black crosses {ongoing | on hold}

[1] the first disappearance

Mike

Hi there! My name is Mike and I'm just here to explain everything to you so that you understand what will happen in the story. I'm the oldest of four children (it's absolute hell, wouldn't recommend to be honest), two sisters and one brother, who is actually scary as fuck sometimes.

The older girl is called Clara, the younger one is Lana and the boy is named Ryan. Yeah, I know we have boring ass names so shut up about it Sharon, no one gives a shit. I'm nineteen (yay, I'm kinda? broke), Clara's sixteen, Lana's fourteen and Ryan is twelve (lucky bitch). They can be infuriating at times but I still love them all (starting to rethink that decision).

Lana did something absolutely unbelievable (you should know that that's typical Lana for you) and I'm still exasperated with her as her actions led all of us into grave danger. I should've expected it from her out of my other siblings because Lana's oblivious to almost everything happening around her and due to that, she is extremely irresponsible.

I never thought much of it during the other times she did something foolish but now, I can't ignore it any longer. Presently, there are horrible things occurring and no one knows what started them. There is something, a sort of virus I suppose called GCD-002. GCD-002 stands for Global Catastrophe of Disappearances number two. It doesn't make much sense; I know but I'm not permitted to say anything 'cause I didn't name it.

No one knows how it reappeared apart from the one who set it out of course but moving on, it's the second one as something similar transpired around four hundred and seventy-three years ago, in 1795, but I can't tell you now as it's currently irrelevant. Don't worry though, you'll find out soon enough.

If you bothered to calculate it, the year now is 2268 in the same planet as yours but a much different reality. For example, 2268 here is pretty much equivalent to maybe 2030 in your reality.

Let me explain what GCD-002 really is. GCD-002 is a virus, like I have stated above. It's when you touch a particular type of thing, which transports you to Asteria, otherwise known as the Otherworld. (If you say it's not like a virus at all, it kinda is. They both have the touchy-spready bit to it, even if one doesn't make you sick.) The Otherworld is yet another reality. It's a dystopian planet, where there are alternate versions of you.

Everyone there wants to either kidnap you or kill you. Well, just one wishes to kill you, the rest'll try kidnap you or like torture you or some other dumb, scary shit. The one that will try to kill you is your alternate self. It won't be nice and courteous if you thought it would, it's exactly the opposite. How to spot it? I'll tell you. Its appearance would be the copy of yours, there's nothing contrasting about the appearance. If it has a blue aura (found by pricking said person with a magic needle), it is the Asterian version of you. If red, it is the normal one.

Make sure to steer clear of it at all costs and if you do encounter it, the only way to kill it is to set it on fire. If you catch sight of it, it will know you've seen it and it will hunt you down until it kills you. On the occasion that it descries you, you will have no time to escape as you'll freeze on the spot, giving your alternate self time to murder you.

This doesn't always happen but it is rare for something else to happen. The thing that can transport you to the Otherworld, or the clipper as people are beginning to call it, will be impersonated as something that is necessary for you to touch daily like water.