Chapter 3.5 : Extras

"Well then, what do you think about 4th wall breaks?" I ask looking at the audience.

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"Anyway, I'm D0l0s and welcome to the first episode of 'Chat with the Damned' where we talk to the characters that were killed off in totally normal ways," I bow and then point to my four guests, all securely strapped to their seats and out cold, only just coming to, "after which we'll have a little extra story called 'Level - _ _' so stay tuned for that."

"Today," I say in a voice reminiscent of a sports commentator or a television host or something like that, "and for the rest of eternity, we have the unnamed family from Prologue 2 & 4, the unnamed woman who burned at the stake in Chapter 2, and the girl who got brutally murdered in Chapter 3," I point a mic to them as one wakes up. It was the woman who died at the stake.

"Hello, miss, would you mind introducing yourself?"

She looks at me in shock, "I... was burned to death"

"Yeah, that's right. You were burned to death, though really it was asphyxiation from the smoke that killed you. That and the stoning... Even if they didn't send you to the stake, you would've died," I pause for a second.

She just sits there in silence remembering what happened.

I wait for a minute and continue, "If I remember correctly, it was your boyfriend that reported you as a demon. Anything you have to say about that?"

She turns her face to look me in the eyes and said, "T-they burned me... they didn't care... h-h-he," she stopped for a second, "just wanted me gone... he just wanted me gone." she whimpered.

"Yeah," I reply, "Seriously girl, pull yourself together. You are already dead. Now, if you don't mind, we have an episode to film/write"

"I trusted him..." she said.

"Yup, we all trust someone we regret trusting later in life, moving on..." I said.

"Why am I tied up!" she screamed

"Listen-" I get cut off by her screaming.

"Let me go!"

"Ma'am-?" I try to calm her down, but she cuts me off again.

"LET ME GO!!!!"

I cue the curtains to close on the guests and get up from my seat walking in front of the curtains.

"Pleaaase, I just wanna go home... My parents need me... I need to get back... I need to say goodbye... Please, just a goodbye... Just one, I need to see them again. I just nee-" her screams were cut off by the curtains as they closed... followed by a wall or two.

"Yeah, this isn't going anywhere anytime soon," I said looking back at the curtains, then turning to face the audience, "As you probably know, I'm the one that created this world and this is a plan I have for extra chapters every three chapters which will either be in the same format as Prologue 4 or in this format. More of an interview. Also, the chapters will be following the characters that die in the volume (3 chapters, I know, short volumes)."

"As you also know, in your world, I have a life to live so just in case somehow you missed the author's notes, I'm stockpiling my chapters and releasing them weekly every Thursday until I run out 'cuz I gotta go to college from September 1st. Fact is, this chapter right here is a stockpiled chapter right here."

"I'll still be writing but yeah, gotta work on getting my degree and shit so it'll be significantly slower than. Can't live off of this alone and I don't wanna be a NEET (Not in Employment Education or Training) just 'cuz I didn't study for NEET (an exam) and decided to go for another course."

"Also, if there's a question you wanted to ask a character who died, ask it in the comments and in the extras, I'll interview them and they can answer your questions..."

A stagehand walks in and whispers something, "OK, then. Due to the trauma of dying, we're forced to give our guests a volume to recuperate so, from now on, if they die in one volume, the interview would be in the next volume... kinda helps with the backlog we'll get from these guys too."

"We'll also have guest appearances from the living and from the dead we interviewed previously if a question regarding them that I feel is interesting appears...," I throw my head back, "If anyone even comments about anything on my story in the first plaaaaaace!!!!! I mean seriously, as I'm writing this I only have 2 chapter comments and one paragraph comment... total."

And then I bring my head back to a normal position and face the audience, "So, please do comment. I really wanna know, what do you people think about the story? What do you want clarifications on?"

(I mean, some of the people I know online that read the story didn't make the connection of Prologue 2's salt woman and her kid and the dude who asked about the contract with the family in Prologue 4. Also, don't ask for spoilers. Thanks.)

"Anything you wanna know about the characters that isn't a spoiler? Anything about the world that isn't a spoiler? Anything about me that isn't a spoiler? Yes, yes and no... unless you wanna know more about me. Not like I want you to or anything... Baka!"

(Clarification, I am a dude as it says in my profile, this is just a Tsundere gag. Not funny but still, I'm the author. I do what I want with this.)

"Now, to be honest, I like writing these extra chapters. I get to speak my mind and explain the story to those who don't get the story. Also, I can make my own questions or ask a friend to ask me some questions if I don't get any questions..."

"Since there's not much here, I thought I'll add a short story reminiscent of Lovecraft's work. Been listening to a lot of 'em lately..."

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Level - _ _, Part 1

It was a warm summer's day when it happened. People were just dying to get away from the intense gaze of the sun. Even away from the sun's gaze, in the shade, the sun's heat was great, so much so that even hell's fires would've met it's match.

Of course, everyone stayed indoors on those days. We didn't have any air conditioning in our homes in those days, so we had to resort to fanning ourselves with whatever we could find, books, magazines, papers... a lot of it was made from paper. Paper had larger areas and could flex much easier, allowing more air to be guided to our sweat laden faces.

It was on one of these days that we found the room...

We found an unmarked level of our apartment complex.

'Level - _ _'

There was only one room on the level. All the other rooms were boarded up.

No one else knew about the level, not even the landlord.

We would have left it alone if it wasn't for one thing. The room had an air-con.

I wanted to stay away from the room. Who knows what, or who, was in there. The adults didn't even know about this place, from what I learned from later inquiries even with people who had lived there for their entire lives.

"All the more reason to go for it," Ryan said. He was the leader of our group.

Tallest and oldest of us all, he was built like a brick wall. Everyone felt invincible around him. He gave off that kind of aura. I was sure that he felt it too, but today, I didn't feel safe just because he was around us anymore.

If he was a brick wall, what I felt from the room was an aura that would be a wrecking ball. Something unknowable was in there that even an adult would fear, I assumed.

I was against going into the room when everyone began discussing breaking in. For starters, the breaking in itself would have been enough to deter me but the others held no such inhibitions. We were 12 after all, Ryan was 15.

We all took turns to look inside to scout for ways to get in or things that would hinder us, and though I was scared of going in, I wanted to know why. I wanted to know why the room scared me? What about the room shook me to my very core?

I was the last in line to take a peek, I guess a part of me wanted to stay as far away from that door as I could, but another side of me was curious.

Why else was I in the line?

Right?

It was my turn when we realized that it was really late and we had to go home, ASAP.

We didn't want our parents to worry after all.

We went rushing home.

I never wanted to go back.

Of course, we went back the very next day.

We went inside on that day.

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"And that was Part 1 of 2 or 3 of 'Level - _ _'," I say, "Haven't planned out the story completely, so I got no clue if it can go on for that long. This worked out pretty well. It was actually surprising to me, kinda like how prologue 4 was pretty easy for me to write. Apparently, short stories may be my forte, though these novels are also enjoyable to write, only slightly more tedious. Also, on a side note, this was the first horror concept I have ever had, just a bit polished up after listening to HorrorBabble for hours. It also has the first concept for Gluttony."

"Anyways, that's it for this episode," I take a bow, "Come back next time for our interview with the people who died in the prologue and volume 1. For now, so long people, and a good night (or day) to you all," I say as I wave.