PLATFORM B-2
The feeling of knowing and not knowing was eating me from the inside out.
The yellow light from the lamps and the flaming barrels revealed patched tents, shadows swaying in an oily smoke.
In the corners, hand-painted symbols climbed up the walls, but none of them looked familiar to me. They felt like echoes of something I should understand… but didn't.
When we walked in, the whole shelter shivered like a kicked anthill.
Stifled screams.
Rushed footsteps and children being yanked by the arm.
All of it… familiar. Way too familiar.
As we moved between the tents, something was screaming inside me.
A warning… with a distant echo to it.
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 over from head to toe with boredom… and kept walking.
"We're going to pass through without stopping," she said firmly.
"What a nuisance…" Raul muttered before shoving me. "Move."
"But the girl…" I whispered automatically. "There's the girl…"
"Who?" Sofia asked, still holding my arm.
What girl?
Before I could answer, something happened… but not what my instinct had warned me about.
An old, skinny man bumped into a tent and the canvas collapsed like a wet sheet, dragging two huge pots down with it.
The crash filled the platform and people screamed even more.
Mei only stopped for a second, looked at the chaos, and sighed.
"Get that up," she told the refugees, then kept walking.
Josh glanced sideways at me.
"What girl? Where was there a girl, kid?"
I didn't know.
But a vague memory of a child lay over where the old man had fallen, like a shadow.
"There was one. I… I know there was."
It sounded insane.
Am I losing it?
The more we walked, the more everything felt exactly like something I'd already lived and, at the same time, so different it made me sick.
"Crazy," Raul laughed. "We're not wasting time with this."
We cut through the makeshift 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… the same.
When we reached the end of the platform, the improvised staircase down to the tracks was waiting for us, tied together with welded chains.
Mei went down first.
I hesitated, looking up at the dark ceiling.
There was something there.
Something screamed inside me.
What the hell is that?
"Hehe… so you know," Raul chuckled behind me. That laugh froze me solid.
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's concrete.
My hands were sweating in two ways: skin sweat… and fear.
When the passage narrowed, we saw a colossal gate.
Chains, plates and cables tangled together.
And in the middle of all that, a tiny hatch, almost like a closed eye.
Mei stopped and Raul shoved me forward until I nearly bumped into it.
She raised her hand and knocked:
thump, thump… thump-thump.
Silence.
Raul crossed his arms, yawning.
Chains shifted and the hatch snapped open; a pair of suspicious eyes appeared.
"Who is it?" a hoarse voice asked.
"Line B-2… Mei," Mei answered in the same tone.
"You weren't supposed to be here."
"Plans changed."
The eyes scanned each one of us and lingered on me.
"How many?"
"Four."
Raul lifted his chin, impatient.
"Just open up. You know who we are or do you want the meat-bats to catch our scent?"
"Shut up, Raul," the man shot back. "You talk to me with respect."
"Malik is dead," Mei said, cutting between them. "We need to speak to the Counselor… It's urgent."
The man sighed.
"Everything's urgent… wait."
The hatch closed, but Raul still growled:
"If you open slow, I open you."
Josh clicked his tongue.
"Why does everything get worse when you talk?"
We didn't wait long. Soon the sound of dragging chains and grinding gears reached our ears.
The gate opened with white light slicing through the gaps.
That…
The déjà vu hit me like a punch, shoving my heart up into my throat.
The smell of formaldehyde and oil rolled in like a wave, along with voices and blinding brightness.
"Stay close," Josh murmured, squeezing my shoulder and guiding me.
As soon as we stepped through the entrance…
The purple window exploded in front of me.
The same cold letters appeared like blades:
SCENARIO CORRECTED
NEW MISSION (IN PROGRESS)
SAVE STORY MODE
"What is it?" Sofia asked when she saw I'd stopped.
"Nothing…" my voice came out as a whisper.
I was already the "church lunatic." Saying that out loud would only make it worse.
"Trying to run now?" Raul taunted. "Bit late for that, don't you think?"
Mei looked around before speaking.
"We're going to the Counselor."
"Captain…" Raul complained. "We should take him to the prison first, the Counselor—"
He didn't finish, but he didn't need to… everyone hesitated.
Something was wrong.
"I think this time we should listen to the muscle-brain," Josh said wearily, but a bit more relaxed.
"HEY!!" Raul protested, but Josh ignored him and went on:
"We don't know if it's worth interrupting the Counselor right now…"
Mei looked reluctant, but sighed.
"Fine. Raul, Sofia. Take him to Complex D-9… Only the upper floor."
Raul looked disappointed. Sofia and Josh, though, looked… stranded.
"Josh, let's go," Mei said, moving away. "We'll see the Counselor."
I watched the two of them vanish into the white lights, swallowed by the hot steam rising from the floor.
Raul shoved me.
"Move!"
"Where are we going?" I muttered, feeling that mismatch sensation slowly getting stronger.
"To your new home," he laughed, sounding entertained. "Complex D-9. If it were up to me, I'd dump you in the Silence."
"Silence?"
I asked naively, and he smiled, cruel.
"A perfect place for a believer like you. Down there, you might even get to see your god."
"Raul…" Sofia warned, but he shrugged.
"It's just a welcome. The kid deserves to know where he's headed…"
I looked at Sofia and she began to explain without meeting my eyes.
"The Silence is the deepest part of the prison… It's below D-9… but you're not going there."
She hesitated.
"They say the engineers disappeared before they could finish digging."
A shiver ran up my neck.
"And what's down there?" I asked, feeling my legs weaken.
"No one knows," Raul replied. "No one came back."
Sofia added:
"They say the walls absorb everything… voices… footsteps… even breathing."
I fell silent.
"See?" Raul grinned. "Perfect place for you."
The dark concrete towers rose in the distance like broken teeth.
But… the concrete was pulsing?
Yellowish patches moved under the surface like maggots in living flesh.
Raul noticed my stare.
"Pretty, huh? 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 reached a tall black gate with old carvings mixed with tech.
There was a touch screen by the gate and two guards on either side, as still as statues.
And between them…
A woman.
Far too beautiful for that place.
Pale skin, almost translucent. Blonde hair in a simple bun and bright blue eyes. She wore a white dress that seemed to repel the filth around her.
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 to say, but he stuttered before getting it out. "We brought a prisoner."
"So young…" she murmured as she looked at me.
And I felt like she was stripping me from the inside out. It wasn't a look of desire — it was more like pure curiosity and… pity.
"What's his name?"
"H-He doesn't have a name…" 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… will see him personally?"
"Yes. Direct order from the Captain," Sofia answered quickly, looking like she was about to bolt.
The shine in the woman's eyes vanished; she seemed to lose interest.
She turned to the guards.
"Take him. Cell 3."
The guards moved instantly, like a single body.
The woman looked back at me.
"What a shame," she said sweetly, then disappeared down a side hallway.
For a moment… it sounded sincere.
I couldn't stop the cold chill running down my spine.
Raul let out the breath he'd been holding.
"I hate that woman."
"Shhhh!" Sofia warned. "She makes everyone nervous."
"If I had a choice, I'd never look at her face again," Raul muttered as Sofia looked at me with sadness.
"Good luck, kid."
Raul shoved me.
"Enjoy your stay, Noah."
I tried to speak, but one of the guards grabbed me hard. His glove was so rough it almost burned my skin.
I was dragged down a low-ceilinged corridor, too brightly lit. The air grew heavier with each step.
We passed cells as silent as tombs.
The silence was suffocating.
One of the guards opened a square door and pushed me inside.
The cell wasn't what I expected — it was… way too clean.
Half mirrored metal, half dark stone. No furniture, no cracks.
The door shut with a click, leaving me with a morbid quiet.
I sat on the cold floor, the purple notebook clutched against my chest.
They hadn't taken it from me — I didn't know why — but it was the only thing that 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 seemed eager to swallow everything.
And I stayed there.
Waiting for the world to swallow me with it.