Tales of Raiverin: One

Chapter 1

...

His body...

It felt strange. It was as though he was floating through water but, unable to hear or see. He wanted to move, however, it felt like he was trapped in place. It seemed like days until he would hear anything... Eventually, he heard a distant siren. He couldn't respond to it in any way, but he heard it. He heard footsteps running away frantically, people shouting in a language that he did not understand... and at a point, one loud thud, as if every person in the area had fallen over at once. He didn't understand, nor could he try to in the first place. He slowly slipped into unconsciousness, only waking when he heard another siren after what felt like days, but this time it was louder. He heard a hissing noise, and then a wave of cold air hit his body like a tornado. He fell over, lifting his head to gaze at his surroundings. He was facing an open chamber, and a strange liquid surrounded the floor. He glanced forward, the room was white with a few tables scattered about, keypads and switches throughout... Where was this? He took a few steps forward, slowly moving toward the open door frame. He saw bodies, decomposing bodies. They were lying on the ground as if they had simply fallen over, but every single one of them was dead.

He began to think, what was he doing in that chamber? Where was he? What was his name? None of these questions had an answer... only further questions. Sirens continued to blare in the distance, and the only writing he could find and understand was a clipboard held by a corpse that had a single piece of paper on it. The paper only read... "It's happening." He didn't know what it meant. He suddenly heard a loud ringing come from the speakers on the walls, a static-infused voice coming through.

"Hello..? Can you hear me?"

He paused for a moment before responding, "Yes."

The voice seemed relieved. "Oh good. I don't know who put you in here, but I'm here to get you out... However, the building seems to have caved in and I'm trapped in the communications room. Get me out and I'll help you." They explained before the audio cut out.

He stared at the speaker before shouting, "Wait! I don't know where that is!"

Static filled the speakers before the voice managed to respond. "You'll find a map soon. For ease of contact, what's your name?"

He froze, What was his name? He didn't know. "I can't remember, sorry. All I know is that someone used to call me One."

The voice sounded disappointed in some way. "Then that's what we'll call you, One." A map began loading onto the screen, with some flashing words like "error" and "reversal" and more. The screen froze.

He took a deep breath. There was no answer from the speaker, but the screens went dark. He began to count out the pause. One, two, three, four, five...

He realized there was just one option, and it was the ideal one. The room had one exit and there were many bodies. One sighed and began to head for the exit.

On his way out, he saw the people who ran the facility, on the ground and looking scared. He felt sympathy for them and wished he could help. It was much the same as the first time he found these bodies.

He followed the map he found, walking in a circular pattern, having no idea where he was or what was going on. When he finally stopped to catch his breath, he noticed that it was getting dark outside.

There was no time to think, or wonder what was happening anymore. With his heart beating so fast, he knew there was only one thing he could do... until...
An alarm went off in his head, screaming. Not yelling or shouting, just an electronic buzz in his ears. He took off, stumbling forward. He ran, not knowing where he was running, or where the next exit was. He felt he needed to get out of there.