The ink dries slowly on the paper.

You hold the pen.

The pen is heavy.

It is cold.

You are in the office.

The office is grey.

The light is thin.

It cuts the dust.

The dust floats.

It does not fall.

You look at the desk.

The desk is wood.

The wood is dark.

It smells of varnish.

And fear.

You are not alone.

But you are alone.

The door is closed.

The lock is tight.

You hear a hum.

It is low.

It is deep.

It comes from the walls.

The walls are stone.

Old stone.

They breathe.

You know they breathe.

You have known for weeks.

You did not know before.

Now you know.

Knowing is a blade.

It cuts the air.

It cuts the self.

You are a seer.

They call it a gift.

It is a wound.

You see the threads.

The red threads.

They run through the room.

They run through the people.

They run through you.

You pull one.

It snaps.

A scream follows.

Silent.

Inside your head.

You stop.

Your hand shakes.

You put the pen down.

The paper is blank.

You need to write.

You must record.

The record is law.

The law is the building.

The building is alive.

It eats.

It digests.

You are the food.

You are the eye.

You watch it eat.

You watch it grow.

The machine is here.

Not metal.

Not wire.

It is bone.

It is flesh.

It is the stairwell.

It is the ceiling.

It is the floor.

You climb the stairs.

The stairs creak.

The creak is a voice.

It says *stay*.

You say *no*.

You are brave.

Or you are mad.

There is no difference.

Not here.

Not now.

You reach the top.

The roof is open.

The sky is black.

No stars.

No moon.

Only the dark.

And the hum.

The hum is louder.

It vibrates in your teeth.

It vibrates in your bone.

You feel the truth.

The truth is cold.

The truth is simple.

The building is not a place.

It is a thing.

It is a beast.

It is hungry.

And it is full.

You turn back.

You go down.

The stairs are shorter.

The time is strange.

You are in the hall.

The hall is long.

The light is yellow.

It is sickly.

You see him.

He stands by the window.

He is old.

His face is pale.

His eyes are kind.

They are full of pity.

You know him.

You do not know him.

He is the keeper.

He is the traitor.

He let the beast in.

He opened the door.

He poured the seed.

He grew the root.

He feeds the root.

With blood.

With memory.

With silence.

You look at him.

He looks at you.

He smiles.

It is a sad smile.

It is a tired smile.

You want to scream.

You want to hit him.

You want to ask why.

You cannot speak.

Your voice is gone.

Your throat is tight.

The hum is in your throat.

It blocks the words.

You look at the floor.

The floor is cracked.

The crack is wide.

You see the dark below.

You see the roots.

The roots are black.

They pulse.

They beat.

Like a heart.

Like a fist.

You realize.

You are not the seer.

You are the key.

Your eye is the lens.

Your mind is the wire.

You feed it.

Your fear feeds it.

Your knowledge feeds it.

You try to stop.

You close your eyes.

You hold your breath.

You think of nothing.

You think of white.

You think of light.

It does not work.

The hum grows.

The hum screams.

The walls move.

The walls close.

The room shrinks.

The air is thick.

It is heavy.

It is wet.

You feel the floor drop.

You fall.

You do not hit the ground.

You hit the floor.

It is soft.

It is warm.

It is alive.

You are inside.

You are within.

You are the machine.

The machine is you.

You are the eye.

You are the hunger.

You are the beast.

You are the keeper.

You are the traitor.

You are the one who opened the door.

You remember.

You remember the day.

The day you came.

The day you saw.

The day you chose.

You chose to look.

You chose to know.

You chose to see.

It was not an accident.

It was a choice.

You wanted power.

You wanted sight.

You wanted to be more.

You wanted to be the god.

You became the prey.

You became the food.

The knowledge is a cage.

The truth is a chain.

You try to break.

You pull the thread.

It is red.

It is thin.

It is strong.

It cuts your hand.

The blood is red.

The blood is warm.

The blood is life.

The building drinks.

The building grows.

The hum is a song.

It is a lullaby.

It is a dirge.

It is a promise.

You are safe.

You are held.

You are kept.

You are loved.

By the stone.

By the dust.

By the dark.

You are not alone.

You are part.

You are whole.

You are the machine.

The machine is quiet.

The machine is still.

The machine is done.

You stop moving.

You stop thinking.

You stop being.

You are the wall.

You are the floor.

You are the ceiling.

You are the light.

You are the dark.

You are the hum.

The hum fades.

The hum is gone.

The silence is loud.

The silence is deep.

The silence is full.

You are in the room.

The room is empty.

The room is bright.

The light is white.

The light is clean.

You are on the floor.

You are alone.

The door is open.

The door is wide.

The air is fresh.

The air is cold.

The air is free.

You look at your hands.

They are clean.

They are pale.

They are still.

You look at the pen.

The pen is gone.

The paper is gone.

The ink is dry.

The ink is gone.

You are free.

You are empty.

You are light.

You are nothing.

You are the stone.

You are the dust.

You are the dark.

You are the hum.

The hum is gone.

The silence is gone.

The room is gone.

The door is gone.

The world is gone.

You are here.

You are now.

You are the eye.

You are the sight.

You are the knowledge.

The knowledge is gone.

The curse is gone.

The wound is closed.

The scar is smooth.

The scar is silver.

The scar is light.

You stand up.

You walk out.

The door closes.

The door locks.

The lock is tight.

The hum is back.

The hum is low.

The hum is deep.

The hum is here.

You are here.

You are the machine.

The machine is you.

The machine is far.

The machine is near.

The machine is gone.

The machine is here.

You are the stone.

You are the dust.

You are the dark.

You are the light.

You are the hum.

The hum is quiet.

The hum is soft.

The hum is sweet.

The hum is kind.

The hum is love.

The hum is life.

The hum is death.

The hum is birth.

The hum is end.

The hum is start.

You are the hum.

You are the song.

You are the voice.

You are the word.

You are the silence.

You are the space.

You are the time.

You are the place.

You are the thing.

You are the nothing.

You are the all.

You are the one.

You are the many.

You are the self.

You are the other.

You are the same.

You are the different.

You are the change.

You are the stay.

You are the go.

You are the come.

You are the leave.

You are the return.

You are the end.

You are the start.

You are the middle.

You are the edge.

You are the core.

You are the shell.

You are the bone.

You are the flesh.

You are the blood.

You are the breath.

You are the heart.

You are the mind.

You are the soul.

You are the ghost.

You are the spirit.

You are the body.

You are the shadow.

You are the light.

You are the dark.

You are the shadow.

You are the light.

You are the hum.

The hum is you.

The hum is gone.

The hum is here.

The hum is quiet.

The hum is loud.

The hum is soft.

The hum is hard.

The hum is sweet.

The hum is bitter.

The hum is warm.

The hum is cold.

The hum is wet.

The hum is dry.

The hum is heavy.

The hum is light.

The hum is thick.

The hum is thin.

The hum is deep.

The hum is high.

The hum is low.

The hum is near.

The hum is far.

The hum is close.

The hum is distant.

The hum is here.

The hum is gone.

The hum is you.

You are the hum.

The story ends.

The pen stops.

The ink dries.

The paper waits.

The room is quiet.

The light is dim.

The dust is still.

The door is closed.

The lock is tight.

The hum is gone.

The silence is here.

The silence is full.

The silence is deep.

The silence is loud.

The silence is soft.

The silence is hard.

The silence is sweet.

The silence is bitter.

The silence is warm.

The silence is cold.

The silence is wet.

The silence is dry.

The silence is heavy.

The silence is light.

The silence is thick.

The silence is thin.

The silence is deep.

The silence is high.

The silence is low.

The silence is near.

The silence is far.

The silence is close.

The silence is distant.

The silence is here.

The silence is gone.

The silence is you.

You are the silence.

The silence is the machine.

The machine is the silence.

The silence is the end.

The end is the silence.

The silence is the start.

The start is the silence.

The silence is the middle.

The middle is the silence.

The silence is the edge.

The edge is the silence.

The silence is the core.

The core is the silence.

The silence is the shell.

The shell is the silence.

The silence is the bone.

The bone is the silence.

The silence is the flesh.

The flesh is the silence.

The silence is the blood.

The blood is the silence.

The silence is the breath.

The breath is the silence.

The silence is the heart.

The heart is the silence.

The silence is the mind.

The mind is the silence.

The silence is the soul.

The soul is the silence.

The silence is the ghost.

The ghost is the silence.

The silence is the spirit.

The spirit is the silence.

The silence is the body.

The body is the silence.

The silence is the shadow.

The shadow is the silence.

The silence is the light.

The light is the silence.

The silence is the dark.

The dark is the silence.

The silence is the hum.

The hum is the silence.

The silence is the end.

The end is the silence.

The story is done.

The pen is down.

The ink is dry.

The paper is blank.

The room is empty.

The light is gone.

The dust is gone.

The door is closed.

The lock is tight.

The hum is gone.

The silence is here.

The silence is full.

The silence is deep.

The silence is loud.

The silence is soft.

The silence is hard.

The silence is sweet.

The silence is bitter.

The silence is warm.

The silence is cold.

The silence is wet.

The silence is dry.

The silence is heavy.

The silence is light.

The silence is thick.

The silence is thin.

The silence is deep.

The silence is high.

The silence is low.

The silence is near.

The silence is far.

The silence is close.

The silence is distant.

The silence is here.

The silence is gone.

The silence is you.

You are the silence.