Factory Reset | ✓

explore

Searching for another room to explore was taking longer than I anticipated.

The next few doors I checked were all locked. No amount of effort on my part would get them to open or even budge open a little. It was obvious I wouldn't be able to get into them, but then... why was the storage room left unlocked? Why was I able to get into that room and not the others?

I couldn't shake away the idea that someone intentionally left the door open for me — that all of this exploration wasn't something I chose to do but something that was expected of me.

But was I really that important to go through all of this trouble? Or was I just another body to fill a quota? This building was large — larger than it needed to be for just one person.

There had to be other people here — people like me, lost and afraid, but where?

Unless... they were all dead and I was next on the list to be killed.

I forced myself to discard the thoughts and kept walking. Every door I passed felt familiar but when I checked the label, I was reassured by the different markings I encountered. I wouldn't end up back at the storage room again. Not yet anyways. The hallway was much bigger than that.

"Please," I whispered to myself, "if someone is really watching... show me a sign."

▬▬▬

Right as I felt like giving up for the millionth time, I spotted another open door a few feet away. I checked for its label to make sure it wasn't a room I've been in before but this door had no label.

It was definitely a trap — it had to be. What kind of door had no label? The labels were my surefire way of making sure I at least understood where I've been already and where I haven't gone. And if I worked here as an employee, I'd need the labels to make sure I didn't get lost.

Unless... someone removed the label. But I didn't see or hear anyone else roaming the hallways. Could ninjas be responsible? Someone that quiet definitely could've done it.

It took me a few seconds before I realized where my train of thought was going. Ninjas? Seriously? Then again, it wasn't the craziest thing to imagine. I could've done much worse.

I glanced left and right just to be extra sure. The coast was still clear. Or at least if there were any people out in the hallways, they were hidden well enough for me to not see them.

Either way, I felt like I was alone, and whether that was good or not, I wasn't sure.

All this time, I was hoping and wishing for a sign, but this seemed too convenient. It showed up right when I was getting tired of searching — right when I was losing hope in ever finding anything. But if I didn't go inside, then where would I go from here? How far would I have to go?

The last time I went inside a room with the door wide open, I ended up back where I started.

Though, the bathroom did have a label, so I was at least sure it wasn't that room again. Same thing with the storage room. Whatever room this was, it most likely would be a new one to me. At least if I ignored the whole ninja theory of someone secretly removing the label. That was crazy.

As cautious as I wanted to be, I couldn't help but wonder what was inside.

So, I chose to do the reckless thing and I walked right into the room as if I owned the place. What a twist that would be if I really did own this place and completely forgot I did.

The room wasn't empty — it was far from it. There were so many items scattered about on the floor that I wouldn't even know where to begin. It was as if I walked into a mini trash room.