①
Despite her previous failure, the Girl continued probing every possible exit. The paths were blocked, but that was just testing the foundations. Every structure, no matter how formidable, had to have a weak spot. It was just a matter of time until she found it.
She tested the boundaries, examining the exteriors of the walls. If there was a way out, there should be - Aha! A panel fell away, revealing an empty structure underneath. The interior stretched inwards interminably without end. She vaunted in without daunt, then daunted right back to get a dependent light source before going back in. She shined her beacon to get a better sense of the surroundings. There were multiple paths off in the distance hidden between the barricaded mesh, but only a clear path that ended in a light source up ahead from where she was. There was also a persistent knocking sound. She couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
She continued on her way, crawling towards the goal, the light growing visibly larger as she approached closer. And then the illumination gradually expanded into a large square with a dark center. The light source was blocked behind another obstacle that was in the way. It just needed a little push.
“Hah! Made it!”
She crawled through the opening she made, intending to make her way through the other side, and found herself on a very familiar floor. She looked up, and saw the Alien Woman sitting and waving from her seat.
“Hello there.”
She looked back through the hole she’d exited, and saw that she’d gone all the way to the other end of the room.
“If it were that easy to leave, we would’ve done it already.”
She dusted herself off and resumed her exploration again. After going through familiar territory multiple times, she started labeling the entrances and exits. She should’ve done this earlier. She was thinking too small-time. Instead of just going in two directions, she should’ve threaded the rope through multiple passages. The layout was very confusing. Some of the places she came out were completely different when she tried going back the way she came. At first, she thought she was going through the same exit every time because no matter where she came out, the Alien Woman was waiting there. When she entered and left the curved half-wall, the Alien Woman was waiting there. When she entered and left the far jutting corner, the Alien Woman was waiting there. That was until she realized that the Alien Woman was waiting at wherever she was leaving from.
“How do you know where I’m going to pop out?”
“You’re not the first person to navigate these corridors.”
“Are you really sure you should be paying so much attention to me? This is our last day.”
“I haven’t noticed anything by now, so I’m just letting my mind wander, looking at something different.”
“Aren’t you worried about dying?”
“I always figured I’d die in the very next moment, so I never developed any survival skills. My death could come at any time without warning. If I die, there’s not much I can do about it.”
This blunt acceptance of death under any circumstances shocked the Girl. It was honest, accepting and completely Alien from any experience she’d known. Even in just casual conversation, the Alien Woman shook her to her core.
Even more unnerving, she could feel the Alien Woman’s intense gaze through the walls.
②
“I’ve got something resembling a pentagram pattern between everyone,” the Journalist perused over his notes. “As far as I can tell, there are only superficial links between us. The Girl met the Alien Woman. The Alien Woman and the Accountant know each other. The Accountant does my taxes, and most likely yours. I’m an associate of yours, and everybody (but the Girl) knows you, and you know me by reputation.”
“Actually, until today, I didn’t even know you existed.”
“Okay, so if it’s not by association, then it should be by location. Is there a place we’ve all been to?”
“Already thought of that. I checked all of our travel radius, and none of our paths crossed.”
“Alright then, how about - ”
“Your reputation precedes you,” the Silver-Haired Reporter interrupted, having had enough. I don’t know you personally, but I know of you.”
“I could say the same about you.”
“You seek out to make news of current events while I just report them. You and I are not the same.”
“I’m not sure what you’re - ”
“Facts don’t matter. Truth doesn’t matter. It’s all in the presentation. Whoever tells the best story wins. I could easily destroy you without much effort, but it’s not within my power to do so.”
“What are you talking about? I don’t have any weak - ”
“You’re good at telling stories, but not much more. You gained your reputation by doing a documentary, showing the impenetrable hurdles and rigidity of the system in trying and failing to get an interview with an Executive. I know that you actually managed to get a hour-long meeting with your elusive Executive. You conveniently left that out of your documentary, because the facts didn’t fit the narrative you wanted to tell.”
The Journalist’s expression changed from juvenile to insubordinate. “The only way to get ahead in this game is to dig deep into a story, finding all kinds of disturbing facts that would rather not be mentioned in polite company, and create enough noise that the Company offers you a promotion just to keep you quiet.”
The Silver-Haired Reporter crossed his arms. “I suppose I’m no better. There was a time when I would’ve diligently delved into someone’s history to figure out their background. Nowadays, I’m told all the information I need without any of the struggle.”
“But your pointed questions - ”
“Are only allowed if the Network wants me to hurt or publicly shame a specific person. It’s not about taking responsibility anymore. It’s doling out punishment to let others know who’s in charge. As a result, my investigation skills are rather rusty.”
The Silver-Haired Reporter concluded his spiel with, “I’m a glorified teleprompter, nothing more.”
There was nothing the Journalist could say to that. The Silver-Haired Reporter had basically laid out utter honesty and depreciated himself before the Journalist could take a shot.
③
“Is she still working on that wall?”
“What more is there?”
Ever the contrarian, the Girl looked for ways to escape critical judgement upon her, and sought out the company of the Journalist who expressed no interest in her, and who the Alien Woman seemed to avoid. She came upon him who was currently preoccupied with assembling hastily written chickenscratch together.
“What’re you up to?”
“Not right now. I’m compiling notes together for my presentation. I may not even BE around to edit my story!”
“I’m relieved that I’m not the only one worried about dying. Everybody else is too flippant.”
“Of course I’m worried! If I don’t complete as much as I can before I snuff it, my replacement may get the wrong idea of what I was going for, and pitch in a completely superfluous news segment that was nowhere close to what I meant!”
Why did they always come to him when he was busy? Was there some kind of attention-seeking beacon he emitted when he was fully immersed in his work that never occurred when he was trying to conduct interviews?
“So, what are you - ”
“I’m trying to determine how to best present my story. When’s the best time to introduce information and in a manner that will leave my audience wanting more, laying foundational clues that’ll become relevant later. Also removing all instances when people said uh, erm, ah, huh, hmm, or mumbled.”
“I didn’t mumble,” she muttered under her breath. “I’m amazed you can even remember what people spoke and when. I’d get bored just from listening to them ramble too long.”
He should’ve started working on his documentary from the start. Then maybe the SeerSighters might’ve been more interested in him.
“There’s a trick to it. Pretend you’re interested in what the speaker’s saying. You’d be surprised what they reveal when there’s no threat of retribution. The problem is, I have no idea what angle to take. The SeerSighters don’t leave me much to work with. Their predictions aren’t even cold readings, they’re lukewarm readings. Honestly, the drama surrounding the investigating team is more interesting than anything the SeerSighters produce, and even that’s a snorefest in comparison!”
“So then maybe go with that angle?”
“That’s not good enough! I want my audience to arrive at the same conclusions as me! I don’t want them to think for themselves!”
“Stop dancing around the big issues! Just tell me what you want me to think, and I’ll think it!”
“You really want to know? I’ll tell you. The majority of this group suffers from a lack of imagination. Items have been appearing and disappearing at random. If they were more creative, they could’ve brought forth more items that could’ve helped them. So far, all I’ve been able to summon are notebooks and pens.”
“That’s not very ima - ”
“Stencils and stationary I’ve already got plenty of! What’s worse, none of the notes have any helpful written tips by me in the future. They’re all penned in an incomprehensible handwriting. I’d be more concerned if any of them came with dried spots of blood, since it meant I was getting somewhere. It’s only a matter of time before that Silver-Haired Reporter materializes a weapon against me.”
“Have you tried summoning the key to the room?”
“You don’t need one. It’s unlocked.”
It seemed even the presence of the Journalist wasn’t enough to ward the Alien Woman off. The Girl tried to pretend she was very interested in whatever the Journalist was talking about.
“My only hope is to bundle the pencils and pages together into a rudimentary sword and shield. That’ll buy me maybe 2 seconds of survival.”
“So anyways, here’s my life story,” the Girl floundering for conversation material casually brought out her memories extracted by the SeerSighters.
The Journalist cast a dispirited withering glare her way.
“It’s not that difficult! It’s like your compiling notes! You just have to organize these so they’ll tell a complete story. For some reason, the SeerSighters mixed some parts up. I mean, look at this. They come sooooooo close to putting the series of events in the right place, but keep messing the middle up.”
“Wait. Don’t move them around.” The Alien Woman took a second look at the images.
Welcoming the distraction, the Girl made use of the Alien Woman’s wandering attention and looked for another section of the chamber she hadn’t gone through. There was still something she hadn’t tried yet!
“Hmm.”
The Alien Woman looked at the tail end of the Girl’s memories. There was the inciting incident involving the two of them, though the sequence of events played out differently than she remembered. There was a look of realization on her face.
“Could it be?”
She contacted the nearest SeerSighter who happened to be waiting for this very moment.
“Could we get a summary of the events that played out in this chamber from when we entered up to when I asked you this question?”
{Granted}
The SeerSighters shared their memories in concrete form, iconic representations displayed in high-defined squiggles. She paid intense focus on the tiles before her, doing her best to make sense of the meaning behind the familiar wavy lines. Once she was able to identify which squiggles represented who, she was able to decipher what the events were portraying. And her suspicions were confirmed. She’d finally figured out what the SeerSighters were trying to tell them.
But she still needed verification from other parties to authenticate whether her hypothesis was correct.
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