2: Wander

I look around the corridor. There are small horizontal lights on the walls and pillars that glow dimly. Their light reminds me of the gleam that the vertical crystals in my room gave off. I look to my right, and then my left. I decide that my left is a better bet. I don't know why, but something tells me that I should go that way. After walking for a bit, I come upon stairs that lead downwards. I walk down them to the bottom, then exit through a door.

After a few minutes, I hear a noise, and I duck into a nook in the wall. The sound gets louder, and I recognize it as the noise of boots against the floor. I peek my head out slightly and see a group of men walking by. They're all holding some sort of guns, and they are dressed similarly. I duck back into my corner, hardly able to breathe.

"This way," one of them says. Are they coming towards me?, I think. Please don't see me, please don't see me. I hear their footsteps getting louder....and then they turn, and go down my corridor in the opposite direction.

I hold my breath until I can't hear their footsteps anymore. I exhale, and for a few minutes, I stay still, afraid that they'll come back. Then I relax, and step out of my nook. Bad move. There's a man standing in front of me. He's kind of short, but the lethal-looking metal rod that he's holding in his hand makes up for his height (or lack thereof). He's wearing glasses, and I can see that he isn't dressed the same way as the others.

I jump, and the man raises the rod above his head, ready to strike. But just when I think my adventure is going to come to an abrupt end, he speaks. "You're not a soldier." He lowers the rod. "Uh...yeah," I say. "I'm not a soldier." Another thing to add to my list. The man looks around. "I heard voices a little while ago, and footsteps, so I thought you might be one of them." He keeps looking around nervously, as if he thinks the soldiers will be back any second. He has a curious accent that I can't place.

I decide to ask him about the labs. "Hey, do you know any place called the labs, because--" He cuts me off. "You need to come with me."

"Why do I--"

"If you don't, the soldiers will get you."

"Get me? What do they want?"

"I don't know. No one does."

"You mean there are others, besides the soldiers?"

"A few, as far as I've seen. But if the soldiers get you, they shoot you, and take you away."

"You mean they're going around killing people?"

He shakes his head in frustration. "No, no, no, no, no, when they shoot you, you fall asleep." I give him a confused look. "When you get hit by their...their...it's not really a bullet, more like a burst of light, but when you get hit by it, you faint. Or fall asleep. Or something."

"And do you wake up?"

"I don't know. Look, the point is, you have to come with me."

I look at the little man. He's short, but he seems very able, especially with that metal rod of his. I look at him, then back down the corridor. I open my mouth to answer.

[[Obviously, the first choice is whether to join up with the man or not, but please comment on further decisions that the protagonist can take (i.e., questions that she can ask the man, etc.)]]

1: Awake

I open my eyes. I'm lying on my back on a bed, in a dark room. I raise myself up on my elbows slowly. Groaning, I turn my head to one side. Next to my bed is a round, low table. It looks like it's made of wood. On it are two frames. I pick the nearest one up. A girl with short red-blonde hair is smiling out of the picture. One of her hands is resting on a silver and black tube contraption. A...a...a telescope! The word pops into my mind. How did I know that?, I wonder.

And then I stop and think. I can't remember anything. Not what I look like, or how I got here, or even my name. I look to my left. A desk is up against the far wall. On the wall next to my bed, there is a large window. I get up and look out it. Below, several spires of buildings rise into the air. They're all connected. Beyond the spires, water stretches on as far as I can see. So, I'm in a floating city?

I turn to the desk. There are only three things on it's surface. A notebook, opened to a fresh page. There's writing in blue ink on it, and next to the book is an uncapped pen. I lean over and read the message:

Take this to the labs. Give it to McKay. It's VERY IMPORTANT. Don't lose it. And don't trust anyone. Hurry.

The labs? What are "labs"? And who is McKay? Why can't I trust anyone? I notice the object that the message is referring to. It's a small black rectangle, about 1 cm by 3 1/2 cm. I pick it up, and it looks like one of the ends can come off. I pull it off gently, and I see the silver material underneath. The name of the object pops into my head, just like with the telescope. A flashdrive. I pocket the drive, along with the pen, which I carefully cap first. I rip the page out of the notebook, fold it up, and slip that in my pocket as well.

I look above the desk. A circular mirror hangs above it, and I catch my own reflection in it. A woman stares back a me. She has the same red-blonde hair of the girl in the photo, except it's longer, but pulled back in a loose bun. She has blue eyes, which look tired. I realize that the woman in the mirror is me.

I look down at myself. I'm wearing pants made of some durable dark blue-gray material. I've got on a simple blue shirt, with a V-neck that doesn't go too low down my chest. My jacket is made of the same stuff as my pants, and I see something bright on my right shoulder. I crane my head to see it. It's a rectangle. Most of it is red and white stripes, but a large rectangle is dark blue with stars. I count the stripes (13) but I lose patience with the stars.

Wait, what am I doing, looking at myself? I have to get this flashdrive to the labs. And to McKay, whoever that is. I see a door to my right, but I don't know how to open it. Then I notice a note pinned above a vertical arrangement of three glowing crystals. I read the note. Slide hand here

I slide my hand along the row of crystals. There's a sound, and the door opens smoothly. I turn around, looking again for anything I might need. The notebook! I take it, and scribble a title at the top. Things I Know. I write down a short list of things, then tuck the notebook under my arm. I step out into the corridor.

[[Please comment on what you want the main character to do next! The most popular choice(s) will be in the next post. Also, check out the Things I Know page, since it will be updated as the story progresses. Thanks!]]