Mizuki
The door opened. “Who’s that!?” I yelled across the room. In the doorway was a figure. A girl, I think, from the look of the silhouette. “Who are you?!” I yelled again. “I’m not moving one step closer until you say something!” Clearly, shouting demands and bargaining probably wouldn’t get me anywhere, but this is what I was taught to do in school. If the kids did not obey, you shouted at them and told them that if they didn’t follow orders, they’d be punished. Sigh, such is the life of a teacher, even outside of school I can’t shake the role. I love my students and I never yell at them. Yelling is so unproductive and only serves to start more trouble. Who has ever solved anything in history of any importance by yelling? I can’t think of a single soul of the top of my head. “Look, I’m sorry for yelling. But please, I’m not moving until you say something!” I shouted. The figure still said nothing. I couldn’t move towards it without knowing who or what it was. That would be foolish. I’m a teacher, I know when to do things and when not to do things. If I didn’t, then what good would I be? A teacher that lacks knowledge, very wrong. I continued to sit there, in the corner farthest away from the door on the other side of the white room, unmoving. However, something inside me told me that I had to be the one to make the first move. I had to be the one to move towards the door, or else I was never getting out of here alive. That’s what I thought to myself. ‘Alright,’ I told myself. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and brushed my skirt flat against my waist and began to walk towards the figure in the door.
Junichi
The sound of a door opening. It was like music to my ears. It came from my left side. But it wasn’t the only sound I heard. Footsteps. Running. Someone was here! “Help me!” I whispered as loud as I could. “Junichi! Impossible. Are you okay?!” It was the voice of a girl. I knew that voice. “Tomari?” I whispered. “Junichi! What happened? How are you here?!” I could see her next to me on my left side, kneeling. “Tomari…help me…” I whispered to her. My voice was getting weaker. Was I getting weaker? “Okay, just hold on,” she said softly as she slid her arms under my back. “Ergh!” A sharp pain ran down my spine. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry!” Tomari panicked. “No, no, it’s okay.” It wasn’t okay. I knew now exactly what was wrong. My spine. It was broken. That’s why I couldn’t move my legs. “Come on. Sit up Junichi.” This time, a new voice spoke. It was not Tomari, nor was it a girl. It sounded like a machine almost. “Who is that!?” Tomari growled to the empty room. “I am the one who put you in this place. Now, would you kindly sit him up against the wall?” The voice asked. “This might hurt. I’m sorry if it does.” Tomari apologized. “It’s okay,” I reassured her, “Just hurry.” The pain of having my back curved was immense. I can’t even begin to describe it. So I won’t. As she moved me to the wall, I wished I wasn’t in the position. This isn’t the place for a guy. It’s almost embarrassing. “There you go,” she said to me as she leaned me against the wall. At that instant, I felt an even greater, sharp pain run through my whole body. “Ow!” I yelled long and loud. I yelled? I did. My voice was back. What about the rest of me? Was it normal. I tried moving my arms. Yes! “Hahahahaha!” I started laughing like a madman. “Junichi? What’s wrong?” Tomari looked frightened of me. “Oh…it’s nothing. I can move again!” I was overjoyed. But that joy quickly faded away when I saw what was in each corner of the room.
Misaka
“You want me to do what?!” I yelled at the electronic voice. “You need to navigate your way to the room shown on the monitor on the wall in front of you. It isn’t hard, there are no traps or tricky puzzles to solve. You just need to run. And fast. You only have a limited amount of time.” This voice was really starting to piss me off. “Look, do you want money? If you do, I can give it to you!” I yelled. “Misaka, I don’t want your money. I want you to run to the room on the monitor. Look, your friends Junichi and Tomari are already there. And please, you must hurry.” Wait, what? “And why the hell should I listen to you?!” I was frustrated. This bastard, giving me orders! “Because, Misaka, if you do not get there in 20 minutes. You will die.”
