aesthetic by Crasher^

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"Ouch," Hope said as she rubbed her head. Atlas leaped to his feet. After his third leap into a concrete elevator, he had grown accustomed to the pain.

"I think I'm going to give myself a concussion," she said as she stood up.

Atlas looked back at his new friend. He found himself scanning her for more injuries. She had a small bruise under the curve of her wrist, which looked jet black compared to her pale skin. He concluded it was from the previous jump.

The pair looked up as the light poured in from the familiar room. Atlas looked out of either side before stepping out.

"I guess nobody has been here," He glanced around the perfectly intact room. "It looks perfect. The bed is made and everything."

Hope walked over to the bed and sat on the cushioned surface. At the same time, Atlas strode around the room to check for any signs that someone had been there prior to their entrance. After finding no evidence, he walked over to Hope and sat on the other side of the bed.

With their backs to each other and feet dangling over the edge, they sat in peaceful silence.

Until Atlas heard a rumble.

He looked over to Hope with an inquisitive eye. She gave him a sheepish smile.

"What?" she shrugged. "I'm hungry."

Atlas had eaten the other half of his protein bar somewhat recently, but he was already starting to get some hunger pangs. Clambering to his feet and walking around to the other side of the bed, he stretched out his hand.

"Come on. This floor doesn't have any food provisions. We will have to continue down."

Hope nodded and used his hand to get to her feet. The duo waltzed over to the mirror and broke its pane once more. This time, however, they didn't need to run and sustain injuries. Instead, they waited patiently outside the doors as the elevator shifted.

Upon opening, the elevator squeaked and revealed the new layout. The sides showcased a floral wallpaper. Hope stepped inside and touched one of the small, dull roses.

"Much better than concrete."

Atlas let out a sound of affirmation and stepped inside with her. He read the small lettering of the new button: '-2.'

Here we go again.

Atlas mashed the button in and stood by for the reopening. He could sense Hope standing behind him. He looked at his watch. It read '3:15'. He couldn't help being amazed at how much time had passed.

The doors opened, and he looked away from his wrist. He was a little perplexed by the room before him. The walls were a maze of spirals. The only colors present were black and white. Atlas felt dizzy looking at it. Hope was the first to step out.

"Woah." She careened her head backward to look at the ceiling. It, too, displayed black and white spirals. The girl walked carefully across the solid black floor. The room was dimly lit, making it hard to see anything more than the nauseating white.

Atlas spun in a slow circle, looking to the doors where they came. It seemed like the spirals were radiating from the corners of the elevator. He reached out and ran his hand across one of the thick lines, following it upward until he couldn't reach any farther. From behind him, he heard a loud gasp and a thud. Atlas spun around to see Hope sitting with one of her legs halfway through the floor. He rushed over to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he touched her shoulder in worry. His mind raced with all of the possibilities. Hope looked more shocked than anything. Upon further inspection, he noticed she could still move her leg around. Hope nodded and chucked a little.

"It's just water. Cold black water," she said as she pulled her leg out. Her pant leg was soaked all the way through. She shivered a little and brought her arms up around her shoulders. Shaking her leg to remove the excess water, she looked back down to the hole. Even standing inches away from the small pool, it was impossible to tell it apart from the floor. Atlas bent down to the ground. Feeling around, he determined that the hole was circular and roughly 5 feet by 5 feet. Black water filled it to the brim.

Atlas rolled the edge of his short-sleeve up and laid down on the tile. He let his arm slip down into the water. His hand never made contact with anything other than the outer walls of the miniature pool. Retracting his arm, he shook off the water and rubbed the skin to warm it.

"Find anything?" Hope asked. She had been sitting beside him with her knees pulled to her chest, preoccupied with braiding her wavy red hair.

"Nothing," Atlas said dejectedly, "Just more water."

"Alright," Hope stood up and stretched out her limbs. She started to remove her shoes. "Move over."

Atlas raised his eyebrow at her. She rolled her eyes and moved her hands to the hem of her t-shirt. The boy's eyes widened. He had known the girl for less than a day, and she was taking her shirt off.

"What are you doing?" He asked. He felt his face heating up as he watched the girl warily.

"I'm going in. What does it look like I'm doing?" With that, Hope lifted the navy cotton over her head and tossed it to the side. Standing in a modest bra and jeans, she started to fiddle with the buttons on her pants. Atlas fidgeted in embarrassment. She was gorgeous, even in the dark lighting.

Atlas looked away quickly. "I can go in."

"No point now. I'm already half-naked," Hope replied in a dismissive tone. Atlas saw her jeans land on top of her shirt out of the corner of his eye. Without much hesitation, Hope sat on the edge of the wall. Dropping her legs into the dark water, she took a deep breath. Still unwilling to look, Atlas timidly glanced at her back.

It was riddled with markings that Atlas had never seen before. Just below her right shoulder blade, he saw a smudge of black. There was also a circular shape at the base of her neck that would have been hidden by the hem of her shirt collar.

"Hope-," Atlas was cut off as she inhaled and let her body sink into the abyss. Atlas stepped over to the edge of the pool. He could see small bubbles rising to the surface and the ripples where her slender frame had gone under. Bending down, he watched for her to come up. He examined his watch and made a mental note of the time. Around the thirty second mark, he started to worry.

Atlas rolled his sleeve up again and reached his arm down as he had done earlier. Fear gripped his stomach as he caught nothing but the freezing water. He was relieved when he felt small fingers knock against his own. The fingers found his hand again and grasped desperately at his tips. Atlas used all the strength he could muster and pulled upward. His heart was pounding with the effort and the possibility that she was too far gone. The cold bit at his skin and spiked his attention. With one good pull, Hope burst through the water.

Water splashed up. Some found its way onto Atlas as he visually examined Hope's condition. Hope was hanging onto the flooring surrounding the pool. Her breathing was rapid, and her skin was nearly blue.

Moving quickly, Atlas crawled over to get better leverage. He grasped both of her forearms and pulled her from the liquid void. Hope fell onto the hard surface. She was still breathing heavily and shaking from the brisk temperature. Without giving it a second thought, Atlas pulled his shirt off his back and pulled it down over her. The girl's hands welcomed the cloth and clutched it to her as she lay in a shallow puddle.

"T-the b-box," she managed.

Atlas blinked as he looked beside her. Atlas had been so worried about Hope that he hadn't noticed the box lying on the floor beside her. She had been successful, after all. Apart from its size, it was identical to the two he had found in the previous rooms. Atlas reached over her and took the box. It was bigger than the boxes from before, if only by a little. Lifting the latch, he heard a seal release with a hiss. Inside he found a small wall clock, a protein bar, a water bottle, and-

"Perfect," he breathed. He put the rest of the supplies to the side, and he helped Hope sit up. Once she was stable, he reached down to draw out the fourth item: a thick white towel.

Sitting in front of her, he brought the warm cloth around her back and to the front. Hope eagerly grabbed onto the fabric, her teeth chattering loudly.

After giving her a few minutes, Atlas stood to his feet. "Come on, let's stand you up so we can get some dry clothes on you."

Hope stood. Her legs were still shaking from the cold, but her teeth had finally stopped. Drying off, she handed Atlas his shirt back and nodded her thanks. Atlas turned his back to her to begin dressing.

"Wait," Hope said just as he had pulled the shirt over his head and his arms through the sleeves. Never removing the towel, she quickly shimmied into her jeans and threw on her shirt.

"Hold still." Dropping the towel and still shivering, she walked over to Atlas and lifted his shirt again.

Atlas felt his heart racing. He felt vulnerable as she examined his back. He was about to ask a question when she let her icy fingers graze just underneath his shoulder blade. The feeling made him shiver. He wasn't sure if it was her cool touch or the close proximity.

"What is this? What does it mean?" she said quietly to herself.

"What is it?" Atlas asked worriedly.

"A number; It's six digits long. '030118'," Hope read. Her frozen fingers traced across his back directly below his neck. It was deliberate and slow, which elicited another shiver from him. "Now that's bizarre."

"You have it too," he used his hands to pull his shirt down. His face was solemn as he looked at his counterpart, but his heart beat hard with the memory of her touch. She stepped back and pulled her wet braid to the front, gesturing for him to look at her back. Atlas hesitated but walked over anyways. He slowly lifted her shirt.

"121620," he read aloud, "and you have this strange red ring here." He pressed his pointer finger against the light pink skin. It was a perfect circle. Too perfect to be a birthmark. It was a stark contrast to her pale soft skin around it. His touch lingered over the still cold skin there. He noted the small goosebumps that formed as he gently thumbed around the circle.

"That's what you had. Right under your neck." She gestured to the location of her strange mark.

"What the hell is going on here?" Atlas questioned.

Hope shook her head with her lips pursed. "I don't know, but I want answers,"

She reached down and took the protein bar and water out of the box. Moving away from the messy puddle on the floor, she motioned for Atlas to follow her. She sat down on a dry spot, and he joined her. Leaning back onto his arms, he stretched out his legs in front of him.

Atlas watched as she opened the protein bar. He noticed the fabric of her shirt was wet from her undergarments. He flushed at the realization, and his heart quickened its pace. Embarrassed, he was about to look away when Hope pushed half of the protein bar towards him.

"Here. Eat." She took a bite of her half with the broken piece extended to him. "You'll need your strength if we are ever going to get out of here."

Atlas took the food gratefully. He finished off the bar and was, once again, offered something. He took the outstretched water bottle and took a sip of the cold liquid. Handing the half-empty bottle to Hope, he watched her throat work as she swallowed the rest of it.

Who knows when we'll eat again?

Hope looked like she was about to say something. Atlas drew his legs in and faced her attentively.

"Ya know," she started, "I wonder if they know we are here; that we met each other. I wonder if that was planned, like the scissors."

Atlas shook his head and lifted his hand to scratch at his brow. "I don't think it was planned."

Suddenly, he had an epiphany. They had to be watching. There is no way they weren't.

"The paintings," Atlas breathed the words barely above a whisper.

"What about them?" Hope asked.

"They can see us. Nothing activated the paintings until they were pushed together. There was no mechanism used to move the elevator across. They did it," Atlas' skin grew pale. He felt sick. Some kind of ruthless monster had watched the boy die in the other room and hadn't tried to stop it or given him enough respect to bury him.

"The button!" Hope interjected. She reached over to grab his bicep. "The button was in the back of the mirror. It wasn't attached to anything. Do you think they have a camera?" she asked nervously.

"Oh, I am sure of it now," Atlas said in a grim voice. He felt her, now warm, fingertips on his skin. It was strange knowing that he wasn't alone anymore. He was beginning to trust the girl. After all, they had a common goal, and she hadn't given him any more reason not to. She might be his only hope. He gave Hope a partially fake smile to try and reassure her. Giving a weak smile back, Hope released his arm and stood to her feet.

"Well, let's finish this room so we can leave."

They made their way to the box. Reaching down, Atlas picked up the last remaining item. It was a small clock. Frowning, he brushed his thumb over the shattered surface. The hands had stopped at around 6:38.

"It's broken," Hope said with confusion as she placed it gently back into the box. "Why would they give us a broken clock?"

"There has to be a reason." In silent agreement, the pair went to opposite sides of the room and felt all along the walls. They did a few laps around until Atlas reached the elevator. When he touched one of the white spirals, it fell from its place on the wall, tumbling down on top of him. It was a light material, and It was somewhat flexible.

Hope heard the piece fall and looked over. There was a small impression in the wall where the shape had been.

"Well, that's new," Hope remarked. "I haven't seen any walls fall apart yet.

"Be careful what you wish for," Atlas retorted as he felt around the elevator again. Just like the time before, he touched one of the spirals, and the curved shape fell right out. Hope walked over to help him find more.

Soon, they had collected thirteen identical pieces. Each piece was the same size, color, and weight. They laid the piece out on the ground so that each one was visible.

"Maybe it's like the painting room?" Hope suggested. Atlas contemplated her words and tried connecting the figures. The connected pieces were interesting, to say the least. Because of how the way they were arranged, some ended in circles, and some ended in a wave.

"That one almost looks like a '6', " Hope remarked and pointed to the end of their chain.

Atlas looked to where she pointed. If they connected the last curve to make it a circle, then it would indeed be a '6'. Atlas had an idea.

"What time did the clock say?" He asked Hope, who had pocketed the object.

She pulled the broken piece back out of the box and read the time. "6:38."

Mentally drawing the numbers in the air, Atlas grinned. "That's it." He looked to Hope, who mirrored his joy and excitement.

Atlas bent down to the pieces and started to rearrange them. Calling to Hope, he said, "Use the pieces to make a 3."

She sat on her knees and went to work on the large pieces. Once all the parts had been used, Atlas stepped back to admire their handwork. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked to a beaming Hope.

"You ready?" he asked her, offering his hand. Hope looked down and took his hand. Both of them were smiling and ready to move to the next step. Except nothing happened.

They waited a few more seconds, but still, nothing happened. Atlas looked at their intertwined hands and felt his heart beating its way out of his chest. He had taken her hand in the heat of the moment, out of excitement, but now he turned bright red. The door wasn't moving, and they were standing there like idiots, holding hands.

Atlas pulled his hand away and turned his back to Hope. Bringing his hand up to his chin in thought, he used the opportunity to calm his racing heart and stifle the blood in his cheeks.

"This was too perfect not to be right," he said, turning quickly to look down at the three numbers." They had spelled '6,3,8' on top of the dark flooring. All of the pieces fit together with incredible precision.

So what could be wrong?

"Maybe...," Hope said, her green eyes concentrating on the white pieces. He turned around and searched her face as if it contained the answer.

"Maybe it's in the wrong place. We could put it on the wall of something," Upon offering up the solution, Hope took the number 8 and slid it to a wall. The number fell quickly, and so did her face.

"Or not," she said in defeat.

"You're right. You have to be... but where would it go?" They went about scanning the room.

"The pool!" Hope yelled. Atlas looked up at his companion. Hope had taken one of the numbers apart. She had fit a perfect white circle along the water's perimeter.

Atlas brought the rest of the pieces to the pool, and they went to work.

"Maybe this is the '6'?" Atlas offered. He added a few more pieces on to the circle to create a 6.

They created the '3' and placed it next to the '6' that surrounded the pool. Hopefulness was thick in the air as the pair moved. They worked to form the '8' and, in no time, moved the final number up beside the '3'.

Scrambling to their feet once more, they walked towards the elevator. This time the doors gave way. Hope let out a squeal and hugged Atlas impossibly tight.

"We did it!"

Atlas blinked. He was caught off guard by the sudden embrace. The warmth of her body was comforting against his own. Slowly, he let his arms fall around her.

Just as soon as he had reciprocated the contact, Atlas pulled away; not so fast that it was suspicious, and not staying so long that it was uncomfortable. After detaching, they walked over to the new elevator. This time it seemed very friendly. The walls, adorned with light wooden walling, complemented the pale yellow carpet.

What's this?

Atlas moved his hand towards the button that read '-3'. Just below the switch was a small hole. It appeared to be for a key.

"Well, that's new," Hope observed. She leaned over his shoulder to get a better view of the keyhole.

"Don't worry. We won't be seeing it for long."

Atlas couldn't have been more wrong.