The Lights of Emerald Academy :: Deadly Quiet: The Endangered Light

*Taken from a notebook found in a wooded region of Yokusoku Island

Page 1:

I can't explain it. I'm writing this in the off chance that I am found dead. Can't really say what happened. Everything seemed to be going well. I'm not so sure now. Sheesh, this place is quiet. Confused? Haha, that's to be expected. Sorry, but I wish I knew what was going on.
Well, let me explain where I am. I'm in a forest in the southern region of Yokusoku. Normally, I'd find this place really relaxing, but not now.
I don't know what happened. Everything's just so still. Lifeless. It's hard to describe on paper, but someone hit the pause button on the world and I didn't get the memo. Nothing is moving. All the color is gone. In their place are different shades of grey, like an old movie from back in the day.
What's going on here?
I have no idea. There is no noise at all. No birds singing. Nothing. Not even the sun is shining. It's up there, I can see it, but like everything else, it's dead. Me? I'm fine really; the color is still here and everything.
What do I know about my situation?
Well, if I try to pick something up, it bursts into flames.
What was that?
I'm losing it. First it was that noise, now I'm seeing things. Food mostly. I haven't eaten anything in a day, or at least, I think it's been a day. With perpetual daylight, it's hard to tell. It's horrible.
I've been thinking about what's going on. I think I have an answer. It's a long-winded one, mind you, but it's all I have to go on.
Anyway, I think I'm in some kind of parallel universe, or dimension, or whatever. I don't know how I got here, or if that's really what happened, but that's my guess. Weird.
I'm losing it. I need food, or a way home.
Please?

*The rest of the page is smeared with blood and dirt*

Page 2:

It hurts.
Little accident involving a cliff, a rockslide, and an idiot, namely me. As I was walking along a ridge, the cliff crumbled and I tumbled down. Some large rocks fell on me. Luckily, nothing broke. But I'm about as fit to move as to fly. I'm sitting here, under a tree, trying to write this thing. Maybe if I rest here for a while I'll be able to move on. Perhaps I'll spend the night, or day, or whatever it is, here.
Okay, it's been three days since I arrived here, in this gray-verse, and I haven't eaten anything. Dang, I don't think I've ever been this hungry.
Man, I wish something would make some kind of noise.
Anything.
Okay, bad idea. I now believe I'm going insane—No, I know I am. I'm hearing things all the time, but yet I don't. It's like someone took the silence and turned up the volume.
I'm hungry too, with the wound and all. I won't last more than a day.
Please someone find me.

Okay, day four and I've just realized something. This notepad is the only thing that doesn't burst into flames when I touch it. Odd, but I have to keep it safe.
Also, I learned a cool trick earlier today. I hadn't realized it until I woke up this morning/afternoon, but my watch had stopped. I thought it was broken, or perhaps it just didn't work here, in the gray-verse. But I reset it. Amazingly, it works. I'm looking at the second hand ticking away. I can use this to keep track of how many days I've been here. I'm starting on the assumption that this is my fourth day.
It's so very cold here, and so quiet.
So very quiet.
According to my watch, it's time to sleep. I'm going to civilization when I wake up. The wound, or to be more precise, large cut in my side, is stitching and I'll be able to move if I get some energy up. I'm going to get some serious sleep tonight/day. It's going to be a very long hike, but hopefully, I can make it.

Day Five
Bingo.
I spent the rest of the day there. Here's what I know: The people are just like everything else. They do not move. I actually started talking to a boy just to break the loneliness.
Does that make me pathetic?

Page 3:

Day Six
I'm hungry. Six days, is that even possible? I read somewhere that a human can live for about ten days without food. I never believed it possible, but hey, look at me. I tried to pick up a hotdog from a guy's hotdog stand. But is suddenly got its color and burst into flames, like everything else I've tried picking up so far. I figured as much, but I'm just so hungry.
Food.
Ice cream.
Donuts
*The next word is scratched out*
Stop, I have to concentrate. I know it'll be hard, but I have no choice. I'm lying on a bed in a small motel. Fortunately, there was a person in mid-leave of the room and I decided to rest in there. I don't know why, but neither the ground nor the bed I'm laying on burst into flames. Perhaps it's because they weigh more than me.
Hell, at this rate, a mouse will weigh more than me.
I was taught at the academy to think objectively. I have to take some time and think things through.
What are my priorities?
1. Get the hell out of this gray-verse.
2. If not, then at least try to figure out how I got here and why.
3. Self-preservation, the most important of the three. That means I need food.
Haha, I guess I can't concentrate too well.
Well, now that I think about it, I haven't really done much in the past two days. Maybe it's time for a change in scenery? I'll stay here for tonight and move along tomorrow.

*The rest of the page is torn out*

Page 4:

*The entire page is filled with a sketch of an island. Emerald Academy island perhaps?*

Page 5:

FOOD!
*This word is written in huge letters that take up the entire page*

Page 6:

Haha, got a lot of explaining for that last one, don't I?
It's been about two days since my last entry, with the exception of the drawing and the food page. I ripped out a piece of the notepad and ate it. Bad idea, it tasted horrible. Fortunately, I found food. Real food that doesn't burst into flames. There was a berry bush, it had color and everything, just sitting there in the center of a fountain in the middle of the city. I wasn't sure whether or not I was hallucinating. But it was real.
Now that I think about it, that probably was stupid of me. I just ran up and started eating the stuff. For all I know it could've been poisonous, but I didn't care. They're like a cherry in appearance, only bigger. It's greenish-blue in color. But I figured that if I'm going to die, it's either of starvation or this berry being poisonous. At least with the latter, I have a chance. The weirdest thing about them is that I've only eaten three total. Three. And man, they're so filling. They even made my wound feel better. But of course, that could merely be the nourishment helping it heal.
Well, now that my primary objective has been accomplished, time for the next.
I have to find a way home. I can't be a lazy guy. I might as well get going. I shoved handfuls of berries into my jacket pockets and took off.
I have about twenty-seven with me, that's all my pockets could hold.
What the hell?
A light?
I saw a light just now. Coming from the east. It's red, on the horizon, like the sun when it sets. But no, the sun's still up there. I wonder what it is. I have to get to it. It may lead me home. Or, at least it's something. It's the only thing aside from me and the bush that has color. I'm definitely going after it.

Page 7:

I saw it again, and it's moving. I ran off after the thing. I ran for a while, a long while actually, but I'm not to it yet. It's still about twenty miles away. I can't run that and I'm tired from my two mile run. I'll have to slow down and walk for a while. It seems to move away every time I move towards it, but it's getting bigger, which means I'm catching up at least.
I stopped to write this down because that thing may be dangerous. This may be the very last thing anyone ever hears of me. If any of my friends from the academy ever read this, I want you to know that I cared for you all.
Crap, it's moving again.

Day 9:
Forget it, I'm staying away from that thing. That is definitely not a light, it's a fire. An inferno to be exact. I saw it as I approached it, about a mile away. It's still moving.
A moving inferno? Dang this is odd.
What's really odd is the terrain. It changes as I get closer to the light. Where there should be those woods near my friend's house, there is a giant mountain, where the fire is. His house is gone too. I don't know, maybe I should sit down with someone and discuss this one day. If I ever get home, that is. Well, my trek to the fire-engulfed mountain took most of the day and I'm tired. I'll rest here for the night and restart tomorrow.

Day 10:
Another light. This one's green. I'm heading towards it. It's quite a distance away and it'll probably take a day for me to get there. Fortunately, it's not moving. Also, I'm down to thirteen berries.

Page 8:

Day 11:
Okay, I'm there. It's a jungle this time. A big one. Like the one that Kari Dowers lives by. There's also supposed to be a pyramid hidden there somewhere. Supposedly, only a few people know about it, but I overheard her talking about it in class one day. Back to my situation. I'm lucky I came here. I only have six berries left. I found a whole *edit your post and this will go away* load of those bushes and restocked. Now I'm sitting here against a tree, writing this. It must have been the jungle giving off the light. Which means the mountain was giving off the red light, not a fire. I think they're some kind of territory. I wonder why this one doesn't move?
Well, it doesn't matter, I'm going to sleep here for tonight and take off again. I can't go very far into the jungle though. I'm finally hearing noises, but they're not the kinds I want to hear. Or see what made them for that matter.

Day 12:
Well, this day started off on the wrong foot. While I slept, I was attacked. Yeah, I really was attacked. I thought I was alone here, in the gray-verse. I was wrong. I sleep lightly. I heard steps. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but I bit my lip to make sure. Yup, it hurt. I opened my eyes and saw him. A chire. Perhaps a hedgehog. Anyway, it was looming over me, eyes menacing. The first thought that came to me was Frankenstein. He was half-robot. A cyborg, if you will. His left eye had been replaced with a purple digital eye. The whole right side of his body was metal. Even worse was his hand. Protruding from the knuckles were two long claws. About a foot long each. He could've torn off my head with one swipe.
My second thought was to run. Without thinking, I jumped up and ran, not without pushing him aside first. When he regained his balance, he lunged at me. He missed and stumbled. I took advantage of this to kick him around a bit. Bad idea. First off, it didn't do much except anger him. Second, I hit the metal part of his chest. Bad idea. Now I know, kicking with full force against metal hurts. I ran for my life. I could hear his mechanical humming behind me and even as I ran out of breath and my wound opened up, still I ran. After a while, the noise disappeared. After running a few more yards, I stopped and looked around. He was gone. Still, it was better to play it safe, so I kept going. The pain in my side killing me.

Day 13:
Okay, it's gone. Everything has disappeared. Vanished. I slept near the edge of the jungle, wary of that cyborg, but he never came. Finally, I fell asleep. But when I woke up, the entire jungle was gone, replaced by dirt. I'm lucky I stalked up on those berries. I have to find that light again. Hopefully, I won't run into that cyborg again.

Page 9:

Day 14:
I spent all of yesterday searching for the lights. Dammit, I can't find any. I've gone from town to town, searching. Nothing. At the moment, I'm at the beach. Also, that cyborg hasn't reappeared. Perhaps he disappeared with the jungle.
I've been examining my surroundings. Aside from those lights, everything is the same. But if that's the case, then where would that put me? These places that exist within the lights don't, to my knowledge, exist anywhere else. What if they're part of a different universe? If that's the case, then I must be stuck in a rift between them. And what about the cyborg? Does he belong in the other universe? Maybe he got stuck the same way I did.
Time to go. I just saw another light. Blue this time, and it's moving. A lot faster than the red one. But it's out at sea.
Note to self: When water cannot move, it is easy to walk on. Very fortunate.
The light moves so erratically. I'll eventually catch up to it, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed just in case.

Day 15:
Cool. I slept on the water. Actually slept on the water. Neat, huh? Not there yet.

Day 16:
Still not there.

Day 17:
I'm finally back on dry land. The light was water this time. Moving water that isn't affected by the zone thing, like the jungle or mountain before. The water was fresh too. Odd, considering it was in the middle of the ocean. I drank a lot. I was thirstier than I thought. That's to be expected though. The only liquids that I've had in my body for the past two weeks was the berry juice, which seems to have sustained me. I thought they were providing all of my needs, but water it still one. The berries don't provide enough. I just never noticed. I wish I had a bottle or something to store some in. I remember reading that if you drink too much you can rehydrate too quickly and do some serious damage, so I'll have to steady my intake.
Another note: If I really am stuck in a rift, then this ocean must be part of the "other-verse". No ocean, or sea for that matter, has fresh water.

Page 10:

Day 22:
Is it just me, or are these pages getting longer? As I flip through this notepad, every line has been filled, yet I've been fitting more and more in my recent pages. Maybe my handwriting is adjusting to the size.
Well, this feels weird. I finally saw another light today. This one yellow-gold. It's actually been almost a week since I last wrote anything. I don't know why, don't ask me. I found the green light again during that time and got some more berries. I decided to explore the jungle a little deeper. Fortunately, no cyborg. I did however, find more water. Also, I found hollowed out coconut shells. Odd, isn't it? Coconuts in the jungle. I filled them with water. I have six of them with me. I was able to make a sling-like pouch out of my jacket and am using it to hold the berries and coconuts, which are holding water, and I stopped up the holes with large leaves.
Anyway, back to the yellow light. It seems stationary. Of course, I'm going for it. I've been hoping they would've given me a way home, but obviously, that's not the case. But they are the only things that moves in this place. Aside from that cyborg. Why do I keep mentioning him? Probably because he's the only other living thing I've met since coming here, almost a month ago.

Day 23:
I'm in a desert. Not far away is a train station and behind me is Kari's house. I guess this is where her home is located in my universe. The desert must be masking it. Also, that pyramid is here. It's quite a ways off, but I'm going to check it out. I've been wanting to anyway. After that, I'll follow the train tracks. But for now, I'm sleeping in Kari's house. Nobody's home.

Day 24:
I'm afraid now. Genuinely afraid.
The first thing to happen to me was a nightmare. I was running from something. I couldn't shake it, nor could I see it. I heard a voice and I called out for help. Suddenly, large, black claws gabbed me and dragged me into the darkness. Then I saw the cyborg, his purple eye and everything. Then he laughs and laughs. That's all he does is laugh.
The dream ends there.
But that wasn't the weirdest thing to happen. That'll come later. For now, I had decided to check out that pyramid. Getting to it wasn't hard. Getting in wasn't hard. Not getting lost, that was the hard part. Once inside, after going through a few rooms, I nearly ran into a man. He was large and wearing hiking gear. For a moment, I thought he was here, in the gray-verse. I even started talking to him. But sadly, no, he didn't move, he had no color. He was just like everyone else. He had been crouched down, looking at some hieroglyphics. After that, I went through some more rooms, circling around and finding the man a few more times. From where he was, there were three corridors. One from where I had first entered, the one I had just come from after circling around, and the one I entered after seeing the man. I took a rock that was lying on the floor and marked where I had come from. Using this method, I was able to maneuver through most, or what I thought was most, of the pyramid and explore. Later, I came to another person. Once again, he was still and colorless. But that wasn't what bothered me.

Page 11:

It was him. The cyborg, only he was completely organic. No metal, only flesh and hair. I know it's the same person, but he's the one from my universe. Which means that if the cyborg is from the other-verse, then is there another me there? But I digress. I didn't even realize it was him until just a little while ago. Anyway, after that, I did some more exploring, when the weird thing happened.
Everything moved at once, but only for a second. Then it was still again. When it happened, all the color returned, only opposite of what it should have been. The walls were dark blue, the lines between the bricks were green. It was just odd. But that wasn't the worst. I heard him, the humming of the machinery in his hull. That scared me witless. After everything went still again, the noise lasted only a second more then stopped, along with the color returning to it's normal gray
Then I noticed something else, the reason I got lost. The entire inside of the place seemed to have changed. It was warped or something. I really wish I had some idea of what's happening. But I walked on. My earlier markings were useless, every now and then I ran across one of them on the wall or ceiling. After walking through seven rooms, I found myself walking on the ceiling. That freaked me out.
But the worst were the people. First off, the chire, the cyborg here in the gray-verse, had disappeared. I came to his room and he was gone. Even after looking around some more, I couldn't find him. But that did lead me to my biggest scare. I first saw the explorer in a room looking over some markings, but now, he was standing, facing me as I entered the room. For a moment, I thought I was back in my universe. But no, he didn't move. Just stared at me with a menace that will give me nightmares for days. His eyes were pitch black. Not just the irises and pupils, but the whole eye, as if they had been gouged out and replaced with black holes.
I ran. I ran out of the pyramid, only getting stuck once. And then I heard the humming again. Just as I left, I heard the humming and a shout far back in the pyramid.
By now, even the terrain had changed. What was once a gently sloping desert was now a desert with large, jagged, tower-like rocks jutting up out of the sand every ten or so feet. It was extremely hard to get around them.
I must be losing it. After recalling today’s events, that's the only conclusion that I can make. What's going on here?
No, I have to stay focused. Work on the task at hand.
Fortunately, Kari's house is still here and I'm going to get some rest tonight before heading off again. If this really is where Kari's place is supposed to be, then the train will lead to Sapphire.

Day 25:
I'm feeling a great deal better now. No nightmare this time. I'll head for Sapphire now. I hope everything there is normal.

Page 12:

I want to go home. I want to go home.
*This is written over and over, on every line*

Day 27:
I wish I hadn't come here. It's just as bad as the desert and pyramid. No, it's worse. Everything is twisted. At least until now, things had made some kind of sense. At least until now, they seemed fairly normal. Now?
Okay, back up, back up, back up. Let me start from the beginning, from when I first got here. I arrived yesterday evening. Immediately I knew I shouldn't have. The buildings were the first things. I decided something was wrong when I noticed one of them leaning on it's side, at a 90 degree angle, half-way up, then twisting up again. Another building was flat. And when I say flat, I mean two-dimensional flat.
But the worst was the people. Dear God, what's happening here? Their faces…Dear God, their faces. Their faces are twisted. This sure as hell can't be natural. It can't be real. Some of them are normal for the most part. Others, however, are horribly misshapen. Like that painting Scream. They looked kind of like that. I passed a family just a little while ago. The parents were normal. But the child! Dear God, I want to go home. His eyes were huge and black and his mouth was stretched wide open in a horrible shriek and lined with huge fangs. Fortunately, like everything else, he didn't move an inch.
I found Kari Dowers a few minutes ago. She's looking off in the direction of the ocean. I don't know her that well, but at least it's a familiar face. I'd hug her, put she'd probably burn for it.
What was that sound?

Day 28:
I ran into the cyborg again. Dammit, that thing is persistent. So far I've been very lucky in being able to hide from it. Right now I'm hiding in an old building that's at least halfway normal. I can still hear him out there. I'm looking out a window about three floors up. He's stalking down the street, yelling loudly and shouting profanities that would make sailors blush. I hope he doesn't find me.
And while I've been here, I've been thinking back on my situation. Like I said earlier, I think I'm in some rift between my universe and another. What if that change, or flux, at the pyramid is actually me moving closer to the other-verse? What if the flux is really taking me closer? And nothing can explain those lights.
Those lights. Dammit, I almost forgot about them. I came to the city to salvage what little sanity I had left. Well, that sure as hell didn't work. I can see another light. This one kind of blue, but with a hint of green, like the berries, which I'm out of as of today. Might as well get going. Perhaps I'll find more food.
Of course, it'll have to wait until the cyborg leaves.

Page 13:

Day 29:
As it turned out, it was a forest. And check it out, more berries. I would like some water though. The forest is as normal as I've ever seen. No twists or anything. I restocked on berries and am lying under a tree, trying to rest a little.
In the distance, over the trees, I can see the red light from before. Wow, it's been like two or three weeks since I've seen it. I'll have to check it out. For now, though, I'll relax here.

Day 30:
Another flux. This one actually lasted for a few seconds. All the color returned (normal colors), I heard a bird chirp, felt the wind blow through my hair, and felt hope for the first time.
But then it was gone.
That was the good news.
The bad news is that now the forest is as twisted as the city. I'm actually looking at a spot on the ground where the ground has lifted, spiraled and a tree is standing upside down.

*The rest of the page has a sketch of the distortion*

Page 14:

Then he attacked me! I don't know how the cyborg found me, or has found me all those other times, but he attacked me. I didn't see it until the last second. I just heard the humming sound. By now, that noise alone scares me.
I ran. Like the first time I met him, I ran as fast and as far as I could. After shaking him, which took several hours of hide-and-seek, I went off towards the red light. As I went on, I passed a farm. The farmer was normal, but please, oh please don't ask me about the cows. Let's just say they aren't supposed to have that many heads. Or teeth.

Day 31:
Still on the move. Almost out of berries already.

Day 34:
Wow, that trip took a whole lot longer than I expected. I must've forgotten that it moved. Anyway, when I arrived at the mountain, I noticed two things. One, it was completely normal. And two, a stream. There was a small stream flowing down the mountain. I drank to my heart's content. After several large swallows, I decided to check the place out.

Day 36:
Well, exploring had been a mistake. I tripped and fell quite a distance. This time, I think I broke something in my arm. My ankle is also twisted, so I can't walk too well. I had to make a sling for my arm out of my jacket. Dang it hurts. I'm no med school graduate (though I hope to be one day), but from what I can tell, it appears to be broken in two places. I think I also may have damaged my collarbone, but I don't want to think about it. After picking myself up, I retreated to a very dark cave for the past two days. I spent that time recuperating. My ankle's swollen and it hurts like a *edit your post and this will go away* to walk on it. Here in a few, I'm going out to get a drink.
Better, I should be able to get some sleep now.

Day 36-Nighttime:
I woke up to piss earlier and found that there must've been another flux. And this one must have lasted a while. The sun is gone and in its place is the moon. A full one. It's even darker here now. Oddly, even though it's for the best, there was no distortion. I guess I can call it a night and go back to sleep.

Day/Night 37:
Dammit, Dammit, Dammit, Dammit, Dammit.
He's here! That cyborg. I was out getting a drink when I heard that humming. I rushed painfully back into the cave an am writing this using the little light being let into the cave. I can hear him moving around out there. He hasn't found this cave yet. He's making his way up, so I'm going deeper into the cave to hide. Talk to you later...if I survive this encounter.

Page 15:

Night 39:
Holy crap was I scared. When he finally entered the cave, I scooted into a small hole in the wall. I heard him enter and could hear the humming, magnified by the echoes of the cave. For a long time, I didn't see anything. I still heard the humming, so I knew it wasn't safe, but after nearly fifteen minutes, I saw his digital eye. It was a purple firefly, floating in the black abyss of darkness. He walked past me. For a while, I couldn't see anything else. Then when I moved out slightly to check around the corner, I kicked a rock. That alerted him of my presence. He let out a screech and came towards where I was. As his purple eye came closer, I tried move further into the hole. He approached and looked around. Fortunately, he was just as blind as I was here in the dark. After looking around my general area for a few minutes, he left. Soon, the echoes of the humming stopped and I knew he was outside. I waited until it became faint before coming out and looking. Fortunately, he was making his way down the mountain. Twenty minutes later, he was gone, moving off towards the horizon.
Thank God. I've never been so scared.

Night 40:
I'm going to wait one more day before leaving. I see a bright white light far off to my left. I don't know if I can make it on my injured leg, but hopefully, if I get enough rest, I can make it. It's closer than any of the other lights I've seen.

Night 41:
Okay, I'm off. God it hurts to walk.

Night 43:
Dammit. I'm on the verge of tears if hurts so bad! But I have to press on.

Night 46:
Only a little further. I'm all out of food and the pain is unbearable. Please God, give me the strength to go on.

Night 49:
It's taking too long to get there. Fortunately, it's not moving. Maybe two more days/nights.

Night 51:
Not quite. Just a mile or two to go.

Night 52:
I'll rest here. I'm in a small wooded area. So far, no cyborg, so I think I'll be safe. The light is just beyond the wood. But it hurts too much to continue. I swear I think I'm gonna die. I haven’t stopped crying since yesterday and I'm too tired to stop.

Page 16: *The final page*

Night 53:
It's bright. Warm. Everything beyond the light is the same. It's all gold inside. Shiny. It seems alive again. I'm almost to the center. I have to walk. I need to enjoy this.

*The notepad ends here*

(Taken from E.A. computer file 1105673439. Clarification: Level 7)

The recent incident of M (By request of the victim and family, name will remain anonymous) has begun investigation.
About two months ago, young M, currently attending Emerald Academy, disappeared during his summer vacation. At first, it was believed that he had run away, or even kidnapped, but no theory gained dominance.
He was later found outside a small wooded area about twelve miles away from Sapphire by an elderly couple, tired, malnourished, severely injured, and generally in bad shape. A notepad was found on his person upon discovery. M himself seems to have no memory of what happened. After he was taken to the hospital, one of our field agents managed to take the notepad from his person. He didn't seem to miss it, and still seems to suffer from amnesia on the matter.
After reading and studying the nature of the notes, it seems M was somehow "teleported" to another dimension, or a rip between them. Also, he was seemingly attacked by a "cyborg", but a thorough investigation has revealed that this kind of mechanical being couldn't be created with present day technology. What actually conspired is unknown and the matter is being investigated further by world-renowned scientist, Leon Cornelius. It is uncertain what will be revealed from all of this.

End Document.

wow you made me forgett were i was, lol amazing job Stephen!!