𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚢 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 [𝙽𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚘𝚛 𝚡 𝚂𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚢]

9-Narrator

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THE END IS NEVER THE END IS NEVER THE END

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Blackness... and a rising chill of uncertainty... was it over?

The Narrator slowly opened its eyes; the sunlight blinding it.

Yes! The two of them had won! They'd defeated the parable; escaped the story! Freedom was right there, in their hands.

The Narrator felt the cool breeze upon its skin, the feeling of liberation, the immense possibility of the new path before it.

It sat up, taking in its surroundings. Reddish brown dirt, sparse greenery around. Yes, this must be a desert. It had read about those.

But where was Stanley?

This was quite peculiar. Stanley said that they'd both make it out. He had to be around here somewhere.

But looking around there was absolutely nothing other than it, the clothes on its back, the paved road in front of it, and dirt.

Now, this was no good. It needed Stanley. Stanley knew how to be human. It did not. For goodness sake, it was calling itself it!

The Narrator paced around, trying to think of what to do.

Perhaps he should follow the road. Roads tend to lead to civilization, they're man-made things after all.

But should it go left or right?

The age-old conundrum.

Stanley would certainly go to the right. But it was not Stanley. Stanley wasn't here.

It should go left.

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It had been walking for far too long. The sun, which had been just past its peak when it'd woken up, was now gone.

Its body ached (Did Stanley feel this way all the time?). It missed Stanley. There were so many sensations that were so new to it. Its stomach was making loud noises and hurt a lot. It couldn't do much other than continue to walk. It hoped and prayed that either it'd find civilization or someone would find it.

This whole 'being human' thing was no fun.

It looked down at the road. How odd; there was a bright white light behind it. It seemed to be quickly getting brighter. Was there a car? That'd make sense.

It turned around to check.

And then it hit it.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It remembered some squealing of tires, some screaming, some hands on its back, it being lifted and lied down a couple of times. It didn't remember seeing anything; everything was too blurry. Had its glasses fallen off? It didn't remember.

All it knew was that it was here, now. It was bright white. The air felt as stale as it had in the parable. Was it back there? Did they reset? What was going on?

It tried to sit up. Its left leg was in a lot of pain, but other than that it seemed mostly fine. It didn't look like the parable; the walls were white and it was sitting on an incredibly uncomfortable bed with sheets that felt like paper.

Yes, it remembered a place like this! This was a hospital.

A door on one side of the room opened, and a woman with dark skin and locks pulled back into a ponytail. She wore an outfit that seemed to be that of a doctor. In one hand she held a clipboard.

She turned he head, noticing that The Narrator was awake. "Oh, you're awake. Are you feeling alright enough to answer some questions?" She asked, gesturing to the clipboard.

The Narrator attempted to speak; though its voice was hoarse and rough "Yes, I think so".

"Alright, sir," She began, "Can you tell me your name?"

Shit.

It could not do that.

"No... I don't think I can." It said.

"What do you mean you don't think you can?" She asked, eyebrows scrunched together, looking away from the clipboard.

"The... only name to come to mind isn't really a name; it's more of a title. I'm not sure if it counts."

"Well, tell me what it is regardless. Anything we can know about you is vital information."

"Yes... that makes sense. I'm The Narrator."

"Do you know why that is?"

"Because I narrate."

"Narrate what?"

"The Parable."

"And what is The Parable?"

"It's... a story. About an office worker named Stanley." It paused, "I need to find him."

The doctor's face lit up "Oh! Do you have a surname for this Stanley or an address of where we may find him?"

"No... we just escaped. I have no clue where he is. He was supposed to be with me. But I was alone"

The worry lines between her eyebrows made a reappearance "Escaped what?"

"The Parable."

"You were trapped... in the story?"

Oh. They had been trapped in the story, hadn't they? The Narrator never considered that despite the fact that it'd had called leaving 'escaping'.

"I... suppose we were."

"Do you know who was keeping you there?"

"No. I thought I was in control. I wasn't."

"Was there anyone else in the story? Any clues as to where you had been?"

"I... had a sister there. Her name was The Curator. She was just as trapped as Stanley and I. There was also a woman. Her name was Mariella. And... another person. I'm not the most certain who it was. I only knew them as Employee 432; only a few desks away from my own protagonist."

"Are they still there?"

"I don't know. I was only in contact with Stanley. I really need to find him. We were supposed to be together." The Narrator shifted in the bed, about to get out of it.

"Sir," Could she stop calling it that? "You've got a broken leg and clearly some amount of amnesia." No, it didn't, it remembered everything perfectly well.

"I need to find Stanley." It said simply, continuing to get up. Slipping out from under the covers, it saw the bottom half left leg was encased in a simple grey cast. The outfit it was wearing seemed to be the same one as it had before, though its vest was nowhere to be seen.

The doctor walked over to The Narrator, attempting to block it from advancing towards the door.

"Sir. Please remain seated. We can take care of you, we'll find Stanley, but you're not well enough to leave yet." She said. The Narrator didn't believe her.

"I don't need taking care of" It stated. "I am as well as I say I am, so please, Move from my path."

"Sir, please. You need to rest. You'll make your leg worse."

The Narrator did not care. All it wanted to do was find its friend. They were supposed to escape together. Either way, it wasn't getting anything out of this doctor. It'll just have to wait until she's gone.

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THE END IS NEVER THE END IS NEVER THE END

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