Queue

You are about to play Queue by whoblue aka Michelle Potter CW- Mention of injury, lack of sleep, controlling behaviour, tight spaces, darkness, falling. [[Start->Start]]

Your brain feels fuzzy, your legs are like jelly and around you are several strangers. [[Look around.->first look]]

You find yourself in a long corridor, to your immediate right a wall of cold hard metal that was once painted white. To your immediate left a line on the floor going forwards and back. Beyond that the corridor is empty and the wall is the same cold, hard metal. There is a series of beeps, “Thank you for your patience. The wait time is… ..17 hours, 8 minutes and 43 seconds. Those with lilac wristbands may step out of the queue for a bio break on the next beep. Again, we thank you for your patience at this time.”, a voice booms from the walls. [[Check the colour of your wristband.->wristband]] [[Remember that you are Cerise.->cerise]]

Lilac, that's handy. [[Play with your wristband.->twang]] [[Wait.->wait lilac]]

BEEP! You notice a few people step out of the queue and doors open in the walls to the left. You notice some of the people have a look of shame on their face, then you notice the mess on their trousers. The doors shut with a loud clunk. The person in front moves forward a few steps so you follow. You realise that of those you can see, everyone is wearing very similar clothes, the same grey tones, the same fabric, almost always the same style. You realise that you are wearing similar garb. [[Step out of line.->step out]]

Sirens scream, “Queue jumper section 826-K. Return to your place or face the consequences”. You feel the people around you staring at you, silently begging you to step back into line. [[Step back into the queue.->Step back]] [[Stay put.->stay put]]

“Thank you for your patience at this time”, the walls speak with a menacing tone. You feel something being pushed into your right hand, “Swapsies. We look after newbies around here”, you hear in a hushed whisper from behind you. You feel your wristband being taken off. [[Take a careful look at what is in your hand.->careful look]]

You go to look at what is in your hand. “You are now Teal 198359, when it is your turn, use your break wisely. Once the rest are back it will be talk time. Stay silent until then”, the voice says. [[Stand in silence.->stand silence]]

You feel the strength return to your legs and you stand straighter. You wait and wait and wait. You hear doors open, then several lots of a short burst of footsteps, the doors close, then the silence. No-one has moved so you don’t understand where the people who have rejoined are. [[Wonder where they went.->Wonder]]

Your eyes dart around the area trying to work out when everyone who left went. Peep! There is a short sharp whistle blast and then everyone says everything at once. You feel yourself being turned around. “Hi. We’ve not had a proper newb in a long time. Your bio break is in three cycles, so not too bad. Plus refreshment time is just before your break. Do you have a name? I’m Sid, Simon, Steve, no, what is it…”, the man pauses for a moment then lets out a sigh, “Call me a name, any name. I’ve been Teal 198359 for so long I can’t remember my own name. So what are you called?”. [[Tell him your name.->say your name]] [[Tell him names are irrelevant.->no names]]

You tell him your name though the thought feels confused like it’s not your own for a moment. Then your mind clears and you repeat it again with conviction before calling the man Adam. “Oh nice! I like it, he was the first human wasn’t he!? They tell us stories for half a cycle before we get to rest. Love those things, I don’t know how they came up with them. Oh, they said next story cycle we are getting news about the queue so the story will be shorter but we get an extra cycle of rest becau…”. [[A deep bell rings through the corridor.->they stop talking]]

Adam spins you around. “With deep regret we mourn the passing of Lilac 297322, Navy 007253 and Burgundy 653654. We respect them with silence”. Everyone keeps deadly silent, it hurts. It feels like an age. You see someone collapse to the ground. [[Thump.->thump]]

“May the two people next to Cerise 774209 please move them towards the wall then return to the queue”, the walls say. You make out two people move Cerise 774290 to the wall, putting them as close to the wall as possible before quickly moving back to their places. People step forward to fill the gap, you do the same. [[Wait.->wait]]

You can’t tell what time it is, or how long it has been. You only know that a cycle feels like an hour, maybe two, but it could be longer. But two more have happened and it has been a while since the last one. Adam kicks you in the right ankle, you start to turn around to him making sure it is to the right where the wall hides what you do. But before you get a chance a hatch appears in the wall, a long row of them to be exact. Just inside is a small niche with a plain white tumbler inside. You take it out quickly. You’ve learnt your lesson about not being on the ball when it comes down to things like this. You feel a pressure building in your bladder. Suddenly you are glad that Adam swapped with you. You hear him sigh and put the tumbler back. [[Put the tumbler to your mouth and quickly drink up.->drink]]

Whatever it is, it tastes a little salty. You still make sure to drink it all down before returning the tumbler to the niche. A few seconds later the hatches slam close. [[Aaaahhhhhhh!.->scream]]

You realise that you have to be quicker next time you get something to drink. “Beige 893211 please step across the line and walk against the flow of the queue until you reach a medic door. Once you reach it please state your assigned code before entering. [[You notice a door to your left with Medic painted on it.->medic door]]

Was it there before, you don’t think it was, was it? A while passes before you see a woman clutching her hand, or what should be her hand, close to her chest walking towards the door. Adam kicks you in the left ankle. You consider this a warning and keep looking forward. “Beige 893211”, she says in a whimper. The door opens, you try to glance inside but behind her everything is lit too brightly. Before you know it the door closes. [[Take a chance to look.->chance look]]

It isn’t there. “Strange that isn’t it?”, whispers Adam. You wait, you wait longer, the pressure in your bladder building up. You can’t take much more of this, and your stomach, suddenly it feels wrong. Beep! Thank goodness! [[You know what you have to do.->pee]]

A few moments later you step back outside. You don’t see Adam but you do see large numbers painted in red on the floor, 874-K. You see the end of the queue, you go to join it. Someone pushes you out of the way to get in before you. “Thank you for your patience. As you have taken a bio break you must join the end of the queue. The wait time is now 23 hours 49 minutes exactly. The queue will not be adding further people at…”, the wall says before being interrupted by the bell. “With deep regret we mourn the passing of Beige 893211. We mourn their passing with silence”. [[“Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhh!->argh]]

Fuck this, fuck it all”, someone not far ahead screams at the top of their lungs. Suddenly the lights turn red. “We WILL have silence for the dead. Teal 664291, step across the line, face the wall, hands above your head”, the walls yell. Nothing happens. “Teal 664291, you have failed to move across the line, you will be permanently removed from the queue. Step across the line”, orders the wall. Nothing happens. “Teal 664291, you will be removed”, the wall says calmly and quietly. Teal 664291 doesn’t budge. [[Crack!->crack]]

Suddenly they are thrown across the line with so much force that when you see them hit the left wall that you hear a crack as bone breaks. The lights go dark, there are scuffling sounds, the light returns to normal. [[Blink as your eyes get used to the lights.->blink]]

“We mourn in silence”, the wall reminds everyone. And everyone keeps quiet, heads down. You notice a gap in front of you as people have filled the gap once more. A cycle passes. “Due to recent passes the queue has been reopened for one cycle. The wait time is over the limit but has been allowed due to swift movement in section 594-L. Please stand by for more news about the queue shortly." “Teal 664291 has been removed from the queue and has been banned from rejoining. Actions such as theirs will be dealt with. Your patience is appreciated at this time. Improvements to the queue mean wait times for all will be reduced. And because of these improvements everyone in the queue will be allowed 4 extra cycles of rest in the incoming rest cycle. This is to allow final improvements to be made. Once the rest cycle has finished everyone will be given a bonus refreshment break." This is to give everyone an extra boost as the flow of the queue will be quick for at least 5 cycles afterwards. This rest cycle is NOT optional. Anyone not in their pod will be removed from the queue. We apologise for any inconvenience and disruption to your day”, the walls announce. Before you realise it the right hand wall is full of two rows of half sized doors. You quickly check your wristband. You see the number on a lower door. [[You duck down and go inside.->pod]]

You find yourself in a small room, 2ft wide by 6ft long and about 3ft in height. The floor is soft and has a crisp white sheet on it. You try to shut the door but it doesn’t budge. You lay down and take a moment to enjoy the fact you are no longer standing. You shuffle about, finding the most comfortable way to place yourself. Your body is letting you know how tired and achy it is and the floor isn’t quite as soft as you first thought. “And we begin our story”, the walls say in a calm hushed tone. You close your eyes. “In the city of Londinium where…”. [[You hear no more as you drift off to sleep.->sleep]]

“We thank you for your patience. The wait time is 2 hours, 28 minutes.” You wake up, eyes still closed. Everything feels different, your head is resting on your arms and they are on something hard. You start to open your eyes and pull yourself upright. “You are 624th in the queue. Beep, you are…”. You look around, you are sitting at your dining room table, your phone on loud speaker beside you. You feel something itch your face. You have a scratch and pull a sticky note off your cheek. “Do NOT fall asleep! If you are tired get Steve to take over!”, it reads. “..in the queue. Beep, you are, beeeeeeeep. We are sorry but all tickets to Lilac Cerise Electric are now sold out.”, the automated voice on the other end of the call announces. [[The End.->you have been playing]]

You have been playing Queue by whoblue aka Michelle Potter. [[Rejoin the queue.->Queue]]

Ah good old cerise. It's all coming back to you. This place is familiar. [[You stand and wait like a good little queuer.->good queuer]]

Beep! You wait in line while Lilacs take their turn. [[WoooooW WoooooooooooooWWWW-> sirens]]

You spot someone out of the queue. Uh-oh. They step back into the queue. [[Oh dang it. A queue jumper would have been quite fun right now.->oh dang it]]

You very quietly sigh to yourself. You remember all of this. The waiting. More waiting. It's quite relaxing really. Freeing even. [[Wait as usual.->more waiting]]

Cycles pass. Peep! There is a short sharp whistle blast and then everyone says everything at once. You start telling the woman behind you that you think Magenta's and Cyan's suck because they always seem to get to the front of the queue first. She disagrees, waving her wrist at you. She's angry but she puts her wrist down as quickly as she raises it. The guy in front of you reminds you that story time is shorter tonight. [[Thump.->thump]]

"Lilac 464629 return to your place or face the consequences", the wall blares at you. [[Return to your place.->Step back]] [[Stay where you are, what's the worst that can happen.->stay put 2]]

You stay where you are, out of the queue. "Return to the queue Lilac 464629 or you will be permanently removed from the queue. The others start giving you intense side eye. [[Return.->Step back]] [[Step away from everyone.->Step away]]

You step away from the queue. Gasp! You see something swing out of the wall towards your head in a blur. Thud! [[You fall to the floor and everything goes dark.->goes dark]]

Your head hurts like hell. Everything is dark. You blink repeatedly but everything is dark. You go to move and realise you are on your back. You feel walls around you on all your sides. It feels like you are in a box. [[Try to free yourself from the box.->open box]]

You push and you push at the different sides but none of them budge "Welcome to The Collective Lilac 464629. You are now assigned Delta Echo 4 3 Helix 794-875M. This is where you shall remain. Goodbye". [[The End->you have been playing]]

"Ak ok, yes, yes. Quite right, quite right", he begrudgingly agrees then starts talking at someone else. You stay silent while the others talk at you, around you and through you to anyone who will listen to what they say. Your mind clears. You remember now. Talking is for the weak. [[Stand patiently->stand patiently]]

You stand waiting for cycles. [[Wait.->wait cycles]]

Vwwp. A niche to your side opens. Instinctively you grab the tumbler out of it and quickly down the drink. The saltiness of it excites your tongue. [[You slam the tumbler back into the niche before others are even finished theirs.->scream]]

You twist the rubber wristband around your wrist. It has been a while since you felt anything but your feet ache. Your fingertips pull and twist the band around, gently at first and then you pull it hard. [[Twang!->broken band]]

The band snaps and the force springs the ends onto the inside of your wrist. A sharp, intense pain hits you as the broken band lands on the floor. Argh! [[You realise you have just screamed.->uh oh scream]]

You feel the stares of everyone around you. "Undesignated in section 826-K. Undesignated in section 826-K!". the walls blare. [[Pick up your wristband and try to fasten it around your wrist.->pick band up]] [[Panic.->panic]]

You pick up the band and wrap it around your wrist. "Undesignated in section 826-K, step to...". [[Frantically tie it together around your wrist.->tie it]]

What to do? What to do? You've never heard of this happening before. "STEP TO THE LEFT WALL!" "Undesignated, you will be permanently removed from the queue. [[Step out to the left.->Step away]]

... ... "Section 826-K clear of undesignated. Please stand by". You look down at your wrist, the band is too tight. You can already feel that it's not going to end well. [[Wait.->wait tight band]]

Cycles pass. The walls tell others they can have their break. More cycles pass. The drinks niches open and everyone drinks. More cycles pass. You wait. The sleep pods open, you go to bed but you barely nod off before the pain in your wrist makes you scream so loud your sleep pod opens up. You blink as your eyes adjust to the light. There is a medic door across from you. You look down at your hand. It shouldn't be that colour. "Lilac 464629...". You take the hint and stumble across to the door. It opens as you get to it. [[Step inside.->medic door.]]

You barely get into the room before everything goes dark. Vwwp. The door closes behind you. You reach out into the darkness with your good hand. You feel a wall. You shouldn't be able to feel a wall, you've barely walked into the room. [[Feel around.->feel around]]

Walls, just walls. All within arms reach. No. They aren't in arms reach. You try to stretch your arm out fully but it barely gets six inches away from you before you feel cold, hard metal. [[Clunk->the drop]]

Everything, well nearly everything feels different, the pressure on your feet leaves you. Then it hits you, you're falling. [[Fall.->fall]]

You fall. And fall. And fall. Your thoughts start to blur, what are you doing again? Everything is dark. [[Submit to the darkness.->let it in]]

You take one last long sigh as you let the darkness take you ever. [[The End.->you have been playing]]