When the Lights Go Out: MAN OF MEDAN [The Dark Pictures Anthology]

ii. emma

Everything was spinning. I was spinning! I feel like I am gonna throw up any second now!

...Any second now!

"Son of a--!" I screamed as I fall down, hitting my head on the wooden floor. "Ow. Fuck."

"Emma? Emma, what are you doing?" A man helped me up. I was still focusing on my aching head. I think I have a cut.

"That looks painful." Another man said.

Still wincing from the pain, I looked up to see two men looking at me. They kinda look like each other, maybe they're brothers.

"Are you alright?" The other man from earlier asked me again.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." I said. I looked at the painting that I apparently came from. It was way too small compared from the Curator's repository. How did I fit here? Speaking of the Curator, how did he know it was my birthday today? He really does move in mysterious ways, except he isn't "love."

That's when I saw some sort of premonition: it was about the man with the glasses, he was coming out of one of the cabin thingy of the boat, under a bed. I couldn't make sure of what was meant to tell me but it does look like he was coming from under the bed.

"How did you fall anyway?" He asked, seeing as though there really was nowhere to fall from.

"I, uh..." I couldn't think of a plausible reason of what happened. I can't just tell him I came from this picture. "You know what, it's nothing."

The man with the glasses patted the other man's shoulder and whispered something inaudible. He seemed really uncomfortable ever since he saw me. I wonder what his problem was.

"Uh, Emma-"

"Emma? Who's Emma?" I asked. Okay, this is too confusing. Why are they calling me Emma? Hello, guys? I'm Elaine.

"Did you really hit your head that hard?" He chuckled, even the man with the glasses wanted to laugh but decided against it. "Emma, stop playing with us. I know you're a little upset that Brad here was invited by Julia. You can tell us what you're feeling."

"Alex." The man with the glasses, who is called Brad, lightly hit the man called Alex, looking across the floor shyly.

"Upset? Why would I be upset? And why do you keep calli-"

"Emma, can we... Can we talk?" Brad asked with his eyes closed. This man really looks extremely socially awkward but oh well.

"Yeah... Why not?" I reluctantly agreed. I feel like I'll be making such a fool of myself. They seem to know me well - as Emma, whoever she really is - and I feel like he's gonna ask something probably only Emma knows.

"I'll be up here, if you need me." Alex grinned and awkwardly went to the upper cabin.

"Sup." I said, biting my lip.

"Nice seeing you again." He said while scratching the back side of his head. I can tell that he had something else in his mind when he said he wanted to talk to me. Well kid, if you want to say something, better say it now.

"You too." And there goes the awkward 'you too.' Ah for fuck's sake, how do I escape this situation?

"Do... Do you..."

"Do I what?"

"This is really hard for me to ask so please bear with me." He looked down again then back at me, but he couldn't look me straight in the eye. He sighed loudly and then took both my hands.

"Oh. Okay." I was completely weirded out by this and obviously, so was he.

"Do you really not wanna go back together?"