Beta

[Haruka_Tenou]

"I was lost.." Her voice was somber as she blinked into a bright light mere inches from her face. Everything hurt. Pain radiated from her body as if she were being ripped apart and yet she couldn't move. She could barely think or form a logical sentence. Even with the pain and the blinding light she didn't feel real. It was as if she was only partially there. Where ever there was.

"Yes darling. Now.. Begin." The response could have been mechanical as the girl continued to blink into the blinding light before her. She was confused and uncertain of what was happening.

"Begin?" She whispered the word as if in a trance as she felt her body fly away from her. There was no control. There was nothing but the void. Everything had suddenly gone dark and she was left to wander the darkness. Was she lost again? Was she alone? What was happening? The voice had told her to begin. Begin..? The word echoed within her mind as she reached out to grasp anything that might be solid. Anything she could use to ground herself. It couldn't just be the void and the voice could it?

"Begin." The voice stated once more. Begin? Begin what? Had she forgotten? Was there a purpose to this?

I was lost.. Even as the words formed she could see a distant light shining through. Her feet seemed to materialize upon solid ground. Solid yet.. squishy? Odd.. She felt as if she were only a fragment of.. of what? Who she was? What was that supposed to be? Was she more than a thought? Her mind raced in chaos as she moved forward. She could hear sounds ahead, though none of them made sense. Her gaze was held by the dim light which grew larger as she moved towards it. Everything would be answered if she could only reach it. At least, she felt that to be true.

But..

What was truth? Was her truth something tangible or was it all a lie? She felt.. I'm lost.. She murmured into the light which was almost within her reach now. She could reach out and touch it. Was it safe? Her fingers seemed to materialize within the light as her body was flooded with warmth like she had never known. Each nerve quivered as if electricity was caressing them. Though it wasn't painful It was comfortable. She smiled as she felt every drop of uncertainty and panic melt away as the light absorbed her.

Found.. She thought before everything shifted and all that had been was erased.


[6:00]AM
Tuesday October 31st.

An angry shriek was sounding from the nightstand as a palm reached out to smash the table in an unceremoniously violent way. The more the thing sounded off - the harder the hand smacked around in search - even as a muffled sound of agony was drawn out from under a thick royal blue comforter. "Would you shut up!" The voice growled angrily as she finally hit the top and brought the noise to an end. "I hate that thing." She muttered as she stifled a yawn and stretched while her body swung to the side. Her hand shoved golden locks which had knotted into a frayed and tangled mess of discord for the record books off to one side.

She was fairly petite, curvy and obviously annoyed as she scratched her backside while walking towards her bathroom. The hardwood flooring beneath her feet cold from the night time air. She had fallen asleep with her window thrown wide open. Flipping the switch in the bathroom caused her to recoil as she hissed softly, the light felt as though it had pierced her skull. "Every damn day." She growled.

She hated mornings. She hated the cold. She hated that she was stuck in Virginia in the middle of winter and had to wake up and work a job that could only be considered one of the nine levels of hell.

"This is not life." She sighed running a comb through her hair which actually seemed to make matters worse. It was a day for frizz and static. Which meant it was a ponytail kind of day to hide the lack of effort she planned to put into her appearance. What did it matter? Her job sucked and no one would see her anyways.

She stopped to take in her appearance. She looked tired. Maybe if she could ever get a decent nights rest that would change but as of now. "My bags have bags.." She frowned. It didn't really matter though. She had her routine in what she called life. If it could be called such a thing. She woke up and went to work. Afterwards she would grab a cup of coffee and watch people while trying to guess what their lives were like. Some people made it easy by gossiping loudly or bickering with their loved ones but others.. The quiet ones. She liked them the most. She could make them into anything she liked and they would never know.

"Whatever.." She sighed as she grabbed a cup of mouthwash, rinsed, spit and headed for the door.

[7:00]AM

"No ma'am... I'm sorry to hear your blender is broken...Yes.. I don't know if it is under warranty do you have paperwork for it?" She sighed as the woman on the other line continued to scream at her about a blender. From the picture in front of her it was a nice blender. Cheap enough. It came with a basic warranty but an extended could be added if paperwork was turned in and a small fee had been paid. The woman on the phone had been screaming about scams and rip offs and calling her every name in the book. Yet somehow she had still not understood that she couldn't and wouldn't do anything for her. Mostly because she really was dead inside.

"Ma'am if you like I will place you on a brief hold while I contact my manager." This line was the favorite. It also always worked because they felt they were getting somewhere. Reality was she would be placed on hold and asked to wait until she hung up. There was no manager because no one cared.

[10:00]AM

She had missed breaks. She had been on hold with the old woman for hours before she transferred her to the so called manager. Reality was she had given the call to the new hire who sat behind her with a cheery disposition. She had not been crushed. The life force still flowed through her veins. Not that it was likely to continue. This was a soul sucking job if ever there had been one.

She groaned as she leaned against the brick wall outside of the building. She had stepped out for air, braving the icy weather and the wind which ran along her spine as if being caressed by a demonic lover.

"This blows.."

"Yeah no kidding there." A dark haired girl responded as she lifted her water bottle and took a swig. "But gotta pay the bills right?"

"Yeah.."

Begin.

"What?"

"I said I gotta get back in.." The dark haired girl smiled as she disappeared behind the door. While she just stood there. She was sure she had heard a voice say begin. Maybe she was cracking up. Maybe it was time to try something new?

WAKE UP!

She jumped as she looked around but no one was there. Nothing was there. Just the building and her endless job.





_______________________________About the Story Arc.____________________________

If you have managed to read to this point and are interested in joining. Welcome. The story revolves around a girl who at present doesn't realize anything is wrong. She has no name, no identity, because in reality she is not awake. I will say that she will need some help along the way and the end goal is to wake her without killing her. If at all possible. She is a mess of tangled wires as and looks a bit like a human processor. The more she fights what she is meant to do the worse her life will become. This is by far the kindest simulation that is being run on her psyche at the moment. Human guinea pig for a new form of technology is what she is- if you'd like a description that sort of fits. She is also not alone. If you are interested I ask that you proof read your work. Add to the story line and make it fun. What I love about these games is how people can end up taking the characters down paths not seen originally by the creator. Also please time stamp events which occur as that will be important later on. Also please allow for a minimum of one post per day to keep the story moving.