Leaving Remia

Chapter 6 Part 3 Field 7 Field 7 was a city. The premise? I Didn’t really care. What I did care about was escaping. Trinity led them towards a house. Inside was nothing except... a window. She explained everything. All of them jumped in. I realized something. They don’t know I exist. And Betty definitely knew now that I lied. “You thought you could escape me. Just like you did before. And when I got to you. But now I don’t need you.” Cuffs latched onto my body. A huge spike appeared in front of me in the red lighted room I was now in. “Now let me decide whether to kill you or torture you.” Now was the time. I knew what to do now. “Dottie.” “What did you just say.” “Dottie.” The spike started to turn. “Please.” It slowly moved forward. “Self.” Now it was charging at me. It made a wound in me the size of a golf ball before I finished the words. “Destruct.” And I found my way out.

Chapter 6 part 2 WARNING: THIS CHAPTER MAY CONTAIN ELEMENTS OF HORROR TYPICALLY SEEN IN SCI-FI HORROR. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. That ‘way out’ in the last chapter was more metaphorical than it seemed. You see, I kept feeding her fake info, delaying my death and helping my escape. I told her things like: “Hammie is secretly working for the committee, so don’t kill him. Remember, they could shut you down.” “Trinity knows nothing about what the others know. They think she’s too forgetful.” “Buttercream has a hamster named Hammond who lives in a robot hamster ball.” That one was a joke, but she gave me a dining room just for that because she had never actually laughed out of humor in a long time. I was actually helping them. I started to develop a friendship with her. Log 5 Betty is really nice to me lately. I’m starting to feel sorry for her. I can- END OF LOG I picked up the paper and threw it in the trash bin. I knew what was happening. She knew exactly what I was doing. I can’t even remember how I got here. The lights went off as they went on. “Loraine. You’re our new recruit. You’re doing well, so we’ll introduce you to our prototype helper. This is Dottie.” He handed me a glass case, more like a sphere with a wood bottom. A black gooey substance was floating in it. It formed itself into two words. Hello Loraine “Aww... isn’t that cute! It’s learning words now! Dottie will help you with control of the expanse. There are six right now. You are truly blessed to have one of your own.” TWO WEEKS LATER The lights flashed on and off. A mixture of black goo and blood filled the halls in many ways. The scientists were either flinging corpses in zero gravity, or crawling where the gravity didn’t seep into the offices. “Dottie... Please... Self...” The scientist could have finished his sentence if a black spike didn’t impale him on the roof. I woke up from my sleep to this. I ran when gravity turned up and as soon as I got up it went down. “You can’t escape us” I couldn’t. This isn’t the Betty or Loraine origin story that you wanted, probably, but it is the truth. And it can explain the next chapter very much.

Chapter 6 part 1 Hi. I’m Loraine. You’ve probably already met me in this story. And I know third person- Never mind. Trinity just told me you already saw that. I’m writing in pen so I might as well just leave it there. Back to me. You probably have seen Betty in the story. Well that’s me. Also, not me at all. You see, Betty is a parasite that merged with the controls to the expanse. So far in the story, I’ve been hosting it. Here’s a log I wrote. Loraine Vatican Log Number One Just in case anyone can salvage this log off my dead corpse in a few months, here’s a detailed description of what it’s like to be the host of Betty. I started writing this because she’s starting to make it seem like she’ll kill me. I can’t control what happens or escape or anything. I just sit in a room with controls that I can’t touch or they’ll burn me, get cups of coffee and make food, and watch as my mistakes blow up in my face, some literally. And before you ask, no. I’m not okay with this. I don’t want to watch Betty wreak havoc. And I’ve tried escaping. But it’s as impossible as floating in air. There are a few good things that I can focus on. For one, I know more than she does about what’s going on because when she’s building new traps, her cameras are still on and I get to see what she can’t. She found out recently and has been trying to make me her Eyes. I can’t do it. She’s been tempting me with new food, expanding the room, even people to interact with. But I resist. Because I saw that conversation by the window. And I know who Alex is, thank god I can move the camera. And if I hold on just a little longer without her killing me, I think I can escape. END OF LOG 1 I get out of my chair to pour some coffee. I see that the coffee is gone. “If you won’t help me, then I guess you’ll have to starve doing nothing.” Now she’s just being manipulative with cruelty. I refuse. “I especially won’t help someone who uses things I already have as a persuasion tactic.” “Okay, Fine! I’ll give you anything you want, one thing for every piece of info you spill.” This seemed to work. I could be selective now. “They’re planning to escape.” “When? Tell me more! What do you want?” The words came out like coins in a slot machine when you hit jackpot. I couldn’t jeopardize my escape. “Field 9. I heard there was an escape route there.” And I figured my way out.

“I don’t know what to say...”, buttercream rambled for the sixteenth time since we entered field 6. “Just say what you feel, okay?” “It’s just... Sharing that with me must have taken a lot of courage.” Trinity looked away at the pyramid. Oh sorry. I have to catch you up. After we left the cage, there was a pedestal with a cube on top. We’d just unlocked field 6. 3D stuff. But once we entered, we got jumbled up into a million groups. At the same time, everyone seemed to be mourning Noel’s death except for Trinity. I was as suspicious of her as Batman was of Superman. Wait. Who are those people? “I think I just remembered something. Batman And Superman. Two names.” And then the lights went off as the lights went on. I stood in front of two aisles. I knew it was a dream still because nothing else appeared except for a kid aged around 4, a mom I didn’t know, and me. The mom asked “What toy do you want, Sadie? Barbie is very popular with kids your age. Or Hello kitty?” “No. I want Superman.” “Very funny. Now pick.” “It’s not funny.” And just then I realized I was living buttercream’s flashback. “I don’t like dolls. I want to be a-“ “We’ll talk about that with your father when we get home, todd. Since you won’t pick, I’m getting you Batman.” The dream faded away. I saw a girl planning for a wedding. “Abby, what kind of flowers do you think will fit your purple aesthetic?” I talked though I didn’t want to. “Zoe, you know I’m ace.” “Abby, I know. And he knows too. I’m trying to help you. Because you can be ace around him and mom won’t interfere. Plus, it’s not even legal. You’re fake-marrying your gay best friend as an ace person, while he’s an important figure in human rights. The phone rang. It was her mother. “Yes!” She hang up “We don’t have to fake a wedding. She’s not coming. She figured it out. She’s not understanding still, but she does understand the plan to live with Fabian.” I remembered this. Buttercream seemed to remember it too. The lights went on as the lights went off. “Piper. That’s my name. My real name. The one I deserve.” I calmed him down after he cried. “I know about that wedding. It’s familiar. How do I know you?” “That’s a secret we don’t know yet, but I’m sure we will.” And those words are what inspired Trinity to tell them everything. Well, except she left out Aidan, her past, and her alias. She basically used her persuasion skills to tell them about reverse brainwashing. But not about Noel or her. In fact, Now that I think about it, I’m kind of glad she’s gone.

My poems really help me in times of need. That’s why I was surprised when the poem did nothing for me. I kicked the red cooler. Wait. Why is there a red cooler? I looked closely at it but it seemed ordinary. I opened the cooler and saw a green note. ‘Only to Abby’ I opened it. I immediately liked what Betty did. She wrote it in poem form. The hell is often not in dying Though they have been really trying The things you have to fear Come when others are here The hell of drama is inside us Wait. The hell of drama. When others are here. I felt conflicted. Because I knew exactly what she was asking me to do. I was being asked to spill Hammie’s secret. I took a deep breath. I never wanted to be the bad guy. I walked up to buttercream and whispered into his ear. “Hammie likes you. Don’t believe me, next time you see him, pay attention.” And I knew I had caused drama on two sides of the screen now. ••••••••••••• He seemed to notice what we all had. Noel was clueless as he always is. I saw him talking to Hammie though. In his ear. Holding a- oh my god! A green letter! He must know something too. His eyes widened. At me. Angrily. Then we all fell down a hole. For about 30 minutes. “Why?! Why did you tell him?!” Hammie whispered loudly, as he was closest to me. “The lesson. The field was a distraction. The worst hell isn’t something you can find in a fiery dungeon underground. It’s one you create yourself. With the right People, the right motives, the right background, you can make anywhere your own personal hell.” They fell on the stone ground of a dungeon. By They I mean Hammie and buttercream. Me and Noel were outside the dungeon. Near the exit. Noel ran really fast. A spike impaled him and then pulled him out. “He never wanted you to be happy. He’s- was selfish deep inside. But Sue actually has a heart. And a poem to describe what at least one of you is feeling right now.” I froze. Not- “Yes. That one.” I walked forward and handed the poem to Hammie. “This has mud-“ “Read it.” And he read it. Buttercream obviously felt awkward. “I’m not sure how I feel.” And a light bulb went off in my head. This is a dream though, so it could be And was a real one. But I couldn’t say it. Because the lesson was that hearts can be broken. Just then we got back in front of the house. I gulped. This was going to be a much more personal hell from now on.

Sue’s chapter Chapter 5 part 1 People always used To think about me As some kind of princess. But being here feels better because I’m not expected to do more or less. I can just do things. Betty seemed to notice me writing in my journal because she dropped me into the field. My journal. Where is it? I find it in about a minute in a pile of mud. I sigh a sigh of relief because only the cover and the first page sank. The first page! But I just got the journal! I read the poem that was now covered in mud. Walking on water By Scarlet(her alias) Trying to be me is like walking on water. Your feet are so heavy that you sink into the ground. Trying to be me is like music to the deaf. You try to listen, but can’t ever hear a sound. Trying to be me is like The mud obscured the other two lines of the poem. I knew those were the best ones, too. Just then, Noel Waved at me. His face was... (gulp)blushing! I had to get out of ice this quick. Thank god that at that moment Buttercream and Hammie showed up. “Where are the others?” Shouted Hammie as if he were a market vendor selling questions about people’s whereabouts. I chuckled a bit. “I don’t know!” I replied, remembering that I couldn’t tell them or Betty would kill me. “Even though this field is so flat, why can’t we see anything? It’s like there were invisible fog!” My eyes widened and I fell down. I woke up in a red house. A woman rushed up to me and hugged me. “You’re back, Abby! I’m so sorry I didn’t accept you. I read your diary when you were in the coma. Medically Induced, as you know. You deserve to live your own life. You deserve to be an out and proud asexual. I’m so-“ Abby held out her hand as if she wanted. “Everything in this place I remember. Our house. Our red house we named Lucy. Because when we celebrated moving in we used red ribbons as decoration. You came up with the name. My diary was real. I talked about how I was never going to be accepted if I came out of the closet. I was given a medically induced coma because I was in a mass shooting and got a bullet in my head. You got everything right except one thing. Even if i woke up from a coma my mother would never accept me.” She woke up and felt as heavenly as ever. She had an idea for the poem now. Walking on water By Scarlet Trying to be me is like walking on water. Your feet are so heavy that you sink into the ground. Trying to be me is like music to the deaf. You try to listen, but can’t ever hear a sound. Trying to be me is like Having mud obscure the two best lines of your poem. Because although it won’t be the same, you can improvise and write your poem outside the reach of the mud.

I was born in Remia as alex symphony, a child of Tonic symphony, current head of the committee. I was very curious and it didn’t take long before I found out about the secret all officials kept. I threatened that I would tell to get everything. But eventually it became too much. It sounds cruel, but when I was 16 they banished me to the expanse forever. It was supposed to be more of a cool job than a torture fest. You see, They made sure I would never grow over 34 as long as I stayed inside the expanse, tending to Betty. Betty used to be so nice. Challenging, but not in constant need to frighten something. Then something changed. She started elongating the deaths of those who died by putting them in cages. Nobody really died in the expanse. It wasn’t enough to feed her. She became who she is today when they blocked off passage, only letting in those who were ready enough to face her. And she hunted me. I hid for days and days never knowing happiness could exist. And then Watson found me. We banded together ever since, hiding from her. One day I felt I trusted him enough to tell him my story. Then he showed me a device he didn’t know about but knew was connected to the committee somehow. It was definitely connected. About every 30 minutes, to be exact. A brainwashing device. I modified it over a few weeks to reverse the process and act as a sort of broadcasting band for warriors to face Betty. The plan was: 1. Broadcast my new identity into warrior memories. 2. Broadcast the way in. 3. I show up and act terrified. 4. Continue as usual, making sure they trust me 5. Escape at field seven. Field seven was chosen because it could both let us know they know how she is, what they’re up against, so we can see if they’re worth it, but also because a leak in the form was discovered in a window in field seven. Only three groups have even made it past field two. If they survive till field seven, we have no choice but to pray that we can be safe again.

“What I know is that my name is piper. It used to be Sadie. That was before I wanted to be a boy. I’m still a girl though, because something got in the way, other than my parents disagreeing with me. All I know is whispering into an earpiece saying that I’d ‘caught golf’.” Hammie had to digest a lot of information. “But why the lavender?” “That was my code name. Someone addressed me as lavender in the earpiece.” “What do you think this means?” Hammie turned his back to me. He was pulling out a flower. “I don’t think it’ll work on you. I had a personal connection with it. Plus, why are we in the field? This seems so un-canonical. Like a fan fiction or something.” Hammie slowly put the flower back. “Yeah. Plus, where’s Noel?” “I don’t know, he was always the quiet type.” A lightbulb seemed to go on in Hammie’s Head. “He mentioned when we worked on the cloud thing that he thought the palm tree looked familiar.” They rushed to a pond with a palm tree nearby, where Noel was sitting in a boat. “I 🌩⬅️😷😴😵😢🤯” He seemed to be cranking the emote translator he has more than usual. Only one word this time. “Let me see... Thunder traveled back in time to when you were sick, and it made you sleepy. Then you woke up , everyone’s dead, you weep, and the... apocalypse?” Zoe sighed. “Hammie can never translate him. What he means is that he had a flashback. he used to be a doctor, then he slept, somehow died in his sleep. He thinks it’s sad and mind-blowing.” She seems to fit in well with the MIT update. “Yeah. That seems right. He did solve the focus puzzle, so it doesn’t seem too far off track.” I hated it. Every word I was saying. Because I’d just lied to someone I trust. That was a lie. The birthday was a lie. The IQ test was a lie because They don’t even exist in Remia. Noel is a lie. Being there up until the first puzzle was a lie. Hammie’s sister is a lie. Mama and papa circle is a lie. It’s like I’m living a life of lying to them using these fake memory implanters in their shoulders. Because that’s exactly what it is. I hate lying about who I am. But it’s okay. Because all I have to do is lie and gain trust until field 7. Watson hasn’t even told me his real name, though he says he will soon. Hammie has my secret in lock and key though it’s the worst lock ever made. But field 7 is where my hopes are set. Because that’s when we escape.

I’m Trinity. I know what you’re thinking. You’re so used to third person perspective in this story that the fact I’m breaking the fourth wall right now seems so unusual. Well you’re going to have to get ready for unusual things lately in this story. I’m actually writing it right now. Funny, isn’t it? Well back to the story. I woke up and something seemed so different. The last time it felt this off was before they surprised me on my 24th birthday. That year I forgot I had a birthday coming up so it was extra suspicious. Betty gave us our lesson right when we woke up. Because we woke up on bare concrete. In the cold. I stood up and knew what happened immediately. We had gotten into a new field overnight. But who on earth- “You finished the test. You learned to be unhappy. I know the two of you already heard this, but Trinity seems to have passed it too. Here, let me clear this fog.” Sue and Zoe were waving hi to me through the window of a cozy blue house. “We have to catch you up on things.” And they did. Including the part about Hammie. “I think he likes me. He hugged me twice. And he had this shy, awkward look on his face.” I had to reassure her it was nothing. “He gets that look a lot. But only when people’s secrets are concerned. He got that look with me.” Zoe obviously seemed envious. “What did you do?” I couldn’t tell her. “I told him... that I’m Bi. Everyone knows that now though.” Phew. Conversation avoided. It’s not a lie, too. “No, actually. I did’t know that before now.” “I guess you don’t get rumors and gossip as much as I do.” “Oh yeah. I’m not that kind of person. Sorry.” We looked at the screen. Well, it was more of a holograph of what Hammie and Buttercream were doing. They were in a field. Hammie was picking flowers. Buttercream stopped to smell some lavender. He froze for a second, then fell flat. He was imagining something. From their angle you couldn’t see it, but Hammie rushes over to pick like seventeen lavenders before putting them in his pocket and exhaling. “Maybe he thinks whatever’s happening with buttercream might need to happen again.”, Sue says to a breathy Zoe. I can sympathize with him. Having to tell people lies because they don’t know who you are inside. Buttercream Wakes up, startling Hammie more than usual, and grabs his shoulder, gasping for air. “I know my name. I know my real name. I know who I am now.”

Evelyn had just gotten the news. She couldn’t believe it. Probably because she had other things to believe in right now. “If it goes well, we can all accept it.” she said to Harriet. “Do you really think a society you’ve trained for centuries to only be happy could handle, much less accept, something so grim?” “It has to be done. Aidan is getting involved.” “Who’s Aidan?” “That’s the only thing the committee forgets to regularly exclude from the brainwashing. He is why we had to put the box in front of the entrance. It wasn’t just a box. It was an entity trained to control the expanse. Aidan-“ “excuse me.” “What is it?” “Who is this Aidan you’re talking about?” Evelyn noticed that the committee was rushing the brainwashing in an attempt to sweeten the announcement at 7:00. She shouted to the earpiece. “No! No brainwashing! I’m tired of lying to this city. This committee needs to stop enforcing things and start being a committee.” “S-Sure thing.” And it was so. •••••••••••••••• “I’m here to tell you something we’ve had to keep from you. For your own safety. But it doesn’t matter anymore. So I’m here to tell you what happens if they make it out of here.” And 7:00 is an important time to remember. It’s when the society of Remia collapsed into mayhem.

Remedy stared at the wall. She was off earpiece duty today because Evelyn was planning her wedding for a week. But looking back at the wall, something didn’t feel right. There was only one confirmed and named escapee, Zoe Quetzal. There were 3 people missing from homes, and Evelyn reported both to her and to the public that there were four people before the walls went up. But the cameras disagreed. There were 5 people waking up. Five people getting ready for the next field. Either she’d been lied to, which was impossible since nobody in Remia knew what lying was, or someone- or two people- was infiltrating the group. She drew lines all pointing to two question marks on the board. She needed to work hard on this case, observing everyone at every moment. They all fell down on the cushions. She was examining everyone on the screen. She looked over every detail, But then they slept. This was obviously going to be boring. She didn’t have any cameras or anything that could see inside. She basically was waiting for daytime. She was about to fall asleep at her keyboard when she saw a man with a dolphin tattoo drop down on a balcony in an umbrella. Mary Poppins style. She felt like she knew him somehow. But wait. He was wearing an earpiece. She could hack it! But only if she... yep. The code is 421666. And... da da da... got it. -Don’t open it, I’ll tell you why later.- He obviously knew about the camera because at this angle you couldn’t see through the window. -okay. But how do you know?- -if she didn’t sleep, she would have seen me from a mile away.- Remedy was not convinced that this comment was directed towards Betty only. -okay. It’s going well so far. But what’s the new plan?- -they have to trust you to believe in me. So gain their trust first, and then we’ll talk about field 7.- Remedy wrote a huge 7 on the board. Because once they got there, she would know who this is. And how in the world they teamed up with Aidan.

Evelyn Green was the Head of the committee of happiness. It must be very ironic, then, that half of her life was spent trying to smile knowing the knowledge she knew from the last head. And when she learned that color was being restored to Remia as a result of the escape of the 4 residents, she didn’t know how to feel. She took her morning walk. She picked up her coffee from her friend Patricia. Patricia asked why Evelyn was so down today. “It’s so wonderful what they’re doing for us! I’ve started noticing the colors of all the things in town. Everyone else is doing it too! Did you know coffee is brown?” Evelyn knew that, but tried to act surprised. “I would have never- why did you put up the box, anyway? And why are people covering it up with concrete? It seems so evil!” Evelyn didn’t know what to say. “They have to go through very hard and unhappy challenges to get what we have. And we need to make sure everyone is happy, no?” “I guess so.”said Patricia. Remedy always had a knack for persuasion. “Phew. We got out of that one. But can I go to the bathroom?”, said remedy. “We had to hire you non-stop for the next few days before people stop asking questions. It’s because you’re one of our best earpiece helpers.” Said Evelyn after Patricia walked away. “Don’t worry, you’ll get your reward soon.” Evelyn turned off the earpiece because she didn’t want to speak of what she couldn’t speak. She really would have because she felt truly sorry for Remedy. But feeling sorry for people doesn’t keep the town from collapsing. She ran, then walked as not to look suspicious, then realized she could run happily and went for it. She rushed to the new restaurant, confiance, where her girlfriend Harriet was waiting for her. Harriet was the only one who knew besides her and the committee. She was dressed for the occasion tonight. They sat down. It didn’t show, but Evelyn could tell she was crying. “I’ve been crying lately.” Harriet had said it aloud. Everyone was turning their heads to Harriet. “Because of how lucky I am. To be here. With you.” Good cover. But then Harriet got down on one knee. “Evelyn Gloria Green, will you marry me?” She pulled out a rose gold ring. It meant something to them both. Rose gold was the first color Harriet saw. On Evelyn’s hair. They said yes. And it would have been absolutely perfect if they hadn’t both known what the timing was about.

“That was quick.”, said Betty. “Those fields seem shorter than they- Ugh! You’re supposed to still be in field 2! You’re ahead of me with these lines. Hmm... let’s see...” the room changed into the first room. “Oh come on!” Shouted Hammie. “This is the exact same one!” He was dropped through yet another portal, this time to an uncertain but different place. “Yes it is! See?” The walls slowly vanished along with the floor to reveal a sunny sky filled with clouds and rainbows. A classic platformer track was ahead filled with scaleable rainbows and giant palm trees, but mostly clouds. A golden door waited at the end with no apparent room behind it, but it glowed brightly. Zoe looked down to notice that she was standing on a cloud. She waited for the intro. “Betty, shouldn’t you give us the whole thing about what you’re teaching us?” No answer ensued. Zoe proceeded to jump across clouds. It was when she was 4 or 5 steps across when she looked back to see if everyone was okay. Everyone but Sue was gone. Sue appeared to be shouting something like “Chew Redo Ball Crown” but it was inaudible. Zoe tried to listen the next five times but it still didn’t get across. Sue got a frustrated look on her face, took a deep breath, and dove off the cloud. Zoe was terrified. For a split second, she thought she could save her and jumped down too. The sky turned grey and foggy and rainy until she was laying down on a cushion, though the fall was so great it would take a while to get up. Zoe looked to her left, right, and all possible angles but couldn’t find Sue. “Sue! I’m here!” She shouted before a tap on her shoulder made her jump in her mind but not in her body, again because of the fall. “I’m not this person who you need to save. I figured out the puzzle.” Zoe felt jealous. “She had already created this room. The first room was a hint because she’s already mentioned the lesson. Remember? Life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows.” Zoe felt stupid and inferior. “You think you’re the smartest here but you never take the time to consider things. The lesson was literally in your face and yet you had to depend on Betty to help you. You get so used to doing things certain ways that any change in the method is unknown to you.” Zoe had to pause to collect herself before saying, “I thought you were in trouble. You know I would sacrifice myself if it meant I might save you.” “I can handle myself, thank you.” Zoe was about to burst into anger or tears or both, she was so uncertain about what was happening in her head. Then she felt a ticking sensation that felt like she was gaining back energy. A static-like voice was heard in their heads. “You were so insistent my words meant something that you never even truly got to feel unhappy. Please don’t tell anyone yet, but you passed the test.” It was Betty. “Just stay quiet and listen to the telepathic messages I send you while the others catch up to your progress. For now, it’s time you all went to sleep.” They slowly got up and saw a luxurious hotel- like building in front of them. “Don’t tell, but I gave you the best rooms. I’m going to sleep tonight too.(anime yawn)” ********** Alex looked around. They turned on the earpiece. -no sign of her.- -okay. Meet me at the balcony.- Alex pushed back the curtains. Alex saw Watson outside the window. -don’t open it, I’ll tell you why later.- -okay. But how do you know?- -if she didn’t sleep, she would have seen me from a mile away.- -okay. It’s going well so far. But what’s the new plan?- -they have to trust you to believe in me. So gain their trust first, and then we’ll talk about field 7.-

“I never knew you were that smart.”, said Sue as They walked in the hallway to the next room. “Are you kidding me? She got 153 on the IQ test I gave her.”, said trinity. “Oh yeah. Now I remember.”, said sue. “Hammie, On the other hand, got voted most likely to learn the words most likely any day now.” “Hey! I may be a moron, but I’m not stupid.” They all laughed. Betty didn’t like that. “HEY! No laughing. I intended for you to be terrified, you shouldn’t have a good time. Oh! Exactly! I have an Idea!” A wall appeared suddenly at the other end of the wall 5 feet away. Buttercream fell through a trapdoor into a hole. They all looked at each other in silence. “I’m sorry.” Was what trinity would have whispered if she wasn’t immediately dropped down too. Sue was next. Hammie and Zoe were hugging each other to make sure they couldn’t be separated when a hole clearly meant for Hammie dropped both of them. They fell on a green floor. Zoe noticed something. There were thin- thin things decorating their tunnels, but they seemed to show the color just well in 2d. Betty was clearly having a tantrum in the background, although her mic was off. She turned back on. “Ugh! That was my last hole! I’ll just have to make it harder for you two.” Zoe stepped forward. There were symbols on the tiles now. Some had two lines, some were a v, some were an a-like shape, and some were one line. Zoe decided to step back. “Yeah. The theme of this is separation. Being alone. I think only the v’s and two lines are correct because the v splits, the two lines are separated, and the a is coming together.” He kneeled down and poked an a tile. It fell down and brought down the tiles with it into an appropriately sized hole of nothingness. “You were stepping on an a tile.” Zoe was staring at Hammie because she was so confused. Hammie was the dumb one! Hammie’s eyes went wide open. “Umm... I mean... step on the red one. I don’t know anything.” Zoe had to ask. “Hammie. Were you pretending to be dumb?” “Umm... Yes... But don’t tell anyone.” “Only if you tell me why.” “Because a certain someone... No. I can’t.” Zoe knew everything by the look on his face. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell. Now let’s solve this puzzle.” “Only if you take all the credit.” “Okay.” They solved the puzzle. A few steps, okay, maybe a thousand, and then four big tiles. They selected the a because this was the end, they were coming back together. + + + The others were shaking. They were probably more terrified than them. They started to wonder if Betty went easy on them. They were each muttering three different things. Buttercream: ‘Spiders’ ‘Spikes’ ‘Oh god’ Sue: ‘Ghosts’ ‘Clowns’ ‘Is it over?’ Trinity: ‘Serial killers’ ‘Dungeons’ ‘Why?’ And although they all learned their lesson, Betty made sure that the two learned the lesson the others hadn’t. We’re better when we work together.

Zoe was the first to get in. That meant she was the first to get a glimpse at what the others were seeing now. The halls were lined with other beings. The farther you went down the more detailed they became. They were all in cages. She was even more terrified than before. Nobody was there to comfort her. She was alone. She heard the megaphone. Then the sound of sliding stone. She was beginning to think she would be in one of those cages before long. Then Hammie fell through. She ran to him but I ptrinity fell on her in the process. “Is Sue Okay?” She asked. “Hopefully.” Was the answer she got. They waited while hoping until they both fell down. Now, let’s resume. “These are the cages of people who failed me. Now don’t be like them. Okay? First we have a lesson on inconvenience. It’s probably unheard of for you, so I set up a test.” A pedestal with a savior button slid out. It was in the spotlight. “Now, this savior button will-“ Hammie pressed the savior button. “W- I didn’t even finish explaining and your first reaction is to press it?!” Hammie gladly nodded. Betty moved on. “Okay. Here’s a longer lesson in inconvenience for you. A portal below him dropped into what appeared to be and sounded like a desert. “I should probably explain what we’re doing first so you don’t end up like stupid square here.” The portal closed. “You are currently in the expanse. The expanse is full of fields. Fields are tests that teach you lessons, and give you rewards. You passed the first one, so this should be easy.” Zoe asked, “And what was that lesson?” “That life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, grey circle. Now I’ll let you figure this one out on your own.” Betty vanished into dust, or 2d dust for you sticklers out there. Zoe looked around. She was always the crafty type. She saw three things: a lock on a door, a key in front of it, and the cages. The door had a sign that said: ESCAPE REMIA. Buttercream walked towards the key. “No!” Zoe said. “Life isn’t just going to be handed to you. You have to work for it.” “Very well done. Now work.”, said Betty. Then Zoe noticed a series of grey buttons with a lever next to them. I’m not going to waste your time, so let’s just say the lever activated color in the room, revealing a game of Simon in essence. After that, again, not going to waste your time, so I’ll list it. 1. Rainbow color order puzzle 2. Dance dance revolution 3. Mario? 4. A game of chess 5. Rock Paper Scissors 6. Trivia 7. Chopsticks 8. Tetris 9. You get it, a lot of work. Then Hammie returned. He had a key in his hand. They used it to open the lock. It fit perfectly. They expected to get something other than a lesson but the next room seemed similar. “Again, Life is never convenient. But I’m not teaching you that next.”

Betty sighed. “You’ve been so used to being pretty and perfect and happy all your life that you’ve never known fear. Well I’m going to teach it to you.” Betty definitely did that night.

They slowly crept to the box when they heard footsteps. They had found them. They ran, banging on the walls. The committee of happiness had created a riot-hostage megaphone situation. “RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU WANT TO LIVE. BECAUSE IF YOU DO, WE CAN FOR GET ALL ABOUT THIS. AND YOU CAN BE HAPPY. ISN’T THAT LIFE’S GOAL?” nobody raised their hand. “OKAY. THEN NOBODY WILL REMEMBER THIS.” Three concrete walls forced out of the ground. They were trapped. The walls moved closer. And closer. And closer. Until buttercream had felt a thing he never felt. They all leaned back against the box as they clumped together hoping the walls would stop in time. They felt Fear. He saw Hammie scream. Hammie fell through the box like it was a swimming pool. Trinity fell in almost immediately after. Even leaving a splash. Then Sue Quetzal’s eyes glowed. She knew what made the box open. She fell back a little but stood up. But she didn’t tell Buttercream. He was wondering whether she was a good friend to bring along. She shouted, “if we get crushed by these walls, our lives could end. And they’re cruelly punishing us.” The walls were close. “They’re murdering us!” The walls were starting to be felt by buttercream, pushing against him. He was breathing as hard as a dog would be if you could represent a dog in Remia drawing. He felt pain. He felt truly terrified. And he felt a thud. He couldn’t see anything, but it felt like he was laying on something. He heard a high pitched voice. “Okay, so that must be everyone. Stupid Box man, Triangle Lady, Grey Circle, White Circle, and- Oh! You look somewhat interesting! Let’s call you frosting lad.” Buttercream said in an exhaustive voice, “Who are you?” “Oh! Sorry Frosting Lad! You’re a feisty one, are you? Well, we’ll fix that in no time.” The voice shocked buttercream with a taser. For some reason, he remembered exactly what a taser is. ”Let me introduce myself. I’m Betty. Stands for Box-like Entity Trained to Terrify You. And I’ll be your tour guide through the expanse. Now, let’s turn the light on shall we? You can’t have fun torturing people if you can’t see, can you?”