When Words Run Out of Time

Truth be told, I didn't know what to expect when we entered memory. But it definitely wasn't this. For a few moments, Amani and I are walking in near darkness. I grip her hand tightly, both for her sake and mine.

We reach what I can only describe as a 'room' without walls, just what feels like endless rows of file cabinets. The drawers keep jerking open and slamming shut, each metallic thud echoing like a gavel strike. Papers whip around us in a frenzy, caught in a wind I can't feel. Some return to where they came from, some don't. They flit back and forth all around us, some landing on the floor, others floating forward, towards something farther ahead. As we move closer, I realize it's a... paper shredder?

Some of the papers float towards it and land in the small slit in the top, before being shredded just like normal paper. I tug my sister along with me as I walk, observing our surroundings. Amani takes a few steps forward, her hand slipping from my grasp. I watch her from the corner of my eye as I shuffle in the opposite direction, trying to examine the file cabinets more closely.

"Amani," I say suddenly, turning to look at her. She startles, but quickly recovers. "If you touch that, I can't guarantee you'll end up back home in one piece."

She snickers. Her hand stays reaching toward the paper shredder, and she wiggles her fingers as if to taunt me. I bite back a smile and try to look stern.

"I'm serious."

Amani rolls her eyes, huffing in feigned annoyance as she retracts her hand and starts wandering elsewhere.

I reach out my hand, my fingers tingling. With what? Excitement? Anxiety? Something in the air? I don't know.

My fingertips brush one of the cabinets. It's cold... but it doesn't feel like metal. It doesn't feel like anything, really, but I can still feel its presence. Much like when we were in the tunnels.

I move in front of it, studying the drawers, going up and down the rows while still keeping an eye out for my sister. They're labeled, like real file cabinets, but with what I can only assume are dates. May 21st, 2021. August 16th, 2019. November 7th, 2024. Interesting. It seems as though each individual drawer represents a day in time, with the most recent ones being closer to the front where we entered.

One thing remains constant, though; papers from all around us are flying from their places, scattered around this strange space and being shredded. I'm guessing that represents them being forgotten.

抖阴社区r, I hate to break it to you, but you do not have a tidy mind. Regardless, we've got work to do.

I have to admit, finally being here feels kind of surreal. This is what I've been working toward since this whole thing started, what I've been through so much to get to. Finally, we're going to get answers. Finally, I'll be able to help Amani and everyone back home. Finally, everything will be worth it.

I take a deep breath and brace myself. A paper floats by and lands a few steps away from me. Slowly and cautiously, I approach it, reaching for it. My fingers graze the surface, and my heart skips a beat.

And yet the moment my fingers start to close around the edges of this paper, it swiftly jerks itself from my grasp. I sit there for a moment, dumbfounded.

What?

I reach for another paper. My hand slips.It fucking slips.The edge crumples under my fingers, like even the paper's rejecting me.I start shaking. Again. Again. Again. No. No. No.

You have got to be kidding me. We've come this far, why do things have to go wrong now?

I've felt the edges fray before. I've bent, splintered, even started to crack — but I always held myself together. Duct-taped the pieces down. Swallowed the panic. Kept going. But now? Now it's all rising up at once. Like a wave I can't outrun.