Be Yourself

[Ayesthine]

I shivered silently in my blanket, my eyes misted with tears. I scrubbed at them furiously, and tried my hardest to push the treacherous thoughts of anxiety to the back of my mind. All the same, a lump formed in my throat and pressed painfully against my neck, and my heartrate jumped and skipped all over the place. In short, I was and felt like a mess. The silence and solitude I would relish in any other situation grated on my strained nerves, and the slightest thought of home and safety sent me off in another tear-stained meltdown. I wrapped the blanket sullenly around my face, and took another peek at the chat client. I had a few new messages from my strange companions, or so it seemed.

Momentary guilt at not following any of my own advice washed over me, but I swallowed it down. Things were already too much of a mess for me to worry about letting down some people I could hardly believe existed.

 

_Arceus64_: If the sandwich is bad, I'm not eating it

_Arceus64_: Unless it's out of complete desperation

_Arceus64_: ...which I probably will get to anyways

_Arceus64_: Since I feel doomed

_Arceus64_: And I also got a cupcake

_Arceus64_: I thought the cupcake was pretty good

_Arceus64_: Though the frosting was a bit strong..

 

 

I stared incredulously at the screen.

A cupcake? Really? What the hell?

I glanced over at the slot, but no frosted confection greeted my eyes.

I don't know if I should be jealous or concerned.

 

 

Beguiled: I didn't mean bad as in moldy or anything,

Beguiled: It just sortof sucks

Beguiled: Not that I should be complaining, since its the only food I've had

Beguiled: Wait

Beguiled: Scratch that

Beguiled: I have every RIGHT to complain

Beguiled: I didn't ask to be brought here

Beguiled: In fact

 

 

My indignant point was interrupted by another message from L.Carol. They made plenty of allusions to Portal and Portal 2, games I was very familiar with. The reference to my everyday life of games made me sick to my stomach. I wanted with a burning sense of righteousness to go home.

 

 

Beguiled: Oh you and your stupid GODD*** COIN FLIP and your bull**** PEANUT GAME

 

 

I raised my clenched fists to slam them down on the keyboard, but I stopped myself.

Don't be stupid. There's no guarantee they are the person keeping you here. They could just be trying to make conversation, to comfort you or something. Don't be so hard on them, and on yourself. Who knows, you might have done something to deserve staying here.

I glared mentally at the sensible thoughts running through my brain. I wanted to be angry, and more importantly I deserved to be. Even if I had done something wrong, I at least reserved the right to be told. Besides, there was no guarantee THAT theory was right, either. For all I knew they might want me for sick experiments somehow sanctioned by the government. Rights wouldn't matter at all, then.

 

Beguiled: Sorry.. sorry about that

Beguiled: It was uncalled for

Beguiled: And stupid, since I could have just yelled that out loud...

Beguiled: I just let this whole screwed up situation get to me

Beguiled: Anyway,

Beguiled: We really need information on this place, so we can escape

Beguiled: Or, at the very least, rest safe in the knowledge that we are in good hands

Beguiled: Although I doubt the latter possibility

 

 

I leaned back from the keyboard after my tirade, and snuggled down into the blanket. I breathed on my cupped hands to warm them up after the chilling air of the room.

 

 

((Edited because some profanity was not censored :x my bad))

Edited January 8, 2014 by Ayesthine

[HomeForFlowers]

After reading L. Carol's new message, I was greeted almost immediately with my companion's thoughts. I was pleasantly surprised find that their thoughts on Carol mirrored mine.

Good to see we're on the same page.

 

Doctor: Agreed.

Doctor: If this "L. Carol" was trying to help us, then maybe they should act a bit more serious.

Doctor: After all, how are we suppose to trust them if they think that making Portal references will help support their point.

Doctor: If they were really risking their lives, they then should know better than to start talking to us where the others can see.

Doctor: Of course, this chat room might not be monitored 24/7. (I will be insanely surprised if it isn't)

Doctor: If that's the case, then maybe they're deleting what they're saying to us and whenever we mention them.

Doctor: If that was the case, then they really are risking their lives with a grasp on what they're doing in mind.

Doctor: Of course, that doesn't cover that silly Portal reference, nor how social awkward they seem. But hey, it at least doesn't make them look like a simple minded buffoon.

 

I probably shouldn't be insulting the person who was trying to help me, but it wasn't like I could help it. This Carol was either being very clever or a complete idiot. Probably both.

[Bacon_Strips]

(OOC: I cannot understand why I made this so long.)

 

Halfway through reading Beguiled's messages, L. Carol's return garnered my undivided attention. Though I was clueless about the references they were likely making through rambling, the understandable information was more than enough to keep my focus on the screen.

 

Once I finished, I was deeply conflicted about the user, who I decided to assume was a she. If there was ever a glimmer of doubt that I was not captured by some random psychopaths, it was quickly sucked out of my mind and disintegrated throughout the stuffy air that filled my bare room. Luckily, it also reassured me that actions to save my life would were of great importance.

 

However, I was also beginning to question if she really was working with the enemy. The attitude displayed through her posts suggested that she was not a evil monster, and her strange acts of benevolence did not match up to the intentions of a cruel captor. She didn't have give us these little things of use, I thought, and it would've been easier for her to just let us starve to death. The possibility of her taunting us with a mask of hope was fading from my mind with every next second.

 

Beguiled: Oh you and your stupid GODD*** COIN FLIP and your bull**** PEANUT GAME

 

Needless to say, I was taken aback my Beguiled's unpleasant response to the situation. Although the rest of her messages were much more relaxed, I wondered if everyone's reaction to L. Carol this nasty. Was I being brainwashed that she was fine without even realizing it? I rubbed my forehead in utter confusion, unsure of what to even think anymore. My soul felt somewhat crushed from it all.

 

_Arceus64_: Who knows, she could be telling the truth

_Arceus64_: I have this feeling that she is

_Arceus64_: She doesn't seem like the 'type'

_Arceus64_: She seems like a somewhat ditzy but useful person

 

I dreaded their reply, as previous instances of disagreement online never ended well. With the stakes even higher now, I expected a somewhat rude and insensitive comment. To combat this, I decided to try and please them by discussing about gathering information.

 

_Arceus64_: Yeah, we do need more information

_Arceus64_: Maybe if we tamper with the room's environment we can figure something out

_Arceus64_: I might as well use a command...

_Arceus64_ asked for peanuts

 

Sure enough, a peanut bag quickly made its way down, the unmistakable sound of plastic hitting the floor. Although I couldn't eat a single peanut, I figured they could be of use later on. Gathering resources seemed like the most obvious thing to do.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Bacon_Strips

[Ayesthine]

I sat snuggled in the relative warmth of my little blanket tent and watched as Aerceus's messages slowly popped up.

 

_Arceus64_: Who knows, she could be telling the truth

_Arceus64_: I have this feeling that she is

_Arceus64_: She doesn't seem like the 'type'

_Arceus64_: She seems like a somewhat ditzy but useful person

 

 

I nodded to myself, agreeing, but I couldn't help but feel some modicum of annoyance . I had said that myself not a few lines earlier, and although it was buried underneath L.Carol's wall of text, it should be easily remembered.

 

 

Beguiled: Yeah, I know.

Beguiled: My anger was directed at everything in general, and her superiors,

Beguiled: not just her.

Beguiled: I don't have much ill-will towards her

Beguiled: I could just use a little less ditzy and a lot more helpful

Beguiled: Peanuts are not going to do very much at all

 

I sat back, sighing. This conversation wasn't worth my time, but I couldn't exactly do anything productive. I looked at the chat again, bored beyond belief.

 

_Arceus64_: Yeah, we do need more information

_Arceus64_: Maybe if we tamper with the room's environment we can figure something out

_Arceus64_: I might as well use a command...

_Arceus64_ asked for peanuts

Beguiled: To be honest, I'm too sullen and still too in shock to look for information

Beguiled: If L.Carol wants to be helpful, she could give us something to go off of

Beguiled: Instead of the nonsense with peanuts.

Beguiled: If this is a lab, for experiments or research or whatever

Beguiled: There has to be some common factor bringing all of us here

Beguiled: Or, at least, I hope there is

Beguiled: So there's some method to this madness

 

 

I thought back to the day before, or what I assumed it was. I still didn't know how long I had been here. The only significant things I really remembered doing was signing up for this dumb dating website. In retrospect, I don't know why I did it. It was (hopefully) the result of boredom and a joke. I felt a little too embarrassed to bring that up on the chat, in case Arceus somehow thought I was serious about using it.

[Bacon_Strips]

Beguiled: Yeah, I know.

Beguiled: My anger was directed at everything in general, and her superiors,

Beguiled: not just her.

Beguiled: I don't have much ill-will towards her

Beguiled: I could just use a little less ditzy and a lot more helpful

Beguiled: Peanuts are not going to do very much at all

 

I released a sigh of relief, my worried thoughts vanishing as a relaxed state of mind washed over me. I was glad that they weren't trying to fight with me, since our "alliance" or "friendship" needed to be kept strong if there was any chance of us staying sane or making it out alive. The peanut comment, however, annoyed me.

 

_Arceus64_: Anything is useful at this point

_Arceus64_: Even if peanuts are not used as food

_Arceus64_: I'm just gathering what I can in case of any possible scenario

_Arceus64_: I can choke someone by shoving the peanut bag in their throat, for instance

_Arceus64_: I mean

_Arceus64_: I hope it doesn't come down to that

 

I nearly cringed at my words, realizing how dark it sounded. It was true that I was going to do everything I could, but the thought of killing someone for my survival horrified me.

 

After I finished reading her messages, I decided that I would go and see what I could do in the room. If Beguiled wasn't going to find something useful, I had to be the one to do it. In a way, I felt like the goal was to save both of our lives. I didn't think I could live with the shame of escaping but letting them die.

[Kiran]

Zoroark77: But if L.Carol was deleting everything that mentioned him/her in the text, then wouldn't other people notice the huge gaps?

Zoroark77: Like now. If all of this was being deleted, then I think that someone really ought to notice.

Zoroark77: Adding to that, L.Carol has done almost nothing to help us.

Zoroark77: The bathroom toggle and the peanuts are useful, but I can see no use for a randomizer and being able to shorten our usernames.

Zoroark77: L.Carol has shown nothing but silliness and complete disreguard for the seriousness of this.

Zoroark77: Sorry. I guess I'm just repeating things that have already been said now.

 

I sighed. It felt like we weren't getting anywhere (which we weren't). The 'we still know nothing' thoughts were starting to get repetitive, like someone who kept saying the same thing over and over again even though everyone else had already heard it. Yay. My own brain was starting to annoy me.

 

I traced my finger along the edge of my makeshift knife, wondering if it would be useful. I had long ago decided that it would be exceedingly dumb to mention it on the chat.

Edited January 10, 2014 by Backup77

[HomeForFlowers]

Zoroark was right. Even if this Carol was trying to help us, they were acting like an idiot. They disregarded just how serious the situation is, and were giving us almost nothing to work off of. We had no reason to trust them, and would, most likely, never have a reason to.

 

Doctor: I suppose you're right.

Doctor: I would say that most of their actions can be seen through how socially awkward they are.

Doctor: Because, clearly, they are socially awkward.

Doctor: Maybe they are trying to help, but, being socially awkward, can't easily get over their awkwardness?

Doctor: Poor excuse, I know, but it's at least something we can latch onto, yes?

 

I was trying to grasp some form of hope here. It was we all did when in survival mode. We grab onto what may help us. That was exactly what I was trying to do now. Although...

 

Doctor: There is also the possibility that L. Carol is just another employee testing us and not really trying to help.

Doctor: This whole thing can be a big setup to see how we'll respond.

Doctor: How much more disgusting can these people get?

 

I let out a small snort of rebellion as I typed up my last sentence.

Let them see that.

If these people wanted to bring us down, then I would fight screaming and kicking. Stealing children from them homes was repulsive. These people deserved to know just how horrible they were. I could already imagine someone fuming over the message I sent.

Let them whine, let's see how long it'll take for them to react. Let the dogs beg.

[Kiran]

Zoroark77: Still, it doesn't really matter if L.Carol is trying to help.

Zoroark77: What matters is if he/she actually does find a way to help.

Doctor: There is also the possibility that L. Carol is just another employee testing us and not really trying to help.

Doctor: This whole thing can be a big setup to see how we'll respond.

Doctor: How much more disgusting can these people get?

 

I thought about that for a minute. I had sort of already considered it, but the fact was that I had no idea who to trust. Anyone on the chat could easily just be another employee.

 

Still, what choice did I have? There wasn't really a reason to think that Doctor hadn't also been kidnapped. I also had no way to test whether or no Doctor was an employee. For now, I would have to base my actions on the idea that Doctor had been kidnapped like me.

Zoroark77: I don't think there is a limit to how disgusting these people can get.

Zoroark77: I suppose that anyone on the chat could be just another employee trying to test us, including you.

Zoroark77: However, I know that I'm not an employee, and presumably you know that you're not an employee.

Zoroark77: There's no way to tell who anyone is on this chat.

Zoroark77: But I haven't seen any evidence to suspect that you're an employee, so for now I'll have to trust you.

 

Oops. I started a sentence with 'but'. Oh, well. There was no edit button, so I couldn't fix it anyway.

[HomeForFlowers]

I couldn't help but feel a slight irritation that this other person didn't trust me. Of course, that irritation quickly faded after I realized that they were right. Now that I thought about it, I didn't trust this person either. I had no idea if they were an employee just trying to use me or not as well.

 

Doctor: Well, truth be told, I don't exactly trust you either.

Doctor: I have no evidence to prove you aren't an employee, nor do I have any evidence to prove you are an employee.

Doctor: I do suppose trusting each other is the best decision at the moment. Surely, evidence will come up at some point telling us whether or not if we're employees or not.

Doctor: Though, I do think we should be wary towards the others. Who knows if they're all on the same page as us.

[Dream_Dragon]

I stared at the screen as the messages came in.

 

P: This sandwich is awesome.

P: Although I'm actually not too fond of ham.

P: Or crusts, for that matter.

P: Oh well.

P: So, how are we going to get out?

P: Maybe we'll just be stuck here forever.

P315: Hey!

P315: How dome YOU got a ham sandwich but not ME?

P315: So NOT fair!

P315: I got peanut butter!

P315: i want ham too

P315: Who cares about getting out, I want my HAM SANDWICH!!

P315: ...

P315: I have properly calmed down and used up my crazy-childish energy

P315: I still want a ham sandwich, though

MasterWeavile898: Well okay then

MW898: Not like my username is unique at all /sarcasm

MW898: I'd suggest you Google it, to see that nobody else uses it. Except that's impossible, and there are plenty of places I've been that my Dream wouldn't know about anyway

MW898: Oh BTW, I only use sarcasm when I'm upset, sarcasm upsets me

MasterWeavile898: Maybe you should stop worrying about what kind of sandwich it is

MW898: It's the only glubbing thing you have to eat right now

MW898: You know how starving children in Africa would kill to eat stuff that many of us would take for granted?

MW898: Well guess who's gonna be starving now

MasterWeavile898: Shut. Up!

MW898: Oh god

MW898: I'm sorry, that wasn't intended for any of you

MW898: Just.. Just ignore that

 

I blinked.

 

"Say wwwwhat?" I muttered to myself. I sat back and thought for a moment.

 

"Okay, so you say 'my Dream', so there's like what, another me that came here from another dimension?" I rasied an eyebrow before remembering what MW898 had just said. "Okay, sorry, sorry, you don't like sarcasm, got it. I, I'll remember that..." I was talking to the screen even though I knew he totally couldn't hear me. Probably. I was about to reply when a whole load of new messages came up.

 

L.Carol: Did somebody say legal?

L.Carol: Because this is definitely not.

L.Carol: Kidnapping being the most obvious thing.

L.Carol: Haven't you people ever played Portal?

L.Carol: Apparently not, because you aren't trusting me.

L.Carol: Clearly you should trust me, I'm risking my life here.

L.Carol: On second thought, no you shouldn't. Don't trust me yet.

L.Carol: Okay now, now you can trust me.

L.Carol: Though I have no idea why you would.

L.Carol: Anyway, Portal.

L.Carol: Or Portal 2.

L.Carol: Think of it this way, I'm Wheatley

Wheatley: See?

Wheatley: And before you ask, no, I will not allow you to change your names or colors. People will be impersonating each other all over the place and it will be hell.

Wheatley: You guys are all Chell.

Wheatley: And my boss's boss is Cave Johnson.

Wheatley: Wait, no.

Wheatley: That doesn't work.

Wheatley: He is, but then who's GLaDOS?

Wheatley: Or maybe I'm Caroline?

Wheatley: Okay, that analogy fell apart.

Wheatley: My point is, I'm here to risk my life to help you.

L.Carol: And sorry for going on so long, I just have so much to tell you and so little time.

L.Carol: So before I forget, which is impossible so you know, more things:

L.Carol: I managed to get you a peanut command, do /nut and one of those little airplane things should drop down.

L.Carol: I know it's not much, but it should keep you from starving, unless you have a peanut allergy.

L.Carol: And I got another command, that whole randomizer thing.

L.Carol: Like a coin flip, /flip in fact, but you can get more than heads or tails.

L.Carol: It just takes whatever inputs you give.

L.Carol Flipped coin: Heads, Feet, Potato. Result: Potato

L.Carol: Kind of dumb, but I'm sure it can be useful for something.

L.Carol: Oh, I must go.

L.Carol: Ta-ta!

 

"What theee..."" My mouth hung open for a moment before I shut it. "Okay, sorry, I don't play Portal, so I have no idea who Wheatley is..." Shrugging to myself, I took another bite out of my cookie and placed it back onto the plate before typing up my replies.

 

Miss Dreamer: I'm sorry, MW898, I didn't mean to upset you. :c I'm really sorry.

 

I stopped typing and leaned back in my chair and stroked my chin with my finger and thumb, thinking. That was when I was acutely aware how silent the room was. Thus, I was brought back to reality. I was kidnapped, trapped in a place that I didn't know...how were the others so relaxed??? I brought up my legs to the chair and rested my head on my knees. I hesitated, before typing once more.

 

Miss Dreamer: Guys, I'm scared.

Miss Dreamer: I mean, seriously, I don't want to die here.

Miss Dreamer: Or be trapped here till I die.

Miss Dreamer: Same-same.

Miss Dreamer: I'd ask if any of you guys have a plan but that would be stupid to ask, now wouldn't it?

Miss Dreamer: The room's way too silent.

Miss Dreamer: Stupid CreepyPastas.

[Kiran]

Doctor: Well, truth be told, I don't exactly trust you either.

Doctor: I have no evidence to prove you aren't an employee, nor do I have any evidence to prove you are an employee.

Doctor: I do suppose trusting each other is the best decision at the moment. Surely, evidence will come up at some point telling us whether or not if we're employees or not.

Doctor: Though, I do think we should be wary towards the others. Who knows if they're all on the same page as us.

 

That all sounded rational. Anyway, it didn't really matter if we trusted each other at the moment. We had to assume that the chat was being watched at all times. I might distrust information that Doctor gave me, but so far nothing had really happened.

 

Zoroark77: That sounds good.

Zoroark77: I don't know what's going on with the others now, but when I was chatting with other people they all seemed kind of crazy.

Zoroark77: They were joking about eating souls, talking about Homestuck, and generally acting silly.

Zoroark77: I suppose I was pretty panicked, too, but I think I was at least trying to be serious.

 

I found myself waiting for another message from L.Carol. Sure, he or she was silly and unhelpful, but at least it was something. Not getting anywhere was driving me mad.

 

I typed in the /nut command and watched a bag of peanuts fall from the slot. They could be drugged, but I was hungry and bored. I ate a few, which made me thirsty. Instead of drinking from the bottle of water I had, I walked over to the sink to get a drink. It would be much easier and cheaper to drug bottles of water than the whole water supply.

[HomeForFlowers]

Doctor: Eating souls? H-Homestuck?

Doctor: God forbid those people are in the same situation as us.

Doctor: I would hate to hear that they aren't employees messing around.

Doctor: I just- Can't handle that...

People messing around? At a time like this? Ridiculous, completely and utterly. Who would mess around at a time like this? We could all die and they were talking about Homestuck.

God save us all.

Sighing, I drummed my fingers on the table and waited for a response. At least my "partner" was sane. I know I would of just given up if I was met with insane people.

[Kiran]

Zoroark77: Yeah, I was pretty annoyed.

Zoroark77: Then I pointed out that things were serious, and they mocked ME for paying attention to things.

 

I finally thought of some kind of experiment I could do. It wasn't much, but maybe something would happen. I typed /nut dozens of times, trying to see if the flow of peanut bags would stop. Strangely, it didn't. Maybe it would eventually, if I typed the command enough times, but that was still a lot of nuts. Why did these people have so many bags of nuts? Did they steal peanut delivery trucks? Did they just decide 'Eh, the people we kidnapped might get really, really hungry, so we'd better stock up just in case?' Was I really in a Matrix-like place with unlimited peanuts? (That last one seemed unlikely.)

Zoroark77: Well, it seems like whoever kidnapped us has a large stock of peanuts.

Zoroark77: I typed the /nut command a few dozen times, and now I have a few dozen bags of peanuts.

Zoroark77: I was trying to see if there was a limit to the number of peanuts we could get, but there doesn't seem to be.

 

It really wasn't much of an observation, but maybe it could help somehow. While I was waiting for Doctors's reply I started typing the /nut command again. The flow of peanut bags had to stop at some point.

 

[Techno_Elf]

Portal? I remembered some of my friends were into that. My lab partner had a Portal 2 jacket, for crying out loud! But now was no time to be discussing how to think with portals and why cakes were lies. I had to find some way to get information, and Carol was going to be of no help whatsoever. Also, Dreamer's posts were scaring me. Just slightly, you understand.

 

P: Portal?

P: My friends love Portal.

P: But this is not the time for that.

P: I'm getting severely creeped out now, and airline peanuts aren't helping!

P: I heard that if a person is isolated for too long, they go crazy.

P: Like, the brain depends on human interaction or whatever, and if you're left alone too long with nothing but your thoughts...

P: I DON'T WANNA GO CRAZY.

P: Anyways.

P: I have a semi-plan.

P: Seeing as how we seem to all be in one place, I was wondering if anyone would hear if I smashed my chair into the wall?

P: I mean, providing that our rooms were next to each other.

P: Also, what was the name of the dating website again?

P: Might give some clues.

P: Either way, I'm going to bash the wall now.

 

I stood up and grabbed my chair, stumbling a little from the weight. I'd never been the most athletically inclined kid on the block. Bracing myself, I hurled the chair at the wall as hard as I could. It crashed with a huge noise, and I jumped, dropping the chair onto the ground, causing even more noise.

 

P: OH SWEET BABY JESUS THAT WAS LOUD.

P: But did anyone hear that, though?

[MasterWeavile898]

(OOC: Nobody will hear it, walls are soundproof

 

Also, Backup, peanuts thing is hilarious )

[Ayesthine]

As I waited for Arceus's responses, I covered my hands with my eyes. Despite my best efforts at distracting myself, beating myself up, and just generally trying not to think about my current predicament, I was still crying. I felt so angry at myself for breaking down like this. There were better things I should be doing than crying and sitting in a blanket and talking to some person I don't know for sure is real.

 

_Arceus64_: Anything is useful at this point

_Arceus64_: Even if peanuts are not used as food

_Arceus64_: I'm just gathering what I can in case of any possible scenario

_Arceus64_: I can choke someone by shoving the peanut bag in their throat, for instance

_Arceus64_: I mean

_Arceus64_: I hope it doesn't come down to that

 

 

I stared at the screen with reddened eyes. I sniffed quietly, my nose reacting to the salty tears streaming down my face. The icon for the bathroom caught my eye, and I clicked it hesitantly. I looked around the room, expecting to see some radical change. Not much, if anything was different. I sighed and stood up, extricating myself from the folds of the blanket. I shuffled over to the bathroom, and turned the cold metal handle of the faucet. Water streamed out, as I expected. I ran a hand through it cautiously. Thankfully, it was warm. Not to mention conveniently non-harmful. I splashed some water on my face. I swiped at the drips with the provided towel, and slipped back out of the bathroom. The bed in the corner called to me, and I longed to lay down and sleep for a year. Instead, I slid over to the desk and plunked myself down.

 

 

Beguiled: I doubt it will.

Beguiled: I also doubt that a bag of peanuts will really help you kill someone, unless they have a severe peanut allergy

 

 

I could almost feel Arceus's sudden optimism grating on my nerves. All I really wanted was to cry and gripe for a while, which was pathetic in retrospect.

 

 

Beguiled: I just can't get over how wrong this entire situation is

Beguiled: I'm a stupid teenager, I've never done anything remotely interesting, I couldn't give a about school or grades or whatever else

Beguiled: Why did I have to be picked for this stupid project

Beguiled: Or whatever it is I was brought here for

Beguiled: Hell, the only thing of any import I've done was sign up on a dating site as a joke

Beguiled: That is hardly material to be kidnapped for

[Bacon_Strips]

My attempts at finding a way out of the room became futile in mere minutes of my start. Checking under the bed? Just a slick sheet of dust. Examining the little "bathroom", I only came up with the ability to run and flush water. The walls were still as durable as ever, though I refrained from making any effort to break through. My knuckles had been bleeding since the last attempt, and to die from accidental self-harm was an embarrassing thought. If my goal was to survive in any way possible, my bursts of irritation were certainly not helping. Defeated yet again, I returned to the computer, focing myself to cling to the hope of freedom, even if by a feeble string. I recalled back to moments in the past, a certain person reminding me of the consequences of my attitude. Even as far back as then, those words still resided in my heart.

 

Beguiled: I also doubt that a bag of peanuts will really help you kill someone, unless they have a severe peanut allergy

 

I was slightly upset at this comment, though admittedly I had not given much reasoning to the thought. Perhaps I needed to watch what I typed before I regretted it.

 

Beguiled: I just can't get over how wrong this entire situation is

Beguiled: I'm a stupid teenager, I've never done anything remotely interesting, I couldn't give a about school or grades or whatever else

Beguiled: Why did I have to be picked for this stupid project

Beguiled: Or whatever it is I was brought here for

Beguiled: Hell, the only thing of any import I've done was sign up on a dating site as a joke

Beguiled: That is hardly material to be kidnapped for

 

A surprise jab of pain hit me square in the stomach, my lungs struggling to breath. I could barely utter a sound, my thoughts running wild. The situation Beguiled described resembled the set of circumstances I found myself in. Was this group, whoever had taken us hostage, targeting teenagers? Or was it after people who signed up for dating sites? A mix of the two? Maybe someone suspected I was too young to sign up, but the mix of concentrated fruit juice and a who-cares manner wasn't supposed to have resulted in this. I felt it was necessary to reply, but I refrained from revealing too much information.

 

_Arceus64_: Hmmm

_Arceus64_: Now that I think about it, this could be a project

_Arceus64_: Though before I thought they were simply trying to kill us for no reason

_Arceus64_: Maybe a test on teenagers or something?

_Arceus64_: To see how we react to situations?

_Arceus64_: They'd have to be pretty sick to try and do that

_Arceus64_: Though, they already are pretty sick, so I doubt that would stop them

Edited January 20, 2014 by Bacon_Strips

[MasterWeavile898]

Well this was just great. Dream was scared and Hypno had lost it. Carol's best was some peanuts, which I was admittedly pretty content with. And I was probably undergoing some form of mental collapse. Not that I really cared.

 

MasterWeavile898: Will you all just shut up?

MW898: And this time it is intended for you

MW898: We need to calm down and think about this

MW898: Not be all willy-nilly freaking the kriff out!

MW898: So just shut the hell up and calm yourselves

MW898: And Hypno, don't you think they would have thought of that?

MW898: These people seem pretty damn smart, I doubt you can think of anything they haven't

MW898: I think our only hope ATM is to trust Carol 'n' hope she's not GLaDOS

MW898: (Read that a few times really fast, you might get it)

MW898: Besides, there's two things that make me want to trust her

MW898: One, she didn't mention cake

MW898: Two, her personality really grated on my nerves

MW898: And three, she really didn't feel like she was lying

MW898: So she's probubbly trustworthy

 

I probably sounded like an idiot, but I really didn't care. I really just wanted this all to be over.

[HomeForFlowers]

Checking to see the amount of peanut bags? That wasn't exactly a bad idea, but not a great one either.

 

Doctor: I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad idea.

Doctor: Your peanut bags may be taken away at some point and the flow of peanut bags may stop.

Doctor: But then again, hoarding peanut bags isn't the worse idea.

Doctor: What if they flow stops at some point and we can't get anymore peanuts despite the fact that some of us haven't use that command before?

 

Trying it myself, I typed in "/nut" several times to watch peanut bags fall down before me. It was.... rather odd, to say at the least, but it was good to know Carol wasn't lying.

 

Doctor: Well Carol wasn't lying about this.

Doctor: Though, I still don't feel inclined to trust her. After all, she hasn't exactly done a single thing to get us out of here.

Doctor: As helpful as a bathroom and source of food is, we wouldn't exactly need any of that if we weren't here in the first place.

Doctor: I can understand she is trying to help us and is probably doing her best to do so, but she could act more serious about it, don't you think?

 

(Oh god, I'm sorry it has been forever.)

[Kiran]

I was a bit relieved that Doctor hadn't thought that my comments about the peanut bags were off topic. I really didn't want to seem silly.

Zoroark77: It's not so much that I'm trying to hoard peanuts.

Zoroark77: I'm trying to figure out the minimum number of peanut bags that these people have stockpiled.

Zoroark77: So far, I can tell that they have a lot.

Zoroark77: That makes me wonder why they have so many peanuts.

Zoroark77: At this point it could just be a normal stockpile of food, but if this goes on for much longer then I'm going to start to think that these guys really like peanuts, expect the world to end so have stockpiled huge amounts of food, have put me in a peanut packaging factory, or have invented the Matrix (I seriously doubt that last one).

 

I paused for a few seconds to eat some more peanuts.

 

Doctor: Well Carol wasn't lying about this.

Doctor: Though, I still don't feel inclined to trust her. After all, she hasn't exactly done a single thing to get us out of here.

Doctor: As helpful as a bathroom and source of food is, we wouldn't exactly need any of that if we weren't here in the first place.

Doctor: I can understand she is trying to help us and is probably doing her best to do so, but she could act more serious about it, don't you think?

Zoroark77: I don't really think that L.Carol was the only one who set up the bathroom and peanut things.

Zoroark77: He or she may have unlocked the commands early, but the bathrooms and ability to unlock them from these computers must have existed before we were put in these cells.

Zoroark77: Ditto for the peanut delivery system.

 

After I finished typing out my reply, I started to run the /nut command. I was really starting to get curious.

[Techno_Elf]

I took a deep breath. Master was right.

 

hypno.Platypus: Yeah, you're right.

P: But what do we do now?

P: I hope Carol will come back soon.

P: What do they even need us for?

P: Ransom?

P: Ugh. I think I need a nap.

 

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. My hands were hurting from the chair, and I felt a little sick from all the cookies. Maybe some sleep would do me good. For once.

[Dream_Dragon]

I sucked in my breath as I read their responses.

 

MasterWeavile898: Will you all just shut up?

MW898: And this time it is intended for you

MW898: We need to calm down and think about this

MW898: Not be all willy-nilly freaking the kriff out!

MW898: So just shut the hell up and calm yourselves

MW898: And Hypno, don't you think they would have thought of that?

MW898: These people seem pretty damn smart, I doubt you can think of anything they haven't

MW898: I think our only hope ATM is to trust Carol 'n' hope she's not GLaDOS

MW898: (Read that a few times really fast, you might get it)

MW898: Besides, there's two things that make me want to trust her

MW898: One, she didn't mention cake

MW898: Two, her personality really grated on my nerves

MW898: And three, she really didn't feel like she was lying

MW898: So she's probubbly trustworthy

 

My fear was immediately gone and replaced by anger. Who did he think he was, telling us to shut the hell up? It was perfectly reasonable to be scared in situations such as this! Before I could type a reply, however, hypno.Platypus' messages came up.

 

hypno.Platypus: Yeah, you're right.

P: But what do we do now?

P: I hope Carol will come back soon.

P: What do they even need us for?

P: Ransom?

P: Ugh. I think I need a nap.

 

I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Okay, calm down." I didn't want to look like an idiot, retaliating just because he told us to shut up. "Don't be an ass." Licking my lips, I typed in my response.

 

Miss Dreamer: Okay, she's trustworthy, that much I believe too.

Miss Dreamer: Where does that leave us? It's not like we can press a button and tell her to get over here and rescue us.

Miss Dreamer: Also, I really don't think a Portal character would be here...but it's a possibility. I guess.

Miss Dreamer: Oh well. I'm bad at hatching escape plans.

 

I stopped typing and leaned back, crossing my arms.

[YOGSCAST_Dragon]

I opened one eye, and immediately realized I wasn't in the familiar atmosphere of my room. I threw off the covers, and spotted some green plaid shorts and a grey thermal top, which I tentatively changed into. A computer resided in a corner of the colourless room. Being the geek that I was, I sat in the chair, color-coordinated with the rest of the room - grey. It was open to a chatbox/room/thingy. I clicked on a name, Doctor, as I felt that I needed one right now. There was a dish with chocolate buttons inside. Nibbling on one, I started typing.

 

CyberGodJakku: Um, hi.

CyberGodJakku: I think I've been kidnapped. Or teennapped.

CyberGodJakku: I woke up in a strange room with chocolate buttons.

 

My fingers tapped on a desk, waiting for a reply.

 

 

[HomeForFlowers]

Zoroark77: I don't really think that L.Carol was the only one who set up the bathroom and peanut things.

Zoroark77: He or she may have unlocked the commands early, but the bathrooms and ability to unlock them from these computers must have existed before we were put in these cells.

Zoroark77: Ditto for the peanut delivery system.

 

Doctor: Of course, there is no way L.Carol came up with the command by themselves. They obviously just unlocked it earlier than it was intended.

Doctor: Or, perhaps, maybe they were ordered to unlock it early. Maybe this L.Carol is just doing their job and acting like they care about us. This entire thing could just be a simulation, meant to see how we would react.

Doctor: I don't find that hard to believe at all.

 

At this point, everything was about taking chances. We could take the chance to trust L.Carol. Of course, this did not go without its problems. There was a very high chance that she would either get caught or was just an employee being ordered to pretend to be helping us escape. I was more in favor for letting Carol do what she wanted to do, but keep a safe distance. I thought that we should just wait and see what Carol did and bail out if she did anything too suspicious. If she was actually trying to help us, it wouldn't of been convenient to just push her away before she could help us. However, everything she had done so far was done with a poor amount of thought into it. If she was really trying to help us, she'd surely get caught soon.

 

CyberGodJakku \\\ Doctor

CyberGodJakku: Um, hi.

CyberGodJakku: I think I've been kidnapped. Or teennapped.

CyberGodJakku: I woke up in a strange room with chocolate buttons.

 

The glare of yellow stung my eyes as the new person showed up. I had to look away and rub my eyes before attempting to highlight the message and see what the other person said. I frowned at the other participate's name.

At least it isn't in l33t.

 

Doctor: Ah! God, your color is bright. Would you mind changing that? I had to highlight what you said to even read it.

Doctor: As for your situation, yes, you are kidnapped by some organization that has captured other people around your age group for current unknown purposes.

Doctor: We are currently trying to figure out the dependability of someone who is supposedly trying to "rescue us".

Doctor: So far, it looks like they are being way too awkward and quite vague as to why they are doing this and how they plan to get us out.

[Ayesthine]

(Ah! Sorry this took forever. Double sorry for this being so terrible.)

 

_Arceus64_: Hmmm

_Arceus64_: Now that I think about it, this could be a project

_Arceus64_: Though before I thought they were simply trying to kill us for no reason

_Arceus64_: Maybe a test on teenagers or something?

_Arceus64_: To see how we react to situations?

_Arceus64_: They'd have to be pretty sick to try and do that

_Arceus64_: Though, they already are pretty sick, so I doubt that would stop them

 

My scowl faded slowly as I read Arceus's response. At least they hadn't yelled at me for carrying on, like I half-expected them to. I grimaced again, and pressed my palms to my eyes.

I want to go home I want to go home I want to go home-

I shook my head furiously, my eyelids squirming as I blinked into my hands. Shakily, I sucked in a breath. I was falling to pieces, and I needed something to ground myself.

Try the peanut command. Eat something. Life must go on, even if you don't want it to.

I sullenly typed in the request. Seconds later, little clear plastic packages rained down on my head. I winced, raising my hands too late to protect myself. I reached down to the floor, maneuvering past the mountains of twisted blankets I had created. My fingertips brushed against cool polyethylene. I smiled and snatched up the bag. I held it out in front of me Finally, the bag ripped. Violently. Peanuts flew across my room, and I sighed. "," I muttered. Sighing again, I took a peanut out of the torn-up bag. I popped it into my mouth and chewed.

 

Beguiled: I agree with the "pretty sick" part.

Beguied: Not so much the teenager thing, because why would you set up a whole test, a whole facility, to get something you could find everywhere on the internet?

Beguiled: I don't know.

Beguiled: I don't know if I want to know.

Beguiled: I want something to go off of, something to think about.

Beguiled: I just don't want to sit around, scowling at peanuts and crying intermittently