#glass doesn't really absorb flavours right?

[autogeneity]

hard to say it's even better than I expected because I went in with very high hopes indeed, but it is absolutely splendid

ahh tea is so good

[willow-by-the-brook]

You spot something gleaming just opposite to you. The twinkling seems to emanate from under the bed opposite to you. A glass of water hiding underneath the cot opposite you sits just on the border between the carpeted flooring of the section you are sitting in and the plain, cold marble floor of the hallway. Now that the chains are off, you can crawl to the cot and drink water. The edge, energy and adrenaline of success have not yet worn off, so you crawl over to the bed. Beside the water, you find a small, rectangular object covered with a smooth wrapping paper with 'Granola Energy Bar' scrawled over it.

Here's something you're familiar with.

You have no idea what the word 'Granola' means, but you had energy bars back at your home timeline. They were, of course, raw sources of power. ATP chemicals made into a form easily absorbable by your body. And the synthetic flavourings made them delicious. You have always wished they used that synthetic flavouring for everything, but you knew the science behind it well enough to not want to ingest more than a few grams of it. After all this struggle, you deserve something at least a little palatable.

You drink your glass of water and empty it in one swig. You pick up the bar, and just as you are about to tear through the wrapping paper like an animal, you spot another piece of paper stuck to the back of the bar, which reads, "Sorry for the unappetising snack- we know you deserve better after so much effort, but this was all we can offer you here. Good job on making it so far. You'll find a real treat when you reach the Final Puzzle."

Unappetising? Whoever this person was, they clearly had not experienced the delectable delights of an Energy Bar.

You tear open the paper in a brutish manner (as you knew you would) and take a bite of the bar. You expected something completely different. You expected to be relieved of all the pain in one go and get filled with energy at the first bite. You expected to be floating on cloud nine with the fresh hit of flavour. What you got, of course, was a sore disappointment.

The energy bar tasted like flat granular pieces of thick sandpaper glazed with some odd sticky syrup to attempt compensation for the appalling texture and taste. The person writing these notes was right about the unappetising taste of the energy bars of the Others.

What pitiable little creatures.

You scarf down a huge chunk of the bar despite the appalling taste. Your insatiable appetite does not possess any regard for taste, and you eat as if you have been on the brink of famine this entire time. Only a quarter of the energy bar is left unconsumed by the raging fire of your appetite. You can only suppress an unappetising taste for so long before it hits you. And when it hits you, it hits you like a trainwreck.

You remain seated for a while, waiting for the 'energy' part of the energy bar to kick into action. You've had this happen to you before, especially when you feel extremely tired; your body will not have enough strength to immediately absorb the energy and will take a little time to do so. When the energy gets absorbed though, you receive an instantaneous "kick" feeling that instantly rejuvenates and energizes anyone in desperate need of energy.

You wait for what feels like an eternity for the kick of energy, but it never comes. Tired of waiting, you get up. The energy bar has given you just as much energy as you would've gotten from eating something like a sandwich or a small salad. It was definitely there, but not really energy-restorative or adequate compensation for all the suffering you were put through. That ever-present ache all over your body had dulled down just enough to allow you to divert some energy into moving around.

You have a nagging feeling of wondering whether those who were in charge of this whole situation wanted you in this crippled, energy-deprived state for whatever sick things they wished to do.

Just because you have a tad more energy doesn't mean your body will stop trying to act sluggish. You drag your feet across the room. You need to examine the room. Perhaps there are more clues as to what this place is and how you even got to an Other Uni. Maybe even a clue as to how to get out of this place and back home?

You reach a wall and plaster your hands to it. You'd thought that the decorative paper would have made the paper smooth, but the walls were still harsh. It had the texture of old watercolour paper that was left exposed to friction and the air for too long.

You examine the posters more closely, trying to divine some details about the workings of this Uni, the level of knowledge they have about the Others and exactly what the purpose of this building is. There's not much to see. Some of the posters are just pictures of beautiful painted skylines. They're gorgeous and all, but they don't really add anything of value to the place. And, in the current moment, you could really use something that gave you at least a little bit of information.

You find an elevated bump as you run your palms over the walls. This stupefied you for a moment. Quite the discovery to make! You knew what that could mean, of course. It could most definitely mean access to a doorway or some concealment of sensitive information. The thought of such possibility thrilled you. There was, of course, the possibility that it was of no consequence, that this room was simply oddly shaped and you were lead on a wild goose chase. You were not willing to think of such possibility, and you therefore moved to action.

You run your hands up and down over the elevated area to figure out the dimensions of this elevation. You find that the elevated bump is two heads higher than you are--approximately 6.5 feet off the ground. The bump ran to the floor, so it was a 6.5 ft high elevation. After tracing out the highest point on the elevation, you run the tips of your fingers sideways, attempting to figure out whether the elevation was a part of the wall (and therefore of no consequence) or a block that stood separately from the wall. You found that the elevation abruptly fell to the original thickness of the wall after what felt like 2.5 ft of running your hand along one side. It felt almost like a thicker block of wood covered by decorative paper was randomly placed in the middle of the wall. You had to admit, the cover-up was done in a deviously clever manner. The raised area would not seem odd to anyone who didn't know where to look; the elevation was very slight- slight enough to be ignored by anyone who was far too concerned with (and terrified of) the matter of being kidnapped and locked up in an odd place unfamiliar to them, even if they were standing close to the wall.

Such placement could not be simply random, of course. It could only mean one thing-- either it was a door to a hidden passageway, or it concealed a part of the wall that could be incriminating.

You immediately felt the adrenaline rushing into your body. You had discovered something of consequence-- something that might help you get out of this accursed place.

You could feel the thrill and exhilaration of success coursing through your body. You finally saw a way to get out of this hell. Finally, the terror and stress that you felt pressing on you (ever since your consciousness had been cursed to have this hell on earth embed its mark deep into your consciousness, which modified it radically and permanently) had loosened the firm grasp it had held over every fibre of your mortal being. The exhilaration of this momentary release from the fear of the unknown, the immense joy pulsating through your veins during that immediate moment before discovery, and all those joyous positive emotions were a fresh breath of new air after all that terror, weakness and stress were thrilling to feel, like feeling the soothing lukewarmth of old tea after roaming in the winter frost for a bit too long.

All those welcome feelings of elation came accompanied by an edge of anxiety. You were still not aware of what the future held for you. You were well aware of the dangers that could be caused by your very presence in this unknown Uni. You were sure this was an honest mistake; Unis like these were 'experimenting' with their little sciences without understanding exactly what they were subjecting their worlds to. An incomplete understanding of the facts always leads to violence. Violence breeds only amidst the ignorant. Ignorance is the downfall of civilization. Even though that may be true, that did not mean that all danger would be negated simply due to the madness that ignorance gives people. You still fear the intentions of the person/s that had access to devices that were able to bring a person from another Uni directly into their own Uni. You feel that lingering anxiety, having its sources in wondering what else they were capable of, what their level of knowledge pertaining to the matter of Time Studies was and what intentions, motives and purposes they had. You were far too used to the natural capability for nefariousness that was becoming of humanity as a whole, no matter which conditions they lived in.

This was no time to let your mind race or to let thoughts, doubts and emotions get in your way. Your fingers wrap around the top edge and the side closest to you of the smooth wood block. You yank at the block, expecting it to fall out. That does not work.

That negates one of my doubts which leads me to believe... I've stumbled upon a doorway!.

You let go of the top of the block. You gently pull the side of the block.

Slowly, the door creaks open.

On the other side, you can spot a sliver of light seeping in from some faraway window. Those slivers of sunlight bring along with them crashing waves, rippling with hope.

I'll get home soon.

You wake up with what feels like a terrible hangover, the dilapidated room around you is unfamiliar and you are chained to the bed, written on the ceiling is the message “If you can read this you’re human enough to use the key on the nightstand”