You Are Alone
You are alone and it is dark.
Where is the light switch?
The light switch? It’s somewhere on the left wall. You’ll have to fumble a bit to find it and besides there’s not really much point since it won’t actually do any good. The light is gone, remember? I suppose I can’t really blame you, memories can be quite useless when they all each one shows you is the same inky blackness. Well, the light was taken away. It was a long time ago but not quite before you were born. In fact, you should still have memories of light. Do you remember the way sunlight felt against your skin, the way dim orange lamps made you calm and drowsy, or the way streetlamps made you feel safe? I don’t think you need to be reminded that the light was certainly better than this. Perhaps you should go looking for it.
Where are the people?
The people are lost. Everyone is lost. You, especially, are very lost. Maybe you will find some as you look for the light, or maybe they will find you once you have returned the light. No-one can say for sure, it’s best to focus on finding the light.
Where is the light?
I don’t know. Go and find it.
This is ridiculous, where is my phone?
Your phone is on the other side of the room. It won’t be hard to locate but lord knows what you plan to do with it. You aren’t blind; you have a phone for people with eyes that can see that would normally be used in world with light. Right now, the smooth surface isn’t going to do much good for you since it can’t generate any light. Try looking somewhere less obvious. First off, leave the room.
Where is the door?
There are two wooden doors directly behind you and one of them has a large crack going straight down the middle of it, go through that one. The other door, since I’m sure you’re curious to know, leads to a large storage room. There are things scattered everywhere and they all feel and smell the same. I am certain that you would get lost forever. The cracked door, the one you are currently passing through, leads you into one end of a long corridor. On the other end there are two more doors. One of them leads to the kitchen and the other leads to the street. I forget which one is which but the kitchen will probably smell of rotting food and the street will most likely smell worse. So, in order to progress, walk through the door that makes you want to heave the most.
This street is too cold, where are my shoes?
Forget them. In a world with no light it’s best if you can get a good feel of what you’re standing on. Without restraints like shoes and socks you’ll find navigating this place much simpler. Oh and not to worry you but without shoes you’re less likely to startle something. Who knows what could be lurking in the dark?
I’m afraid.
That is a sensible thing to be. Now, walk down the street, you can go in any direction except the one you came in. Hold out an arm and if you walk into a wall, walk in another direction. If you walk into something that is not a wall or a door, walk in another direction faster. It is going to take you some time to get anywhere. You aren’t moving, just pick a direction. Do you want to die in the dark? Go somewhere!
No, you don’t understand, I’m terrified.
I understand. Okay, go left. Keep your arm fully extended, it feels stupid but trust me, if you walk into something that is not a wall or a door you will want to be as far away from it as possible as soon as possible. Consider the way the ground feels on your feet, investigate anything they come across. Whatever you find with your feet is probably too small to hurt you, or it’s already dead.
There’s something warm and wet under my feet.
Someone probably just spilled a hot drink; it’s hard to hold anything. Maybe you should go and find where they got it from, it’s probably caffeinated. Walking around alone in the dark does tend to make one drowsy.
It’s too sticky to be a drink, what is it?
Sticky? Ah, then it’s probably irrelevant, you might want to keep walking before you lose you’re way.
It smells coppery.
Industrial waste. They should really stop walking around with that stuff in this darkness. Anyway, move along before your feet burn or erode or something.
This is not industrial waste.
You should learn to lie to yourself more. Now, let’s look for some doors. The kind of door you want will be quite big and made of glass. Basically you want the doors of corporate businesses. Wooden doors will usually lead you into a house. I doubt someone took all the light and hid it in their cupboard. Oh and what I said earlier, about investigating the things you find with your feet, forget that. As it turns out, the things on the floor might upset you. So when you feel something soft and wet with that same coppery scent, just ignore it and you’ll be fine.
I can hear breathing; I think there’s someone there.
You can? That’s probably just your imagination. What you’re hearing is most likely just your own breath. Now, about those doors. Perhaps you should try walking to the right.
Wait, I want to know where the breathing is coming from.
Like I said, it’s just you. Now, you need to move quickly. Walk to the right and make haste about it. Hey, why don’t you try running as quietly as you can?
Why do you want me to run?
No reason. It’ll just be a fun game. Let’s see how fast you can run without making a single sound.
I CAN HEAR BREATHING. Hello! Who’s there?
Shut your mouth and run.
What?
RUN.
…
There, sorry about that. You didn’t run into too many trees and benches did you? Well anyway you seem to be okay. How about you try walking straight ahead this time, maybe we’ll actually get somewhere.
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
What was what? Oh that thing. Don’t worry about it honestly. You’ve got way more serious things to worry about, like perpetual loneliness, insanity, starvation, dehydration. You can’t get into a huff over every single ‘thing’ that wants to rip you to shreds and eat you. Just calm down.
So you’re saying that I’ll be okay?
Not likely, but what did I say about lying to yourself? Okay so it looks like you’ve found yourself on a main road, just keep going down and if you hear anything, like breathing for example, don’t hang around. Run in the exact opposite direction.
But what if it’s another person?
Another person? Why on earth would there be another person? Oh but of course! I’d almost forgotten what I said earlier. Ah yes I told you that you might find some of those poor lost people, didn’t I? You know it’s probably best I stop lying to you, but you should still lie to yourself. It’s a pretty healthy habit nowadays.
What? Then where are all the people?
Them? They’re dead. Most of them got killed in stupid accident, some of them got picked off one by one by the more hostile inhabitants of this place, and the rest of them just offed themselves. Tragic really.
I don’t think I can go on, knowing that.
Yeah I know, that’s why I didn’t tell you. But besides, it’s not like you’re going to remember it tomorrow. Remember what I told you, about having an ineffective memory? We’ve had that same conversation at the start of every day and at the end of the day, we have this conversation. It’s pretty dull for me but I’m certain that we’re getting closer to the light as each day passes.
I want to go to sleep. I want to forget this already. And leave me alone tomorrow.
We both know that I’m not going to do that.
Fine, just let me sleep.
Walk straight towards the left, there should be a wooden door somewhere around there. It probably leads to a house. Or at least somewhere with a roof. That’s it, just walk in, no-one managed to lock their doors when the light went.
Is it safe?
You better hope so. Walk straight ahead and go up the stairs. Go through any door, there’s a one in three chance that it’ll be a bedroom. You can find the bed yourself. There you go. Now, just rest your head and try not to think too much about the dark. Just remember the light and tomorrow it will be the first thing in your mind.
…
Where am I?
You are alone and it is dark.
