Chapter 20

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Author's Note: Special Thanks to BlueberryCookieCrisis and Better a Freak Than a Fake for cooperative insight for the ending. Check both of them out as they are both excellent writers!

A blinding flash of light was all he could see in front of him. His head was locked in position, his body paralyzed, and his focus placed only on the ball of light which appeared to be coming close to him by the second.

He could feel his body as if it were being uplifted by an outside force, travelling at an immense pace to the point his eyes laid back in their sockets. The light grew brighter and brighter, its warmth warming his body as he came in near contact with the holy light.

And then there was pitch black darkness. In a blink of an eye, the light disappeared and was replaced with a dark shroud of black, cold and blank. The empty plane was quiet to the point of hearing one's own heartbeat, with not a soul to see or a voice to be heard.

What was most frightening was that he could now hear his own breaths, the sudden sound making his body jolt in surprise. He could suddenly feel strength in his bones, his legs regaining strength and his entire body coming to life. He could feel his body freely move, and the blood in his veins flowing through him. He felt alive.

A feeling he never felt in such a long time.

Though despite his revelation of being alive, he was confused why the only thing he saw was darkness. What was more baffling is what he felt around him. Not even a few inches around him, he could feel a cold steel-like barrier encasing his entire body. If he moved his feet, he could feel the back end of the barrier. If he lifted his head or hands, he could feel a solid door in front of him, though it was futile to push it open as it was sealed shut.

His body jolted again as he heard the sound of a lock being opened, and the sound of encased air being released after years of being sealed. He looked to his left and noticed a small line of light at the bottom of the barrier, its luminosity too bright for him to make out what was on the other side.

He moved his body as much as he could over to the light and attempted to reach his fingers to slide under the barrier and enter the light outside. He could feel himself now gripping the very edge of the cold barrier, and noticed that, with a slight push upwards, would reveal more of the light outside.

Without hesitation, he used all of his now-regained strength to push open the barrier, swiftly revealing another large flash of light. He closed his eyes and brought his hands up to his eyes, shielding them from the sudden change of light. He cringed and looked away momentarily, letting his eyes adjust to the new environment around him.

When his vision became clear enough to see, he breathed quietly and slowly pushed himself up, looking around his position to see where his deep slumber had taken place.

What he saw was baffling and yet horrifying at the same time.

He found himself sitting on a large metal casket, with wires attached to its base and a small computer placed on the top. As he followed the wires from his spot, he noticed they were attached to a large pillar in the certain of a large, dark, metallic room. Looking in awe at the massive technological masterpiece, he noticed that it seemed to be turned off, the lights completely shut off and the large computer at the base not making a sound.

Now taking a look around the pillar still from his spot, he gasped as he noticed dozens of similar metal caskets like the one he had just woken out of, each attached to the giant pillar in the center of the room. And, looking carefully at each one, he could instantly make out that each casket was being occupied by another person.

So many questions were running through his head, with no answers in sight. As he tried to scratch his head, instead of feeling his scalp, he felt a solid helmet forcefully attached to the top of his head. Confused, he used his peripheral vision to see a large helmet, also with wires that were attached to the metal casket, on top of his head, though it felt loose enough now to remove.

Not taking a moment to think about how it got there, he removed the helmet immediately off his head, and dropped it to the floor

Letting light green hair from the top of his head finally flow out and rest across his head.

As the green haired man freely felt his forehead, feeling a massive headache from suddenly waking up, he looked over at the computer on his casket out of curiosity, and noticed the title 'Flippy' was typed on the screen.

He shook his head as he knew for certain that was not even close to his real name, nor why it was typed on the computer. Nonetheless, 'Flippy' knew this was not where he belonged, and instantly got up to his feet, looking around the room that he had no idea how to navigate around.

As he walked around the room, he looked at himself to see his body was wrapped inside a white jumpsuit, completely free of dust and hair. He tugged at the suit, trying to take it off as he frantically looked around the room.

"Where… where the hell am I?! How did I get here?! W-What is all of this?! Why-"

As he talked to himself asking questions he knew he had no answer to, he turned around sharply to his right to see the casket next to him had just unlocked itself, letting out a large flow of air that was sealed inside.

With instincts telling him to go over and see whoever, or whatever, was possibly inside the casket, Flippy ran over to the casket and reached both his hands at the edge of its door, making a tight grip and forcing the door open.

As more air flowed out of the now open casket, Flippy caught a good look of the person inside.

A young woman with long red hair, wearing the same white jumpsuit like him, was sleeping silently in the casket, her eyes shut as she breathed softly.

Flippy looked over the woman curiously, unable to decide on what to do with this strange person that laid asleep in front of him. He took the time to look at the computer on the casket, and noticed the words 'Flaky' were typed on the screen.

Shaking his head knowing that could not be her real name, despite the reality that he could indeed see some noticeable flakes in her long red hair, Flippy leaned down and placed his right hand on her left shoulder, shaking it softly as he spoke calmly.

"Ma'am… ma'am, are you awake?"

The sudden touch of another person instantly woke Flaky up from her slumber, jolting up and wide awake as she pushed herself away from the strange man looking at her. She was breathing rapidly and shaking violently, her eyes showing fear as she looked around in horror, pushing her arms out to prevent Flippy from coming any closer.

"W-W-Who a-are y-y-you?! W-W-W-Where a-a-are we?! W-What a-a-are y-you going t-t-to d-do w-w-with me?!" W-W-Why-"

Flippy brought his hands up and gently raised and lowered them up and down, stepping a half-step back as he tried to calm down the scared woman.

"Shhhhh, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. It is okay, everything is going to be okay. I'm here to help you here. That's all I want to do is help you right now."

Flaky's violent shaking simmered down slightly, her heartbeat going back to a regular pace as she spoke more calmly. "Y-You are?"

Flippy nodded his head with a smile as he stepped forward. "Of course. You can trust me, ma'am. I just want to help you." He reached out his right hand, and gave a slight nod. "You can trust me."

At first a little cautious at accepting a helping hand from a stranger she never met before, Flaky decided to take the risk and reached out her right hand to be grasped lightly by Flippy's, and was carefully lifted up to her feet. With her helmet still attached, Flippy proceeded to remove the odd piece of equipment off her head, letting the rest of her long hair come out easily.

As Flippy dropped the helmet to the floor, Flaky looked around the room with a curious and confused look, a little bit of fear still noticeable in her eyes.

"Where… where am I? How did I get here?"

Flippy shook his head as he shrugged his shoulders. "I… I have no idea. I woke up just now as well and can't remember anything."

Flaky looked at Flippy in surprise. "You did?!"

Flippy nodded his head as he pointed to his casket lying next to hers. Flaky looked over and noticed the open casket, her mind raising more questions as she looked at it curiously.

"Were... were we captured and brought here? Did we come here ourselves? What… what is all of this?"

Flippy looked around the room with Flaky, shaking his head in disappointment at how he could not remember any more than Flaky could. "I really don't know, ma'am. This is all so… so… weird."

As Flippy looked around the room, Flaky noticed the many other unopened caskets similar to hers and Flippy's. She pointed to each individual one in the room, taking her free hand to grab onto Flippy's arm.

"Do… do you think other people are inside those too?"

Flippy looked at the caskets in the room and nodded his head determinedly. "Yeah, I think so…"

Both went silent for a few seconds, staring blankly at each casket in the room, unable to decide what to do with the people that could be inside. Flaky, after doing a slow nod, took a step forward, turning her head behind her to face Flippy.

"Should we… help them?"

Flippy remained silent for a moment, reflecting on Flaky's question as he observed each of the occupied caskets. Despite his instincts to help, he couldn't stop himself from questioning the act. He didn't know any of the people who lied asleep in these caskets, and certainly had no clue about the lady next to him. Perhaps they belonged there. Some could be killers or evil people that will attack them once they came out.

They were strangers to him. Could he really trust the man or woman inside these caskets he never knew?

"Hey… I think we should we help them, don't you?"

Flaky repeated her question, making Flippy come out of his trance and stare at Flaky, who was impatiently waiting for a response.

Flippy looked away for a moment, still questioning himself if it was worth helping those inside. He sighed and nodded his head as he spoke to himself in his head.

"Well, I guess I won't know the type of person they are until I see them myself. Can't hurt to get to know them."

Flippy looked up to Flaky with a small grin and gave her a quick nod. "Yeah, let's get them out."

Flaky smiled as she looked to the left side of the room before pointing her right index finger to the right side of the room. "I'll, um, take the left side and work around while you do the right, okay?"

Flippy gave Flaky a thumbs up with his left hand. "Yes ma'am!"

The two strangers worked their way around the room, heading towards each casket's computer attached to the side. They stared at the computer screen, examining them in awe and confusion at the amazing technology that was used here. Luckily, there was a simple 'Open' button on screen, clear and visible to them on the bottom left side of the screen.

Knowing what to do, they instantly hit the 'Open' button on the computer of each casket, unlocking the container and shutting of its power, waking up anyone inside and giving them the ability to freely exit the casket at their will.

It took only a matter of seconds to open up each pod in the room, completely shutting off power to each casket and freeing every stranger inside each one. Flippy and Flaky walked and met each other in the center of the room next to the tall pillar, standing close to each other as they awaited the people they never knew to come out.

They were both thrilled and scared at who they would meet, if they would either help them, or, in the end, possibly hurt them.

They had to put their trust into these strangers and hope it'll turn out fine. It was their only way of getting to know them, and getting some kind of help.

Flippy looked to the right side of the room while Flaky looked to the left watching each person, one by one, awaken from their deep slumber and open up their caskets, either getting up slowly and yawning from their sudden awakening or quickly jumping out in shock and confusion.

The first of the strangers to jump out erratically out of his casket was a middle-aged man on the left side of the room, his head balding at the top after removing his helmet.

"My son! Where's my son?! SON!"

At the opposite end of the room was a small child, younger than ten years of age, who sat patiently in his now opened pod. "Daddy?"

The middle-aged man ran over to his son instantly, his right eye dropping a tear and a relieved smile on his face as he picked up his child after removing his helmet. "Oh my God! You're okay! Thank God you're okay…"

As the child held onto his father, he spoke calmly with a confused expression. "Daddy… where are we?"

The father placed a similar confused and fear look on his face, looking around the room slowly. "I-I-I don't know, son… I don't know…"

"HEY! Who the hell took my hat?!"

Flippy and Flaky looked at the opposite end of the room to see two identical male twins with dark green hair come out of their caskets, the one who spoke furiously throwing his helmet on the floor.

"How the hell did we end up here?! And who's the son of a bitch that took my hat?!"

The other twin shook his head in disgust. "Dude, it's just a hat-"

"Bullshit! It's a symbol of my authority! It's what makes me 'me!' Also, it's MY hat, and I want it back!"

The twin sighed in agitation as the other looked around frantically. Flippy than took his attention to the right to see a young man with light blue hair slowly marvel at the helmet that was on his head, and looked around the room in awe.

"Look at this technology… it's so fascinating and… mystifying. Imagine the work that was placed into all of this pieces of technology! It's so-"

The angry twin growled in aggravation. "Shut up, nerd! We have something worse to think about than this shit, like how we got here… and WHO TOOK MY HAT?!"

The young nerd looked back in anger before letting out a sigh. Flaky looked back over to her side and a man with purple hair slowly push himself up, though was looking around with a blank stare while waving his arms in front of him.

"Anyone feel like helping a blind man get on his feet?"

Next to his casket was another young man with orange hair, who oddly had only bandaged nubs in place of his hands. A young blue haired woman was helping remove his helmet, who looked at it disgust when looking at some of the small specks of dust on the top.

"Sure, let me help."

After his helmet was removed, the orange-haired man walked over to the blind man, who was still waving his hand out to be grabbed.

"Well… aren't you going to give me your hand or not?"

The man gave an angered scowl as he reached out his nubs, squinting his eyes in agitation at the blind man's question. Instead of giving him a 'hand,' the man bent over and let the blind man grab onto his shoulder, wrapping his right arm around him while being hoisted up to his feet.

"Thanks stranger."

"No problem."

Flippy and Flaky stood still as they watched the remaining people walk out of their caskets, all wearing the same white jumpsuits as they did, and all having questions and comments similar to the others.

None of them had any clue where they were or how they got there. They were just as baffled as the first two people who awaken were.

Suddenly, another blue haired man, who was significantly taller than the nerd, looked over at Flippy and Flaky, pointing his right index finger at both of them.

"Hey, you two. You woke us up. Can you tell us where we are and why we're here?"

Flaky looked at Flippy, who shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just as confused as you are, sir. We woke up just now as well."

The tall man shook his head in disbelief as he looked around at the other strangers, each one having the same look of confusion and disbelief as him. They mumbled to themselves as they looked around the room, unable to decide their next move.

Flaky looked behind her as she heard someone clear their throat loudly. It was another grown man with an orange afro, a little deflated after being covered by a helmet for years.

"Hey, sweet cheeks, mind telling us what we should do now? I don't feel like standing inside with a bunch of people I don't know, and would rather go home and eat. I could use a good meal after sleeping for this long."

The twin who was not concerned about a missing hat chuckled. "Yeah like you need to eat more, fat ass!"

Before the afro haired man could speak in a rage-filled tone, Flippy raised his hands up to silence both of them. "Alright, let's not get into an argument at each other. We just woke up and found ourselves in a place that apparently none of us know of."

A young woman with purple hair, who was holding herself softly, spoke with a gentle voice. "Well what should we do? Are we supposed to wait here until someone comes and helps us?"

The orange-haired man, who was holding up the blind man with his shoulders, spoke up with a serious tone. "I say we try to find a way out. We don't belong here so we should just leave."

The twin, still searching for his hat, made a sarcastic chuckle. "Man, screw that. We don't know where we are or how we got here. Maybe we live here now. Maybe the place is filled with traps or some shit. Maybe the outside is some kind of post-apocalyptic world and we need to stay here. Whatever, I ain't leaving until someone explains this shit!"

The nerd crossed his arms as he looked at the twins in disgust. "All of those possible situations are idiotic and most definitely not the reason why we're here… though I do admit, this is a strange place I have no idea where its exact location is, and we don't know how long we've been out. Indeed… maybe there is a reason why we're here… I don't know…"

As the other people conversed with each other on questioning on what to do, Flaky looked up to Flippy, who was observing the people with a concerned look, trying to think of what to do with these strange people.

With a short inhale, Flaky spoke calmly. "What do you think we should do now?"

Flippy jolted a little bit from hearing the young woman and looked down at her with a questioning look. He tried to reply to her question though was interrupted by hat-concerning twin at the other end of the room, who seemed to have given up looking for any sign of his hat.

"What, you're asking THAT guy? How can you trust that guy? He looks like the kind of guy who would probably kill you in your sleep with a sharp knife stabbed through your neck. I'm not going to trust no man I have no clue who he is; I've got no need to."

All the people in the room, aside from the twin, looked at Flippy for his response, with Flaky standing closes to him. Flippy looked at everyone with a concerned look, who were eagerly awaiting for his response.

Before a response came to his mind, everyone turned their heads sharply to the far south end of the room, noticing a sliding door open upwards, with a trail of lights blinking to its entrance. Lights were lit up in its path, revealing a metal staircase leading upwards.

Flippy took only a short glance at the open door before nodding his head, walking towards the door and looking up the staircase, seeing it was showing a long path up, possibly to the surface.

He turned around with a smile and beckoned the people watching him. "Come on, I think this might be the way out."

Everyone stood by their caskets for a moment, taking a moment trust the strange man and follow his lead. They looked at each other hoping if someone would give an answer to follow him or not.

Flippy smiled widely as he watched Flaky slowly come up to him, the red-haired woman giving him a slow nod before turning around to face the others. Seeing how the one woman was already placing trust into this stranger, everyone decided to follow in pursuit and place their trust in him.

The older twin had a shocked expression as he watched everyone leave and meet up with Flippy. "SERIOUSLY?! You're just going right up and follow him because some weak red-head follows him? You're all a bunch of dumbasses…"

The older twin replaced his shock looked with a confused one as he watched his brother go out to meet with the group. "Hey, man, where the hell do you think you're going?"

The younger twin turned around while gesturing his body to the group. "Man, I'm not going to sit my ass in this room and just die when I can take a chance to leave and go home. Besides, if that chick is okay with the guy, then screw it, I'll follow him anywhere. Can't hurt to trust someone now and then."

As the younger twin walked to the group, the older twin growled in anger and was forced to follow his younger brother against his will. "God, what the hell is with you and redheads?"

After a few seconds of waiting, Flippy now noticed everyone was now in one large group and were ready to make their ascent to, hopefully, their home. He nodded his head and turned around to face the staircase, making the first step upwards…

He then stopped and had a strange thought in his head that raised multiple questions in his mind. Without thinking, he turned around to face the group again, and, for no reason in particular, started counting each head he saw in the group.

Flaky had a concerned look on her face and spoke up to Flippy. "Hey, what's wrong?"

After making a quick tally of everyone, including counting himself, he had a total of 21 people. And despite seeing all the caskets in the room being opened, he made a question that confused even himself.

"You… sure this is everyone?"

The tall man in the group overheard Flippy, and looked around and counted everyone himself. "Yeah, sir, I believe this is everyone. Don't see anyone else here besides us."

Flaky, after taking a quick glance at the group, looked up to Flippy. "Do you think someone's missing?"

Flippy thought about the question for a moment, then shook his head. "No… just… just making sure."

With a quick nod, Flippy proceeded to walk up the staircase, with everyone else behind him following in pursuit. Their feet echoed in the stairwell as they stepped on the metal steps, the sound of clanging metal against shoes being heard with each step. Those who thought of counting the number of steps seized to attempt any further as they lost count, the time to reach the top slowly killing them mentally.

Slowly but surely, Flippy and everyone else made it to the top of the stairwell, and were met with a large double door above them. Flippy looked around for a moment and noticed to his right side was a switch, with two buttons reading 'Open' and 'Close.' He quickly aimed for the 'Open' button, and pressed it without hesitation.

The door above the group opened instantly, revealing a rather small and dirty wooden room above. Flippy took a few steps ahead of the group, looking and observing the room above them. It was nothing special, looking like an ordinary small wooden shack, with a desk and computer in the center of the room. Otherwise, it was plain and dull.

But what was most interesting about this room was one last door at the front end of the room they stood in, with a shining ray of light peering through the small crack underneath it. Flippy smiled and looked back at the group, who dawned smiles as well looking at the man leading them home.

"Everyone, I think I found the way outside. When I open the door, shield your eyes. The sudden change in light is going to hurt, but we're almost there!"

Everyone nodded their heads and prepared to shield their eyes by placing their free hands up to their face. Seeing that everyone was prepared, Flippy excitedly jogged to the front door, placing his hands on the knob and ready to open.

He waited for everyone to stand behind him, with Flaky standing by his right side. They all smiled as Flippy turned the knob on the door, and, with one large breath, slowly pushed open the wooden door.

A large flash of light was made, bright enough to blind anyone who did not shield their eyes. Flippy cringed and closed his eyes while covering them with his right hand, doing all he could to make sure he was not blinded the moment before his entrance to freedom.

As he took a step forward, the ground he felt changed from a hard wooden floor to soft dirt and stony rocks. He, and everyone else behind him, took their steps slowly and carefully, waiting for their eyes to adjust to the sunlight before making any sudden movements.

Flippy stopped after taking a few more steps, and slowly lifted his head while opening his eyes to now view the world in front of him.

He sighed in relief and smiled excitedly as he looked around where they now stood.

They found themselves on the side of a mountain path, with a large beautiful forest beneath them. The sky was blue and the air was fresh, with the sun in the sky giving the world the warmth and light it needed. Birds chirped in the air and the wind blew through the land beautifully. It was calm and tranquil, a perfect entrance to the world.

As Flaky exited the wooden shack, they came out of and stand next to Flippy, she smiled widely as she looked down their path, showing an intersection to turn either right or left. She looked up to Flippy and spoke with a happy voice.

"So… where to now?"

Flippy looked both left and right on the path in front of them, and, with a point with his right index finger, gestured everyone to take the right path, and proceeded to walk forward.

Flaky happily walked alongside Flippy, and everyone else followed in pursuit.

They were coming home.

"And that's it? That's all you can remember?"

"Yes, that's I can recall. Everything else… is just a blank."

Flippy, still sporting the white jumpsuit he entered his original world with, was sitting behind a metal desk in a dark room, with one sole ceiling light above him. His back was leaned back in a rather uncomfortable steel chair, with the room having a cold breeze inside the short space it provided.

He had a worried expression on his face as he conversed with two strange men, their identities concealed by a blanket of darkness, their faces completely unnoticeable to him. Flippy could feel cold sweat going down his sides as the men continued to question him with a harsh tone.

"Sir, you have been gone, off the records, for over 15 years. And now, after all this time, you come back without warning, and the only thing you can say to us is that you remember nothing?!"

Flippy nodded erratically, trying to prove his case as true. "Yes! I seriously don't know how I got back here. One moment I'm in this steel casket, the next I wake up with dozens of other random people with no idea how we got here. I just can't recall anything before that!"

The strange man sighed as he shook his head. "You spin an odd tale, sir. Caskets? Giant computers in an underground facility? It's really all hard to believe."

Flippy looked down for a moment, trying to calm himself down. "I know, but… but it's true. There's this underground facility up in the nearby mountains hidden underneath a wooden shack. If we take you back to it, you can see it for yourself and-"

The strange man raised his hand, silencing Flippy. "No need; we'll have a team there and look into this possible 'facility' you speak of. If they find anything similar to what you described, we'll know. But sir… I wish you could tell us something else. Running away for 15 years and going in hiding is a good way for tax evasion."

Flippy stayed silent and motionless, trying his best to recall anything else while inside the metal casket. "I… I just can't see anything. Me and everyone else… we just can't remember, no matter how hard we try. But… but…"

Flippy looked up, with a tear building up in his right eye. "I just want to go home now… I want to go home and forget about this… and so does everyone else… can we go home?"

The second man in the darkness, who was standing tall, leaned down to the other man sitting in front of Flippy, who returned the silent whisper with a nod. He looked back at Flippy and gestured his hand to the door.

"Very well. Wait outside in the lobby and we'll see to it that you return home. We'll… keep in touch as we look deeper into this matter. Good luck out there sir."

Flippy nodded his head slowly, and proceeded to get out of the metal chair an exit the room with the other strange man by his side.

But he stopped just before hitting the entrance of the door, and stared blankly into the absence of space in the room. His mind was showing something to him, something he could not make out yet felt so amazingly familiar. It felt just like the moment at the facility before climbing up. He couldn't tell if it was important of not, but he had to describe it somehow.

The strange man still sitting down looked at Flippy questionably. "Sir, is something wrong?"

Flippy turned around sharply to face the man, and spoke in a calm voice. "Actually… I do remember something else while inside there."

The man tilted his head while giving a curious nod. "Really… what is it that you remembered?"

It took only a short time for Flippy to explain what he thought he was seeing, and was rewarded with a slow nod and 'thank you' by the strange man. He was then swiftly led out of the room, back to a large open white lobby. Inside the lobby sat all of the people that came with him outside the facility, all of them with worried, confused, and scared expressions.

They all wanted to return home.

As the strange man guided him to an empty chair, he pointed over to the father, who was holding his young son in his arms. With a worried look on his face, the father carried his son and followed the strange man in the room, where he would be faced with the same questions like the others.

Flippy sat down on the seat he was directed to, and looked to his right to see a familiar redhead that entered the room before him. She looked depressed and scared as she held herself with his arms, closing her eyes as she tried to calm herself down by whispering kind words to herself.

Sad to see Flaky in such a state, Flippy rested his right hand on her, seizing her shaking and making her look up to him, seeing a kind smile on his face.

"Hey, everything will be fine. It's almost over, ma'am. In just a short time, we'll all be going home where we belong. Just stay calm for me, we're almost there."

Flaky smiled and nodded her head before sitting up straight on her chair. "Okay…"

They kept their smiles as they looked at each other happily, sitting in silence. Having a question in her head, Flaky decided to break the silence with a curious question that she knew the answer to already.

"So… what did you tell them?"

Flippy shrugged his shoulders as he sat up. "Just like you and everyone else that went ahead before me. I was in a casket one moment, woke up out of random in a strange underground facility, walked with all of you outside to be found on the side of a mountain, and took the path down to the nearest town. Nothing else came to mind…"

Flippy looked down for a bit, getting Flaky's attention. "What's wrong?"

Flippy stayed silent for a brief moment, then slowly turned his head to face Flaky. "Ma'am… when we were inside those… machines… did you ever see… a man?"

Flaky sat back a little, slightly confused by the question. "A… a man?"

Flippy nodded his head. "Yeah, a man. Do you ever recall seeing one in there?"

Flaky shook her head instantly. "No, I don't recall seeing anyone in there. Why… do you think you saw a man in there?"

Flippy sat up straight, looking up to the ceiling above him as he closed his eyes, thinking deeply of the thought going through his mind.

"I… I think so. I think I saw him… just a few minutes before we exited those caskets. I just… saw him there in front of me?"

Flaky, intrigued by the tale, leaned closer to Flippy. "Do you know him?"

Flippy shook his head. "No… at least… I don't think so. He was just there… like the rest of us, I think."

"You mean he was there at the facility like us, inside one of those… things?"

Flippy moved his head back and forth, unable to give a direct answer. "I'm not entirely sure. I just saw him there… doing something before we left. He was at this… machine that had a bright light I could not make out. I was just lying there… watching him…"

Flaky got closer to Flippy, bringing her chair closer to him. "What did he do?"

Flippy stared at the ceiling with his eyes closed just for a few more seconds, and then turned to face Flaky. "He… he looked at me… crying… with a smile on his face. And… I think he tried to speak to me…"

"What did the man say to you?"

Flippy shook his head in disappointment. "I… couldn't tell. But… the moment he finished speaking… he turned around, and all I saw was a massive flash of light. And then… it was over. I was going through this tunnel of light, and… it was over. He was gone, and I woke up in the casket."

Flaky looked down for a moment, thinking what Flippy just told her. A weird thought came to her head, and decided to share it. "Do you think… he saved us?"

Flippy gave Flaky a blank stare, not moving his head an inch. "Maybe… I don't know… I don't know…"

"Do you think he was a good man?"

Flippy looked away from Flaky, letting out a sigh as he spoke calmly. "He… was a man. He had his ability to make choices and choose the ones he thought would benefit him… or, maybe, benefit others. I'm sure he made mistakes and made the wrong moves, some he may have regretted, or perhaps did not care and was satisfied with the consequences. He had his own motives and he worked with whatever he had, and made his own decisions in the end, even if it would affect those around him or not. He… was just a man who made his own choices."

Flippy turned his head to face Flaky, and nodded his head. "But… in the end… I think he decided to be better than something. Whatever reason made him do what he did… I'm sure that the decision he made… was done to make us all happy. Maybe he was good, maybe he was bad, or maybe just imperfect and was neither. He did what he thought had to be done, and now… it's over."

Flaky, after thinking for a moment, smiled. "I wonder if we got to know him better outside here… he would be a nice person to be with. He could have been a good friend if everything was fine."

Flippy returned the statement with a smile of his own. "Yeah… maybe he-"

"YOU TWO!"

Flippy and Flaky jolted on their seats and looked up, noticing another strange man at the end of the lobby pointing his right index finger at them.

"You two, get up. We got your identities set and everything settled. Come on, we're taking you both home."

They looked at each other again, giving a reassuring smile to each other. Flippy got up to his feet and reached his right hand out, Flaky taking out her left hand to be gently grasped by his hand and lifted slowly to her feet. They broke the grasp and walked side to side to the large door at the other end of the room.

They walked through the door together, back out into the world.

And returned home.

One by one, the old man on top of the hill watched a group of people, all wearing matching whit jumpsuits, exit the wooden shack and take the right path down the mountain. He sat there and watched with an expressionless face as the group left the place they stayed in for years and return back to the outside world, going wherever they felt like they should be.

He sighed as he counted the last one going beyond the horizon and out of his view, he shook his head and placed his hands in his pockets, looking up to the sky as he listened to the birds chirp in the air. The wind made his grey hair flutter, his coat weaving back and forth as the breeze picked up and dropped in speed.

After making completely sure the group had no intention on returning back, the old man walked down the path he stood and made it to the wooden shack, opening it's rotting door and entered the small room inside. He made no hesitation to walk over to the computer, and sit gently on the chair before it.

He leaned forward and typed into the computer a variety of lines and code that would be nearly impossible for the average man to interpret. With a few presses on the keyboard, he clicked the 'Enter' key, and re-opened the hidden large door that closed behind the group that exited the shack.

Nodding his head, he placed a small USB drive into one of the computer's sockets, and instantly brought up a screen displaying 'Transferring Data.' It took a few impatient minutes to complete, by the computer finally gave all of it's files and data inside the small USB drive. The old man took it out and placed it in his pocket, gently laying it inside.

He got up slowly and looked at the now opened door, leading downstairs to a large underground facility.

He sighed and nodded his head.

"It's time to meet an old friend."