Facility 1.R
Wow it took me too long to upload this chapter. It'll be a particularly long series, so I hope to finish it as summer goes on. The first chapter (As in, all six parts) will... Probably not be too exciting, but I figured this was the best way of going about it. And hey, gotta have some buildup time? Either way, I hope you enjoy it!
The first thing I noticed when I came to was that it was dark. After that, I realized it was cramped; I probably only had an inch of horizontal space to move both my paws in. My third thought set me into a panic immediately: What if I ran out of oxygen in here?
Immediately my paws scrambled around the box. They only seemed to confirm my fears: There were no vents, and the sound of air flowing didn't meet my ears at all. I needed to find some way out. Through the ceiling? The sides? I couldn't find a lever or button, and nothing seemed to give. My heart was racing. How long would I have until I couldn't breathe? How long had I been in here already? All questions I couldn't answer.
"Hey! Is there anyone out there! Help!"
It was probably useless, along with trying to make noise by slamming my paws against the walls, but I needed to do something. If I didn't get out of here soon...
Any thought I had quickly died as soon as I heard the sound of machinery hit my ears. It was like the sound of gears grinding, and with my body getting thrown to the side, it was clear I was being moved. I couldn't say for certain, but it felt like it had moved about three feet, almost the width of the box. Small cracks of light entered my vision as the lid slid open, and soon I was free, though I was too scared to move. How had I gotten here?
I thought back, although it was quickly apparent that it would do no good. It was as if my mind couldn't pull up any images before I woke up in the darkness. The more I tried, the more my head began to throb in pain. Did I have amnesia?
Only then did I realize I was still laying in the box I woke up in. Grabbing one of the sides, I slowly pushed myself onto my feet to look around. I doubted that laying in a box would do me any good, with or without amnesia. Besides, I also had to admit I was slightly curious to see where exactly I was.
The box was apparently inside of a room that was starch white. Aside from the metallic box I woke up in, nestled up closely against the wall, there were only two other objects that disturbed the pristine look of the room. The first was a small desk shoved in the corner of the room, made of the same kind of material as the box I was in. The other was a piece of writing on one of the walls, almost like a piece of graffiti. It was one line, messily written in what appeared to be black ink.
Would you like to fix your mistakes?
As soon as I read the words, I could feel another headache coming on. I slowly rubbed my temple as I stepped out of the box, trying to keep my eyes away from the graffiti. The less pain I was going through at the moment, the better. Still, I wondered whether or not it had something to do with my memories. Although if I didn't get them back anytime soon, there was no way I could fix any supposed mistakes I had made.
With nothing else to look at, I moved over to the desk. A piece of paper was on it, although I grimaced as my head began to hurt by merely reading the words on it.
Seek your past, Richard Lyte.
Richard Lyte? Was that my name? To be honest, it felt kinda depressing not knowing something as basic as my own name, as well as more than a little frustrating. And other than the gray fur on my paws, I had no idea what I even looked like either. I turned my head up and let out a little gasp of shock. Above the desk, the white wall was apparently reflective, allowing me to see myself clearly.
It seemed I was a wolf, and a pretty tall one too. Dashes of white marked my cheeks and blue eyes, making me look a bit weary. How old was I supposed to be, anyway? Considering how muscular I seemed to be, I could probably guess I was either in my 20's or 30's, but that was something I could think about later. I tossed the thought aside and continued to look over myself. My attire was pretty simple: White t-shirt with a denim jacket and blue jeans, both slightly worn with age. As far as markings went, a my right arm seemed to have a long scar going around it near the elbow. On my left wrist I had a watch, but it felt a bit too heavy to be one.
The 'watch' was made of solid metal, and impossible to get off. There wasn't a clasp or buckle anywhere on it, neither the front nor the back. On its face, there were four red digits arranged in their usual fashion, but they were all zeroes. Even stranger was that there didn't seem to be any buttons on the side or the front either. No matter how I looked at it, I couldn't figure out what it was for, and combined with everything else...
"Urgh... I don't get any of this! What the hell's going on here!?"
Almost as if it were an answer to my question, I heard the sound of metal scraping metal on the wall opposite where I woke up from. I looked, and saw what appeared to be a door opening up for me. Since I had no other real options left to me, I walked through it.
It led into a cylindrical room, one that stretched high enough up that I couldn't see the ceiling. It was far less lustrous than the room I just came out of; the ground was simply a dull, gray metal, while the walls around us seemed to be made of an equally dull, gray stone. If I had more time to look around, I probably would have noticed other details about the room as well, but my attention was quickly stolen when I saw four other furs enter the cylindrical room from their own rooms.
The four were comprised of two males and females, though their species seemed to differ wildly. Just like me, they all stopped to look at each other as soon as they stepped out of their doors. Apparently, they didn't seem to be acquaintances, if only because none of them said anything to anyone else.
From the first door to my left was a white-furred rabbit, a girl who looked younger than I did, like she was in college. Despite the situation, she seemed to have a cheerful smile on her face, which was adequately backed up with her pink t-shirt, denim shorts, sandals and a series of brightly-colored bracelets adorning her arms. If she had a tail like mine, she'd probably be wagging it back and forth.
Second was a lion, his body somewhat wrinkled with age. Most of his fur was visibly turning gray, though there were a few patches of gold that peeked through. He wore what appeared to be formal attire, with a gray suit coat and dress pants, as if he were going to some sort of important business meeting. Unlike the rabbit, he appeared to be more thoughtful, scanning the everyone else with caution.
After him was a badger, someone who looked to be around my age, only with a bit more weight. He looked kind of like a punk, the fur on his head looking like it was dyed a far bit darker than what I could see on his arms. The torn jeans and a black t-shirt displaying what looked like the logo for some metal band he was wearing only reinforced my initial impressions of him, along with the scowl on his face.
Lastly, from the door all the way to my right, was a brown-furred horse. She gazed over everyone, including me, emotionlessly, her arms crossed over her own set of formal attire. It looked a bit more modern than the lion's, both her blouse and her long skirt dark blue in color. Her set of black high heels clacked loudly as she walked across the floor, her posture roughly equivalent to someone who was in authority.
All four of them had one thing in common. On their left wrists was a watch that looked identical to mine.
Needless to say, the air was a bit tense between all five of us. I didn't recognize any of them, but considering I didn't even recognize myself a few moments ago, that wasn't too surprising. We all stood in silence, like we were trying to size each other up. My gaze shifted back and forth, waiting for someone to say something.
Surprisingly, it was the badger who spoke up first.
"So what the fuck's going on here, huh? Who the hell are you people?"
It wasn't the nicest of ice-breakers, but it seemed to work. The old lion cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attention.
"I would say it is more polite if you were to introduce yourself first, if you are planning on asking us for all our names."
The lion spoke in a vaguely European accent, or at least I thought it was. It certainly wasn't an American accent. As for the badger, he looked away in a bit of disgust. He crossed his arms, looking indignant.
"Tch, fine. My name's Damon Grants. What about you, gramps?"
"Ah, my name is Anton Brandt. Feel free to call me whatever you like," the lion responded, almost serene in his calmness.
The white rabbit started jumping a bit, giving everyone a friendly wave. Our attention was turned to her as her smile grew about twice as wide, a bit of a laugh escaping from her lips. I honestly couldn't believe how chipper she seemed to be, considering the circumstances.
"Okay, so, my name's Elizabeth Brown, but cause that's so long, you can just call me Liz! It's a pleasure to meet you all!"
After her introduction, I turned to look at the horse, who simply cleared her throat.
"I'm Sandra Lewis. It's a pleasure."
It was awfully prompt. She seemed like the sort of person who couldn't be fazed by anything, even a situation as extreme as this. It was almost admirable, although in some ways also suspicious as to why she was so calm here.
As soon as she finished, the four turned to look at me. The gazes of Sandra and Damon were enough to make me take a few steps back. They were pretty intimidating, if only because they seemed to lack any patience. I probably didn't want to stand too close to them, if only because I wasn't really properly equipped to defend myself.
"Uh, I'm Richard Lyte... I think."
It wasn't the most convincing of introductions, I'll admit. Anton promptly tilted his head in response.
"You... think? What do you mean?" Anton asked.
"Well... I'm not really sure of anything about myself," I said quickly in response, "the only reason I knew my name was because of that sheet I found in the room I woke up in. So whether or not that really is my name..."
Liz promptly interrupted me with a short gasp. She placed a paw over her mouth in shock, and in seconds she began to explain.
"You mean, you can't remember anything either? Oh wow, what a relief! For a moment there, I thought I was gonna be the only one here who was drawing a total blank."
We looked at the other three, all of which were clearly looking a bit nervous, in their own way. Damon's scowl intensified while Sandra was beginning to bite her lip. Anton was looking away somewhat, letting out a remorseful sigh.
"Well, it's good to know my own amnesia isn't merely forgetfulness from age. Am I correct in assuming you both don't recall anything either, Damon, Sandra?"
They both shook their heads, and were clearly unhappy about it. Honestly? It was a bit too much to take in. I was supposed to just accept that I woke up in a place where 4 other people couldn't remember anything before coming here as well? That couldn't be likely, could it? No, someone had to have planned it.
The question is, who?