Quid est Vita

Images flash before your eyes, everything remains a blur and yet... It all seems very familiar to you. These places, the fuzzy faces all seem like something you know. You get the feeling that you are dreaming. Something penetrates your dreams, a dull beeping and it is repetitive and insistant. [[WAKE UP]]

Stirring to the sound of the beeping, you open your eyes slowly and are greeted with something very unfamiliar. It is a cold, metallic room and you feel a chill run up your spine as feeling rushes back into your body; allowing you to stand again. [[STAND UP]]

Slowly getting your bearings as you get to your feet, you hear that beeping is very much real and it is coming from outside this room. The first thing that comes to mind is that it is a siren, but for what? [[INVESTIGATE NOISE]] [[INSPECT ROOM]]

That noise is very annoying, you decide to try find its source. By moving away from the capsule you were laying in, you see that the room is well equipped for something of techincal or medical basis. You see a door and head towards it, catching your weight against the cold steel under your palm and realise the siren is from outside; there is a slot of glass on the door, allowing you to see outside. [[LOOK]]

You should get your bearings first, figure out where you are. This place is unfamiliar to you after all. Pacing across the room, your steps are unsteady and you find yourself catching your weight on the walls. The room you are in isn't that large you find. However it is well equipped with all kinds of technical work. Glancing back, you see where you came from, it is something like a capsule and you were inside it. The control pad next to the capsule is sparking and quite obviously broken. [[CONTINUE LOOKING]]

You look through the glass, startled to see that there is white steam billowing through the corridor that stretches out before you. Confused and starting to feel a sense of panic rise; you see some figures running through the white, they are yelling... screaming even. Now you really start to feel panic. Whats going on? [[TEST DOOR]]

In your growing panic and distress, you slam your fists to the door. The sirens have become defening now and you feel like its reverberating through your whole being. You find the door latch and scramble to get it open. The sirens are even louder out here but now you can hear the screams too. You stagger out into the steam, aware that your vision is clouding because of it. [[RUN]]

Your body moves before you have time to really think about it. Sprinting down the corridor, staggering a few times when the mist gets too thick. Skidding to a sudden stop, you hear a commotion that is somewhat like a fight; the room you are in now is moderately clear of the mist. [[INVESTIGATE]]

While you are still confused, you figure perhaps inspecting the room might reboot your memory as to why you are here at all. The dreams you were having before are nothing quite like this, yet nothing feels inherently wrong either. You hear something other than the siren, it is screaming and it is coming from the other side of the door. [[GO TO DOOR]]

As you make your way towards the door, you are uncertain if you should be afraid or curious as to whats happening out there. You slowly reach for the door latch, watching the billowing white steam outside through a glass slot. Steeling yourself as you go to open the door and then- [[CRASH]]

A massive blast knocks you back, making you slam against a cabinet. Dazed, you manage to get back up, the door has been blown out completely; sparks are flickering all over the damaged screens on the wall and your ears are ringing. You don't hear the sirens anymore, your ears are ringing too loudly from the blast. While you take a moment to resteady yourself, you see someone staring at you from further down the now exposed hallway. [[GO TO THEM]]

By the time you have managed to get yourself to move, the figure has already run off ahead. You give chase, stumbling over your own feet but surprisingly manage to not fall over. Unable to find your voice to call out, you have to settle for trying to chase them through the clouds of mist. You lose sight of them and come to a room that is rather clear of the mist. there is a loud noise stirring, it sounds like a fight and someone crying for help. [[INVESTIGATE]]

Before you there stands a cluster of people, some are dressed in very simple cloth clothes and the others in coats - like doctors, you decide. Those in the simple attire are pummeling those in coats in a brutal show of violence. You are shocked of course, they are attacking each other! You start to react and one of them looks at you with a very cold, dead stare. However you get the feeling that they are urging you to come and join in as they slowly raise a hand to you. Looking down at yourself, you see you are wearing the same as him; does that mean that you are on their side? But something feels wrong, this show of violence; along with everything thats going on around you, has you very confused. [[RUN AWAY]] [[JOIN IN]]

Pausing, you stare at the man offering his hand to you and then find yourself looking at the worker who is crumpled on the ground. You hear them begging for mercy, for some form of help and you are filled with a sickening feeling. There is something very wrong here. You start running; skirting wide around the man and you don't look back as you take off down the corridor that was on the other side of the room. While you are running, you hear a crash that makes you falter and there is someone yelling. //"You! You're one of them, come back here!"// It is a voice filled with anger and hate, you turn in utter surprise just as the person slams into you. You hit the ground hard with their weight on top of you, feeling hands grasp at your throat. [[STRUGGLE]]

You steel yourself and walk over to the mans extended hand, feeling it clap you on the shoulder in a comrade-type of gesture. When you are close enough, you find yourself looking down at the cowering worker; who is ungracefully begging for their life and for you all to take mercy. //"We didn't mean for it to go this far, please - we are so sorry!"// At the workers words, something is triggered in you - memories perhaps - of machines and needles on you, piercing and ripping. You feel chilled to the bone, but this workers face is now all too familiar to you; even if you dont know why. //"Please, have mercy!"// You make no move to step in as the worker is assaulted again. In fact you find yourself leaning down to grab his collar, grasping him close. Your fist finds his face - repeatedly. [[STAND]]

You drop the worker, leaving their face and your knuckles bloodied. You feel no regret, only a strange sense of satisfaction; which is reinforced when the others clap your back. Someone gestures to you and the others, directing you all down a corridor and when everyone follows them you do too. As you walk after the group, they skirt around some crumpled objects and this makes you glance down to look. They are dead bodies, all of them wearing the same clothing as you. Pausing, you slowly crouch by one of the bodies, feeling your whole body trembling slightly. When you come close enough, you see that this body is littered with what seem to be needle marks of varying width and size. Jerking back slightly, the sudden sight of those marks triggered flashes in your memory and you reach to your neck and feel the skin there. You have the same marks as this body does. Reeling back, you heave yourself to your feet and start to run. [[GET AWAY]]

You start to put up a fight, frantically and desperately you claw at their hands. Managing to shove them off you scramble back, gasping for air through your now raw throat. Not risking too much hesitation, you take off and hear them yelling curses after you as they give chase. You do not look back as you try to find a way out through the maze of corridors and rooms. A rush of air sweeps over you and you know there must be a way out in that direction so you veer off there. You are presented with a gaping hole in the wall ahead, as if it were blasted out by something. As you reach the gap, there is a metallic //click// and you make the mistake of turning to look just as you're hit. [[FALL]]

The gunshot rips into your shoulder, causing you to fall backwards out of the gap in the wall. You tumble and land hard, clutching at your shoulder with gasps of pain and when you risk a glance at your hand you are shocked to see that there is no blood. As you slowly remove your hand from the wound, which is no more than a ragged hole through your clothes and flesh but nothing more than that. While you hesitate, you realise that the pain fades as well and you are able to stand again. You weren't chased from the building so you have the time to look around and you see more of the people like you, wandering to the centre of the area. [[JOIN THEM]]

Your running takes you down a long corridor, where you find a gaping hole in the wall. Feeling a rush of freedom, you scramble towards it both desperate to get away from the dead corpse and into fresher air. With haste, you climb through the gap and find yourself tumbling down a short drop to thud at the bottom. Your body is still reeling with panic that is brought on by uncertainty as to what is going on. Slowly getting to your feet you see that you are now in an open compound, the sirens are quieter out here and you can see others like you starting to gather. Taking comfort in seeing something familiar, you walk over to them. [[WALK OVER]]

When you reach the gathering group, you can make out the fact that many here are also facing some form of damage like you. Some are missing whole limbs and the stumps are mostly messes of metal and sparking wires. You have distinct memories of bleeding, of pain; so why are you not experiencing that now? You find yourself sinking into doubt as you move into the group, hearing the distinct confused murmur coming from a good number of those here. Where exactly are you and more importantly. //what// are you?

When you get close enough, you see many here have smears of blood across them or scorch marks. Pausing you look down at your own knuckles, seeing them flecked with blood from when you joined in beating that doctor. You still dont feel regret as you know that these doctors had links to whatever happened to those corpses, and ultimately to you. Weaving through the gathered group, you see some less fortunate folk, their bodies mangled and broken. You are shocked to see that their injuries and broken skin only reveal metal and wires. One of them looks at you, her face partially gone but her expression remains hard and cold. She nods as if approving the blood on your hands before turning away. If they are not human, then are you?