Facility 1.A
My muscles felt stiff when I came to, although that wasn't too surprising considering I woke up in a metal box. They seemed to crack slightly as I got myself upright, and my entire body felt a bit weak as I moved over to the only piece of furniture in the room, a small table. As I leaned against it for support, I took a cursory glance around the room. Other than the box and the table, it didn't seem like there was anything too important in the pristine white room.
There was one slight problem with the room's cleanliness, and that was the black paint messily covering the far wall. It did not seem as if there was anything to it, although with how badly I was feeling I could not be certain whether or not it was just my vision going. Turning away from the paint, I instead let out a small gasp as my eyes saw what looked like a mirror built into the wall. I seized up the moment I saw into the reflective glass, because the fur I saw looking back at me was a complete stranger.
"What in the...?" I asked out loud, and with it any hopes that I just had poor timing looking through a window were dashed.
It seemed I was a lion, and a rather old one too, if the patches of gray fur and wrinkled arms were of any indication. Sharp, gray eyes gazed back at me, still looking calm despite my racing mind. There were still parts of my mane and face that shined with luxurious golden fur, but it would not have surprised me if it turned out I would lose all of them in a few years. As far as clothing went, I wore a gray tuxedo, one that seemed to just display a rather elderly, but wise, persona.
The only part of me that seemed to clash was the heavy bracelet on my left arm, designed to look almost like a watch. Turning it over, there were no clasps, and any chance at forcing the thing off was impossible. On the front, four blue zeroes, split into two pairs, were all that were displayed to me. Not a single button in sight.
But as soon as I took in my physical appearance, another horrible thought crept into my mind. Seeing myself in the mirror was enough for me to realize that, indeed, I could not remember a single detail of my identity. No matter how far or how recent I thought back, my thoughts were heavily clouded with fog. Even something as simple as my name, age, and family eluded me.
I felt my paw slide against something on the desk, and it turned out to be a piece of paper. The writing was blurry to my eyes, and it was not until I pulled it up close that I could read its contents.
Seek your past, Anton Brandt.
Well, it seemed that was one mystery solved. Although it did raise an unsettling concern. Someone had prepared this, and knew I wouldn't remember my name. So then, who was the one who brought me here, and are they responsible for my current amnesia? I supposed, if it were any consolation, that my reasoning skills did not seem to be gone, regardless of my amnesia and age. That was something to be happy about.
It was enough to make me draw a second conclusion. Considering I could not read the paper at all, it was pretty simple to deduce my eyesight was going.
"And if that's the case... Perhaps this blob of paint is actually..."
With slow, but steady steps, I made my way over to the black paint. Much like I had guessed, it too was a message, one that was far more cryptic.
Would you like to fix your mistakes?
Simply reading the words caused me to stumble backwards, a sharp pain shooting through my forehead. Whatever the words meant, I did not like them. Could they be one of the keys to regaining my memory? If my physical reactions meant anything, the answer was likely to be yes. I turned away immediately; hopefully the less I saw of the message the better. Although without anything else to look at in the room, I wondered what exactly I was supposed to do. Was someone going to come get me? Or would I simply be trapped in this room until I died of starvation.
It was like someone had read my mind, as the groaning of ungracefully moving metal hit my ears with a loud screech. Next to the desk, a door was opening. It was one I was more than happy to take, because staying in this room was something I was already quickly growing tired of.
The door led me to a cylindrical room, in which there was a sight that made me pause. Coming out of four other doors, all spaced evenly apart, were four other furs. My eyesight made them little more than a blur from this distance, so slowly, I walked towards the center of the room. They quickly came into focus: A wolf, a rabbit, a badger, and a horse.
The wolf seemed rather cautious, which was probably for the best. The rabbit had no such reservations, with a wide smile plastered on her face, while the badger's balled up paws made him look like he was ready to punch someone. The horse, meanwhile, did not seem to be too forward about her emotions, calmly eying each of the others and myself. We simply stood in silence for a few moments, until the badger spoke up first.
"So what the fuck's going on here, huh? Who the hell are you people?"
It was quite the vulgar way to go about it, but I could certainly understand the sentiment. Although it did not seem quite right for him to try and press information out of us, when it was unlikely for him to respond in kind. Naturally, I spoke up.
"I would say it is more polite if you were to introduce yourself first, if you are planning on asking us for all our names," I told the badger, eying him for a reaction.
At the very least, it failed to settle his nerves. Instead, he scowled at me, and probably felt like he wanted to rip my face off, or something like that. Still, I was relieved to hear a response come from him almost immediately.
"Tch, fine. My name's Damon Grants. What about you, gramps?"
I had a feeling Damon would not be the most pleasant person to talk to. But at the same time he had answered, and I would not be rude enough to ignore his question.
"Ah, my name is Anton Brandt. Feel free to call me whatever you like."
Up next was the rabbit, who was practically jumping with energy. She made a big show of waving her hands, trying to draw all attention to her, no doubt.
"Okay, so, my name's Elizabeth Brown, but cause that's so long, you can just call me Liz! It's a pleasure to meet you all!"
Her voice was filled with just as much emotion and energy as her actions were. It was befitting, in a way, I supposed. The wolf didn't seem any less cautious than before, so I skipped over him to take a look at the mare beside him. She simply looked back at me with an icy gaze, and let out a little grunt of annoyance. Perhaps she would be unpleasant to talk to as well.
"I'm Sandra Lewis. It's a pleasure."
It was cordial enough. That said, she also did not seem to be that trustful of us either, but unlike the badger, did not want to show it. Still, with all of them down, all that left was the wolf, who only grew more nervous as all eyes fell upon him. He took a step back with his tail drooped low to the ground as he struggled to introduce himself.
"Uh, I'm Richard Lyte... I think."
It was a perplexing statement, although I had a feeling I knew what he meant instantly. We were all likely told our names via a piece of paper, but who knew for certain if they could be trusted with our amnesia? It was a guess, but one that made sense. Still, in case anyone else had yet to figure it out, I decided to push it out into the open.
"You... think? What do you mean?"
Richard hesitated. Obviously, admitting he did not recall anything about himself would put him in a vulnerable situation. At least, that would probably be how he viewed the situation. He could not know the rest of us had it as well, assuming my guess was true. Still, it was enough to make sure that the topic was brought up for everyone.
"Well... I'm not really sure of anything about myself. The only reason I knew my name was because of that sheet I found in the room I woke up in. So whether or not that really is my name..."
So I was right after all. A cursory glance to the remaining three furs told me everything I needed to know about them as well. It was not just something that affected Richard or me. No, it affected us all. I did not have time to voice my conclusion, however, as a loud shriek from Elizabeth caused all eyes to fall on her. Quickly, she spoke.
"You mean, you can't remember anything either? Oh wow, what a relief! For a moment there, I thought I was gonna be the only one here who was drawing a total blank."
And then there were two. Now was as good a time as any to throw my hat into the ring as well.
"Well, it's good to know my own amnesia isn't merely forgetfulness from age. Am I correct in assuming you both don't recall anything either, Damon, Sandra?"
They gave brief nods, and that was that. Elizabeth spoke up almost immediately afterward.
"So we all have amnesia... I doubt anyone knows exactly why we're here then?"
Why we were here... Yes, it was a fascinating question. And the only hints we had were...
"The graffiti in the room I woke up in mentioned something about fixing our mistakes," Sandra spoke up, "perhaps that should be where we start."
"I also assume we're meant to try and remember who we are," I added in, "let us not forget the paper on the desk. It said 'seek your past', after all, at least if everyone here had their room be setup the same as mine."
Two points, and there did not seem to be an easy answer to the riddles the both of them brought up. Of course, any chance we had to think about it was dispelled by Damon shouting.
"And how the hell are we supposed to do that? Do they expect us to just sit around until our memory comes back like magic? What a load."
With his statement, Damon began to scour the floor for something, anything that could get us out. After all, the room we were in was a perfect cylinder, and the only exits were to the 5 rooms the others and I had woken up in. In other words, if there was a way out, it would have to be hidden from view. Leaving Damon and Sandra to search the floor, Richard, Elizabeth and I went to the walls. Much like the shape of the room, the walls were made of flawless concrete, completely smooth all 360 degrees around the room.
Naturally, we found nothing. And a simple glance at Damon and Sandra confirmed their luck was just as good as ours. Always with a thought on his mind, Damon broke the silence.
"There's fucking nothing in here! What the hell are we supposed to do!?"
He was definitely going to be a handful. I hoped that I would never end up alone with him. Still, if he was good for anything, it was moving us forward. Almost as if his voice were a cue, the ground began to shake. It felt as if I were being pushed downward powerfully, and within moments I tumbled to the floor. As I lay there, I knew immediately what was going on. The floor we were on was, in fact, an elevator, moving us all upward at a breakneck pace.
The elevator moved for around a minute before I heard a loud screeching noise. It seemed we were rapidly approaching our destination, and it was not long until I could see what it was. Three doors came into my vision, and the elevator was going to stop at them at the rate we were slowing down. As expected, the floor sat flush with the three doors when the screeching stopped, leaving us with only three doors rather than the five we had started out with.
Going around the room clockwise, there were three lights on the top of each door. The first was red, followed in turn by green and blue. On both the red and blue doors, two black squares decorated the front, while there was only one on the green door. Five panels, five furs, and one of the colors on the doors matched the color of the digits on my bracelet. It was pretty obvious to see where it was going. A shame that some people were having trouble grasping the concept. In this case, it was Elizabeth.
"What's up with these doors? Do you guys think we can open them? I mean, I guess we can, otherwise we couldn't go anywhere, but how?"
"It's simple, really," I answered, "take a look at your bracelets. Mine is blue, and matches one of the door's colors. I bet yours does as well, Elizabeth. That will tell us which door each of us is going through."
Elizabeth let out a small giggle after hearing my response, giving herself a little tap on the head as she awkwardly smiled.
"Oh... Heh, I guess you're right, Anton! Mine's red, so I'll be going through the red door. But how are we opening them, exactly?"
This time, it was Sandra's turn to answer.
"The panels. Anton's bracelet and mine are blue, and there are two black panels on the wall. They probably respond to a hand print, or perhaps simple proximity to the bracelet. Once both panels are active, the door should open. In theory, at least."
Elizabeth had another eureka moment, and quickly flung her head back and forth between Damon and Richard.
"Alright, so which one of you is my partner for the room? Richard? Damon? Come on, tell me!"
I decided to leave it to them to figure out where they were headed, while Sandra and I moved over to the blue door. I did not have a clue what to make of her, so in some ways I was relieved that I was partnered up with her. At least now I could have a chance to learn something about her. But that could wait until another, far simpler mystery would solve itself for us. Namely...
What awaited us on the other side of this door?