Scratch

This is about a short story I'm writing, of a man trapped in a room for centuries who is offered a chance of freedom.
I intend to make it part of a small series, each dealing with slightly dark motifs.  This one deals with isolation, fear, and treachery.

I don't intend for this to be the greatest book ever written, and it certainly isn't great yet, but I hope it will make people think.

I'm still writing it without the ending in mind.  I hope to let the story progress of its own accord.  The end product should only be a couple pages though.

(Yes, this has to do with Scratch as I intend to convert the story into an interactive project when it is finished.)

Main Story

Escape
I waited.
I’ve been waiting for a very, very long time.  Months? Years? Millennia? I don’t know.  I do not eat.  I do not sleep.  Absolutely nothing distinguishes each passing second.
I pace the Room, and for the umpteenth time observe my surroundings.  The Room is perfectly clean and a perfect cube, with no windows.  It is dimly lit by a source I cannot discern.  There is a bed in the corner which I do not use, that has neatly folded plain white sheets with a slight crease where I occasionally sit and watch the door.  The door is on the other side of the room from the bed.  It looks perfectly normal, a plain wooden rectangle with a simple doorknob.  I have tried the doorknob countless times, but it is always locked.
I do not know why I am here.  They either didn’t tell me, or I have forgotten.  The faintest of memories tickles the back of my mind of when I wasn’t waiting, of when I was in the world outside.  I remember the sun, the cool wind, the people I was with, and the green.  My, how I loved how green the world was, with plants growing freely everywhere.  I hope they let me out soon so I can see it again.  But ever since I was placed in this godforsaken room I haven’t heard from anyone.  It’s like they’ve forgotten me.  But I wait, for it is the only thing I really can do.  That and remember. 
But the memory fades.
*    *    *
The day He came was alike to any other day I’ve had.  Of course, nothing marks the change between day and night here, but I shall say it was a day.  I had just tried the doorknob one more time- it was still locked.  Disappointed, I walked over to my bed, sat on it, and buried my face in my hands.  I knew this was my life, and I accepted that I had to keep waiting.  But it did get tedious at times.
I looked up, and there He was, standing right in front of the door, though I did not hear it open.  I was not surprised to see him; I was dead to surprise, living without it for so long.  He was tall, gaunt, and very old, with a pale-gray complexion and in what appeared to be a formal suit.  He stood there perfectly still; I barely thought he was breathing.  A long time passed with neither of us moving.
Finally I asked, “Who are you?”  Or I at least tried to ask.  I have not spoken for very long, and what came out was a hoarse whisper.
The old man seemed to understand, and rasped, “I am here to offer freedom.”  His voice sounded hoarse as well, though seeming from age rather than lack of use.
“An offer?  I don’t need an offer.  They will tell me what I am here for soon enough.”
“Who will tell you?  And why do you think they will let you out?  You are here for eternity, unless you accept my offer.”
“Eternity?”  I paused, debating.  Was he telling the truth?  Was there really no point?
“Then why am I here?”  I asked cautiously.
“Storage purposes.”
I was truly surprised now.  All this time, the one thing I thought I knew was that I was going to get out at some point.  And now I learn that was not true.
“But you can let me out?”  I ask.
“Yes.  If you so wish.”
“At what cost?”  I was suspicious now.  Why was he bothering with me?
I saw a glimmer of a smile flick across His face.  But then it was gone.  “I assure you the deed is enough reward for me.”
“How do I know you are telling the truth?”
“You do not.”  He said quite calmly.  “I will let you think for a moment.”
I did.  Was it worth it to miss my purpose here for an early release?  But what if there is no purpose, besides ‘storage purposes’?  What did that even mean?  And if I say no, it will be an eternity of uncertainty, wondering if I will be let out.  I made a decision.
“I accept.”
The man’s mouth broke into a grin, and his eyes flashed red for a second.  Or did they?  I did not imagine it, as I have very little imagination.  All I imagined was the green of the outside world.
“Very well.”  And that was all he said.
He turned around, took a step towards the door, and opened it.  He did not use a key or anything to unlock it.  It was simply unlocked.  He step through, turned, and was out of sight.
I slowly rose to my feet, then slinked to the door, stopping short about a foot from it.  The wall outside was a gray similar to the walls in the Room, but the sides extended beyond the edges of the door.  I stepped through.  It was a hallway, one as clean as the Room and similarly lit.  I turned around and noticed that my door was one of many, all labeled “Storage”.
Movement to my right.  I turn to look and catch a glance of Him walking through a connected hallway perpendicular to this one, labeled “Punishment”.  Intrigued, and not wanting to be left behind, I scurried after him.
I was in another long hallway, with more identical doors, though each of these had a different heading above them.  One said “Fear,” one “Pain,” one “Indifference,” continuing along the hall with different signs.  These doors, also had no windows.
He was standing in the middle of the hallway, patient as ever.
I turned and looked at the door marked “Fear.” I reached for the doorknob and started to turn it.
“We really should get moving,” the man protested.
I opened the door anyways, and was met by screaming.  I hadn’t heard it through the door, but a man inside was huddled in one corner, dressed in rags, screaming with true terror.  He was staring unwaveringly at the far corner, which subtly faded to an intense black.  He did not turn to look at me or even acknowledge me.  He just sat there screaming.  Cautiously, I walked over and touched his shoulder.  He whirled around and stared at me with utmost horror, stood up incredibly fast and grabbed my shoulders, jabbering all the while.
“Please… the shadows… getting closer… let me out!”
He saw the open door behind me, and then ran for it.  But the old man was standing nearby watching, smiling calmly, and his eyes glinted red again for the merest of instants.  The terrified man stopped running and screaming, though his eyes were still full of fear, stared at Him, and then slowly walked towards the dark corner.  He appeared to be struggling, trying not to get closer, but he kept walking.  His eyes got wider and wider as he drew nearer, then he was lost from sight.
“Time to leave,” said the old man.  He still had that faint smile.
I was shaken.  I had never seen someone with such fear.  And how he just walked into it unwillingly was just awful.  I knew the old man played a part in forcing him to do that, but I didn’t know how.**
We continued along many corridors and halls.  Finally we reached a dead end.
“The way out,” he said calmly, sweeping one arm towards the only door.  It had no markings.
“How do I know it is?” I asked tentatively.
His eyes flashed again, this time a bit longer.  I looked back to the door.  It now had a sign that said EXIT.
I crept forward slowly, as if the door would leave if I moved too fast.  I reached for the door slowly, turned the handle, and then flung the door wide open to see the world beyond.  At first I was overjoyed, then realization hit.
It was a wasteland.
The world I saw outside consisted of heaps of rubble as far as the eye could see.  The sky was a smoky, smoggy color, but what struck me most was the lack of green.  There were absolutely no plants or any signs of life at all.  I was horrified.
“It appears I must explain some things.” The old man was right behind me, with a wide grin that did not meet his eyes, which now remained a tinged red.
“The world as you knew it is no more.  It was destroyed by mankind's overuse of natural resources, pollution of the environment, and constant raging war.*  Your government eventually decided to contain all of its population in our storage facility until a time when the earth would be peaceful again and capable of life.  These facilities would keep then in a kind of conscious suspended animation.”
“But then they were going to let us out, when things returned to normal!  You lied!”  I protested.
The old man held up his hands.  His eyes were redder and brighter.  “I did not lie.  I have never lied.  You see, the world shall never return to what it was.  I will make sure of it.”  His grin was very cold now.
“What about the Punishment hall?” I asked, seeing him with new terror but still curious.
“Your government got greedy from the power.  They decided to punish those who resisted instead of just store them.  Now, goodbye.”  He started to close the door.
“Wait!  Let me back in!”  I shouted.
“I’m sorry, but there’s no turning back.  I also believe now that you are outside of your Room you will succumb to age and disease as well."  That cold grin grew wide.
"What are you?"  I asked hesitantly.  No one could be this evil.
Still smiling, he replied, "I'm simply human.  Now, farewell."
His grin stretched a bit wider, impossibly wider, he flashed his eyes especially bright, and closed the door forever.

Appendixes

The End of Us All (insert into the old man's explanations at the end when he tells of the fall of mankind. Exact point marked by a *)

“It appears I must explain some things.” The old man was right behind me, with a wide grin that did not meet his eyes, which now remained a tinged red.
“The world as you knew it is no more.  You see, long ago, nations developed a super weapon hundreds of times stronger than anything seen before.  But it took many natural resources just to build one.  Countries obsessed with its power, and used all of their resources towards construction of thousands of them.  Forests and plants were wiped by the use weapon, and many were cleared to make factories.  Soon all the world crumbled due to the havoc it wreaked, the resources lost to it, and the pollution it created. But people fought on, blinded by power.  Your government eventually decided to contain all of its population in our storage facility until a time when the earth would be peaceful again and capable of life.  These facilities would keep then in a kind of conscious suspended animation.”

The Hall of Punishment (insert after the "Fear" room scene.  Exact point marked by a **)

We left the room and started to continue along the hall.  But I was intrigued, if also made afraid, by these doors.  I reached for the next one, marked “Pain”.
“Must we really delay like this?”  The old man let a minuscule amount of impatience into his voice.
I ignored him, and opened the door.  This one had no screaming, or shadows.  It was a plain room, similar to my Room, but lacking the bed.  It was completely empty aside from a man in the exact center lying on the floor, twisted in what appeared to be a very uncomfortable position.  His spine was bent backwards very far, and his neck was twisted.  His arms and legs quivered as he writhed about in this awful pose.  But the worst part, strangely, was the very lack of screaming, or any noise at all.  The man was completely quiet, but looked up at me with pleading eyes.  There was no fear in them; it seemed he had suffered so much he suspected nothing could be worse.  But his eyes seemed to beg me to help him.
I’m sorry to say I did not.  I was repulsed by him, how he lay there twitching and writhing, and did not want to come near.  The man watched me the entire time as I slowly stepped out and closed the door.
“Shall we continue?” asked the old man.  He sounded very slightly irritated, but hid it quite well.
“Not yet,” I answered.  The next one, “Indifference,” did not sound as scary or repulsive, and I was still curious.
I didn’t care for pretense this time, and opened the door.  It was much larger than the other two, and it was full of people.  I’d say around thirty were in it.  They strode around, also completely silent like the man in the “Pain” room.  The weird thing was none of them took any notice of each other.  None of them interacted, and they all went out of their way to avoid making contact with anyone.
By now I had taken the hint and guessed that they were all indifferent to each other as the sign suggested.
The old man walked in from behind, smiled at me as he passed, and disappeared into the crowd.
“Hey!” I said, and went in after him.  After all, he was my guide through the halls and I would never be able to get out of the building without him.
I searched the crowd.  It consisted of men and women of all ages, so the old man was not easy to find.  I searched for what may have been twenty minutes, but I am unsure, as my idea of time has been warped by my stay in the Room.  No one took any notice of each other, and when I tried to attract anyone’s attention, they merely shambled away from me.  I stood right in the path of one but she just looked through me, as though she couldn’t see me.  I continued my search.
Then, a glint of red.  I remembered the flash of the man’s eyes from earlier, and whirled around to look.  Through the throng, I could just make out the old man, smiling.  His eyes flashed again, brighter this time.
Suddenly, pandemonium.
The entire crowd erupted into a giant roar as everyone in the room turned to one another and started fighting.  It was brutal.  Not a single person wasn’t screaming or punching someone.  Strangely, no one attacked me or the old man.
I left, deciding not to stay, and was slightly disturbed by the crowd’s sudden change in demeanor.  I looked back at the door and noticed with a start that the sign above now read “Anger,” but decided to stop thinking about it.  I didn’t want to deal with these brutalities of life after just re-entering life itself, and so decided not to visit any more doors in this nightmarish hall.

Last edited by Kileymeister (2010-10-31 11:44:01)