Series Title: Echoes of the Void
Episode 1: The Awakening
Eli Morrison’s alarm clock shrieked, pulling him from a sleep that seemed more like a void than rest. He reached out to silence it, his hand moving through the motions without any recall of setting it the night before. The room was his, or at least it seemed so, but today, it felt like stepping into a stranger’s life.
He dressed in his usual attire, the familiarity of routine offering no comfort against the creeping sense of disorientation. Driving to work at Nexus Innovations was automatic; his hands knew the route his mind did not. As he parked in his designated spot, the sight of his name on the sign above did little to anchor him. The drive felt like a passage through emptiness, his memory of it completely expunged.
The building loomed ahead, intimidating in its familiarity. The wind was unusually fierce, tugging at his jacket like an omen. A thick fog rolled in, obscuring the world beyond the office, giving everything a surreal quality. Eli's steps were hesitant as he entered the foyer, where the usual morning crowd should have been, but today, they felt like actors on a stage he had forgotten he was part of.
At the coffee counter, the barista, a young woman with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, greeted him. "Same as usual, Eli?" she asked, her voice cutting through his fog of confusion.
"Yes," Eli managed to say, his voice a whisper, his thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. He handed over a crumpled $20 bill, feeling as if he were paying for more than just coffee. The barista counted out his change, "$13.35."
"Keep the change," Eli muttered, turning away from her gaze, which felt too probing for his comfort. He moved towards the elevators, each step feeling both routine and alien.
The elevator had a numeric keypad where buttons should have been, an oddity that sent a chill down his spine. With no memory of why or how, he punched in the code 1335. The doors opened with a soft whoosh, revealing an empty elevator, its silence echoing his inner turmoil. Stepping inside, Eli felt the unsettling ascent, his heart racing with the fear of what awaited at the top.
As the doors opened again, he stepped into the expanse of the top floor, where cubicles stretched like a maze. Each desk, each face should have sparked recognition, yet they only deepened his sense of being an intruder in his own life. He walked, guided by an instinct he couldn't explain, until he found himself outside his office, his name on the door a beacon in his confusion.
Entering, he sat down at his desk, the chair's creak the only sound in the overwhelming quiet. The view from his window was that of a city enshrouded in fog, the buildings' details lost, as if the world was a set, and he was the only one not in on the act.
Eli rubbed his forehead, trying to piece together the puzzle of his existence, but all he found was more fog, more uncertainty.
"What is happening to me?" he whispered to the empty room, the question echoing back like a taunt from the void.
Comment for Episode 2
