𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝 | 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐎𝐧𝐞 | 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝙽𝚒𝚗𝚎 | 𝙻𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍

^^^

I see nothing. I stand in the dark and feel nothing but peace.

Is this already heaven? Hell? Purgatory?

I can't answer any of these questions. I never believed in any of these things. The afterlife didn't interest me. What happens after death even more so. It wasn't like I wasn't scared of it at all. As a superhero, I played tag with death every day. I've narrowly avoided it so many times, so why should this time be any different?

I finally look down. I see my bare feet immersed in some black liquid. It's cold and I shudder. I don't know if I want to find out what it is. I can see the blue pants I'm wearing floating around in it. I recognize the material.

These are my pajamas.

I raise my hands and shoulders. Yep, those are definitely my pajamas.

I struggle to lift my foot to take a step forward. I hear thick drops of liquid falling from my pants with a loud splash. It is denser than water. I sniffle. I smell a familiar metallic scent. I lift my foot and strain my eyes. There is a dark red stain on the pants.

I feel my hands starting to shake.

It was blood. I stood ankle-deep in a lake of blood.

'What is this place?' I hear my thoughts.

I jump. They are so loud, it's as if they were being played from loudspeakers.

'Have I lost my mind yet?'

The words echo off invisible walls, ringing with the force of 10 church bells. So I try not to think.

I move my feet forward, taking small, slow steps and trying not to splash the blood.

'I need to get to a safe place. I need to come back.'

I feel cold. When I was little, I remember my brothers and sisters telling stories that the presence of ghosts could be detected by a sudden feeling of cold. I never believed them, I knew they were making up bullshit.

The memory of my siblings makes me gradually quicken my pace.

Darkness, darkness. That's all I can see.

But finally, after an indefinite period of wandering, I see light. Its source is far away, still some way from where I am standing. So I start running, hoping this might be my chance to regain consciousness. That maybe it is a form of door or passage to reality.

I realize with surprise and relief that I was right. I finally reach the light source and stand in front of a huge metal gate. It's slightly open, and bright light pours out from inside, making the blood I am wading in seem to glisten. I notice a large crystal knob on the left.

I grab it and yank it towards me, the light stinging my eyes for a moment. I close them, wanting to wake up from this strange nightmare as soon as possible.

But this is not happening.

I blink, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness.

I see a corridor with rows of countless doors on both sides of it. I am surprised to find that we have exactly the same ones at the Academy. I notice with disgust that even in this strange place, blood floods my feet. I take a step further into the corridor.

Immediately I hear the gate behind me close with a bang. I struggle to control my shudder.

I narrow my eyes. I can't see the end of the corridor, it stretches for hundreds of meters or even kilometers. There are elegant lamps hanging on the ceiling that fully illuminate the corridor. Strangely, I don't see any red streaks on the white walls.

I take further, wary steps. I look around.

I see a badge on every door. I'm trying to read one of them.

'Griddy's Donuts'

I frown.

'Where did the cafe door come from?'

I step away and, without looking back, slowly walk down the hall. I notice that each badge differs from the others in content. There were doors with names like 'Library Mission', 'Pajama Party' and even 'Karate Lesson'.

However, I pass each door without even touching the handle.

'What's going on? What is this place?'

These and other questions arose in my head every time I saw a different badge with a different inscription. I start to come up with various theories, but only one of them makes so much sense that I start thinking about it seriously.

'What if I'm unconscious and this corridor is my entire mind? What if this corridor is the treasure trove of all my memories?'

It made sense, and I unconsciously congratulated myself on my exemplary deduction.

I pass another door I'm not interested in. I tried to find the ones that had the memory of my last conversation with Five behind them. I wanted to analyze again what he told me then. But eventually I stop at another door. I stand in front of them and stare in disbelief at the content of the white badge:

'Allison and Luther's tent date.'

I read the sentence over and over again, making sure I'm not hallucinating. If I read correctly, behind that door there is a memory I had no right to have.

And this means that this is not a corridor only of my memories.

Maybe it's a place with all the events of our lives?

'Okay, but how in the world is this possible? Maybe it has something to do with my powers? Maybe I was somehow able to not only read other people's minds, but also influence their memories in some way?'

I feel like my head hurts from all the questions. I look at the badge again.

'Well, since I'm on the brink of death anyway, why not have some fun?'

I raise my hand to open the door, but something stops me. And it wasn't a sudden feeling of guilt caused by invading someone's privacy.

Nope. My attention was drawn to the door next to it, and specifically to the content of the plaque on its surface.

'The day Five escaped.'

I feel my outstretched hand begin to shake.

I wanted answers more than anything else. I wanted to finally understand.

I feel a little resistance as my hand falls on the doorknob, and then I hear a creak as the door begins to open.

^^^
author's note: W O W

ANY THEORIES YALL?

I GOT CREATIVE AND THIS IS WHAT I CAME UP WITH IM GONNA STAY UP TOMORROW UNTIL MIDNIGHT NOT TO KEEP YOU WAITING AND JUST POST ANOTHER ONE CUZ AHHH THIS SHIT IS GETTING TOO GOOD EVEN FOR MEEEEE I CANNOT HANDLE ITTTTTT