PLATFORM B-2
The feeling of knowing and not knowing at the same time was eating me from the inside out.
The yellow light from the bulbs and the burning barrels revealed patched-up tents, shadows flickering in an oily haze.
In the corners, hand-painted symbols climbed the walls, but none of them looked familiar to me. They felt like echoes of something I should understand… but couldn't.
As soon as we stepped in, the whole shelter stirred like an upturned anthill.
Stifled screams.
Rushed footsteps and children being yanked by the arms.
Everything… familiar. Way too familiar.
As we walked between the tents, something screamed inside me.
A warning… with a distant echo.
I didn't know what it was, but it got so strong that I froze in place and shouted:
"WATCH OUT!"
Why did I shout?
Mei took two steps forward, stopped, looked me up and down with boredom… and kept walking.
"We're passing through without stopping,"
she said firmly.
"What a nuisance…"
Raul grumbled, giving me a shove.
"Move it."
"But the girl…"
I mumbled automatically.
"There's a girl…"
"Who?"
Sofia asked, still holding my arm.
What girl?
Before I could answer, something did happen… but not the way my instinct expected.
A scrawny old man bumped into a tent and the canvas collapsed like a soaked sheet, dragging two huge pots with it.
The crash echoed through the platform and people screamed even louder.
Mei only paused for a moment, glanced at the chaos and sighed.
"Get that up,"
she told the refugees, then kept walking.
Josh looked sideways at me.
"What girl? Where was there a girl, kid?"
I didn't know.
But a vague memory of a child overlapped the spot where the old man had fallen, like a shadow.
"There was one. I… I know there was."
It sounded insane.
Am I losing my mind?
The more we walked, the more everything felt exactly like something I'd lived and, at the same time, so different it made me nauseous.
"Crazy."
Raul laughed.
"We're not wasting time with this."
We crossed the improvised tents and the heat from the barrels bit at my face. The smell of burnt oil slid down my throat and stuck there like grease.
As we walked, I couldn't help looking around.
Someone coughed.
Someone prayed.
Someone stared into nothing.
So strange and… so familiar.
When we reached the end of the platform, the makeshift staircase down to the tracks was waiting for us, bound together with welded chains.
Mei went down first.
I hesitated, staring up at the dark ceiling.
There was something up there.
Something screaming inside me.
What the hell is that?
"Heh… so you do know."
Raul laughed behind me. That laugh froze me completely.
I went down.
The emergency lights made it feel like the earth itself had a beating heart.
Vines crawled out of the walls like old stitches, and burned symbols marked the tunnel.
My hands were sweating in two ways: normal sweat… and fear.
When the passage narrowed, we saw a colossal gate.
Chains, plates and cables all tangled together.
And in the middle of all that, a tiny hatch at the center, like a closed eye.
Mei stopped and Raul shoved me forward until I almost bumped into it.
She raised her hand and knocked:
Thump, thump… thump-thump.
Silence.
Raul crossed his arms and yawned.
Chains shifted and the little hatch snapped open. A pair of suspicious eyes appeared.
"Who is it?"
a rough voice asked.
"Line B-2… Mei,"
Mei answered in the same tone.
"You're not supposed to be here."
"Plans changed."
The eyes scanned each of us and lingered on me.
"How many?"
"Four."
Raul lifted his chin, impatient.
"Just open up already. You know who we are, or do you want the meat-bats to catch the scent?"
"Shut up, Raul,"
the man shot back.
"Watch how you talk to me."
"Malik's dead,"
Mei cut in, stepping between them.
"We need to talk to the Counselor… It's urgent."
The man sighed.
"Everything's urgent… wait."
The hatch slammed shut, but Raul still growled:
"If you open slow, I open you."
Josh clicked his tongue.
"Why is it everything gets worse the second you talk?"
We didn't wait long. Soon the sound of chains being dragged and gears locking into place reached us.
The gate opened, white light cutting through the cracks.
That…
The déjà vu hit me like a punch, sending my heart straight into my throat.
The smell of formaldehyde and oil washed over us along with voices and blinding brightness.
"Stay close,"
Josh murmured, squeezing my shoulder and guiding me.
The moment we crossed the entrance…
The purple window exploded in front of me.
The same cold letters flashed like blades:
---
SCENARIO CORRECTED
NEW MISSION (IN PROGRESS)
SAVE STORY MODE
---
"What is it?"
Sofia asked when she saw me stop.
"Nothing…"
My voice came out as a whisper.
I was already "the church lunatic." Saying anything else would only make it worse.
"Thinking of running now?"
Raul mocked.
"Bit late for that, don't you think?"
Mei looked around before speaking.
"We'll go to the Counselor."
"Captain…"
Raul complained.
"Let's throw him in a cell first, the Counselor—"
He didn't finish, but didn't need to… everyone hesitated.
Something was wrong.
"I think this time we should listen to the muscle-for-brains,"
Josh said, tired but more relaxed.
"HEY!!"
Raul protested, but Josh ignored him and went on:
"We don't even know if it's worth interrupting the Counselor right now…"
Mei looked reluctant, but sighed.
"Fine. Raul, Sofia."
"Take him to Complex D-9… Top floor only."
Raul looked disappointed. Sofia and Josh just looked… hollow.
"Josh, come on…"
Mei said, walking away.
"Let's see the Counselor."
I watched the two of them disappear into the white lights, swallowed by the hot steam rising off the floor.
Raul shoved me.
"Move."
"Where are we going?"
I muttered, feeling that sense of wrongness slowly growing.
"To your new home."
He laughed, sounding way too entertained.
"Complex D-9. If it were up to me, I'd leave you in Silence."
"Silence?"
I asked, clueless, and he smiled, cruel.
"Perfect place for a believer like you. Down there you might even get to meet your god."
"Raul…"
Sofia warned, but he shrugged.
"It's just a welcome gift. The kid's gotta know where he's headed…"
I looked at Sofia and she started explaining without meeting my eyes.
"Silence is the deepest level of the prison…"
"It's under D-9… but you're not going there."
She hesitated.
"They say the engineers vanished before they could finish digging."
A shiver ran down my neck.
"And what's down there?"
I asked, my legs suddenly weak.
"No one knows,"
Raul answered.
"No one comes back."
Sofia added:
"They say the walls absorb everything… voices… footsteps… even breathing."
I shut up.
"See?"
Raul smiled.
"Great place for you."
The dark concrete towers rose in the distance like broken teeth.
But… was the concrete pulsing?
Yellowish patches moved under the surface like maggots in living flesh.
Raul noticed me staring.
"Nice, right? The Counselor had it built. Some people confess just from looking at it."
Sofia looked away.
We went down a zigzagging staircase into a wide corridor and stopped at a tall black gate carved with ancient markings woven into tech.
There was a touch screen at the side and two guards stood by the door, motionless as statues.
And between them…
A woman.
Far too beautiful for that place.
Very pale skin, almost translucent. Blonde hair pulled back into a simple bun and luminous blue eyes. She wore a white dress that seemed to reject the filth around it.
She smiled.
"Well, well… they don't usually bring guests at this hour."
Raul took a step back and Sofia went rigid behind me.
"M-Ma'am…"
Raul tried, but stumbled over his own tongue.
"We brought a prisoner."
"So young…"
she murmured when her eyes fell on me.
And I felt like she was stripping me from the inside out. It wasn't a hungry stare; it was pure curiosity and… pity.
"What's his name?"
"H-He doesn't have one…"
Raul stammered even more.
"I think it's Noah… The Counselor wants to see him. He's supposed to stay up here."
Her smile faltered.
"The Counselor… is going to see him personally?"
"Yes. Direct order from the Captain,"
Sofia answered quickly, looking ready to bolt.
The light in the woman's eyes faded. She seemed to lose interest.
She turned to the guards.
"Take him. Cell 3."
The guards moved in the same instant, like a single body.
The woman looked back at me.
"What a shame," she said sweetly, and vanished down a side corridor.
For a moment… it sounded sincere.
A cold shiver ran down my spine.
Raul finally let out the breath he'd been holding.
"I hate that woman."
"Shhhh!"
Sofia warned him.
"She makes everyone nervous."
"If I could, I'd never look at her face again,"
Raul muttered while Sofia looked at me with sadness.
"Good luck, kid."
Raul shoved me forward.
"Enjoy your stay, Noah."
I tried to speak, but one of the guards grabbed me hard. His glove was so rough it burned my skin.
They dragged me down a low-ceilinged corridor, way too bright. The air felt heavier with every step.
We passed cells as silent as tombs.
The silence was suffocating.
One of the guards opened a square door and shoved me inside.
The cell wasn't what I expected, it was… too clean.
Half mirrored metal, half dark stone. No furniture, no cracks.
The door closed with a snap, locking me in with that dead silence.
I sat down on the cold floor, clutching the purple notebook to my chest.
They hadn't taken it away. I didn't know why, but it was the only thing that still gave me any comfort.
The pages were still blank.
I closed my eyes.
"Noah…"
The name still felt strange, but it was the only piece of reality I had left.
The silence felt like it wanted to swallow everything.
And I sat there.
Waiting for the world to swallow me too.