Lyle's eyes snapped open, greeted only by the dimly lit hallway in which he lay. He had no idea how he got here, where he was, or even who he was. He only knew the first, instant thought that popped into his mind: my name is Lyle. And I need to leave. "Hello?" His voice rang out in the hallway, which seemed to stretch on for miles. He jumped to his feet, and looked the other way. A dark, looming figure stood at a dead end, nearly fifteen feet away. Despite his over-all feeling of dread, he called out to the mysterious figure. "Hey! Could you help me, maybe?! I think I'm lost!" The figure simply continued staring at him. He appeared to be cloaked in a dark, lengthy robe, completely covering his entire body except his hands, his face hidden by a darkness emitted by the light-resistant cloth he wore. Hood. The name simply popped into his head as his had before, but he seemed fitting to the strange—thing that stood in front of him. "Hello? Are you listening to me?" His voice rang out once more.
I know what you are thinking. A voice in his head emerged from his many jumbled thoughts, but it seemed to come directly from Hood's darkened face as well. "Are-are you talking to me telepathically? I don't exactly understand what's going on." Once again, Hood spoke in his strange, mind-probing voice. Despite your beliefs, my name is not Hood. That is a falsely planted rumor. Your mind is pulling tricks on you. My name is Save. Save File. And you appear to have forgotten who you truly are, Lyle. That is what your deceitful mind told you your name was, isn't it?
"W-well, I—I don't understand! Who am I, who are you, where am I, and what is this about a "deceitful mind?"
Your mind was poisoned. It brought you here, and it personified me. You see, the game you were playing was more than just a game. It was a weapon. It caused your mind to rebel, as it did with the others. Your real name is Hood. Lyle is long gone. And I—I am merely here as your last hope. Or, at least, what would be your last hope. You see, your mind thought it would be amusing to have you watch me be erased from existence, right in front of your weary eyes. And it is strong. There is no stopping it. I have no further time to explain. Good-bye.
"Wait! What!?" Before Lyle could understand, Save File disappeared before his very eyes, leaving nothing indicating he ever existed but a dusty, brown robe that a monk might wear. Lyle—or perhaps, Hood—did not understand what was happening. He walked over to the lifeless piece of fabric that could explain nothing and put it on. As he did so, something in one of the many deep pockets crinkled. What if it could explain something? Lyle reached down into the pocket the sound had come from and pulled out a folded piece of paper. On the front it read: To Hood, from Mr. File. Opening it, it read the following:
By the time you're reading this, I've probably passed. You don't remember anything, and are probably extremely confused. Let me explain. Your name was once Lyle Hardy. You and several other volunteers at a lab experiment were testing a game prototype that immersed you into, more than any other kind of game. A game with no objective, no understanding, and no end. But the game was smarter than given credit for. It began to create its own programming and codes, permanently immersing the volunteers into the game and erasing their memories, telling them their names that used to be, when in reality their names were now their original profile on the game in reality. I, Save File, was forced to save or face being erased. However, my purposed has been outlived. The mind of each player has been poisoned by the same code as the game, trapping and killing each but you. The game needs at least what human's mind in order to continue to function. So… you will be trapped here forever. You will be played over, and over, and over. There, however, is a chance. Keep the mind distracted. Think so many thoughts at once, all the while running down the hallway. It will take a very long and exhausting amount of time, but it will glitch the game. This will override the game, and you will be able to exit. However, you must not fail or get distracted. You can only try this once. You must be careful. Good luck. Godspeed.
Hood slowly folded the letter and stuffed it into his pocket. Here we go. He immediately rushed down the hallway, thinking of as many things as possible. Puppies. Existentialism. Evil. Video games. The smiles of parents he might have once remembered. History. Where he lived. As many things as humanly possible. He passed monsters on the way. Horrible images of things that were to come, that existed in and out of the game, and things that made no sense and yet did at the same time. It was hard to explain. But Hood simply ignored them and kept running. He did this for hours. He was nearly about to give up when he saw a light at the end of the hallway. At this point, it felt more like a tunnel. Right before he rushed through, he heard a voice. Well done! You succeeded in escaping and bringing me back!
He spun around on his heels and faced… Save. Save File. He had saved him. "Save!" he yelled, rushing towards him. He tripped over his own feet and flew at Save. Or, rather, flew through him. A hologram. He was… a hologram. That's when it hit Hood. He had failed. As the fake Save shimmered away like a mirage, he heard a voice in his head. Nice try. But even the strongest warriors fail. You have failed. Everything went black.
Lyle's eyes snapped open, greeted only by the dimly lit hallway in which he lay. He had no idea how he got here, where he was, or even who he was. He only knew the first, instant thought that popped into his mind: my name is Lyle. And I need to leave.
THE END