The Copy: Project 863

Shivering

(Olivia's POV)

I woke to a strange coldness. I was shivering. Why is it so cold? I looked over from the cot I was laying on. Draping over a chair was a black overcoat. Well that looks familiar.  As much as I  didn't want to give in to whatever this sick game was, I was freezing, so I reluctantly stood up and put the coat on. It hardly made a difference. A note fell out. It read: LAB 4A. I don't know if this is meant for me. But it can't hurt to check it out right? So I left for the lab. I walked hallway after hallway, door after door. Looking for a sign that I was at the right place. I soon came to an open door with a label reading 4A. I entered.

It was surprisingly empty. There was next to no light, except for one in the back of the room. I walked towards it. It was a large room. Bookcases lined the walls. Everything flashed. As if merely a picture on a screen. The scene changed, it was a room, destroyed. The bookcases had been tipped over. There was a desk in the centre of the room, a desk lamp was on, there was a stack of papers, it had been, like the rest of the room, destroyed.  A man sat at the desk, slumped over, asleep, I could not see his face. The most disturbing factor about the room was the writing on the wall.

It was the same as when I was trapped in that room. The mention of it was enough to send me down a spiral of memories. I shoved the memories away as best I could. I heard someone come in behind me, then the vision shut down. 

"What are you doing here?" He asked. It was Ben. I could hear his thoughts. Why are they so loud? 

Why is she here? How did she get here? Why is she here?

"Why are your thoughts so loud?" I asked him. He looked confused. 

How can she hear them?

I don't know.

 I had caught him off guard. He seemed startled, I chuckled a little bit. 

"Why are you here?" He asked.

"A paper fell out of this coat. It read LAB 4A. So why not check it out?" I explained. I eyed the wall again. What did I see? "Where is here anyway?"

"I-." He seemed to be deciding what to say. "My old office." I nodded. 

"Why are you here?" I asked. "Reminiscing?" From what I saw, whatever happened here wasn't pleasant.

"No. The door was open, it's never open." He answered.

"It was open when I came." I said, confused.

I felt like I needed to go somewhere. I walked out of the room into the hall. Another phantom was there, he caught sight of me and walked over and gave me a file.

"Do you know where 27 is?" The phantom asked. 27?  I tried to talk to Ben. Who's 27?

Who's asking?

A phantom in the hall.  I heard his footsteps come up behind me.

"Oh! Perfect!" The phantom chirped. 

You're awfully chipper.

The phantom looked between the two of us. They seemed confused.

"What?" I asked.

"I-, he needs you two to do whatever the file says." They finally said. And then they quickly left.

I looked at the file, bringing it back into the room. When I opened it I saw that it was blank. I heard a groan of protest from Ben.

"What?" I asked. 

"It's-" he sighed," you'll understand soon enough."

As if right on cue, I got a pounding headache and my vision blurred. I felt lightheaded, more than usual, like I was about to pass out. I could hear Ben was saying something. I couldn't hear it, my ears were ringing too much. My vision finally went completely and I expected to feel the cold floor underneath me, but nothing came. Now that I think of it, why can't I feel anything? I couldn't see hear or feel anything. 

I "opened" my eyes to see a dark area that seemed to stretch on forever. And in it's center, was the man who made all this pain and suffering happen.

Nelson Syphus.