Junichi
The floor on my back is hard and cold. The ceiling above me is stark white and looks just as cold. ‘This isn’t my room,’ is the first thing I thought. My arms and legs wouldn’t move, like they had had all the power sapped from them. I tried looking around, but I could not do that either. It was like my whole body had been drained of everything except the ability to look straight and left and right as far as my eyes would go. “Help”, I could only whisper the words that I wanted to scream. “Somebody, help.” But no one came to my aid. No one came to me to reassure me that everything would be alright, that I was going to get out of wherever I was. There was nothing I could do but lay here on the cold, hard floor and stare straight at the ceiling, whispering, “Help me.” I felt that now, my only choices were to lie here awake, whispering for a help that would never come, or fall asleep and let myself drift away to a place better than this. So I slept. I slept for an indeterminate amount of time. I dreamt that I was back at school with my friends, back where I belonged, learning some ridiculous mathematical function or formula that I would never use outside of school. While I slept, I wasn’t where I really was. I was happy. It was like I never woke up in that room. It was like I was back in the world I belonged. But, when I awoke from that, I had to face the harsh reality that I was still here. Still trapped in this room. Alone. Only able to whisper for a help that would never come. Then I heard the sound of a door opening.
Misaka
“Someone get me out of here!” I yelled as loud as I could. Pounding on the white steel door, I tried my damndest to get out of the small room I was in. It was white. Plain white. There were no creases in the paint, no lines where the walls joined the ceiling, just white. It’s not like I’m scared or anything, I’m sure I know what’s happening. After all, I am sort of famous. My dad owns one of the largest electronics companies in Japan, so naturally, someone might want to kidnap me and extort money from my father. Right? I continued banging on the door yelling for someone to let me out. “I can give you money if that’s what you want! I mean, of course that’s what you want, why else would you have taken me!?” Nobody came to the door to answer my calls. ‘They couldn’t have just left me here alone. Probably just ignoring me. How dare they ignore me! Don’t they know who I am!?’ I thought to myself. “Please! Let me out, please!” I yelled louder than I had been. To my luck, the door opened! “Took you fuckers long enough! Wait till my father hears about what you did! You’ll be staring at the walls of a jail cell for the rest of your-“ But there wasn’t anyone there. It was just another room. Another white room. “Shit.”
Yuki
Alone. Dead. Alive. Together. My thoughts are spinning and I think I’m going crazy. Am I dead? Am I alive? Am I with others or am I alone? I can’t tell. There is no light here. No signs of life as far as I can tell. I’m afraid to speak up. I fear that maybe I might get a response. I fear that I might not. How did I get here? Where is here? What is here? Is here even Earth? Of course it is stupid, where else would it be? There I go again, putting myself down. Crazy, crazy, crazy, they always called me crazy. I’m not crazy, just misunderstood. YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! NO ONE UNDERSTANDS! Crying. I’m crying now. My hands covering my face, hiding the tears from whoever could be watching. You big pussy, what are you afraid of? Everyone already knows how much of a scaredy-cat you are. SAY SOMETHING. No. SAY SOMETHING. No! SAY SOMETHING! “NO!” I jerked up, waiting for a response. What was only seconds seemed like an eternity. Then I heard the sound of a door opening. No one entered and no one left. The room, now partially illuminated by the light coming in from the open door, was empty. I truly was all alone. But what about outside the door? Am I still alone? I don’t know. I want to know. I don’t want to know. Go. Go. Get up and go. “I’m going, shut up.” I walked outside of the lonely room and found-
