Take the role of your character(s).

You wake up one morning after another night of REM Zoning, coupled with the worry of the invading, otherworldly forces. Today, however, you are not situated in your usual place of rest. You find yourself in what looks like a hospital room – you’re on a bed in the corner, there’s a desk with some hung-up cabinets opposite to you, a medium-sized TV hanging from the farthest corner of the ceiling, door to the left of the desk, and one at the end of your bed. And there’s no window to try and jump out of.

After a few minutes of you wondering what’s going on (and/or freaking the hell out), the TV clicks on autonomously. Someone who looks like an absolute nerd (Eli), sitting at a desk full of equipment, stares at you through the screen. And he begins to speak.

“Alright. This is an automated message. Do not be alarmed, everything is fine. Just remain calm and follow my instructions. In the bathroom to the left of your desk, you’ll find a few folded uniforms. Put one on, and the security lock on the door will recognize you. Once you’re out of the room, follow the green line to the cafeteria on Level C. Stairs or the elevators, you can use either. Don’t delay, don’t get distracted, just… get there. If for some reason you need any form assistance, there are service bots stationed in the halls that can help you. That is all.”

The TV shuts itself off after the message is done playing.

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Jasmine’s head flies up off the pillow, taking deep, shaky breaths. She gasps for air and she feels sweat drip down off her face and forehead onto her neck and slips down her shirt. She squints her eyes looking around the room. Everything is blurred in front of her eyes and she clambers slowly out of the bed. Not being able to see where she is, she does know one thing for sure: she was not here when she went to bed.

Jazz stumbles blindly over to the desk, seeing her red glasses on it and she pulls them on, pushing them all the way up to her nose. She then notices her little pocket journal tucked neatly under them and she smiles, picking it up as well. She looks around and checks out her surroundings. It looks like… a hospital room. Is she ill? She presses her hand to her forehead, trying to feel her own temperature. It does not work very much, but she feels perfectly fine. She cannot be ill. She has never really been sick before, unless you count puking up poison.

She jumps as the television turns on and she sees a very geeky guy looking at her. She frowns, looking at him curiously. What is going on? She listens to what he has to say and she hears the worry and slight fear in his voice. What is he afraid of? She many questions run through her mind that almost unconsciously, she begins to do what he has asked of her. She walks into the bathroom and grabs a white pair of scrubs with a red number 2 stitched into the right arm. She slips into them and walks over to the door. The door clicks open and she walks out, peering out into the hallway.

She notices the green light that the man on the television had talked about and she immediately begins to follow it, not wanting to ask for help from any of those automatons standing in the hallways. She didn’t need any help. She walks slowly, carefully, making sure that there are no bad people around, before she follows the green line down the stairs. She passes a few floors before she sees the sign of “Level C” above a doorway. She walks through it carefully and notices the green line disappears into the cafeteria that the man had spoken of. She looks around, not seeing anyone else around. She quickly takes a seat and waits. She then pulls out her little pocket journal and begins to write in it.

Malcolm awoke, rubbing his head and yawning. "These dreams have got to stop!" He moaned to himself, still half aslee- This isn't his room. Why isn't he in his room!? Malcolm sprung out of bed turning left and right at the white room that now surrounded him. "Wait, wha-" Malcolm muttered, he looked at the features in his room, the tv, desks and bathroom. Malcolm lightly slapped himself in the face. "C'mon Malcolm," he began saying to himself "wake up Malcolm." he said, giving himself another slap. This isn't a dream... then where the hell is he? Almost as if his prayers were answered, a man with glasses and all of this equipment appeared on the television across the room.

"Who are you?" Malcolm asked alarmed. "Alright this is an automated message." The man said. "Oh." Malcolm simply said, thankful no one was listening. "This is an automated message. Do not be alarmed, everything is fine. Just remain calm and follow my instructions. In the bathroom to the left of your desk, you’ll find a few folded uniforms. Put one on, and the security lock on the door will recognize you. Once you’re out of the room, follow the green line to the cafeteria on Level C. Stairs or the elevators, you can use either. Don’t delay, don’t get distracted, just… get there. If for some reason you need any form of assistance, there are service bots stationed in the halls that can help you. That is all.”

Okay, find the uniform. Malcolm went to the bathroom and found a uniform, imprinted was a white number three on a scrub suit that was completely black. Right... door will recognize me? Malcolm walked to the door which beeped then opened like some sort of sci-fi prop door. Malcolm stared out as a few service bots went up and down the corridor but Malcolm couldn't find elevators or stairs from a glance. "Uhhh, excuse me..." Malcolm asked to a service bot passing by as he stepped out of his room. "Where is the elevator?" Malcolm asked. The robot turned around and faced him. "You will find the elevator to your left." It said, statically rotating its' hip servos and pointing left. "Just follow the corridor." It added. "Uhhh, thank you." Malcolm said before striding off, Malcolm jogged to the elevator, called it and went down to floor C. Malcolm jogged along the green line until he reached the cafeteria and taking a seat among other people.

The past few weeks had been interesting, amoung befriending Eli and being just about the only living being in the facility had been interesting. But Eli had given him a Wii to fuck around with to gove him something to do that wasnt bother him. At least until the other zoners arrived.

Which was today, it seemed, based upon the other people entering the cafeteria. They seemed to be reacting to waking up in such a strange place much better than he did.

---

Two weeks prior...

One thing that he had always been happy about was his ability to dream. Not the kind of dream that most would tell you to think about when going to college or what you want to do when you grew up, but the unconcious kind that your mind created for itself. That little playground you got to call home and make up as you went along. He had alwasy dreamt fairly vividly about one thing or another. Be it his snake, his sisters, what he would be doing at school the next day, stuff like that. It wasn't until he was in seventh grade did he read an article online about how to teach yourself to lucid dream. It was then that he could truly be in control of his thoughts and adventures in his mind. The bullies he faced in the day quickly melded awaya dn girls he crushed on were suddenly attracted to him. He could fly at the speed of a bullet and lead a building in a single bound. It was his retreat, and it kept him from breaking down when the sun rose in the morning.

But over the past few months things had changed. He didn't have the control he once did. The land was that of a forest and a long destroyed and overgrown city. He was a creature, one of the many the roamed the woods. He remembered looking into a pool of a water like substance and seeing a reflection what would give children nightmares. It was terrifying, but also exhilerating when he was on the hunt, or when he was defending himself from the other creatures that prowled in the night.

His body had become accustomed to waking up at seven thirty every day, with the aid of an alarm clock of course. His internal cycle caused the unrest that pulled him from his own augmented reality and forced him back into the real world where he wasn't a superhero or apex predator. He felt his world fade as his eyes slowly opened to a dimly lit room. His mind, still foggy from sleep, failed to register initially that he was in a strange and new place. He blinked a few times and pushed himself up on his elbows to look around.

This wasn't his home. This wasn't the surroundings he was used to waking up to on a Monday morning. There were strange mechanical object everywhere. Some of which he recognized, many of which he didn't. He'd be like a kid in a candy store with all of this tech if it wasn't so damn scary that he had been abducted in his sleep. He wished he could just camouflage and escape, or power through the walls or... or...

There were footsteps outside. He could hear them. The tapping of dress shoes and the faint mumbling of converse. He couldn't make out what they were saying. He looked around the room frantically, looking for somethingt o defend himself with, or a place to his. Finding none, he did the only thing he knew how.

<sub>"Just make sure all their vitals are fine. Don't enter the rooms, don't talk to them. You'll scare the shit out of someone."

"Yes, sir."</sub> The second voice was more mechanical. There was a fiddling on the door, and a strange man walked into the room.

"AAAAAAAAAH!" Henry yelled, throwing his size large shirt at Eli's face, rolling out of bed and running as quickly as he could towards the door in a desperate attempt to escape. The shirt would only distract him for a few seconds if that, but he needed to compensate for his build with a distraction of some kind if he had any chance. He had to make it out of the door. He had to-

"FUCKING. HOLD IT."

An arm shot out and grabbed Henry's shoulder, pulling him back towards the bed. The man who'd entered the room - some tall, spectacled, coat-wearing fuckboy - looked down at him and shook his head. "What, the fucking robots don't do it for you? It's my ugly mug that sends you over the edge?"

Henry was crying at this point, viciously and desperately hitting the man's arm attempting to get free. It was obvious he was terrified, if the huge wet stain trainign down one of his trouser legs wasn't a telltale sign enough. The man shoved Henry away at the smell of the trail. "You-" He started to say aloud, tossing his hands up. He exhaled some before continuing, "Jesus Christ..." A pause, and then, "Calm down. Sit on the bed, and just... listen."

Henry stumbled back and fell on his rear, he stared at the man, eyes wide and snot running down his lip. His chest heaved, his skin glistening lightly with sweat. He could feel his heart beating. Everything was hyper senesitive. He kicked himself back until he reached the wall, but remained on the floor, his eyes firmly trained on this strange man.

"Where-" he said, hiccuping, and whiping the running snot from his nose. "Where am I? Who are you?"

"My name is Elias Winzer, alright?" The man responded, "You're in... look, it's a little complicated, alright? Just calm down, I'm gonna ask you a few questions. Take a minute if you need to."

"Can I have my shirt back, and a change of pants?"

"There's, uh..." Eli motioned to the back corner of the room, "Bathroom, right there. Shower, toilet, uniform - everything you need. I'll give you a bit."

"Th-thank you."

"I know it's kind of scary right now, but I will explain everything in a minute. Alright?"

Henry said nothing, but he slowly picked himself up, his eyes trained on Eli the whole time, refusing to look away, and he slowly inched his way to the bathroom. He didn't look away until he had shut the door.



Henry took a quick shower and had used that change of clothes. He had found that his uniform was rather comfortable. A two piece, white jumpsuit. He had found that on the right shoulder a black '2' had been sewn into the shoulder of the suit. White slip on shoes had been provided as well for his feet. He combed his hair and quickly washed his face in the sink when he had changed. When he hesitantly unlocked the door and stepped outside back into the strange room. Eli was still there. "O-okay." He stuttered, slowly walking over to his bed and sitting on it awkwardly. "You... you wanted to explain. Please do, because I'm freaking out here."

Eli took a seat on the stool sitting at the desk adjacent to the bed. He exhaled again before he began. "Where to start..." He said, "Tell me... what you've been hearing on the news lately."

Henry shook his head. "I dont watch much news. I'll read about it sometimes on the internet. I usually only see world news, like that Syrian-Russian incident with the Crimea river than happened twenty or so years ago. I dont read much about anything else."

"Nothing about..." Eli responded, "Disturbances? Anomalies? Weird stuff happening in populated areas?"

"I mean I've heard a little about that, sure."

"There was a bit of an event like that in Maine a few days ago. And the day before that, something went down in Singapore. Both involved, uh... things... not of this world. Anything about those?"

"I know what you're talking about. Mainly just kids with camcorders looking through the woods and trying to explain it on youtube. It doesnt actually have to do with aliens does it? Because something tells me there's only one reason why you would be asking me this."

"Ali- no, no, Christ, no, it's not... aliens." There was another pause before the next question came up. "Okay, tell me about your dreams. What they've involved lately. Be very specific."

"I used to be able to lucid dream a lot, by my own will. It was fun... But recently over the past three or four months they changed... I'm in a forest, that looks like part of it was once a city before it was overgrown and I'm this... thing. I dont know how to describe it. This hulking goliath of a creature that's a cross between a primate and a crocodile... I've always felt hungry when I dream. I often... if I'm recalling correctly, I often hunt and kill nearly anything I come across. It's terrifying but it's also exciting. It's fun to feel so powerful. Anything that comes after me I usually end up playing with like I'm a giant cat of some kind playing with it's food." he said. "This... this isn't a mental ward is it? There's nothing wrong with me right?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong. In fact..." Eli stood up from his seat and pointed at Henry. "That kind of thing is exactly what we're looking for."

"Huge and hangry?"

"Mhmm." He put his hands in his pockets.

"You never told me why I'm here, or where we are."

"The strange things happening outside? And your dreams? They're... connected. You said you're a lucid dreamer, so that made you a candidate for... well, this." Eli stepped forward and held out the badge on his lapel. "Somniatis APR, that's who I work for. We're... examining, this whole ordeal. And certain circumstances have led to the factor of... people like you. Folks who have become... linked. To the same worlds where these "aliens" are coming from."

"Somniatis...? It sounds like you work for a disease of some kind."

"It's Latin for "dream". The, uh... founder, he was into that kind of stuff."

"That's... actually pretty cool. So I'm here for you to study right? You're not going to stab me with hundreds of needles or disect me like they do in the horror movies are you?"

"No, not- we're not fucking evil geniuses, man. You're here because... we need your help."

"You... what... I cant even..." Henry said, standing up for a second. "Okay I get that you need me to study or something but I'm probably not going to be much help unless you want IT support, which you probably already have. I dont even want to guess how you're going to study my... dream form or whatever, but I'm probably not going to be much help even then because unless there's a lot to distract me I'll probably attempt to eat you."

Eli simply nodded his head, smirking a bit. "Y'know you talk a little too much." A short pause before he continued, "Anyway no, no studying. At all. Giant lizard man, that's easy to wrap your head around. The thing is, we... are... building a defense. The things bleeding out into reality, they exist in another world. Three of them, actually, one of which you belong to. You dream about yourself in a wilderness, right? See some buildings here and there? Valleys, mountains, fog?"

"There's also a sea of clouds, but yeah. It's pretty interesting to throw a rock off of it to see it fall from the sky again."

"Yeah, we know about the whole non-Euclidean thing going on in all three. Anyway, uh... what's happening right now is, we've located as many of you folks as we could, through this... grid. It's a field of phantom energy that's overlapped the entire earth. Each one of you is a little glowing dot on that grid. We've got some of you here now, still waiting on most arrivals. Records say there's somewhere around... three-hundred of you, probably less."

"You lost me at grid. But from what I'm gathering you're asking me to be a... superhero for all intesive purposes... in my sleep, right?"

"Yes." Eli responded, clapping his hands together,

"Can I call you General Fury now?"

"No." He said, separating his hands.

"I'm calling you General Fury anyways. You brought me here, you deal with the concequences."

"If it helps you cope with all this, fine, be a fucking nerd."

"Does my mom know where I am? Because I dont want to leave my sisters and her just like that. When my dad passed away I became the only person to look after my sisters when my mom was away-"

"JUST..." Eli cut into Henry mid-sentence.

"Trust you?"

"Your family is being handled carefully. As is everyone else's. We're making sure word of this doesn't get out. I can't give you specifics, but everything is fine."

Henry didn't say anything for a few seconds. There was a pregnant silence in the room and Henry leaned back against the bed. "Okay then." he said. "I... I dont know if this is fake or real or not, but you... you seem pretty sincere if you're actually a child rapist so I'm... I'm gonna believe you." he said, breathing out. His body relaxed some. "Do you have a cafeteria in here? Because I'm hungry."

Eli leaned his head back and chuckled a bit. _{"Unbelievable..."} He looked back at Henry and said, "Go ahead and walk out the door, follow the green line. Service bots there will help you out." He stood up from the chair and cracked his knuckles a bit. "If that's all you need from me now, I gotta go repeat this whole thing with a few other folks. If you need anything else... service bots, or... me, if I'm around."

"Are there any others you've already talked to? Just because I want to know who I should meet. Anyone who's been here for a while?"

"You're the first batch, actually. Seven in total. Tell you what, I'll tell folks to head down to one of the rec rooms to play meet and greet. You just wait around there for 'em. Yellow line on the wall will lead you there."

"If that's the case, tell someone else what the number stands for, so when I ask we have something to talk about." Henry said smiling. "And uh... thanks for putting up with my shit earlier."

Eli stepped towards the door and pulled a phamplet from a wall-mounted shelf. He tossed it to Henry, who caught it awkwardly. "Here." He said, "I printed out a crap load of those yesterday. It'll explain the Zones and how you fit into all this. Give it a good once-over."

Henry looked down at the pamphet, then back up to Eli, and nodded. "I... I guess I'll see you soon Eli." he said. He looked out the door and left the room, following the yellow line to the nearest recreation room as instructed.

---

That was... An experience. He guessed that, based upon how many were coming in at one time, that Eli had employed service bots like he said he would. Awesome. He tried to find it in himself to do something, or say something. But didn't. Not yet at least. He'd wait until the others came in before he would approach them. He was bad at introductions so... He'd only have to mess it up once if he did it that way.

Nora woke with a start, limbs jerking, like she always did after one of her linked-up cyborg dreams. She was preoccupied with thoughts of the many-jointed welding arm she had just ripped off one of the crumbling machines of the maze factory. She hoped the scavengers didn't disassemble it before she made it back; she had plans to attach it to her shoulder assembly. Who didn't want a third arm? And a torch arm would come in pretty handy, both for fighting abominations and for stealing new parts. Nora pretty much took the lucid dreams for granted at this point; she had no reason to believe that she wasn't going to keep having them.

It actually took her a little while to realize that she wasn't in her own home and bed. After the initial jerk awake, she'd gone back to lying down with her eyes closed. It was the television turning on that finally roused her. Nora barely had the wherewithal to listen to the message, she was instead too busy panicking. Lurching out of bed, she threw herself at the doors. The one beside the desk opened easily, revealing a small bathroom. The one at the foot of the bed was a different story, refusing to budge. The man on the television finally finished his spiel just as Nora had finished opening drawers on the desk and searching their contents for clues.

She weighed her options, and finally decided that giving the appearance of co-operation might be the best way to get answers and eventually escape. She quickly changed into the black scrub uniform, stopping to get her lucky bone out of the breast pocket of her pyjamas. She slipped it into a pocket of the scrubs, then changed her mind and took it out again to fiddle with it.

This time the door opened for her. She searched her memory for the rest of the instructions. Green line, yellow line....? Nora picked the green one and hurried on to whatever bizarre fate awaited her.

She kinda wished she had one of her skinning knives with her.

---

Bobby should have been woken up by "Shook me All Night Long" blaring out of his tablet's speakers. He normally woke up obscenely early and went for a jog before work; today, there was no alarm. He just woke up slowly, relaxed, wondering vaguely why he had the luxury to do so. He sat up slowly, yawning and stretching, before blinking muzzily and taking in his surroundings.

Well, no wonder his tablet hadn't woken him. Bobby was clearly not at home. The room looked like a dormitory, or maybe a hospital. He climbed out of bed and was just starting to poke and prod at things when a face appeared on the televison. Seeing nothing better to do, Bobby sat back down on he foot of the bed and watched the entire message.

Well, this was better than he had initially hoped. Piecing together the message and the surroundings with the state of events in the world at large, Bobby immediately came to the conclusion that he had been kidnapped by some kind of secret government organization. Probably for experiments. That was kind of cool. maybe it had somthing to do with his weird dreams? Shit, were those dreams real? Maybe he had really been turning into that... goat monster thing... and rampaging through the countryside, like a werewolf. Wasn't that what werewolves always said in movies? That they thought they were just dreaming? Bobby hadn't woken up covered in blood and chicken feathers or anything, but that theory made as much sense as anything.

"Awesome," he said out loud as he pulled on one of the white scrub sets over the shorts he had been sleeping in. When he followed the green line tot the elevator, he was whistling.

With a feeling like pushing up through topsoil, Ursula sits up straight in the bed and inhales sharply, feeling her breath catch in her throat. A few moments of panicked hyperventilation served to bring oxygen into her system and wake her up fully. Her hands went to her face, wiping off the beading droplets of cold sweat from her cheeks and her forehead. She rubbed her eyes of sleep and blinked hard, immediately realising that she had slept with her glasses on again. They were all clouded up by perspiration and heat. A dumb thing to do, but she must have been tired last night. She was surprised that she could get into REM sleep at all, if her mind was so exhausted. She shook herself, hard. This was not the time to ponder on sleeping happenings.

Ursula's eyesight may not be the best there is, her bespectacled visage speaking volumes to that fact, but she knew without a doubt that she was not in her dorm room any more. Sterile, clean surroundings, steel furniture and a cold, uncaring atmosphere. And scratchy hospital sheets. Yep. Definitely a hospital. This place looked an awful lot like the general hospital where she went that one time Bobby Dewitt tried to ollie over her and ended up landing on and breaking a bone in her wrist. Ursula sucked in a swift breath as she remembered the crack that it made, her stomach roiling for an instant. She wished she had her board right now. Or her uke. Either would be great. Both would be even better.

Her little look around the room was shortly interrupted by the television roaring to life and blaring its message at an unusually high volume, after which it turned off and remained silent. Who was that scientist-looking dude? What did he mean 'remain calm'? Had she been kidnapped? Was she going to have to participate in some kind of sick survival games? Oh dear, Urs what have you gotten yourself into? The barrage of self-directed questions stopped when she realised she had phased out a bit, and needed to redirect her attention to the message. Uniform. Green line. Level B. No, Level C. Don't screw up Urs, this could be life or death.

The television cut out, going to black and leaving her alone in the room. She rose from the bed and stripped down to her undergarments, silently thankful that she had fallen asleep so carelessly and still had them on. She hopped over into the bathroom and picked up a uniform, squeezing into it quickly to escape the chill of the circulated hospital air. The fit was tight, but snug. Black and red, with a big number one right there on the arm. She walked back out into the bedroom and jumped when the door opened, breathing still ragged and quickened. Follow the green line, Level C. Don't delay or get distracted. Easy.

Questions still ran through her mind as she jogged on the green line, passing robots by without a second thought, following the line up the stairs and around corners until she reached a cafeteria. Only a few people were here just yet, and she was not prepared to get all buddy-buddy. She took a seat nearby but not right next to everyone else, scratching at the itches left behind by the sheets and mentally running through more questions. How did they get her out of her dorm room without someone noticing? Where exactly were they? Where was her phone? How did they know her size?

“Current system readings indicate a grand total of two-hundred and seventeen subjects. All are in stable condition and are receiving their instructions as we speak.”

”And the machine?”

“Ready to start up at any time.”

”What’s your plan?”

“Have them all gather in the cafeteria, tell them what’s going on, and then ask for volunteers for the inaugural run.”

”Don’t tell me you really think it will be that easy.”

“I don’t. But I have this… sinking feeling.”

”Whatever it is, don’t let it hamper the operation. You may have convinced the other Board members to support you, but I will be maintaining a close watch on your actions with these…”

“Zoners.”

”Change that name. It’s horribly unprofessional.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The communication line is manually terminated.

_“Bitch.”

An outstretched hand fell down to cover Julian’s face as he groaned out quietly to drive away the lingering traces of the night’s deep sleep. The noise cut off as he muttered, “Just a moment longer…” in a disappointed tone. Of course with those spoken words, so did he notice the silence that had replaced the constant sound of both distant and close machinery. As his hand moved away Julian’s eyes narrowed at the sight of an unfamiliar ceiling before he sat up and scanned the unrecognizable room. ‘So it’s finally happened,’ he thought to himself as he slid himself off the bed and shivered a bit at the cold flooring under his feet. He’d tossed the idea back and forth a bit after the strange dreams had began, but after a few months he’d dismissed it. Yet here it was rearing its ugly head in reality as if to laugh at him.

‘Wonder what organization it is?’ The thought bounced around in his mind as he examined the furnishings in the room. The pieces of furniture were normal as far as he could tell and even the cabinets were empty which made Julian question their placement. The doors were disappointing since one didn’t even have a handle and looked to be remotely controlled while the other led to a bathroom. He did however use the facilities provided and grabbed the placed clothes as he left the white tiled room. By the time he’d closed the door the TV screen in the corner turned on and a recorded message began to play.

He glanced down at the uniform and scowled a bit before he turned his attention back to the television. ‘Tacky.’ He didn’t think anyone could blame him either since the clothes were basically what the doctors and nurses wore in hospital during operations with a tacky 1 printed on it. When the TV turned off at last he glanced around in thought before he decided to just get it over with. Not entirely comfortable with the thought of simply shedding his clothes, he slipped the rather baggy scrubs on over what he’d worn to bed. It didn’t exactly look nice, but it wasn’t as if he gave two shits about anyone’s opinion at the moment. A bit of grey cotton and the top of his cargo pants could be seen, but apparently it was fine as the security lock disengaged nonetheless.

It didn’t take long for him to reach the designated cafeteria given the directions had been clear and everything was clearly marked. He wasn’t all too surprised that he wasn’t the first to arrive given he hadn’t really hurried, really he’d moved more at a leisurely pace. Taking the closest seat to the entrance, he noted that he looked to be one of the older individuals here, but otherwise simply waited for things to move on ahead.

Jared took his time waking up. It wasn't that he was lazy, he just preferred his omnipotent dreams of gliding across the crimson skyline, controlling the very air with his thoughts alone. It was perhaps because of his hesitancy to wake that he was so confused when he realized that he wasn't actually in his own home. He panicked briefly, his thoughts instantly drifting to the criminal syndicates his idiot siblings had aligned themselves with, but quickly but those thoughts out of his mind when he took the time to examine the room.

It looked vaguely like a hospital room, which was odd because he didn't remember being injured or sick. However, he thought, that might be a result of being injured or sick. He entertained these thoughts for a while until the small TV in the corner flicked on a proceeded to play an automated message.

His initial reaction was minor annoyance. He didn't like this guy – his attitude seemed to imply that he was trying to project an aura of authority he simply didn't have – but he thought his best (and only) option would be to get dressed and follow instructions. Pulling on the red jumpsuit, he noticed that the door swung open as promised. He took a breath before exiting into the hallway, and instantly noticed the green line he was supposed to follow.

It didn't take long for him to reach his destination. He could tell he was in the right place from the collection of chairs and jumpsuit-clad people occupying them. Picking a chair at random, he slouched into it and began to wait for whatever would come next.

Waking up in the morning was something Miriam had always seen as lackluster and overall a let down compared to the life she was able to lead at night. She went from smoke throwing superhuman woman to someone who was literally on their deathbed. It was... it was an experience to live lives so hot and cold, so far from one another.

Well, at least now something interesting happened, because when her eyes thankfully opened, she was in a place that was completely different than the hospital she had been in before. It was still a hospital, but it was... well, it wasn't the hospital she'd been in the day before. She had entered the late stages of her aliment and had been moved to different hospitals in her sleep several times. She probably didn't have much time left now. Was this hospice? She found herself wondering why she even cared at this point. The TV flickered on, to show some nerd in glasses that began explaining the situation to her over some automated message, then promptly told her where to go. Her eyes narrowed and she promptly gave the TV screen the middle finger as it turned off. She lifted herself up on her elbows, but broke out into a coughing fit, and one of the service bots that were mentioned quickly stepped into the room to her aid. "How may I be of assistance?" it questioned. Miriam said nothing, instead she pointed to the garbage can, which the robot grabbed and brought over to her. She pulled it from the robot's grasp and promptly threw up into it. There was no real volume to it, as she had been on an IV for months now and hadn't eaten anything in a long time, but this happened every now and again.

"Command, bring water and the clothes supplied from the bathroom." she said. The robot promptly turned and walked off to do as it was told. She had been around these service bots for a long time now, and knew how to talk to them and what they could do, at least she did if these bots were anything like those in the hospital's. The robot returned with a glass of water, which she downed rather quickly in an attempt to wash out the taste of stomach acid from her mouth. When she finished, she took the scrubs. "Command, bring me a wheel chair." she said. The robot left the room, and she used this opportunity to get dressed while the robot was gone, pulling her red scrubs on while laying down, as she lacked the strength to stand. When the robot returned, she went through the daily protocol of sliding off the bed and into the chair. The robot detached her IV and other medical equipment that she was hooked up to to take with them. "Command," she began, waiting until the service bot finished moving her stuff. "Take me to the cafeteria."

---

When she was wheeled into the cafeteria, she noticed a few people that were talking and overall doing nothing notable. Everyone was in their own little world. Everyone seemed to be waiting for something or another. "Well gee guys thanks, I had no idea I had an audience waiting for me." Miriam said to no one in particular, but out loud as the service bot wheeled her into the room and to the tables. Henry, who was in his seat away from everyone else, looked up as someone actually made an attempt to be social. He slid off the chair and into his weight, shuffling over to the tables that the others were at.

"Hey-yy everyone." He said, stuttering some. These people were all much older than him. Most seemed to be in their twenties. Shit. "My name's Henry. I, uh, I've been here for a few weeks now so I know my way around if any of you get lost in this uh, maze." he said, snapping his hands and giving them the double gun fingers. It was very obvious he was not very good at this and he was a fairly awkward child. But he was brave. "You all are going to be meeting Eli soon and..." He began. "Well, lets just say that he's going to tell you something that's going to blow your minds and... well, I look forward to working with you."

Miriam crossed her arms and raised what would be her eyebrows (if she had any hair). This kid was and beta-alpha or just brave and stupid. One of the two. "Miriam's the name. You probably wont be around me long enough for you to wear it out." she said flatly. "Where the hell am I?" she said, following up on her last question. Henry simply shrugged and gave a small smile. He willed himself not to say anything about Miriam' current position. She was probably very aware of it and pointing it out would probably make it worse. "I'm pretty sure all of your questions will be answered better by Eli than by me." he finished. "So, just hold off. He should be here any moment. He's probably talking to his bosses."

Hmmmmm, maze? "Uhhhh, what kind of a maze you talking about here? Like an underground one?" Malcolm asked the kid, curious in case anyone else went to the same place he did, seeing how the uniforms seemed categorized but he didn't know in what ways. This... Eli... Henry had mentioned must have been important to. "And this Eli was it? What is he to us?" Malcolm also asked, he was going to try and get as much information as possible beforehand. However, he found himself as another younger member to be talking too. "Well..." He said to everyone, deciding to introduce himself like Henry had. "I'll follow by example, I'm Malcolm. I'm 17 and a raging alcoholic." He said sarcastically, trying to make a joke about rehab. Maybe not the best opener but it was worth a shot.

Lenora had been busy exploring the cafeteria when the obviously seriously ill girl was wheeled in. So far she hadn't found anything particularly useful or informative; she was hoping to find some quality flatware sooner rather than later. Likely it would just be forks, spoons, and butter knives, but a fork could be pretty dangerous in the right hands. Like, say, hers.

"We weren't waiting for you," Nora said bluntly, loud enough to be clearly heard, and went back to her snooping.

Bobby was paying more attention to the fat kid. He seemed more confident than anyone else, and had apparently been here for a while. He seemed pretty well adjusted. That was a positive sign.

"Hi Henry, Miriam, Malcolm," he said, smiling as non-threateningly as possible. There seemed to be an awful lot of unaccompanied minors here. "I'm Bobby. Do your parents know you're here? Or is night-time abduction the standard way people get here?" He extended his hand to Henry and Malcolm in turn, then crouched down to offer a handshake at eye level to Miriam. "Can you, uh, shake hands?" he questioned awkwardly, eyeing the various tubes and... medical things.

He straightened back up. "I think I know what's going on here. We're werewolves, right? I mean, were-things. Can you guys all turn into monsters in your dreams too?" He directed that question at the room at large.

Nora snorted and didn't bother to reply.

He was inclined to scoff at the kid’s implication that this Eli’s “revelation” would blow their minds, but then again the teenager didn’t even look old enough to drive. To be granted the chance to fight back whatever monsters wanted to rip their way into their world would have been mind-blowing he supposed had he not figured it out a few weeks after the dreams had begun. It seemed that at least a couple of the others were at least interested in what the other boy had to say, and he stood from his seat to make his way over to the slowly forming group. Suspicions and theories he had, some of which looked to be practically confirmed, but asking the people in question would likely be for the best.

“Not really, I throw lightning around,” he said in response to the older blonde as he nodded to the others around. “We’ve been split into three distinct groups,” Julian continued as he gestured towards the colored scrubs since there was at least one of each color in those around Henry. “That aside, if anyone’s followed the situation, it’s clear there’s three distinct type of attackers. Likely, three different locations where each strain resides, since I’ve only ever seen the first type in my dreams. That correct so far Henry?” While confident in being correct, the other boy did seem to have the explanations from Eli already.

Location: Unknown

@Stairdweller

Jasmine's pen freezes where it's at and she looks to the guy who has called himself "Bobby". She stands up slowly and walks over to him. "You turn into monsters in your dreams as well?" she asks, almost inaudibly. Deep within her, she is ecstatic. She has never met anyone else who has dreams like she does and now she has one, standing right in front of her, living and breathing. She tucks the pen in her ear, pushes her glasses up her nose, and grabs his hand, shaking it ferociously. "My name is Jasmine Berdeen, but most people call me Jazz. I can't believe I have met another one like me!" She stops shaking his hand and steps back. "I turn into an avian human hybrid, with a top speed, I believe, of over a thousand miles per hour. I can break the sound barrier." She sounds very proud.

She tucks her small journal into the pocket of her uniform, hoping that no one notices it. She then turns back to Bobby and says with a large smile on her face, "So what do you turn into?" She begins to examine him like her father used to do with the animals at his laboratory. "You seem to big to be an avian hybrid, but of course, looks can be deceiving considering these are in our dreams." She can hardly contain her excitement. "I just can't believe there's another one. There could possibly be more. Tell me, what can you do in your dreams?"

@ScarlettWaters16

After getting the answers he needed from Henry (I'm just gonna say this already happened) Malcolm overheard someone quite ecstatic on meeting someone else with the same abilities, poking at his curiosity a little, so he decided to join. He heard the entire conversation thus far. "I think we all turn different in these... dreams." Malcolm said, friendly as possible. "But judging by your guys uniforms, I think it's much different to mine. Like that guy said over there-" He began to explain pointing to Julian. "These suits represent our category... one way or another. Sounds like you all turn into animals of some sort? Mine is way different, it's more mechanical and... well let's just keep it there." Malcolm said hoping he can get more conversation out of the two.

Jared noticed a group of other people discussing the colours of their jumpsuits and what they apparently could all do in their dreams. He hadn't really considered the importance of his dream abilities, but he guessed it would make sense for them all to be linked through them. Leaning towards them, he overhead one guy mentioning how each colour must represent their category, before claiming that he became a mechanical hybrid in his dreams.
"I don't mean to interrupt, but I think this guy has a point." He said, trying to get their attention.
"I mean, my jumpsuit's red and I dont really transform at all on my dreams. I'm able to fly and seem to have some degree of control of air currents, but that's about it. I have to say, I feel a bit left out."

"Again, people, I'm gonna let Eli explain everything. All I know is that SOMEONE is good at observing their surroundings." Henry said motioning with his hands and a smile on his face, and then clapped his hands together. "Very good, no spoilers by me though... But uh, nice to meet you all."

"And SOMEONE doesnt know what a joke is." Miriam interjected, her eyes narrowing at Lenora. Was this girl for real? Henry cleared his throat, and jumped a little when Bobby was in front of him, but quickly realizing he was friendly, Henry shook his hand. Miriam looked up to Bobby with a furrowed eyebrow at first, intent on being resilient, but signed and reached a shaky hand up to meet his. "To uh, answer your question, I dont turn into a werewolf. I uh... well I guess you all will see that if you go REM. You might've seen me around though. I apologize if I ever chased you." Henry said, giving an awkward laugh. Oh hell he would have a lot of explaining to do if they saw his REM form and had seen him before, ravaging the wildlife population.

He listened momentarily to the other's conversation. "I feel bad for you guys. Your REM's seem boring as hell. But lightning man, you're on track. We have a terrible trio of creatures we have to deal with and each of us come from one of those places. He looked over to Malcom. "Everyone keeps asking, so I'll say it. I turn into a ten ton, two story tall, fire breathing monster that looks like a cross between King Kong and a Tyrannosaurus Rex with the resilience of a tank and rhinoceros and strength of the incredible Hulk scaled up to the size of an elephant." he said, crossing his arms. He looked over to Jared, and shrugged. "Hey man, dont feel too bad. You're not having to constantly kill things to quell a hunger that never goes away. You can actually control yourself pretty well."

Waking up with a groan, Cara sat up to find herself in an unfamiliar room, rather than her apartment bedroom. Looking around, she found the room did not look unlike that of a hospital, with the bed she was currently sitting on being in the corner, with a desk in the opposite corner, with a door next to it. There was a TV in the upper corner of the room, as well as another door at the end of her bed that did not seem to have a handle. Looking herself over, Cara found she still had the clothes she had fallen asleep in the previous night, and she did not seem to be physically injured in any way.

Standing up, Cara muttered, “I want to assume the worst, but I don’t seem to be injured, so, why exactly am I here?”

Looking inside the door next to the desk, Cara found it housed a bathroom, with some uniforms inside it. Before she could investigate further, she heard the TV in the other room turn itself on and begin playing something. Moving back into the other room, Cara stopped for a moment to listen to what it was playing.

“This still doesn’t seem to explain what’s going on here.” Cara said as she watched.

After listening to the message, Cara went back into the bathroom and picked up the uniforms, investigating them further. She found they were black uniforms with a white 3 on the shoulder. Putting one on, she stepped out of the bathroom, moving in front of the door near the bed she woke up in. The door slid open, leading into a hallway. Heading out of the room she woke up in, Cara began to follow the green line as instructed, keeping a brisk pace, passing various humanoid service bots as she went. Heading down some stairs, Cara eventually found herself at the cafeteria, as the message had promised. Looking around, she saw that many people were already here, some of which seemed to be in a small group.

“Seems I’m a bit late to the party.” Cara said, as she moved to sit down at one of the tables.

"Uuuuuuuhhwhat the fuck?" Sierra Alvarez's eyelids fluttered open and she moaned as a female voice over the intercom woke her up. Her head buzzed and the fluorescent light clawed at her eyes. She was more than a little hung over. She got out of bed slowly, shielding her eyes from the light. 'Where the fuck am I?' she thought. Last she had remembered, she was on parole. This place looked like a prison. Minus the tv, that is; it must be a new way to pacify the weak-minded. The obvious answer was that she had gotten a disorderly conduct. Again. She shrugged her shoulders and walked over to the bathroom and walked in. That was a nice touch.

The more dressed Sierra became, the more confused she became. These were nothing like prison smocks. They were much too clean and they actually fit right. And last night she hadn't been drinking, she thought. Wait...what was she doing last night? She couldn't remember. 'Must be the hangover'. She grabbed a pair of sunglasses sitting on the bathroom sink. They were so thoughtful. She got dressed and left the cell through a door. Another nice touch.

Upon entering the hallway, Sierra realized that this couldn't be a prison. The walls were too clean and the doors weren't barred. She passed by a few faceless automatons who bid her good day. They asked if she needed help with anything. She told them to go fuck themselves. If this wasn't a prison, Sierra wasn't going to behave. If this was a prison, well, Sierra still wasn't going to behave. She noticed a few other people making their way towards wherever she was going. She didn't speak and half-followed them to find her way. Her head was throbbing and she couldn't think. 'Fucking hangover.'

Upon entering the cafeteria, Sierra saw a room full of others. Some wore jumpsuits a different color than hers, and some were the same. She wondered if that had anything to do with what crime they had committed. She was about to sit down at a table far from the others, but decided instead that her head hurt and she needed Advil. She walked up to a group of other inmates. Maybe they'd know what's going on.

"Anybody here know where I can get some Advil and a coffee?" Sierra grumbled half-audibly "My head really hurts."

@ScarlettWaters16



"There doesn't seem to be any medicine available," Nora answered the newcomer. "I found some flatware, but not much else." She patted the pocket of her black scrubs.

Bobby's smile widened a fraction. He flicked his eyes up and down, assessing the young woman who had excitedly asked him about his dreams. "Hi, Jazz," he said. "I don't know what to call the thing I turn into. Did you ever see that documentary series, Monsters of the Eocene? It kinda looks like one of the one from the Asia episode. I can't remember what they called it, I think it had a dude's name in it?"

He listened politely to the rest of the conversation, until Henry explained what his other form looked like.

"Hell, that was you? I had to run away from you four damn times. Not cool, man."