Chapter Text
Present
Something was off. It was not the unnatural brightness of the world or the mix of plastic and felt-like texture of this strange universe that got Red Guy’s mind spinning. It was a hunch, a sixth-sense of sorts, that got the stringed monster’s gut twisted up and ready to expel the contents of his stomach– wait, when has he eaten last? Red doesn’t remember. He does not remember much these days.
Sitting here now, with the other two guys he aptly named Duck and Yellow Guy, due to their cartoonish features of a bird and a yellow, humanoid pig-like thing, playing a simple board game that usually kept Red Guy’s mind occupied for a few minutes, or hours, or days, or weeks; time is simply nonlinear to him now. Seconds could be hours and minutes could be weeks.
Amidst the game, he finally took this uneasy feeling and misplaced it to one scenario– a lesson was going to appear. Yes! That was it! Red Guy concluded that since he, and the other two guys, did not have a teacher in what seems like forever, one was going to appear soon. Was one going to teach about fiance? About plants? About animals?
“Oh. I guess it is my turn to choose a card,” Red spoke, in a drab, emotionless voice. The stringy monster forced his arm towards the card and slowly picked it up with his fleece mitten. “What is the biggest thing in the world?” What is the word, Red Guy thought. Geo… Geography! We are going to learn about the world! Yes, he came to a conclusion, this will do. Get the lesson out of the way and this unnerving feeling will pass. Easy. Simple.
“Hm,” the green avian spoke, “that’s a tricky one.” The yellow one responded excitedly in his usual naive manner, “A mountain? A sky? A windmill–” “No!” This response came quickly from Duck– this sharp tone was usually reserved for this yellow creature. Alright, let's get this ball rolling.
“If only there was a way to learn more about the world..” Red spoke, trying his hardest to sound enthusiastic. There was music, a little jingle of sorts, that somehow, by some sort of magic, cued the trio to pay attention to a globe on a small, well-decorated bookshelf behind where Red was sitting. Not too bad, Red thought, I can handle this. “Yes, if only there was a way to learn more about the world…” The Duck chimed in, which Red was grateful for. The globe suddenly spun and spun on its axis with a crazed sort of frenzy until it came to a sudden halt– it was like someone, or something, had placed its finger on the ball to stop it. Now, this globe, which was given the dutiful task to teach the trio, supports two, large cartoonish eyes and a pencil drawn smile. “Wow! Look!” This came from the yellow one– this puppet was usually the one who was most easily swept away in the teacher’s lessons.
The globe was about to speak, or more accurately, sing, when a bulky, white computer came to life from the other side of the room and began to sing for it. The globe looked disappointed. This is wrong. Very wrong. Tremendously wrong. Red tried to bring forth memories back in the recesses of his mind of two teachers coming to life at the same time, but it was no use. Wait, there was this time…no… but wait…maybe…maybe not. There is a high possibility that two, or maybe even more, appeared at the same time, but the memory of Red is so muddled, so fractured, that he could barely remember the day before. Why should the red creature rely on something as faulty as memory when the only constant thing in his life is the house and the three it has kept prisoner?
As this teacher made its way to the table, this unnerving feeling exemplified ten fold–it made Red’s heart pump in an unusual manner and it was hard to breathe. Soon, his head started to pound. As the computer made its way to the table and it started to ask the trio, in a sing-songy voice, a barrage of personal, unnerving questions about their lives. The computer’s voice, as it asks these questions, infiltrates Red’s mind, unraveling his brain matter and turning it into mush. He can’t think. He can’t breathe. He needs a moment to rest. “Wait a second.” Ignored. “Stop talking.” Ignored, again. “Be quiet.” Anger. That is a feeling that Red is so rarely accustomed to. It bubbled up from the pit of his stomach and traveled to his heart, filling every aorta and vein it contained. For the first time, or not, Red followed his heart and gave a harty, “SHUT UP!” He even gave a slap of the keyboard for good measure. That was a bad idea. “DON’T TOUCH ME!” The computer screeched in an ear-piercing autotuned voice. This outburst resulted in the three guys, the teacher included, being transported into a digital world made up of colourful polygons. This sudden change from colourful plastic and felt to the computerized world gave Red, and even the other two, whiplash.
Note taken. Play along. Do not, under no circumstances, stand up for yourself. Even if you feel like dying. Got it.
The song continued and continued and continued. Red tried his hardest to get sucked into the rhymes of the computerized voice and the apparent wonderful things that the internet can bring to an individual (digital style, digital dancing, and various geometric shapes) but he could not. How could the other two enjoy this? The song got faster and faster, reaching its apparent climax, and it made Red’s head spin. He wanted, he craved, to get out of this digitized hellscape of a lesson–he even resorted to pleading to whoever was responsible for this torture in his mind. As soon as this internal plea was cast, his consciousness was sucked out of the computer and was put back into his puppet-esque body that was still in the dining room. It was uncomfortably dark–the air was heavy with a stagnant dampness–with the only thing that gave some sort of light was the now unanimated computer.
Why? Why was his wish answered? This has never happened before. Strange. Utterly strange.
That’s when Red noticed an extension cord that was the same vibrant hue as the creature that was connected to the computer. This cord, from the computer, stretched on through a door behind Red Guy’s huge body; the scarlet creature did not notice this addition to the dining room before. Confusion came over the creature as it held up the cord in its hands like it was a precious diamond. An urge to follow the cord soon captured the creature’s being, overriding the previous feelings of bewilderment. He sighed and rose from his chair and simply followed. For the second time that night, or day, who knows, he was left utterly confused. He noticed a thing, Red could not recognize what creature it was, wearing a black morph suit controlling a more puppet-like, and more low-quality, version of Red and Yellow. With Duck, there was a way smaller and more realistic version sitting on a white table the two other copies were surrounding. Was this their kitchen? Where was the decor? Red could be intelligent about this situation– he could have rationalized that this was simply another game the teacher was playing. He could have done what he has always had when a teacher brought about an absurd lesson: dissociate and play along. But the pressure in his head grew and all he could muster was a soft, breathy, “Huh?” That simple phrase was an activation to make the pressure in his head explode, literally. His stringed skull burst, making red twine and colourful confetti stain the white kitchen floor.
“Cut!”
Red woke in a panic. Was this a bad dream? Was this teacher just a figment of his imagination? Red did not dream–that is one thing he knew for certain. When he sleeps, he just closes his eyes and rests in a dark abyss until he wakes to relive his living nightmare in that house.
In the midst of the bewilderment, that’s when Red noticed something peculiar from his laying down position. Instead of the normal, brightly colour roof the house adorned, it was replaced with dull, square tiles. Red sat up with a jolt, which he instantly regretted. The sudden movement caused the red creature’s head to be pulled back by a mass of wires that connected to his skull; the origin of these wires was a bulky machine that looked very similar to the computer Red saw earlier. The creature started to freak out. He crazily looked over the room and his body, trying to process where he was and how he got to this strange world. His brain could not process the information he was seeing, it refused to do so. All the creature could see was the world spinning due to him looking wildly at this non-cartoonish, neutral planet. His hands, a primal instinct took over to do this, went to his face in order to cover his grotesque mouth to cover a wail.
Wait. Where was his string? Where was the string that he oh so loved? Red started to run his face violently, feeling the new face he now adorned. There was a strong nose and a mouth that, finally, had lips. The sensation of the flesh was unfamiliar– it was a mix of a warm smoothness and stubbleness, like someone had shaved off hair around his jaw and hollowed cheeks. When he got to his forehead, in the middle of his eyebrows, the not-so-creature noticed a small, square machine that was stuck to it. Red’s hands dropped to his lap like gravity had exemplified suddenly. Instead of the normal mittens he controlled, it was now a fleshy stump with five slender appendages on each hand. The red one was amazed– he had never had fingers before. He flexed and unflexed his hands and turned his palm, that was face up, down on his lap, and reversed this action a couple times. Red’s eyes now traveled to his right forearm, which was changed from a scarlet hue to now a deep brown, held an IV that was also connected to a strange machine that Red has never seen before.
The aforementioned wonder of his new body was sucked out of his very being and the initial panic was replaced. His memory is spotty even in this strange new world, too, because he forgot about the wires that sat atop his head and the square that was stuck to his forehead. A primal instinct to get up and flee was present, but after the whole incident with the computer, he decided to be smart. What happens if he gets out of this room? Then what? Red closed his eyes and tried to search his maze-like mind to previous lessons on what you need to survive. A blend of lessons is all he could foster up to the forefront of mind, no one lesson is particularly recognizable from the previous. Fine. He can come up with his own list for survival.
Red thought and thought, finding glimpses of clear memories in the sea of fog to help with his own survival. He remembers being at the kitchen table, eating food and drinking water. So, Red concluded, food and something to drink. Next, he thought about the board games, before the whole computer situation, that he and the other two used to play. The board games often deal with fictitious money. So, the red one added money to the list. Food. Water. Money. What else? The house he was trapped in flooded his brain, making him dizzy with pain. Shelter. Wherever he goes when he leaves this room, he has to find a comfortable place to live in. One where inanimate objects do not come to life, preferably. Alright, Red concluded, food, water, money, and shelter. Let’s get going.
What Red did first was to slowly remove the wired cap from his head, which was easy due to his head being, presumably, shaven. However it was still a sloppy removal, of course, due to the fact that Red did not have a mirror nor did he have the dexterity of his newly acquired hands. The machine that this wired hat was connected to started to beep quietly due to the removal. This beeping caused Red’s heart to pump faster, fearing that it would come to life. After a pregnant pause, he signed, put the wires down on his pillow, and swung the uncomfortable blanket from his frail body. Red first noticed that he was in a light blue gown, which clashed heavily with his dark, thin legs. In that house, from what Red can remember, he had weight on him. Duck even pointed it out, rudely, multiple times. But now, it looked like he had not had a proper meal in years. Red was disappointed in his new body. Where was his weight gain? This disappointment got dispelled with a quiet excitement to test out his new body. Will it walk differently from the puppet counterpart? Red put his right leg off the bed first then slowly did the same with the other.
Soon, he was sitting on the side of the bed. Excitement got the best of him and he stood up like a soldier who was snapped to attention. This action caused Red’s vision to blur and his legs to wobble under the weight of himself. Red forced his arm downward to get a grip on the bed as he steadied himself. He took deep, slow breaths as he got his vision to come back and his heart to stop trying to jump out of his chest cavity. Finally, when got his body in order, he was going to get the rest of the machines off his body when he noticed something peculiar. From the opposite side of his bed, Red noticed a man in the same position that he was in. Instead of being fully aware and standing, this man was laying down in his bed, with the same devices that Red adorned, not moving. Red had to look really hard to see his chest rising, slowing up and down. At least he isn't dead. Even though the covers were covering the majority of this man, Red could tell that he was significantly shorter and in an even more worse condition than he was. This being’s tanned face supported hollow cheeks, a sharp nose, and the same stubble that Red has. Even his hair came to the same fate as Red’s. The scarlet creature could not look away from this person. It was like there was an invisible string that connected from Red’s heart to this mysterious creature’s heart. Red craned his neck to the right to reveal others–men and women in various stages of life– in the same position as this alluring person. Laying down, barely breathing, and hooked up to various gadgets. Familiarity and pity pools in his chest, swarming his brain. However, Red snapped his head back to this person who he saw first. He could not look away.
Footsteps could be heard from Red’s position. Red’s head snapped quickly, which caused dizziness, to the very right of the room where the door was held. The footsteps got very close to the door, then stopped for a long couple of seconds, then continued down the presumed hallway. Red’s stomach dropped– the sense of foreboding flooded his body. In the back of his mind, he knew that these footsteps would mean an end to this new world. Using his left hand, he snatched his IV out of his forearm. Pain shot up from this area, causing Red to bite his lip to silence his cry. Warm, dark red liquid dribbled out of the new wound onto the pristine floor. I can deal with this later, Red thought, let's get moving. Taking his non-injured arm, he touched the black square on his forehead, he grabbed it and yanked it. Hard. This time, Red could not contain his desperate cry. This small machine caused his outer layer of skin to be cut, nicked, and torn. Blood dribbled down his face, causing him to blink rapidly to get this thick liquid out of his eyes. Red took a shaky breath to compose himself, and then two big steps to the door. Walking is difficult due to his legs not being used. His legs are shaking and his muscles are burning. However, he needs to leave, to escape. As he walked closer to the door, his mind stopped his hurting legs. He can’t leave him. He needs to take him.
Red forced his weak legs to turn around and to strive quickly as could to the figure in the bed. He extended his arms, with the right arm giving him some resistance due the injury, and messily ripped the wires from the head. The smaller man did not wake. Red turned his attention to the IV and carefully, this time, to remove it. Due to this consideration, the only thing left was a small bead of blood on the inner crease of the arm. Lastly, and the most painful part, was the square mechanism on the forehead. Think of it like a bandaid Red thought, going slow will make it worse. Red grabbed the machine and yanked it violently. This tear made a disgusting squelchy noise and blood started spewing widely out of this square shaped wound. Screaming. A primal sort of sound that only a dying animal could make. That's what happened to the lying man when this device was removed. The laying man’s eyes opened wide and searched Red’s face, and the room, in an animal-like frenzy. His mouth contorted in a scorn as he forced his hands to grip Red’s biceps. A wounded animal, that’s all this man was. Whimpers came from the deep recess of his chest and tears came from his black eyes. “Wher… Where am I?” This simple question was laced with a thick hoarseness from the scream. The footsteps, now coming fast towards the door, were heard from the taller man. The smaller man did not hear due to the pain from his forehead. “Doesn’t matter. We need to leave. Now.”
Red, filled with adrenaline and fear, grabbed the hurt man’s arm and forced him to get out of the bed. The small man fell towards the ground with a hard thwap. Red did not acknowledge this fall and only grabbed his arm again, forced him up, and made him walk with him. The wounded creature was on the verge of passing out, but Red was so focused on getting out of this new, obscured place that he did not notice this. Food. Water. Money. Shelter. Red quickly added medicine to this imaginary list. This is when three similar looking creatures to Red and the smaller man came bursting into the room, wearing white coats, medical masks, and holding syringes. Their eyes held anger and annoyance. Red soon matched their expressions as he, with the smaller man in tow, barreled past these creatures with an animal sort of strength. This caused the three people to be caught off guard– they did not anticipate this resistance.
Red ran and ran, only slowed down by the other human tripping, barely hanging on by a thread. From the quick glimpses Red could see of his new companion, he was in and out consciousness. Down and down winding hallways, the scientists in tow, and sirens blasting, Red’s brain was getting muddled. His adrenaline was slowly depleting and he needed to lay down. Just for a second. His legs are on fire and his brain fog is making his vision blurred.
As the red one made his way down one of the turning hallways, with many sharp corners, he caught a glimpse of a large potted plant. He slowed down, causing the other creature to come crashing into his frame. Red forced the two to hide behind the plant. The more injured person started to hyperventilate, but soon Red did his best to dispel it: he covered the mouth with his left hand. The three people who were previously chasing the duo zipped past, not noticing the scene that was unfolding behind the plant. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. All that could be heard was the loud sirens mixed with angry shouts from the other side of the large building. Red removed his hand from the other male, who was now in a somewhat calm state.
“Sorry, mate, that’s the only way I could keep you quiet,” Red apologized to the other figure. The smaller person gave his best expression of a scowl and rolled his eyes. Red ignored this expression due to inability to read it. “Alright, let's get moving,” Red eventually decided. He slowly stood up, his legs shaking with exhaustion. The other one tried to get up on his own, but failed due his head spinning, threatening to explode. Red grabbed the other man’s arm, and slowly pulled up his body, trying not to cause more injury. Soon, they were both walking slowly, trying their best to hear footsteps and trying to gauge any sorts of direction in this maze of a building.
A door. They found a door after walking for what seemed like forever. The small sign on black door read “Break Room.” The smaller man put his ear against the door, listening for anything or anyone. The man then gave a nod to the other, indicating the coast was clear. They enter with hopeful anticipation.
The room was small. This space held an old, run down white fridge with creme counters, a sink, and two wooden, upper cabinets to the right of it. To the left of this fridge, there was a rusty coat rack that held two brown coats and a small, black purse. In the middle of this small chamber was a circular table with two plastic chairs that are on the opposite sides of each other. Red quickly helped the other one into a chair in order to make a quick raid of this room.
The taller creature flew to the coat rack, grabbed the larger of the two coats, put it on, and then threw the other one in the general area of the other. With his newly acquired hands, he grabbed the purse, with no time to dig through it, and put it over his right shoulder. Next, the refrigerator. He opened it with such a force that the door violently hit the counter beside it. The fridge contained three plastic water bottles, two sandwiches wrapped individually, and spaghetti in a small, clear container. Red grabbed two water bottles, put one in each pocket of the jacket, and handed the third to the other guy to hold onto. With the sandwiches, the taller man stuffed them into the bag, not caring if they got smooshed. With the plastic container, he handed it off to the other creature.
Now, onto the cabinets. The first cabinet did not hold anything worth of note. Paper towels, paper plates, plastic cups and utensils. Red decided to take a roll of the paper towels, tear a good chunk of it, and stuff in purse with the sandwiches–he planned to wipe the wounds of him and his companion later. As he was closing this cabinet door, he decided at the last minute to grab a handful of plastic utensils in order to have some sort of weapon, even though useless, against the beasts in white coats. He stuffed the utensils in his left coat with the water bottle. In the second cabinet, it held two more fascinating things than the first: a first aid kit and a small box of cereal bars. Red quickly grabbed the first aid kit, held it with injured arm, and grabbed the box of cereal bars and put them under his left armpit.
Red turned around to his partner and found him sipping slowly on his water bottle, trying to stay conscious. Red walked slowly to this man and gestured, to the best of his ability, to get up and to get moving. The smaller man got the hint, closed his plastic water bottle, got up, wiped the blood from his forehead, and walked slowly to the door. Red sighed, marched beside the other person, and said a simple, “Ready?” The other nodded as he grabbed onto Red’s jacket for support.
As soon as the smaller one opened the door, they ran. They ran, and ran, and ran. They were not humans, they were animals, prey, being hunted. But, they did not give up so easily. They decided, from then on there, they were going to be the hunters. Take a left, take a right, head straight, and stop to catch a breath and to hear footsteps, and repeat. With their supplies on their bodies, they decided not to stop and check the other doors that lined up the winding hallways. They did not care.
The more injured man, who still was holding onto the jacket of Red for support, stopped and yanked the taller man to a halt. Red was confused, but was soon replaced with hope as the smaller one pointed to a sign that was hanging above a door on the right side of this particular hallway. The glowing red letters simply spelled a phrase that Red dreamt of everyday in that hellhole of a house: Exit. The two men looked at each other and smiled and hurriedly sped to the door.
It was unlocked. The door was unlocked. Both of the men pushed the door with such a frenzy that it swung open, revealing stairs that led downward. Down and down they went, not caring if they were heard, not caring to stop and check if they were followed. All fueling the two bodies was adrenaline and a dream to get out of this prison.
Soon, they made it door— this door led them to the unknown. The two men already made it this far, why not journey a little bit more? With shaky hands, the smaller of the two pushed the door open revealing a deep thicket behind a high fence. The moon and stars, not made of felt, shone down on the outside world. Of course. Leaving was not as simple as opening a door and running away. Both of the creatures signed in frustration. The fence, which was about five yards away, looked non-electric, but impossible to climb, especially in the two guy’s positions. The men walked, now on long, mudded grass, to the fence. Red, with the best of his ability, punched the fence, trying not to drop the supplies.
“Why don’t we try and find a door? Or a hole to climb under the fence?” This suggestion came from the shorter of the two. He sounded familiar to Red due to the tone of superiority. The red one huffed in agreement and soon they were walking along the fence, hoping, praying for a way out. They walked to the left. No luck. They journey back where they started, stopped, and then headed to the right.
That is when Red noticed something strange: a bush. This bush was not an ordinary bush that one would see on an outside walk in the woods. Instead of being wild and untamed, it was perfectly cut into a cube. This strange plant was a stark contrast to the wild grass that it was sitting atop. It reminded Red of the bushes he would frequently see on his, Yellow, and Duck’s chicken picnics. Red could sense that the other man was equally confused.
Red, with the sudden urge to touch the strange foliage, strides toward it to examine it. The other man followed suit, with a more determined strut. The smaller person then grabbed two branches of the bush, to see what was inside of it, but found that it could be easily lifted into the air. The smaller man squawked, actually squawked in a way that reminded Red of Duck, and put this fake plant to the side, revealing a perfectly dug out hole to the other side of the fence. This hole was not small either, it looked the perfect size for a human to comfortably pass through it. With no time to question, Red motioned the other man to go first, which he happily obliged. After a rough, slow journey through the hole, Red followed suit, making sure to pull the fake bush over the hole.
The two men, wracked with happiness, looked at each other and laughed maniacally. Not the soft laugh that two people may pass after a witty joke. No. This laugh was frantic, a sort of laugh that showed that these two men were here, alive and well. Turning their body to the deep woods, they did what they knew best, they ran.
It was hard to navigate these woods in the darkness. The only light source was the moon’s light filtering through the tall trees, but the two found it: a temporary base. It was a tiny, bush alcove that sat against a thick, dead tree. The two men crawled into this small hole, wracked with exhaustion, and decided to sleep. They did not care if they were woken up to a strange wild animal finding and mauling them- they did not care if they woke up at all. All the two men knew is that they made their great escape and wanted, needed, to rest. If they wake up, they will deal with the next day, together.