#time lost

- An Original Composition By Lucille

Does anyone wonder where Iies the line between escapism and a fear to exist?

We can avoid life and it's tribulations through escapism, but soon we don't want to go back, we zap in and out of existence, leaving our body on autopilot and the worst part is that

No one really notices when you're drowning

So you continue your tendencies to walk right out of life when it gets too dark and soon you stop returning, constantly on auto pilot. You smile when needed, laugh when required and cry when that's what others expect of you. But you don't feel anything, not really. That ended back in 2019, or wait, was it 2017? Earlier? Isn't it still 2019? Oh. It's 2025. And suddenly you're back in, wondering where all the time went. So you go online and you find a therapist and you tell them of all that you don't remember, of all the time you lost, and the therapist shakes her head and says

"Isn't this exactly what you wanted?"

© 2025 lucilleambrose | All rights reserved.

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Ruby grinned as she slowly reached for one of the experimental guns that Atlas was creating. Sure, the sign on the door said “No unauthorized personnel” and Ironwood may have said not to mess with anything in these labs, but how could she not help herself to see any of the cool tech that was being developed? Besides, this particular gun said it was in the testing phase, so why not give a bit of input on how it works? 

She looked over the sleek, white gun, noticing a dial on the side, each notch with a different setting: stun, low grav, freeze, and one setting that she couldnt quite make out, the words having been scratched out. Ruby figured she’d try out the first setting, making sure the gun was set to stun. 

Harriet opened up the door and frowned. “Why am I not surprised you ended up here? You need to put that down and get back to the dorm.” 

Ruby sighed, still looking over the gun. “Or… we can test it! I mean, how cool do you think this could be? Settings for freezing, stunning, low gravity… this could make catching criminals that much easier!” 

“Or, it’ll blow up in your face.” Harriet walked over to Ruby, shaking her head. “I still dont understand why the general gave you all a tour of the experimental facility, but you cant be here.” 

“Just one shot-” 

“Absolutely not!” 

Ruby sat the gun back down onto it’s holster and started walking off, not noticing her cloak getting caught on the corner of it and pulling it off the table. With both backs turned, the gun let off an electric blast, hitting both girls in the back. The two of them fell to the ground, electricity pouring through their bodies and tightening up their muscles. 

“You… dummy!” Harriet yelled through grit teeth. “I told… you to… be careful…” 

“I… think I… can… fix this…” 

Harriet watched as Ruby used her semblance to rush over to the gun. “W-wait! Dont touch-” 

Ruby quickly reached for the gun, hesitating as a bit of electricity shot from her finger and overcharged the gun, causing an explosion in the lab. She and Harriet were thrown to opposite sides of the room, both girl’s vision starting to go black as smoke filled the room.

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Harriet groaned as she started waking up, stumbling as she stood up to try to regain her bearings. Electricity still flowed through her body, tensing up her muscles as she tried to move, causing her to stiffen and fall over. “Ruby!” 

Ruby slowly moved a bit of debris off her, looking up at the ceiling as she answered. “Y-yes?” 

“I hope you realize just how much trouble you’re going to be in once the general finds out what you did.” 

“We’ll… we’ll be fine. We’ll fix the lab and no one will… know…” Ruby hesitated as she looked through a hole in the wall, seeing a grassy plain on the other side. “A-actually, I dont think we’re going to have to worry about that. “

“And what do you mean by that?” 

“I… dont think we’re in Atlas anymore.” 

Harriet rolled her eyes and started standing up again, managing to open the door before her muscles felt another shock run through them. She practically froze in place as she looked out the room, a large castle in the distance of the grassy plain. “So… where are we?” 

Ruby walked over to the door of the room, hesitating as she spotted the familiar castle. “I think this is less a where and more a when.” 

Harriet looked at her, a bit confused. “And what do you mean by that?” 

“I’ve… seen this castle before.” 

“Where?”