his coarse voice, reminiscent of a strangled pelican, filled the room. "Stand beside the wall. I'll be taking your measurements."
His voice was so ridiculous, I couldn't help but burst out laughing, and soon there was a deep cut to my face. I was expecting that from pencil.
The laughter died in my throat as a searing pain erupted in my groin. He had punched me, without warning, with brutal efficiency. I crumpled to the floor, kneeling in agony, tears welling in my eyes. I couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't think. The pain was all-consuming, threatening to drown me in its fiery embrace. I was probably soaring to heaven.
"I'll also need a hoodie. I hate your clothes," I said with a cough.
He simply ignored it as he continued to measure me.
He moved with incredible speed, his hands a blur as he darted around me, taking measurements with an almost inhuman precision. It was as if he was in the entire room at the same time, his presence both unsettling and awe-inspiring. He really is something.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the facility, Koji was preparing my room. Or, more accurately, sabotaging it. I had a bad feeling about this the room was probably vandalized.
He added all sorts of ero manga, strategically placing them on the shelves and under the bed, a pathetic attempt to embarrass me in front of… well, anyone who happened to visit. 'As if I'd actually read that garbage,' I thought to myself, the picture doesn't lie, I had all sorts of this when I was just a kid. I was also curious when he hid it under my bed I should probably check it out
I walked into my room after Pencil was done taking my measurements, my mind still reeling from the recent events. I didn't expect that the room to be this neat and cozy I might even want to live here forever! I noticed that there was a document set neatly in the bed. Handing me the document Pencil said that we're going to uncover this by… we? I should've known this would happen. He really meant that I'll be having to work with that Koji again. I wonder what we were going to do. It's not like I am super good at what I was going to do.
I thought to myself
"This will be hellll!'" .