Entertaining a Small Thought

Prologue Arc Part 1: Amnesia and Robots and Bears, Oh My!

This story, originally made for my own enjoyment, is now dedicated to my dear friend who is no longer with us.

Without your help, this story would not have been nearly as good, nor do I think I would have gotten this far writing it. I might not have even finished it at all without all the support I got from numerous people. So, thank you for everything. For letting me share ideas with you. For giving me your opinion on plot points and cases. For telling me what I have here is really awesome, and telling me how amazed you are whenever I tell you about it. For making me laugh whenever we were bored and suffering at work. For inspiring me with the characters you made and told me about.

Thank you for being my friend. I'll see you again, at the end.

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Darkness. That's all that surrounded me. It was a strange feeling, but, even stranger, it was comforting, oddly enough. Curiously, I wasn't bothered by this unknown void I had found myself in. I felt as if I could stay here forever, embracing the darkness and the security it offered, but I knew it wouldn't last for too long.

I didn't know why or how—I just knew when the darkness faded away, that I would enter a twisted, horrid world, full of deceit, madness, and despair. I grasped at the darkness, trying my best to hold it tight, yet my efforts proved to be in vain when that darkness, peaceful and serene, was torn from my hold.

I was falling. I was dying. I was living. Was I living? Did I even exist? None of that really mattered as I slowly opened my eyes.

I existed now, and this was the hell I was thrown into.

Soon, I had managed to fully open my eyes, much to my dismay, but what greeted me was unexpected.

It was more darkness. Of course, this darkness wasn't nearly as comforting as the one that came before it. This darkness was concerning and ominous, but I couldn't let that get to me. That's when I noticed something even more worrying: I was in a very enclosed space. I couldn't even move my arms a few inches before hitting cold metal walls that cornered me from all sides.

I managed to turn and see 3 slits along one of the walls, warm light pouring in from the other side. I suppose the sight of freedom was what finally got me to fight against my confinement. After struggling against the wall for a bit, I leaned back and managed to kick the wall, which was actually a door, open, almost sending it off its hinges.

The light was blinding, but only for a moment. Once my eyes adjusted, I noticed that I was in a classroom, though 'classroom' is putting it lightly.

The room was in a great state of disrepair. Vines and grass ran rampant across the room, and the desks and chairs all had a light level of rust and decay on them. There were also metal bars blocking the windows, though I couldn't imagine what they were for. Taking a step out of the cold metal prison and stepping out onto the wet, dew-covered grass, I spun around, taking it all in.

I now know what I was trapped in: a locker, but that didn't really ease my tensions. Where the heck am I? This could be a classroom if it didn't look as if it had been ignored for decades. Could this be a school, or at least an abandoned school?

I then noticed another locker right next to the one I was in.

Could there be...?

I slowly opened it, but was met with nothing but empty space. Disappointing, to say the least.

Was I actually alone, or were there other people around the area? The room looked abandoned, but someone might have been brought here like I was. Should I explore to make sure?