Apocalypse: The echoes of Madness

"Rose, how are you feeling? Thank goodness you woke up," James said, relief evident in his voice.

"Who are you?" Rose asked, her brow furrowed.

"You've forgotten me too? I'm James, your one and only friend."

"I see. Sorry, I don't remember an—"

"You don't have to apologize. It's just good that you're awake," James interrupted.

Rose hesitated, her gaze shifting to the unfamiliar room around her. "Where am I? What happened to me?" she asked, her voice tinged with unease.

James offered a reassuring smile. "You're in the hospital," he explained. "You had an accident, and it was pretty serious. But don't worry, the doctors said you're going to be fine.

It looks like I have a pretty nice friend, Rose thought. I don't know where I am; at least I should go outside and look around.

"Okay, James. I want to go outside. Can you take me?"

"Sure," he replied with a reassuring smile.

As they walked, Rose looked around in awe.

"Wow, this hallway is so big. There's no end to it!"

James chuckled. "Haha, right? This is one of the safest places."

"Safest? What do you mean?" Rose asked, puzzled.

"Ah, umm—" James hesitated, searching for the right words.

Their conversation was cut short by a sudden loud noise.

"What… what was that? It sounded like a scream," Rose said, her voice tinged with concern.

"You know, this is a hospital. People scream in pain sometimes," James replied quickly.

"But—" Rose started, but James cut her off.

"Let's go, Rose. Let me introduce you to some people you can be friends with," he suggested.

"O-okay, sure," Rose agreed hesitantly.

As they walked further, Rose's unease grew.

"I don't know why, but this doesn't feel like a hospital. It feels more like a shelter. They have everything here—guards everywhere, no windows… It's like they're protecting themselves from something," she thought.

"Here we are," James announced. "Hey, guys! How's it going?"

Rose stepped into the room, her eyes widening.

"Wow, this room is so big," she said in amazement.

"Yeah, right? By the way, I'm Emily," a girl introduced herself with a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you, Emily. I'm Rose," Rose replied.

"Of course, we know you! You're the last person to wake up," Emily said cheerfully.

"What does that mean? I don't quite understand," Rose asked, confused.

"Don't worry, you'll understand soon. We were like you at first," another voice said. "Oh, I'm Yuri, and this is my brother—"

"Arthur! Haha," Arthur finished with a grin.

"Oh, and we have another girl here. She's sleeping again," James added, pointing to the corner. "Her name is Lily."

"Lily?" Rose murmured. "Lily… That name sounds familiar. At first, I thought it was my name."

Rose glanced at the sleeping girl. Her long, beautiful black hair framed her peaceful face.

"She looks like Sleeping Beauty," Rose thought.

"She looks like Sleeping Beauty, doesn't she?" Emily said with a smile.

"Haha, she does," Rose agreed.

A sudden announcement echoed through the room:

"Mic testing, mic testing. Everyone, we have a meeting. Please come to the lobby in 10 minutes."

"Come on, Lily, wake up. We have to go to the lobby," Yuri said, gently nudging the sleeping girl.

Rose leaned in and introduced herself. "Hi, Lily. I'm Rose."

"Umm…" Lily mumbled, barely opening her eyes.

"Don't mind her," Emily said. "She doesn't talk much."

"It's okay. By the way, why are we going to the lobby?" Rose asked.

"We'll see," James replied cryptically.

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(to be continued)

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