ROSE

Naomi Theodore finds herself in a strange world which she calls her Mind Labyrinth. When an odd task has been assigned to her, she must venture into the depths of two realities and uncover the ROSE.

ROSE

Rooms

The room was filled with some sort of gas-like substance. Elegant, wispy strands of whiteness glided around the room, creating beautiful, intricate patterns that twirled around Naomi. She couldn't see the man on the other side of the room, but she knew that he was there, despite the thick clouds of gas or steam.

“We want you to bring us the ROSE.” said the man.

“What is a ROSE?” enquired Naomi.

“That's what you're to find out.” said the man, who had not fed Naomi's curiosity at all.

“Well,” Naomi said, working her way around the question, “What do you know already about a ROSE?”

“The ROSE,” corrected the man, “We know that it's important. But we don't know if it's physical or not. For all we know, it could be a message heavily encrypted into a gear file or not.”

“If you don't know what it is, or what it's entire purpose is, then why do you want it?” She protested.

“Curiosity is key. This is how humanity advances. If you don't know what something is, figure it out! You're our woman for the job. We tested you, we were watching you. And eventually, you made it here to us. You have the right qualities.” He said.

“I don't know what I'm getting myself into, but sure.” Naomi said grudgingly, and let out a half-hearted sigh. “Where do I start?” Her head was bustling with questions.

Silence eerily echoed around the room. And then the subtle sound of footsteps could be heard, edging closer and closer to Naomi. They became louder, and yet louder. Then they came to a stop. Naomi could now see the dull outline of the man, which now was standing one or two metres away from her.

“Can you see me?” He said.

“Marginally...Why ask?” Naomi sounded puzzled, and slightly daunted by the man's towering figure.

“Ah, good! It means that you're wearing the apparatus the receptionist gave you. It's a very complex piece of wearable technology " One of the most advanced contraptions we have here in 1872. As long as you're wearing that, you will see me, and just about anything you do now... and if you're not,” He hesitated, “Well... I'll not get into it all. Let's just say that you're going to need the eyepiece do find the ROSE.

“Affirmative,” She said, confused. The man hadn't answered her question.

“Well, time's short. I've got to go. Good luck.” The man announced.

It was only then that Naomi noticed that the man had an eyepiece too, just like herself, but it was too late to reason with him. By the time she was about to step forward and see what he really looked like, the ambiguous figure in the mist raised a gloved hand, and took off his eyepiece. He was gone. Gone from this strange world, leaving Naomi alone in this dim, cloudy room.

Author's Note

Work in progress! Please give constructive criticism! Please remember that I am new to writing.

Reviews

[pstalbot]

You may want to find another way to let the reader know it's 1878 rather than in dialogue. Unless they're time travelers it seems odd that the year is referred to as a place. Looks like a fun concept, it would be cool to see where it goes.