Out in the Open
X-ExperimentsIndex:
(DH) – Daehyun speaking
(L) – Myungsoo speaking
(S) – Sungyeol speaking
(YA) – Yoona speaking
(J) – Jessica speaking
(JE) – Jieun speaking
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“There’s so much stone here… Can we see something else for a change?” (JE) As nice as it was to be free, they had been walking in this cavern for hours now. They didn’t really know about time, but it was still a fairly long time to be walking. It didn’t help that they had to stop every now and then to rest up a bit.
“I don’t know… Let’s see how far we have to go.” (DH) Daehyun pulled out his device before opening up the map. He let out a small sigh when he noticed that they haven’t really made much progress on where they’re supposed to go, but at least they were getting somewhere. Though, at the pace that they were going, it looks like it might take a few days to get to their current destination. “It’ll be a while before we get there…” (DH)
“Um… Let’s talk about stuff then!” (YA)
“Like what?” (S) The group went silent as thoughts began to roam around. What, exactly, was there to talk about? There was so much to talk about and yet, nothing seemed to come to any of them. It was rather difficult to come up with anything, especially since they knew little to nothing outside the laboratory.
“Hey… Let’s talk about the outside world. What do you guys think will be out there?” (DH) Each person took a moment to think about Daehyun’s question. Their imaginations began to roam free, pulling together all sorts of ideas and possibilities of what the world would be like.
“I don’t know, but… I hope there’s more than just this stone stuff.” (JE) A few of them chuckled a bit while the remainder smiled. Jieun did smile as well, but she truly did hope that there was more than just stone. They have been into virtual worlds where quite a number of environments would show up, but the majority of the environments were all either made of metal or it was just simply a smooth, white surface.
“I think there will be lots of colors. More than just the gray and blacks we’ve seen. Like the um… the colors from the water in the glass that they had.” (J) Jessica adjusted her scrolls a bit, trying to imagine a world full of color. She had seen purples, yellows, greens, and even reds, but all of that had been in liquid form. Just being able to see colors on different things would make all of this walking so very worth it.
“Really? My head hurts just thinking about it… I like black.” (L)
“I think… the things we’ve seen in the virtual areas, like the mountains and stuff, I think those will have different colors.” (DH) Some of the others nodded, some merely continued to listen, and one or two of them shook their head in disagreement. Daehyun, however, believed that his words were true. After all, the cloth that the scientists wore weren’t all the same color. In fact, sometimes the cloth would change, meaning that there was more than just one kind of cloth for everyone. “I’m certain of it! We’ll be able to change out of this cloth and wear better cloth. What about everyone else?” (DH)
“I… think it’ll be always dark. I mean… we’re out of the lab and now, we’re in an even darker place.” (S) The happy mood seemed to have decreased from this statement. It was sadly true. Freedom was a good feeling to have, but it was a little disappointing to see that it was always dark out here. In fact, the laboratory at least had some sort of way to light the area. The only source of light that the group had was Bartholomew’s eyes.
“Well, I bet there will be light that will always shine no matter what.” (YA)
“Now you’re using too much imagination! Like what do you expect, a giant light bulb above us always shining? That’s impossible! How would they be able to keep that lit?” (L) Myungsoo shook his head at the idea, but Yoona was determined that something like that existed. After all, they didn’t even know what stone was until they left the laboratory. Who knows what else might be out there… assuming that the outside world was more than just this stone place.
“Do you think we’ll have to fight more robots? I mean… we do have weapons to use.” (S) Each person looked at the weapon that they were holding before a sort of disappointed look came onto their faces. Fighting wasn’t exactly something they enjoyed very much, especially since they’ve had to do it their entire lives. Sure, they were used to it, but that didn’t mean that they enjoyed it.
“Maybe… but hey. We didn’t have to always fight, so maybe we’ll find a place where we can be safe and happy.” (DH) The idea of a safe place was what kept Daehyun going. Sure, they might have to fight to get to that safe place, but if it existed, then all of the fighting that they might have to do would definitely be worth it.
As the group continued their chat with one another, Bartholomew sat up a bit as it noticed something. In order to get its master’s attention, Bartholomew lightly tapped the top of Daehyun’s head before projecting what it could see and hear into Daehyun’s mind. This could only be done because they were connected mentally, though Daehyun didn’t realize this.
Seeing and hearing what Bartholomew could sense, he took a moment to examine what was sent to him before he turned to the group. He quickly put a finger up to his lips, which had everyone quiet down before the lights from Bartholomew’s eyes went out. Whenever anyone spoke, they spoke in a quiet, hushed tone to avoid getting caught by whatever was there. “What is it?” (L)
“I think… there’s guards up ahead.” (DH)
“The map said that this place is connected with a number of other places, so um… maybe they’re using one of these places.” (J) Well, that was a fairly high possibility. Since the lab and this place is connected, it shouldn’t be surprised that they would know of this place.
“So? What should we do?” (YA) Daehyun took a moment to think, as the group quietly got closer. Since they were huddled close together, this made things easier for them to speak quietly without worrying too much about getting heard. Since they were also moving slowly, this allowed them to progress without having to worry too much about tripping over something. Taking this into account, Daehyun was trying to formulate a plan.
“We should stay low and see how many people there are. Hey… I see a light up ahead.” (DH) As the group approached the light, they were definitely certain that they were above the group of people that Bartholomew had spotted earlier. Peeking through the small holes or cracks in the floors and walls, the group watched as the group down below moved about here and there. From the looks of it, it seemed like they were transporting stuff, but they couldn’t exactly see what it was. Though, regardless, as long as they remained out of sight, they shouldn’t have to do any fighting. “I think we can just sneak away.” (DH)
“Are you kidding me? We should get them for what they did to us.” (L) Daehyun looked at Myungsoo, whom seemed to be quite focused on the group below. As nice as revenge sounded, these people weren’t the ones they should be after. If anything, they should be after the people with the long white coats instead.
“Let’s wait. The white coat people should be our targets, not them.” (DH) Myungsoo thought on it for a moment, but Daehyun did have a point. With a small nod, the group each gave one last glance at the group below before they began walking once more.
Daehyun was rather glad that they were able to get away rather easily. If they had given away the fact that they had gotten free, they might end up being sent back. Sure, they could beat up robots in a virtual world, but unlike in those tests, if they died, then it would be a permanent death. Or at least… that’s what they were constantly being told.
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“Why is this taking so long?! I’m getting sick and tired of seeing the same damn thing! Are we even making any progress at all?!” (L) Daehyun pulled out his map device yet again before looking at it. It looks like they were already halfway to their destination, but it had taken up quite a number of hours to do it. Myungsoo quickly walked up to Daehyun before looking down at the map. He let out a small groan as he rubbed the back of his head out of frustration. “Can’t this place change at all?” (L)
“We’re not in a test. It won’t change just like that… I think.” (DH)
“Just calm down. At least we’re making some sort of progress. This is much easier to do than all those tests we’ve been doing for so long.” (J) Myungsoo mumbled to himself as he folded his arms. Jessica would have probably slapped Myungsoo’s arm in an attempt to get him to behave a little better, but she understood how he was feeling. She was also getting tired of being here and she wasn’t sure how long it would be before everyone else began feeling restless also. “I wonder if there’s any way to get there faster…” (J)
“This is the shortest way on the map though.” (DH)
“I know, but-” (J) The ground beneath her foot instantly gave out, causing her to shriek in panic. Luckily, Daehyun and Jieun were close enough to pull her away from the hole. When everyone was okay and Jessica had calmed down, Daehyun carefully moved towards the hole before looking inside. Bartholomew mimicked Daehyun’s actions, his light lighting up as far into the hole as it possibly could.
“Wooow… the ground down there is shiny.” (DH)
“Shiny? Like metal?” (JE) Well, she didn’t know why she instantly thought of metal, but she was hoping that it wasn’t another laboratory. Jieun moved close to the hole as well before crouching down. Peering inside, she stared for a moment before shaking her head. “That’s not metal… That looks like water.” (JE)
“Water? Why’s water down there? Shouldn’t it be in a glass thing?” (DH)
“Maybe they keep the water there.” (YA)
“But it looks dirty… The water at the lab was clear.” (S) It was their first time seeing a natural, underground lake, so could they help that they were so fascinated by it? Sure, they didn’t know what it was, but at least they were experiencing new things here and there.
“How do we get across then? There’s a hole in the floor.” (L) The group looked up a bit before realizing just how big of a hole was made. Getting up to his feet, Daehyun took a moment to survey the area. Sadly, no matter where he looked, it didn’t seem like there was any other way around or out. He didn’t even recall seeing anything earlier, so this was a bit of a problem.
“I don’t know… Maybe we can jump across?” (DH)
“I don’t think any of us can jump that far... We’d just fall into the water.” (YA) As they each tried to come up with something, Daehyun remained quiet as he crouched down once more. Contemplating their next move, Daehyun was about to suggest that they had back, but Bartholomew had hopped down from Daehyun’s shoulder before walking up to the edge. Everyone went quiet as they watched the little guy, wondering what he was going to do. “Are you controlling it?” (YA)
“Um… no… It’s moving on its own.” (DH) Bartholomew lay on the ground before its arms shot forward, surprising the entire group. As its claws dug into the opposite floor, platforms of sorts suddenly spring from its arms before connecting its arms together. Once everything seemed to be complete, Bartholomew remained motionless as it waited for its companions to cross. “Woooah… Bartholomew made a way for us to cross!” (DH)
“But it’s so small… What if it breaks?” (J)
“Then we’ll go one at a time.” (DH) Daehyun was the first to test out the way across as he carefully set his foot onto the platforms. He applied a bit of pressure here and there before he slowly began to cross. Bartholomew didn’t even seem to budge from the weight, which let Daehyun confidently, yet carefully, cross with little to no problems.
Once on the other side, Daehyun turned around as he grinned and motioned for the others to follow suit. They each looked at once another, a bit uncertain about this solution, but they followed Daehyun’s actions. One by one, the group was able to cross without too much worry about Bartholomew’s platforms collapsing underneath them. When everyone was safely on the other side, Bartholomew jumped forward, using his arms to pull itself forward before landing safely on the other side. Retracting its arms, Bartholomew looked up at the group for a moment before climbing up Daehyun’s body and sitting on his shoulder. Daehyun grinned happily as he reached up and lightly patted the top of Bartholomew’s head. “You’re so awesome!” (DH)
“I want one. I wonder why you got Bartholomew.” (JE)
“Maybe you can get one too. There has to be more, right?” (DH) It seemed like a plausible idea. If there are other people that don’t work for the laboratory, then there has to also be more little people like Bartholomew. They just had to keep hoping that they’ll be able to find more.
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“Is there really… no way out?” (YA) After all of that walking and the few dangers that they got past, the group now found themselves staring at a dead end. Regardless of where everyone looked, there didn’t seem to be any sort of path that would lead anywhere else. “The map told us to go this way, right?” (YA)
“Yes, but… it doesn’t make any sense.” (J) As the group began talking amongst one another to figure out where to go, Yoona walked up to the wall before pondering for a moment. It didn’t make sense for whoever it was to tell them to follow the map if it only ended up leading to something like this. No… there had to be more to it than that. Reaching forward, Yoona pursed her lips a bit and furrowed her eyebrows as she touched the stonewall.
Well, she would have succeeded too, but instead of coming into contact with something solid, her hand slipped through as if there wasn’t anything there at all. Yoona gasped, quickly causing everyone else to quiet down as they looked to see what the problem was. Pulling her hand back out, Yoona examined it for a moment before repeating what she had done before. This time, everyone else came up to see what was happening before amazement seemed to currently become the theme for everyone. “Wow! How are you doing that?” (DH)
“I don’t know. I just put my hand through it!” (YA) Curiosity and amazement outweighed any sort of dangers that could have been present as the rest of the group did the same thing. While most of them did that, however, Daehyun wondered if they could pass through it to get to their destination.
“Hey. Let’s see if we can fully go through it.” (DH)
“Okay!” (YA) In that instant, Yoona stepped through and disappeared behind the wall. They each looked at one another; worried that Yoona could have probably been eaten up or something. However, Yoona’s voice soon assured them that that wasn’t the case. “Woooow! You guys should come out here! I was right about the ball of light!” (YA)
With a few glances exchanged between one another, they each stepped through the wall with little care of any potential dangers. In that instant, awe swept over the group as they found themselves in a new area full of vibrant colors. There were greens, dark browns, pinks, blues, and even a few colors they hadn’t seen before. There were textures that they hadn’t seen or felt. There were sounds that were completely foreign to them. Although they didn’t know where they were, they had just stumbled upon a forest.
“Wooow… This place is… much more beautiful than I could have imagined.” (DH) It was a huge difference between the laboratory and the stone-like area that they had just emerged from. It was just a lot to take in and the majority of the group didn’t necessarily know how to react to it all. Still… the scenery was definitely beautiful and it would have been nice to stop and take the time to just take it all in without feeling too overwhelmed.
“What do you think this is?” (L) Daehyun turned back around as he watched Myungsoo touch the nearest brown thing near them. Myungsoo furrowed his eyebrows a bit, feeling the rough texture of the brown object as he thought for a moment. “It’s not smooth like metal. It’s very rough and… uh… jagged?” (L)
“Maybe someone will tell us when we reach our destination.” (J)
“I hope so. I hate not knowing things.” (L)
A few more minutes of standing there allowed the group to soak in everything before pulling out their map once more. Huddling around one device, they stared at it for a moment as Jessica began explaining their current location and where they were headed. “It shouldn’t be too far now. If we can make it past this green area, then we’ll be met with a brown area and then that’s our destination.” (J)
“So many brown areas… Can’t we stay in this green area?” (JE) Daehyun opened his mouth to say something, but he quickly closed it when he realized that he didn’t really have any sort of reason as to why they couldn’t stay here. She did have a point. Since they were free now, they didn’t really have to follow what anyone told them to do. At the same time, he felt like they needed to go wherever it was these people were telling them to go.
“Maybe we can come back after we finish.” (DH) Jieun thought on it for a moment before nodding. The others seemed to be a little reluctant at first, but they each nodded in agreement as well. Daehyun grinned as he looked around at everyone before turning towards the direction that they were supposed to head towards. “Alright. Let’s get going then.” (DH)
With everything ready, the group began progressing forward. They continued to look around, continuously awestruck by the sheer beauty of the area around them. Of course, that wasn’t exactly all that this area had to offer. When they heard the sound of rustling nearby, Sungyeol jumped a bit as he unintentionally hid behind Myungsoo. Myungsoo looked at Sungyeol with a confused look before looking over to where the rustling started up again. “What? I don’t think they have machines that small.” (L)
“It still scared me…” (S)
“I’ll go check it out!” (YA) With a trace of hesitation, Yoona ran up to where the source of the rustling was coming from. Crouching down a bit, Yoona separated the greenery before falling back a bit as something jumped past her and began running away. Watching it run off to the next set of greenery, Yoona noticed that the little thing was furry, brown, had four things protruding from its head. “Wow… What’s that thing?” (YA)
“Maybe someone will tell us when we get there.” (DH) Yoona looked up at Daehyun, noticing the hand that was being held out to him. Reaching up, Yoona took a firm hold of it before being pulled up to her feet. With a smile, she looked at the others as they walked up to her.
“Let’s get going then!” (YA)
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“This isn’t stone too, right?” (L) Myungsoo kicked at the ground, a bit confused by the sudden change from green to brown. Of course, the ground below didn’t seem to be as firm or as hard as the stone that they had experienced not too long ago. Instead, it seemed similar to dust, especially after he had kicked at it.
“I don’t think so. But look at those mountains! Those are mountains, right? They’re not as white as the ones in the tests.” (DH) Daehyun couldn’t help but show his excitement over knowing what something may be. After not knowing anything out in this world besides the stone that they passed, it was a bit of fresh air to know what mountains were.
“Oh… but then wouldn’t the place we passed be a forest?” (J) Daehyun thought for a moment as he looked at greenery. That was, technically, true. Now that he was thinking of it, it did look like the forest that they usually fought in. The only difference that had thrown him off was the wide variety of colors that were splattered all over the area and the fact that he didn’t know the individual names for each object.
“I guess you’re right!” (DH)
“Hey! Is that where we have to go?” (L) Daehyun turned back around before looking to wherever Myungsoo was pointing at. At first, all he saw were what he had assumed were the mountains. However, he soon saw something glowing in an opening inside of the mountains themselves. The opening seemed to be relatively small, but since they weren’t too far from where they had to go, they could just barely see it.
“I think so… Let’s check it out.” (DH)
After walking for a few more minutes, they realized that they were actually much more higher up than they had anticipated. As soon as they had started moving downwards, the opening that they had seen had grown relatively tall. By the time they were standing underneath the entrance, they were rather amazed by how short they felt. “Wow! It’s so big!” (DH)
“Why is there a hole so big?” (S)
“Maybe big people use it.” (L)
“Big people?! Wow! I hope there really are big people like that!” (DH) Daehyun held an amazed look on his face as he continued to look around at the entrance. Despite the fact that the mountain just had more stone, there were crystals that seemed to light up the area alongside the big ball of light above them. “Let’s go! I wanna see the big people!” (DH)
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“They’re not big people at all…” (DH)
“What is this place? There’s a lot of rooms and people here. Are they free too?” (JE) Daehyun merely shrugged as he continued to pout in disappointment. After being met with a large entrance like that, it was fairly disappointing to see normal sized people at their destination.
Though… it was also a little confusing as to why they were told to come here. Since they’ve made it to where they need to be, they didn’t exactly know what they were supposed to be looking for now. So, the only thing that they could do at that moment was to look around and experience what it was like to be around other people who were also free.
“Can we look around?” (YA)
“I think we can… but let’s stay together just in case we get attacked.” (DH) With a nod from each person, the group began to walk down one of the ‘hallways’ that were provided. Everyone looked around in awe, watching as people went about their lives with little to no care about their presence in their area. The ‘rooms’ here were very tall compared to how tall their rooms had been. The main difference was that there weren’t any sort of screens that blocked the entranceway. Instead, there were smaller walls that seemed to somehow open up whenever a person used it.
Then, there were even weird and strange things that they passed by. There were little rooms that seemed to have a bed of sorts with strange objects inside of them. None of the group knew what they were and despite their curiosity, they weren’t necessarily certain if it would be alright to go up to the small rooms to see what they were. They hadn’t been allowed to touch the glasses filled with liquids back at the laboratory, so why would they be allowed to touch anything here?
“Look mommy! Their clothes are really weird.”
“Shush now! Don’t be rude.” The group merely glanced at the little person as her and the person called ‘mommy’ continued to walk on. A few of them glanced up at Bartholomew before looking back at the little person. The differences were very obvious, especially since the little person didn’t look anything like Bartholomew whatsoever.
“What are clothes?” (L)
“Maybe it’s the cloth we have. I think I heard the scientist’s call these clothes before.” (J) The group each looked at their own clothing before looking at what everyone else was wearing. Their clothes consisted of a white t-shirt, white mid-thigh shorts, and white shoes. However, when they compared their clothes to everyone else, there was a huge variety of clothing and colors. There were even other things that the people were wearing that made no sense to the group.
“Let’s just keep going…” (DH)
After walking around for about ten minutes, the group came to a stop at some sort of water area with a large group of people around them. It didn’t look anything like the pool of water back at the stony area. Instead, it was flying upwards before falling back down into a smaller and more circular body of water. It was rather strange to them, but at the same time, they were wondering how it was doing that. So… they did the only thing that they could to figure out how it worked.
“It’s too tall! I can’t reach it.” (DH) Myungsoo furrowed his eyebrows a bit as he stepped into the water before walking up to the part that was flying upwards. He reached up in an attempt to reach the tube-like device, but he couldn’t reach it either. “Maybe we can climb up on this smaller stone circle.” (DH)
“Really? Okay. Let’s try it. Uh… how do we do that?” (L) Both men looked at the upper part of the circular part as they each attempted to climb on top. It was a little awkward at first, but somehow, they ended up managing to climb on top of the stone. Crouching down and ignoring the water spraying at their faces, Daehyun poked at the hole, causing the water to deflect and spray elsewhere.
“Woah! It’s flying in different places now!” (DH)
“Lemme try!” (L) Daehyun moved his hand and was instead replaced by Myungsoo’s hand. Both men found themselves laughing as they constantly switched between their hands, watching as the water moved all over the place. Could they help it? It was the first time they’ve seen something like this.
“You there! Get down this instant!” Daehyun and Myungsoo both looked over at someone whom was currently standing by the rest of the group. He was wearing weird, shiny clothes and he was holding a weapon of some kind. Moving their hands away from the tube, the two quietly climbed down from where they were before standing where they had landed. The person seemed to be getting a bit impatient though as he pointed towards the ground beneath him. “Come here right now.”
Daehyun and Myungsoo exchanged glances before they walked over to the authoritative man. Stepping out of the water and onto the dry ground, the two stood there, shivering a bit as the water dripped from their clothes. The man folded his arms as he tapped his foot a bit, examining the two before glancing over at the group nearby. They were all wearing the same clothes and they were each holding a backpack and some sort of weapon. Were they travelers or just a bunch of kids pretending to be travelers? Either way, they were disrupting the peace and he needed to uphold it. “What do you two think you’re doing in that fountain? Do you think it’s a toy?”
Neither Daehyun nor Myungsoo have heard the terms fountain or toy, so they remained quiet. The man let out an annoyed sigh as he shifted his weight onto his other leg. They really did look like just a bunch of kids who just want to have fun. Even though he knew that he could get into trouble for this, he did know how it was to be a kid just wanting to have fun. So it was best to just give them a good scolding and then let them on their way. “Will you do it again if I let you go?”
Daehyun quickly lifted his head before shaking it. Myungsoo hesitated for a moment, but he decided that it was best to avoid any further problems as he shook his head as well. The man let out another sigh before shifting his weight again. “Alright. I’ll let you off with a warning. If I catch you causing trouble again, I’ll have to take you into custody. Do you understand?”
With another nod from the two, the man gave a brief nod before he turned and went along with his patrols. Daehyun and Myungsoo walked over to the group shivering, not used to feeling this kind of cold. “So that flying water is called a founden?” (L)
“I guess so. But what’s a toy?” (DH)
“I don’t know.” (L) As the two came to a stop, the group huddled around them with a bit of a worried, yet curious look on their face.
“What was it like touching the water?” (J)
“It was really great! I liked that we could make the water move everywhere.” (DH)
“Excuse me, dearies.” The group each turned to see a person with white hair while slightly hunched over. She was holding a long pole of sorts and she seemed to be rather weak, which was a surprise to the group. They hadn’t seen anyone like her before, but for some reason, they felt like they had to be good around her. “Please, come with me.”
They each looked at one another out of uncertainty, but nevertheless, Daehyun nodded and led the group after she began walking.
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[[ My Own Thoughts:
I know.
Nothing too exciting, but it can’t always be pumped x3?
Plus, the ‘kids’ still have to take in everything.
So, let’s just see how things go with this elderly woman. X3
Comments are loved!
I love talking with everyone. X3
It’s also nice to know how I’m doing with this fanfic thus far. ]]
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