Brian Januario — Grade 10

It’s been 137 days since I’ve been outside according to the screen standing right before my eyes. Objects that felt cord-like fell off my body as the door in front of me opened with thick fog steaming out from its sides. I wanted to get up but it proved to be rather difficult. After some struggling I got up only to be greeted by what dwelled beyond the door. My eyesight was rather blurry so I walked to the nearest thing. It felt cold and looked darker than the shadows around it. My eyes were adjusting to the environment around me. My body shivered but I felt overzealous for reasons unknown. Soon after I saw cords everywhere ranging from all shades of grey. I followed them as if following bread crumbs left by the last explorers. The atmosphere around me seemed to change as I walked, as if it was playing mind games. One moment it would look pink with a nice glossy wood flooring, the next it would be darker than death. The destination I arrived at was bright pink and a cheerful voice asked me if I was lost. Ignoring it I walked towards what seemed like a dead end. The voice repeated what it had said before but louder, it still kept it’s charming tone though. I looked around noticing something resembling a puppet. It kept talking but I only cared for what laid ahead. I lost concentration looking for the voice and the cords were no longer here. It walked up to me asking if I wanted to talk about something but I ignored it once again. It’s consistent annoyance actually didn’t make me feel any worse, I felt even happier than before. These emotions must be a mistake, where have the cords gone, where am I. Fear and joy were fighting within me as I tried to remain sane, who am I. The room once pink was taken over by the gloomy pitch black abyss. I could see the cords again, I rushed towards them as if they were the only thing I could trust. Something mechanical got louder and louder as if chasing me. There was no longer a dead end greeting me, just an endless hallway. The noise chasing me began to throw something at me but I dare not to look back. Suddenly I came to a complete stop, something hit me. I looked in front of me and all I could see was a vast wasteland throughout a decently sized window. I felt overjoyed but I knew that was a lie, I remember.