[center][color=0076a3][h2]Zachary Ackerson[/h2][/color] [img]http://i.imgur.com/YTJCLc9.jpg[/img] [b][color=0076a3]"These fucking bears, man!"[/color][/b][/center] [hr] [center][@BrokenPromise][/center] [hr] There sits a desert landscape that stretches out for what seems like an eternity, devoid of any form of life save a young boy and the glaring sun that rests in the sky. The boy remembers the sun. It has been there for quite some time, never once leaving the sky, never once ceasing the heated rays that it pours down on him and the desert. It wasn't always there. He recalled a time when there was no light and all was cold. He felt the sun was an improvement over that, but it still was not ideal. Being so hot and thirsty all the time was horrible, and he wished things to be better. Occasionally, he would get angry at the sun. At one point, the young boy cursed the sun's existence. He cursed and threw a fit, he cried and he whined. But the sun did not seem to care. It continued to do what it had always done and shone like nothing had happened. The young boy realized that nothing could be done about the sun. The sun would remain there permanently, and he was powerless to stop it. However, he believed that there must be something he could do to improve his situation. He could not live like this forever. And when he thought that, the land rumbled and shook violently. It flung up so much dust that the young boy nearly choked on it. He coughed and hacked until he thought he would die, but he did not. He survived, and when the dust had finally settled, he had noticed that the landscape had been altered. The most notable change to him was the city that formed in the distance, and the road leading up to it. Perhaps there he could find shelter from the sun? Perhaps that city would be a better place to stay than the desert? He wanted desperately to reach the city, but there was one big change aside from the addition of the city. It was a chasm. The young boy looked down into it and saw nothing but blackness. It appeared to be an abyss with no end and this idea was reinforced when the boy kicked a small pebble into the chasm, never to hear it hit the bottom. Why did this open up between him and his possible salvation? What a cruel fate. But thankfully, it appeared as though he could jump over the chasm. It certainly would not be an effortless leap, but it was absolutely possible. He would just need a running start. If it were possible to escape the unforgiving sun, the boy was sure he would do just about anything. He made some distance between himself and the endless crack in the ground, ready to jump it. But that's when the voices started. There were many. He recognized them almost instantly. The voices hurled insults at him and snickered. The young boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a slow exhale, he looked even more determined to make the jump. Ignoring every word they threw at him, he took off in a sprint and rapidly approached the chasm. It was then that he began to hear loud noises. His had trouble keeping his pace, but did not stop. He would make this jump no matter what. His paradise awaited him. As he drew nearer and nearer to the chasm, the noises continued to increase in volume until they suddenly stopped. The young boy figured that this meant that he was free to attempt the jump now. He was wrong. He was so close to the chasm when he heard a specific word from presumably one of the voices from earlier. Many other voices chimed in, saying that word repeatedly until they were all in unison. It hurt. But still, the boy ran on. He could not allow himself to stop, not when he was so close to escape. But then, just like the loud noises, the voices suddenly ceased. He was not going to fall for that again, and braced himself for something else. What new words or noises would come next? It turned out that there was none. It was the same word the voices were calling him before, only this time it came from a voice he loved. His legs failed him and he tumbled to the ground, rolling towards the chasm with enough momentum to throw him off. He just barely succeeded in grabbing the ledge and stopping his permanent descent. The young boy struggled to gather the strength to pull himself up. It was a very close call, and it had left him exhausted. His head rolled to the side, his view focusing on the city that he could not reach as a tear dropped from his eyes as he closed them. .... ... .. . A young man awoke. Zachary Ackerson pushed himself off the cold metal floor of the elevator and somehow managed to get to his feet. He was feeling a bit groggy, but he was also visibly confused. After all, elevators don't make the best beds and he didn't even remember getting into an elevator. Did he perhaps drink? [color=0076a3][i]Wait, no, that's not right...[/i][/color] It took a brief moment, but he recalled what he was doing last. He certainly wasn't drinking, because his father was having a surgery and Zach was waiting to see if he was alright. It wasn't possible to actually remember passing out but logically, he must have. It was certainly not the most exciting thing to wait while somebody undergoes surgery and there was pretty much nobody to talk to. With nothing of importance to do but wait, Zach was certain he had gotten bored and took a nap. So then... why did he end up in an elevator? Zach pondered scenarios in his head, but none of them made much sense. Had he been moved by the staff? Somehow, this seemed very implausible. For one, wouldn't they just wake him up? Secondly, even if they did decide to move him physically, why would they leave him on the elevator floor? Did he do something to piss them off?! He didn't remember starting anything with any of the staff. Might it be possible that he began sleepwalking? No, why would that start all of the sudden? He was no "sleepwalking expert", but he felt that it wasn't likely he made it all the way here without somebody stopping him beforehand. Maybe he was being abducted and the alien spaceship just so happened to look like an elevator? [color=0076a3][i]That's it![/i][/color] [color=0076a3][b]"....wait, wait, wait, wait! If that were true, then what the fuck is with this?"[/b][/color] Zach was staring at an oddity in the elevator. It was the message that was sloppily written in a crimson liquid. It didn't take much of an imagination to figure that it was blood that the message [b]"ABANDON HOPE ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE"[/b] consisted of. He had never once attempted to be a detective, but his impressive natural deduction abilities had given him the knowledge that, perhaps, it wasn't normal for an elevator to have such a message, let alone written in blood. He also did not happen to miss the monitor. [color=0076a3][b]"What's with this asymmetrical bear? It looks like some mascot of a horrible guilty pleasure of mine."[/b][/color] Zach complained, just as the doors opened to reveal more people. He stepped out. Zach noticed the lack of smiles on really anybody's face, which surprised him. Perhaps the rest of them were in a similar situation? He was expecting the first people he saw to yell something about a prank, but that obviously wasn't going to happen. Unless these people were horrid at comedic timing. Just what kind of prank was this? This... was a prank, right? Zachary was starting to doubt this, as too many things seem odd. But if it was not a prank, then what was it? [b]“Zachary Ackerson knows a thing or two about bows, and still manages the vapid life of an otaku. We're getting a lot of people in with primitive skills huh? Well, at least she's okay with a pistol.”[/b] Zach did not appreciate the way the bear decided to introduce him. In fact, one could even say he disliked it. A lot. How dare this shitty bear understate his skill with a bow and arrow?! He was the best of the best! Nobody could match him! Surely that meant that Zach knew more than "a thing or two" about bows and arrows?! He also did not appreciate being referred to as "she". Narrowing his eyes at the screen, Zach grumbled [color=0076a3][b]"This fuckin' bear..."[/b][/color] just loud enough for nearby people to hear, if they were paying attention. But once the introductions were over, he decided to ask the obvious question to everybody in the room. [color=0076a3][b]"So what's going on here? I already don't care much for this dumb bear and I doubt he's going to grow on me. If this is some sort of prank, I gotta say that you guys are really bad at it and should stop before somebody gets hurt. From watching it."[/b][/color]