Stop and Smell the Roses

Chapter II

I stand in the middle of a town. Well, what's left of the town. Smoking heaps of rubble surround the crumbling buildings. Pillars and stray pieces of shrapnel protrude from the rocky earth. The ruins seem to have been here for quite some time. I take everything in, not quite sure if everything is real, or an illusion.

I take a few tentative steps towards a building that seems pretty stable. I place my hand on the dirt-streaked marble. Bits of rock and gravel cling to my fingers as I pull my hand away. I walk through a gaping hole at the side of the structure. Statues and dusty furniture occupy the large room. I'm surprised at how clean the floor is. It looks newly waxed. Like it's just been cleaned... At that precise moment, I hear a crash coming from somewhere in the room.

I rush towards the source of the noise, blood pounding in my ears, my heart rate increasing. Could someone still be alive in these abandoned ruins? I pull back the curtains- and I see a fallen statue, shattered on the glassy floor.

Disappointment surges through me. I pick up a piece of what looks like a hand and I rub it between my two fingers. It transforms into dust.

How did I get here?

I roam aimlessly through the building, which is surprisingly well-kept, despite the crumbling outside walls. The floors and ceilings gleam, and crystal chandeliers suspend from various points in the building. I come across what looks like a ballroom. As I'm exploring, I notice something peculiar. A face. I see a face in the wall. I close my eyes and I reopen them. The face disappears.

I walk cautiously towards the spot where I saw the face. I lay my hand over it for a moment- and I quickly pull it back. I rest my ear against the cold surface, and there's no mistaking the prominent buzzing sensation. As if the walls are alive. My hand slides along a catch somewhere in the stone, and the wall slides open to reveal a stairway. A newfound curiosity encompassing me, I ascend up the dusty stairs without hesitation, excitement and nervousness causing my hands to shake slightly.

I enter a room that doesn't quite seem to suit the old-fashioned set up of the broken-down mansion. The walls are made of metal, and the floor is made up of a hard black glass. A single moth-eaten chair is situated in the center of the room. I cautiously approach the chair and I sit down.

A screen and two panels emerge from slots in the floor. A man with light orange hair and a dark beard appears on the screen. It was his face that I saw in the wall back in the mansion. "Hello." His voice is deep and official-sounding. "I am Earnest Collins. President of Alena. You sit here today, ready to take the ultimate test. You probably won't remember anything of this test, if you pass. This test is called the Conditioning."

Conditioning. The name rings a bell.

"You probably have many questions, but they will all be answered in this film that I am about to show you. A forewarning- you will probably be shocked. Most go mad from the truth. But you need to know. When the film is over, you have two choices. There are two panels in front of you. One is the CLEANSER. It will cleanse you of all your imperfections, and cause you to forget all the pain in this world. Including what we are about to show you. The second, called the TRUTH, will allow you to be able to feel the world's sorrows, hate, and anger. You will have knowledge of everything. But at a cost.

"We will play the film for you now. Remember. Two choices. One is right, one is wrong. Your decision."

The screen fades to black. Then it reappears as the film I'm guessing they planned on showing me. And nothing can prepare me for the horror of what I see on that screen.

I don't know what made me do it. I threw my hand forward and I slammed it down on the TRUTH panel. And then the agony begins.

The sensation is excruciating, I feel as if my skin has been set on fire, as if the flesh is being ripped from my bones...

And then I wake up.