The lights flicker. Droplets rain from the broken pipeline. Melancholic, dark blue smoke haunts every corner of the room. Nothing can come out; no one can come in. Within a beige sleeping bag, a rumble implodes. A pale, considered small hand peeks out. Unzipping as quickly as it can, it reaches its maximum extent and gasps for air. A distraught, light-brown-haired boy reveals himself. He takes in the scenery and frowns in deep confusion. His eyes, ajar, try to take in as much as they can.

The rest of the sleeping bag slips off him as he stands up. He begins to take a step back, into the unknown. Then another. And another. POW! The horrid look on his face intensifies. He can now hear someone else in the room, a couple of steps to his right. There stands a door. It’s shut. He doesn’t dare take a step anymore. After a moment of silence, loud banging, slamming and kicking echo. The limp boy, who can barely take another step without trembling in fear, lets out a meek gasp.

The door breaks open. A sudden kick almost damages it to ruins. A bald-headed, fat, snobby man takes a step in his run-down boots. He’s breathing heavily with a threatening look on his face. He seems out for blood. He begins to shout and rummage through the room. As he searches for the unknown, the afraid boy stands still. He doesn’t know what’s going on. He can’t seem to make sense of anything. To make it even worse, the man shouting is stressing him. He doesn’t dare to speak up or move. Suddenly, the man turns his head toward the boy. His eyes were still threatening to pop out of his thick skull. The boy freezes. The man begins to stomp his thick, ugly boots toward the shaking boy. “HEY! You! You little shit!” He picks up the boy by his collar while spitting nasty words. “Where am I?! Tell me before I fuck you up!” The boy stiffens in fear. Before he can get a word out, a woman hurries out of the same room the old man just exited. She glances around, her expression tired but composed. “Richard, are you here?” she calls, her voice steady but edged with impatience. The man's eyes widen, and he lets the boy drop to the floor. The confused boy lands on his knees and wraps his arm gently around his injured neck. The woman pauses, scanning the unfamiliar space. “What are you doing here?! I told you to stay put,” the man grumbles, trying to control his temper. The woman scoffs, clutching her pearl handbag a little tighter. “We’ve been stuck in there for hours. I need to stretch my legs, not sit in a stuffy bathroom.” The man clenches his fists, trying to hold back his irritation. Suddenly, a creak comes from the room she just left. The woman turns slowly to look. POW! The door slams shut again. The man rushes toward it, desperately trying the handle. “Shit! What is happening?”

As the man continues to struggle with the doorknob, the woman gazes around the room. She notices the boy on the floor. “Oh, you poor thing. You must be just as confused as we are.” The old lady walks up to the young boy and reaches her hand out to him. The boy looks up at her and hesitates. He blinks once. “Thank you, ma’am...” The meek boy stands up with the help of the lady. “Richard! You should really consider therapy again. I’m not judging, but that temper of yours needs to be put under control.”

As the woman explains, the boy tries to steady himself and properly examine the situation he’s in. His eyes wander across the dimly lit room. The man is still fighting with the doorknob, and the woman is shaking her head lightly while looking at her husband, and further into the room, two sleeping bags lie side by side, their shapes unmistakably lumpy. He hesitates, squinting to get a better look. He decides to approach the sleeping bags. Questions are running through his mind, but he tries to focus on the bags. Suddenly, the bags start moving and struggling on their own. The woman and the man notice this as well and gaze toward the bags. The boy, without thinking twice, runs toward them and tries to unzip them. The man sees this and runs to stop him. “What are you doing, you little shit?!” The boy ignores him and reaches for the zipper.

He pulls it down, and an out-of-breath woman sits up panicking. “My girl, my baby, where is my baby?!” She cries out loud and frantically looks around. The boy flinches and leans away from the woman. Suddenly, there’s a muffled voice coming from the other sleeping bag. This time, the boy hesitates, but the woman unzips it immediately. A small girl tumbles out, gasping for breath. The mother gets out of the sleeping bag as quickly as she can. She gathers her daughter into her arms, holding her close. “My baby, oh, sweetie...” The boy tries to rally the number of events happening in just under a few minutes. The man runs a hand through his hair and down his face. “Chastity, you old hag, get over here.” The old woman reluctantly walks over to her husband. “There’s no way out.” He declares. The woman doesn’t react. “We have to try.” The boy suddenly chimes in. Everyone turns to look at him. He purses his lips together awkwardly due to all of the attention on him.

“I, I’m not sure what is happening here, right now... But I also believe we’re stuck.” The mother wipes her tears away and looks at the boy, confused. “What are you saying? Who are you people?” The boy stands up. “It seems like we’re the only ones here.” The woman looks down in despair while her child clings to her shirt. There is a subtle change passing through the room as everyone quiets down, seemingly grasping the stakes of the situation.

For a moment, an almost tangible silence filled the room. No one dared to speak; instead, they offered one another silent comfort, sharing in their collective unease without uttering a single word. The tension lingered, thick and unbroken, until an unexpected splash shattered the quiet, snapping everyone to attention.

“Mommy?” the young girl whispered, her voice trembling as she turned to her mother for reassurance. The mother, who had been keeping a vigilant eye on her daughter, was momentarily distracted by the sound. Instinctively, her gaze shifted toward the far right corner of the room, where a door stood, its handle turned inward, locked, and mysterious. Who knows what could be hidden inside? Richard, the old man, stood up, almost tripping.

He went to investigate with no real plan or clue as to what he was trying to achieve. The rest of the group stayed quiet until the man reached the door, where the sound came from. Everyone held their breath automatically until he reached the handle and yanked the door open with immense built-up force. The boy winced. He didn’t expect the man to open the door that roughly. The man stood high and mighty in front of the open door, not quite sure what to even expect behind it, but he slowly relaxed when he scanned the room filled with various resources. He frowned and took a step inside.

“What the heck is this?” The old woman stood up, following her husband to the room. “What is it, Richard?” She reached the door and narrowed her eyes as she looked inside the room. “It seems they plan on keeping us here a while...” The woman commented. She could feel the man in front of her losing his temper by the second. “Like hell they will.” Meanwhile, the young man tries to stand up when he suddenly gets stopped by the young mother. “Can I ask you something?” The boy turns to face the mother. His hand reaches for the back of his neck, like it usually does when he’s nervous. He doesn’t answer immediately but lightly nods after a moment. Before the woman can ask the boy, the old couple calls for the rest of the group. The boy turns his head away from the woman. “Maybe we should check out the room, too...” He offers, and the woman nods. She stands up and takes her daughter's hand in hers. They walk to the room and find the couple already investigating the resources. “Whoever put us in this building plans on having us stay here.” The woman says while holding canned tomatoes. The boy scans the room. It’s filled with food, clothes, water, and anything necessary to survive for a couple of weeks. The group moves out of the room. “Let’s get something clear, I don’t trust any of you.” The old man already exclaims. “Come on, Richard. Right now, we’re all we have.” The old lady adds. The young mother frowns. “To me, it seems like you’re the least trustworthy.” “What did you just say?”

The boy chimes in. “Let’s not argue. It seems like we all arrived here the same way. In those sleeping bags.” The old lady nods. “The boy is right. My husband and I woke up in that locked room in sleeping bags as well.” The group tries to discuss all the information they have gathered from the few hours they spent on this floor. “All we know so far is that we’re stuck on this floor, with no outside contact and just a few resources to keep us alive for a couple of weeks.” “This is bullshit. I’m not fucking staying here.” Richard practically spits out. The old lady tries to explain to her husband that all of the windows and doors, except for one, are locked. “Maybe they’ll let us go after a few weeks have gone by.” The boy tries to conclude. “Until then... Maybe we should start by introducing ourselves.” The old lady nods. “Well, you’ve heard me yell my husband’s name already. He’s called Richard, and I’m Chastity.”

The old man groans. “I’m Mary, this is my daughter, Ivy.” The little girl shrinks when her name is mentioned. “Nice to meet you...” The young boy says before introducing himself. “I’m Sol.” “Spelled like soul?” The old lady genuinely asks. The boy smiles lightly and shakes his head. “Without the u.” “Ah, interesting.” The old man turns his head to the boy. “Isn’t it suspicious how you’re the only one here who’s not related to any of us?” The boy is caught off guard by the question. “No? Then maybe we should talk about it,” Richard presses further. “For all we know, he could be fucking with us.” “I’m not,” Sol stammered. “I promise.” Richard stepped forward, towering over the boy. “I am not to be messed with, you little shit.” Sol backed away, heart pounding. “Richard, calm down-” Chastity began. “SHUT UP, WOMAN!” he roared, turning on her. She fell silent. Richard then picked up the boy by his collar, again.

Before Sol could even respond, a new sound echoed through the floor behind him. Slow and taunting footsteps. From the shadows emerged a tall figure. His black coat swayed with each step, boots clicking against the floor. He had tousled dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and a lollipop tucked between his lips. His expression was unreadable, somewhere between amused and dangerous. He stopped just in front of the curfuffle, surveying the group with a cheeky grin. “Well,” he said, voice smooth and playful, “looks like the party started without me.” And just like that, the room fell silent again.

A loud thud. Richard drops Sol to the floor. Again. Sol lets out a gasp. Everyone’s heads are still turned toward the direction the man just appeared from. Behind him, no entrance, no door, no way in, so how did he appear? He walks a few steps toward the boy on the floor. Before anyone else can move, Kai, the tall stranger, stops just beside Sol. No one dared to utter a word in front of the intimidating-looking man. Even Richard is speechless.

Kai crouched lazily and plucked the lollipop from his mouth. He began to chuckle, ever so lightly. “What a scene, am I right?” He said, voice smooth and even, amused. Sol looked up at him, unsure what to make of the situation. Kai’s eyes, icy blue, then locked onto Richard. He stood up and slipped the lollipop back between his lips. He didn’t offer Sol a hand, like the rest of the group that were watching expected him to do. Instead, he offered him a smirk. Just a smirk. “Well, then. Don’t let me stop you. Carry on.” He said, turning his back on the group and strolling toward the supply room as if he owned the place.

Who knows, he might actually own it. Richard finally snaps out of his momentary trance and yells back at Kai. “H, hold up!” Richard’s wife immediately walks up to him to stop him. “Richard, honey, consider your words wisely, you don’t know what that man is capable of.” Richard pushes her away. The boy, shocked and left for words, finally gets up to look at the man as well. “Are you here to help us?” Sol asks the man walking away. Kai is already in the supply room, rummaging through the items. “Depends on your goodies.” His voice echoes through the room. Sol frowns in confusion and tries desperately to understand the new arrival’s intention. Suddenly, Kai’s head peeks out of the room. “You guys just arrived here, huh?” “H, how did you know?” Mary asked. The man finally walks out of the room and takes a few taunting steps. “Your resources are untouched.”

The group looks at each other. “Do you know what this place is?” The old woman asks. “Of course. A building.” The stranger flashes them a smile and continues to lazily search the floor. “That much is evident to us.” The woman mutters under her breath, but Kai didn’t seem to hear, or didn’t care. He came out of the room with a can of peaches. He crouched down near a crate and then opened the tin with a pocketknife that seemed to appear from nowhere. “Where did you get that fr-” Before Richard could finish his sentence, Kai already interrupted the old geezer. “So,” he said casually, “how long have you all been playing house, hm?” “Just a few hours, I assume,” Mary replied, still holding Ivy close. “We... woke up here. No phones. No exits. Just... us and this. Wait, how did you arrive here?”

Kai nods slowly, ignoring the question while chewing on a slice of peach. “Same premise, I see.” “Have you... been through something like this?” Sol asked, stepping forward slightly. Kai’s eyes flicked to him, amused. “Well, not here-here. But a room like this. With the same setup. Same lovely lack of explanation. Except... no people.” Richard can’t help but butt in as well. “So, who are you? You seem like a real jerk.” Kai raised an eyebrow. Chastity even scoffed. “Richard, don’t insult him so casually.” “You look like trouble...” Ivy muttered, still holding onto her mother. Mary looked down at her daughter and shook her head. “Ivy, you can’t say that.” She crouched to her daughter’s level. Kai let out a loud chuckle and threw his head back. “You’re not wrong, little girl.” Sol tilted his head and took a step forward again. “What happened the last time you were in a room like this? Did someone come for you?”

Kai finally stood up and stretched. “Nope. One minute, I was counting my cigarette packs; the next minute, poof! New room. Odd people. Same mystery.” “So, you don’t perhaps know a way out?” Chastity asked. Kai shrugged. “If I did, I wouldn’t be here.” Sol looked down at the floor. Kai provoked so many thoughts in his head. The group fell quiet again as well. Sol then glanced at Kai and then back at the others. “I guess we’re supposed to work together and figure this out.” Richard snorted. He didn’t like the idea of that at all, but even he knew he had no right to protest. Kai looked at Sol, squinting his eyes slightly. “You’re quite the optimist. You truly believe we can work together and find a way out?” Sol panics. “I’m just... trying to make sense of this and not... panic.” “Right... Panic’s boring, anyway.”

Kai turned to the rest of the group. “Anyway, I’m Kai. Since we’re all stuck here, might as well know who you’re glaring at.” Chastity folded her arms. “We already introduced ourselves. But I’m Chastity.” She proceeded to introduce the others to Kai. Sol looked at Kai again. “So, what now?”