Alright… I guess I was looking into apartment complexes. I was in the lobby of one of the complexes, which looked much more like a resort hotel in Anaheim. I distinctly remember two of them near each other. They both had clean, cerulean carpets and off-white walls styled with simplicity and elegance.

But, I remember I left my mattress outside. So I went out the back way, towards, passing a pool. Water polo lessons were being held there, and the chief instructor was some guy who TA’ed computer class I took back in the summer after fifth grade. I said “Hi” and continued until I reached the busy street at the end of the curving granite walkway.

It was sunny with a mild breeze. Perfect weather. No wonder they were holding water polo classes.

So, I picked up my mattress, and for some reason, I decided to take the sheet cover off. I hefted it the mattress with me, but decided to go to the other apartment complex, which is basically the same as the other one. I asked the desk attendant where to go, and she pointed down a hallway.

I go down the hallway… and find myself in a completely different apartment complex lobby. Clean, but not as high-quality. Brown, woodish walls and navy-colored carpeting. Various people were walking around, but they walked with the demeanor of workers instead of tenants. Well, that’s when I realized, “Oh crap, I don’t have my bedsheet cover with me.” I left the mattress there and ran out the same way I came in but I didn’t go “back” to the other complexes. Damn, a stupid thing to do.

So, I walk back to the lobby, and my mattress has disappeared, but I don’t really care much for it anymore. I head to the elevator, where there are two men and a woman in there. I go inside, and the the whole apparatus shakes and groans. One of the guys goes out disappears around a corner, while the remaining two people discuss what’s wrong with the elevator. Apparently, the complex is currently under renovation, but is still operating. The guy and girl walk out, continue to talk, and block the exit.

Now, the elevator is rocking left and right at 30 degree angles and ever-so-slowly descending. The guy laughingly comments, “Boy, I wouldn’t go into that elevator unless they tore the whole thing out and replace it.” I’m thinking that he needs to get the hell out of the way and help me out. Also, the elevator is slowly going down, making me more panicked until the girl offers her hand to help me out of it. I’m pulled out, and repairment are called to fix it.

I decide to take the stairs to see the rest of the apartment. The elevator, when I had looked in it, showed seven floors, but this complex was huge, looking more like a gigantic Anaheim Convention Center rather than an apartment. I walk around and realize there is a ring of keys in my pocket. I look at one key, which looks like a decidedly unique, modern, yet functional key. So, I decide to go open up the door to some corner apartment, which has clear, industrially-treated glass walls with light steel beam frames. Looking more like a corner office in a corporation, it offered a wide view of the outside. I decided to try a key in the door, but then took off when I realized it was occupied by two individuals. I made up my mind, though, that I would try every door in the entire complex with the keys I had.

I passed by a bunch of equipment and someone that I figured was the chief repairman of the elevator. He was working on it, and I found a little paper spin dial lying on top of some metal boxes. Sribbled on the current entry was “0101.” I spun the wheel dial, reading through some strange jargon and references and landed at “1101.” Then, the chief repairman scolded me (telepathically, I’m guessing), saying that he was now at the 11th floor, and he had locked it to the 1st floor. I guess this dial was a manual lock mechanism for it… or something. So, I wheeled the dial, trying to find “0101″ again. Turned the thing upside down, but didn’t find any special electronics on it. Only some metal clip that clicked with each rotation.

It became dark now, and we were all getting the idea that this apartment complex wasn’t safe anymore, with the elevator being a major source of it’s “corruptness.” I was starting to wake up, so I tried to end it. Realizing I couldn’t, I decided to cut it off as a “Part 1 of 2.” Strangely enough, I got a preview of the second half afterwards.

Three police officers, two male and one female, have their guns drawn and flashlights out, investigating the roof of the complex at midnight. They proceed into a small, fenced-in area. The fence itself has rusted into a sickly orange-brown color. They proceed onto a large, rusty, metal plate, which is supposedly right above the elevator shaft.

“Wait, this isn’t rust. This is mold!”

“What the hell is this?”

“This isn’t normal mold. We need to report this!”

“Wait… what’s happening?”

Black rats began materializing within the cracks in the rusty mold. First dozens… then hundreds… then thousands. The three officers, horrified by the sight, cannot move or do anything as the swarm grows larger around their feet.

Everything fades into blackness…

First, another YouTube video.

Utawarerumono Last Boss - Hissatsu Waza Kyougeki

One of the first things sent to me for the New Year. Oh wow… isn’t that fun. But, it ends up reminding me of the attitude I need for this coming year. There’s a lot of things I want to do, a lot of things I need to do, and a lot of things I should do. This coming year promises to be a major year for me, and there’s not much I can do about that. And they’ll probably be a lot of times when I’ll want to scream like Oboro or Touka, about something that makes me feel like bits and pieces of me are getting killed off.

Well… maybe not that dramatic, but, nonetheless, it will be a serious year.