You wake up. everything seems normal, you go about your morning routine, today is gonna be a long day, but no time to worry about that. You need to drop Jane at school. You begin to drive, and notice something strange, there’s a light, originating from something that could be described by nothing short of an orb, of pure, white, warm light. It seems almost…Comforting…Like, a good memory you had… Suddenly your head falls to the wheel and the last you remember is the light filling the car, as Jane yells out…
You wake up… It’s a dark road. Jane is asleep in the car… You just picked her up, did you fall asleep? But something seems off… You find a paper in the open glove department.
“Greetings, fellow soul” Using the word “soul” to refer to another? Strange, you think. “You may have realised that time has skipped a few hours, and everything you normally do has been done, You have been transferred to another dimension, your old self has died, and now you’re you. If you want to survive in this “Cruel world”, you must follow these rules carefully:-“
This has to be some sick joke, you turn to Jane, but…she’s not there? You turn back to the paper;
“-Rule 1: This dimension is unstable with you in it, certain glitches may occur, such as; objects you see may disappear, or you’ll randomly teleport after blinking, whatever happens, you must act calm and pretend as if nothing has changed. If they find out you’re the problem, they’ll dispose of you in a way unimaginable for all.”
You, realising this might not be a joke, turn back and Jane is back there, you’re panicking inside, but you try and act calm, you continue reading.
“Rule 2: Please note that you are NOT a part of this “cruel world””
Why was it refering to this place as the “Cruel world”?
You continue reading.
“Rule 2: Please note that you are NOT a part of this “cruel world”, but simply an error. Depending on how you arrived here, you need to avoid different things in different ways.
Rule 2a: If you arrived by falling through the floor, you must avoid long figures, and NEVER stay outside any sort of shelter during the nighttime”
“Falling through the floor”? Like just phasing through? That’s not what happend to me, you think.
“Rule 2b: If you arrived by waking up after sleeping, you CANNOT be seen, if this happens to you, there will be a shelter in the woods, go to it, and there will be watches to make you invisible. Please note that using them for too long will cause dangerous levels of radiation poisoning. There are tubes of energy which can bypass this however, though not for too long.”
Sleeping? That could be it, though that wouldn’t explain the orb, the comforting feeling, you wish you were just back there, it was like reliving your childhood…No time for that, you need to keep reading.
“Rule 2c: If you were inside a shelter, such as a house, a car, or just completely covered, you will see a orb of light. If it is white, you are more prone to the creatures, than anything; if it is green, you musn’t worry as much, go to the shelter and wait out there for your duration. If it is blue, you should be able to fool anything that will look for you rather easily. If it is red, your screwed, go to any place that’s difficult to find, and stay there, if you are not able to, find a way to quickly hide yourself.”
An orb, the one you saw was white, so, avoid the creatures? What creatures? Like bugs? Monsters? This was too vague…
“Rule 3: To escape this “cruel world”, you must either, survive for a week, and the problem will quickly weaken, become connected with the “cruel world”, or find a way to return via interdimensional travel.”
Survive for a week? That’s gonna be difficult? You began to slowly tear up, realising this might be the end, you think of Jane, she’s just 8 right now, how will they be fine alone, or Raina, she was just waiting for you, her smile was still engrained into your memory, slowly fading… Determined, you continue reading the paper, knowing you need to survive.
“Rule 4: anyone who was with you when you came to this demension is likely here aswell, find them and it shall be easier to survive”
Anyone who was with you? So would Jane be here? You see her waking up, slowly. You realise you need to protect her. You keep reading.
“Rule 5: There are many creatures in this “cruel world”, each one is unique, however one thing in common is, they’re all searching to destroy the “problem”.”
It already referred to you as the “problem”, so you know it’s you.
“Rule 6: Even if you survive, you won’t go back to your original world, you’ll stay here, with your new life.”
A new life… At least Jane would still be here. You wipe away your tears, as she fully wakes up, and asks where we are?
“Were finding a way home”, you respond, she has a puzzled expression, as you see a figure, an almost unnoticible shadow, Infront of the car, you pull her to you and hide under the dashboard, she’s confused, and on the verge of tears.
“I’ll get you home no matter what it takes, Jane” you say, thinking of a plan, knowing it might just be futile…