Lost (Old Version) (Unfinished)

Chapter 3

And this time, I didn't freeze. I immediately screamed back, "HEY!!" as loud as I could. I was in awe. Was there really someone down there? Someone real? Someone human?
"WHO ARE YOU??" said the person down in the pit.
"YOU FIRST." I said. I was sort of suspicious of the person. What if they were just like the robot I saw in the yellow mazes, imitating a human's voice?
"I'M JOHN. JOHN WITHERSPOON." the guy down there said. "I'M 16 YEARS OLD AND I WAS BORN IN NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS, JUST OUTSIDE OF CHICAGO. NOW DESCRIBE YOURSELF."
I hesitated, and responded within a few seconds. "I'M ARNIE TAYLOR. I'M 15 YEARS OLD AND I WAS BORN AND RAISED IN NYC. DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS PLACE?"
This time, a new voice answered. "WE CALL THIS PLACE THE BACKROOMS. I READ ABOUT IT SOMEWHERE BEFORE I GOT HERE. I'M EVA BY THE WAY. EVA GLASS."
Two people?! I was in complete shock.
"IT IS SAID THAT WHEN YOU TOUCH SOMETHING THAT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO EXIST, IT SORT OF TRANSPORTS YOU TO THIS PLACE. AND IT'S ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO GET OUT OF."
I don't exactly know whether my heart just completely dropped or if it lifted, but maybe both. It was, of course, almost impossible to escape this place, but at least there was an exit. According to...Eva, at least. I didn't know if I could trust them yet.
"HOW LONG AGO DID YOU GET HERE?" Eva yelled.
"I WISH I KNEW. I DON'T HAVE ANY WAY OF KNOWING. I'M KINDA TIRED THOUGH, SO MAYBE 12 HOURS, IF I'M GUESSING CORRECTLY."
"YOU MEAN YOU'VE ONLY BEEN HERE 12 HOURS AND YOU'RE ALREADY HERE?!" John said. He sounded almost...agitated with that response, perhaps frustrated.
"IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG?" I asked.
"NO, HE'S JUST IN SHOCK OVER THE TIME DIFFERENCE IT TOOK FOR HIM TO GET HERE. IT TOOK HIM ABOUT 15 DAYS TO GET HERE. HE HASN'T EATEN MUCH SINCE THEN, SO HE MIGHT BE A LITTLE MOODY. DON'T MIND HIM. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO FEED HIM MORE AND EVEN THOUGH IT'S HELPING HIS BODY IT ISN'T HELPING HIS ATTITUDE." Eva yelled.
"HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU?" I asked Eva.
"I'VE BEEN IN THIS PLACE FOR A WHILE, MAYBE A MONTH. BUT I WAS ORIGINALLY PART OF A LARGER GROUP OF PEOPLE BEFORE I GOT SEPARATED OFF. I WAS HOLDING THE FOOD, AND I GOT LEFT BEHIND. THEY HAVE NO FOOD NOW, BUT I DON'T PARTICULARLY CARE. THEY WERE DOUCHEBAGS ANYWAYS."
"DAMN, THAT'S...COLD." I said somewhat jokingly.
"THAT'S THE WAY YOU SURVIVE HERE. YOU CAN'T REALLY BE NICE. THAT'S HOW YOU DIE."
Everyone was sort of silent for a moment, thinking about what she had said. Perhaps she was right, you couldn't run back and save someone who was going to die in a war. You'll just end up dying as well. So why would it be different here? Of course this wasn't a war, but if one of those...things back in the yellow mazes was chasing you and someone slips and falls you can't particularly go back and help them. It sucks.
"WELL, HOW CAN I GET TO YOU GUYS?" I asked.
"I DON'T THINK IT'S POSSIBLE. HERE, POKE YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR WINDOW, I'LL POKE MINE." Eva said.
I poked my head out of the opening in the wall, and to my surprise, I saw another head looking back at me. Her hair covered most of her face, but I could make out when I squinted my eyes that she was blonde, perhaps strawberry blonde, and she was in her 20s, perhaps. It was hard to make out any more. The darkness...or fog, rather...sort of swallowed all of the fine details up, and I could only see a slightly blurred version of her.
So she was obviously human. Perhaps I could trust her. And John, if John was human as well.
Just as I was thinking about John, John poked his head out of the window. He was definitely younger, but he was older than me. He wore a black graphic tee, though I couldn't read what it said. His hair was unkempt, and it stuck up in a million directions. He also had glasses, quite large ones.
Eva suddenly talked. "SO NOW WE KNOW WE CAN TRUST EACH OTHER. BUT THE BAD THING IS I DON'T THINK YOU CAN TRAVEL SO FAR DOWN THIS HOLE. WE SHOULD STAY BY OUR WINDOWS, IN CASE WE WANT TO COMMUNICATE."
"WHAT DO YOU GUYS SEE BEHIND YOU? LIKE WHAT DO YOUR HALLWAYS LOOK LIKE?"
Eva groaned. "ABANDONED WAREHOUSE. A LOT OF BOXES, A LOT OF MASSIVE SHELVES. NO ENTITIES, BUT A LOT OF SHIT TO GET IN OUR WAY NONETHELESS. WE'VE HAD TO PUSH SO MANY BOXES OUT OF THE WAY TO GET HERE." Eva paused. "YOUR WINDOW IS IN A PILLAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORE. WELL, MAYBE NOT THE MIDDLE. WE HAVEN'T SEEN A WALL SINCE WE CAME. THIS PLACE SEEMS TO DEFY ANY LOGICAL SENSE. I'VE LOOKED BACK BEHIND ME AFTER WALKING THROUGH SOMETHING AND EVERYTHING WILL HAVE CHANGED. ALSO, THIS PLACE HAS LIKE 7 FLOORS, I THINK, BUT WE'RE ON FLOOR 1. I SAW AN ELEVATOR THAT SAID 7 INSIDE, BUT I HAVE NO WAY OF KNOWING IF THOSE ARE ACTUAL DOORS. I'VE SEEN TOO MUCH TO TRUST ANYTHING IN THIS FUCKING PLACE." She paused once again. "WHAT DO YOU SEE?"
I laughed bitterly. "HALLWAYS."
"DESCRIBE THEM."
"WELL, THEY ECHO A LOT, AND THEY'RE FLOORED WITH THIS GLOSSY BROWN GOOD. THERE ARE LOCKERS, BUT NOT SCHOOL LOCKERS, MORE LIKE LOCKERS THAT WOULD BE IN A WORKPLACE, OR A LOCKER ROOM. I ALSO SEE THE OCCASIONAL WINDOW, THOUGH THIS WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT WASN'T COMPLETELY BLACKED OUT."
"OKAY, GOOD. GOOD." Eva said, possibly writing down what he was saying. "ANYTHING ELSE?"
"NOPE." I said quickly.
"I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, BUT IT SURE AS HELL ISN'T ANYWHERE I CAN REMEMBER." Eva said. "STAY AT THE WINDOW. GET SOME REST. IF WE HERE ANYTHING COMING FROM YOUR DIRECTION WE'LL CALL, AND TRY TO WAKE YOU UP."
I was hesitant to do this. I didn't want to get mauled by something while I was asleep, even if that was a better way to go than getting mauled while I was awake. I wanted to make it out of here. But maybe if I slept behind something to conceal myself, anything coming by wouldn't be able to see me. So I looked around for a piece of furniture. I turned a corner and found a dumpster. I tried to pull the dumpster out from where it was to the window, but it wouldn't budge. I quickly looked back around the corner to make sure that nothing had changed, and to my delight it hadn't. I still saw the window, and I still saw the courtyard outside of it. I looked back at the dumpster and put all my strength into one quick pull. And it budged. Only a little, though. I got on the other side of the dumpster and started pushing it, and it started moving. I got it out of its little crevice in the wall and started pushing it the other way. Then when I got to the corner I looked back and the window was still there. Perhaps the cards were turning in my favor! I pushed it again, sweat beginning to fall down my forehead. The dumpster felt freezing against my bare shoulders, my tank top providing no protection against the coldness of the metal. It took forever, but I finally got the dumpster in front of the window. I left a small crevice in between the wall and it to give me a place to sleep.
"I GOT A DUMPSTER FROM AROUND A CORNER IN FRONT OF THE WINDOW. I'M GONNA SLEEP BEHIND THE DUMPSTER SO NOTHING CAN SEE ME WHILE I SLEEP." I yelled down, getting their attention again.
"SMART. NOW GO TO SLEEP. YOU'VE EARNED IT I GUESS." John said, obviously annoyed.
I laughed, and lied down on the floor. I put my bag under the dumpster and closed my eyes. And sleep eventually came.