Chapter 1
Juliet

I stepped off of the HoverBus, suitcases by my side, looking around in awe. The entire campus was massive. There were so many people and buildings, that I was almost worried about getting lost.

I pulled out my phone from my pocket, unlocked it, and quickly found the album I'd saved for when I arrived on campus. I came to the photo of the help desk, and concentrated on it. My surroundings blurred, and suddenly I was right in front of it.

I smiled, and walked up to it. "Hello?"

The woman sitting behind it was talking on the phone and ignoring me. The desk was large and curved into a semicircle. It was probably about 6 feet tall, a lot taller than me. There was a step about half a foot tall running around the base of it - not that that helped either.

I took my hard plastic suitcase, placed it on the step, and climbed on it. Standing on my tippy toes I politely waited until she was done talking. When she was, I politely said, "hello?"

She ignored me, and moved to talk to another, taller, student who'd approached the desk. Rude.

I took out my phone, and looked at the maps I'd downloaded. Again, I didn't really think they'd be very helpful. The whole place was a lot more irregular than the simple layout that the website had provided. There were about a million different buildings of different sizes and designs.

There was a large red building in the distance that was endlessly tall. Nearby there was a series of squashy purple buildings around tall, green, rectangular blocks of what looked like dorm buildings, maybe? Some of the taller buildings had bridges connecting them. The whole place was on a hill, and looked next to impossible to navigate.

"What do you want?" The woman behind the desk asked. I shoved my phone back into my pocket, and looked up at her. She was a very large woman with short red hair. She wore a blue-and-black suit with a red tie (the staff uniform) and a bored expression.

"Uh. Hello. I was wondering if I could get some help finding my room?" I asked nervously.

She leaned forward in her chair, locking eyes withe me. "Find it yourself." She sat back up, and immediately answered her phone.

I climbed down, and grabbed my stuff. "Bitch," I muttered under my breath as I walked away.

Chapter 2
Juliet

I arrived at the base of a massive cube-shaped pink building after wandering the campus for a long while. There was a large entrance where people were going in and out. I headed towards it, and went inside.

After looking around the lobby, I checked my phone again. The photo I had of the lobby matched what was around me. Of course, there could be dozen identical buildings.

For some reason, I had a some kind of urge to go down a hallway to a specific elevator I didn't know was there. I got off at floor 24, and looked around. It was a long hallway of identical doors. Each door had a number and a word. I remembered the information packet I'd been given, and looked for red4286 - which I quickly found.

I opened the door, and walked in, pulling my suitcases behind me. The room was almost symmetrical. There was a window on the wall across from the entrance. There were two beds, reached pushed up against opposite walls. Next to the beds, there were desks facing the walls. Next to those, were doors that led to closets. Protruding from the walls were a variety of shelves.

The symmetry ended there. On the left side of the room, everything was neat and orderly. There were no personal items, just the bed, desk and a chair. The the closet door on the right was open, and I could see a variety of items including clothing, weapons, and trash. On the bed, I could see a blanked covering the form of what was apparently my roommate.

I didn't want to disturb whoever it was, so I quietly slipped off my shoulder bag onto the bed. I opened it, and pulled out Lion, my pet fox. Lion was about the size of an old housecat, but the microtech I'd implemented in my bag had caused him to become roughly the size of my pinky for the duration of my travel.

Lion glared at me, annoyed that he'd been stuck in my bag for so long. I tried to pet him, but he jumped off the bed to wander the small dorm room.

Hello an echoey, unfamiliar voice sounded in my head.

"Who was that?" I asked, nervous.

Who do you think?

I looked over to the other bed where my roommate lay. Assuming the voice was hers, did this mean that my roommate was a telepath? "Did you help me?" I asked on the off chance that the reason I'd found the right room was because of telepathic help.

Yeah. Was the response I got.

"Thanks." It was going to be weird having a telepath as a roommate, but I was grateful for the help nonetheless.

Whatever

"Ok." She didn't really seem like she wanted to continue the conversation, but I spoke again anyway. "What's your name?"

R

"My name's Juliet-"

I know.

"Ok." It was going to be really weird having a telepathic roommate. They always creeped me out. And now she was probably reading my mind and getting offended. Great. "Wait! Lion!"

Lion had climbed onto R's bed, and was rubbing against her body with his own.

After a minute, an arm appeared from under the blanket, and started petting Lion.

Why did you name your pet fox "Lion"?

"Seemed like a good idea at the time." I told her.

I didn't get a response.

"Ok, then." I took out my phone, and started looking through the recents.

Chapter 3
R

I rubbed the little fox behind the ears. I suppose it was cute if the freshman's eyes were anything to go on. I turned up the volume on my headphones, and crawled across my bed with the blanket still over me. I reached out, and grabbed the bag of chips I'd left on the floor.

"Why are you under there?" Juliet asked me.

Cause I can I thought to her. I moved back to the center of the bed. I sat cross-legged eating my chips listening to nightcore.

"Ok." She wanted to see what I looked like. Whatever.

Do you wanna go to The Café? I offered for some reason.

"Sure." She replied, consciously sounding overeager.

I shoved the blanket off, and slid down from the bed. I shoved my feet in my boots. I looked her over. She wore a black shirt and jeans. Her hair was black as well, and her eyes were red - like mine. Leave your fox here.

I opened the door to the room and walked out. She followed, analyzing me.

Chapter 4
Juliet

I followed R to the elevator. She hit the button to the 50th floor.

R had light brown hair and red eyes. She was wearing white top, a pair of dark grey spandex shorts, and a pretty aqua camo sweater with cat ears on the hood, and a tail at the back. R either liked the look, or was a neko. I wasn't sure.

When we arrived at the floor, she got off, not looking back to see wether or not I was following - but I guess, being a telepath, she knew. I had to run after her - she was a lot taller than me.

Just as I was speculating exactly how tall, I heard, I'm 6'1.

"Uh. Thanks." R was pretty cool so far, but it was still pretty weird being around someone who knew what I was thinking all the time.

R led me down a hallway to one of those suspended walkways. Hope you're not scared of heights.

"I'm not." I defended myself.

I know

After we walked some ways through the transparent blue tunnel, we arrived at another building. We went through a hallway, then another blue tunnel. The tunnels were roughly four feet in diameter. The floors were flat with dark blue carpeting. The the celling was about eight feet tall, and a dome of plastic-looking material.

"You seem to know your way around here."

No response.

Through the walls of the second tunnel, I noticed other tunnels with people leading to the structure our tunnel led to. It appeared to be made of metal, and had a general oval shape - a bit like a space station.

We entered, and I was stuck looking around in awe. The place was massive. There were countless people. Some were sitting at tables talking or typing on laptops. Others were walking in and out from the tunnels, or going deeper into the place. The area mostly looked like a bakery/restaurant hybrid. I could see doors and hallways further in. The ceiling was tall, and open, except for a large box of a room attached to the far wall that seemed to hover in midair. The furniture, walls, and ceiling were all painted random colors - it was like a box of highlighters exploded. The floor was covered in a mess of mismatched carpets of different colors, sizes, and textures. After a minute, I saw R coming back to me.

She grabbed my arm and said Don't wander off. She then proceeded to drag me through the strange place. Presumably seeing my obvious awe at The Café, she said This place uses both hovertech, and microtech. Ever year, people keep adding more and more, and it's been scaled down a LOT. You are currently half a centimeter tall.

"Why is it called 'The Café'?" I asked.

Because it was originally just a café.

"Cool." I was still looking around at everything when we stopped in front of a woman standing behind a cash register.

"Hello, R," She greeted R, then turned to me, "And who's this?"

New roommate. The way I heard this was a bit different from the other times R had talked to me. Quieter. R was talking to this woman - whose name tag identified her as Paula - and reluctantly allowing me to hear the conversation. At least, that's the impression I got.

Paula walked away, and returned with two cups and a bag. Apparently, R had ordered, but I hadn't really heard most of it. R handed me one of the cups, then grabbed the other one and the bag.

Paula pushed forward a scanner pad, which R pressed her thumb against, paying for the food. R then walked away. I followed her to a neon green table with two pink stools. I sat down across from her, and took a sip from the cup. It was hot chocolate.

R removed something from the bag, then pushed it towards me. I took the bag, and looked in. There was a cupcake. I removed it and took a bite. It was vanilla with raspberry frosting. R had definitely gone through my memories. I didn't really like the idea of a telepath reading my mind all time, but if the end result was cupcake and hot chocolate - where's the damage?

Chapter 5
R

What do you think you're doing? The thought was to the school headmaster. She was busy at the moment, but I didn't care.

"What do you want?" She said aloud. The headmaster was at a meeting, and there was about a dozen other people in the room with her. The woman's next line was, "Its a telepathic student communicating with me, please wait a moment." The Headmaster stood up, and left the room. Standing in the hallway, she said, "What do you want R?"

Why did you assign me a roommate?

"Is that what this is about?" She was annoyed.

What else would it be about? I took a sip of my iced tea.

"Listen, you need to get out more R. Why don't you just show Juliet around campus, maybe get to know her, and if you still don't like her when summer break is over, maybe we'll reassign her." She stood there, waiting for an answer - I didn't give her one.

I watched Juliet eat. She wasn't that much younger than me. She though that I was going through her mind, but I was only looking at the surface thoughts. I could've gone further, but didn't really want to. I didn't really care for surface thoughts either, but I didn't really have a choice about that.

I sighed, hearing impending assholery. Don't look now... I sent to Juliet.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"Hello, R. Who's your friend?" The voice came from a boy standing right next to out table. His name was Brett. He was wearing a tee-shirt and jeans, and was staring at Juliet.

"My name is Juliet," said Juliet. She looked between me and Brett. "Are you a friend of R's?"

I scoffed at that.

Brett laughed. "R doesn't have any friends."

"She doesn't?"

"No. That's why its such a surprise to see someone willingly hang out with her."

"R was just showing me around." Juliet explained.

"Well then." Brett extended a hand. "If you'd prefer a more talkative guide, I'd be willing to show you around."

"Sure." Juliet took his hand, and they both walked away.

Chapter 6
Juliet

I went with the boy, not even knowing his name. I meant no offense to R, I hope she saw that in my mind. I thought maybe he'd be more likable than R and her annoying telepathic communication.

"What's your name?" I asked him.

"Brett." He responded, leading me deeper into The Cafe.

"Cool." I looked around the multicolored hallway. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see." A few minutes and sloping hallways later, we were in front of a pale blue door with the word LIBRARY spray-painted across it in black. He pushed the door open, revealing a massive room.

We walked forward, down a wedge-shaped slope that merged perfectly with the floor. I slid slightly on the floor, noticing that it was perfectly smooth, almost frictionless. The room was massive, and packed with people - there were even some people with antigrav shoes on the walls and ceiling. The whole room vibrated with pulsating music. The only source of light came from laser lights, strategically placed all over the cube-shaped room.

"The walls are soundproofed." Brett told me. "This is right above the area you were in with R."

"Awesome." I remember the square-shaped protrusion that'd been bulging out from the ceiling of the entrance to The Café.

"I know I said we'd talk, but it's a bit loud in her. When I'm walking you home, I swear we'll chat." He smiled and walked away.

I waved after him, not really thinking I'd see him again. I decided that I might as well have some fun, and went further into the crowd. After a while, I ended up near the side, which was probably a mistake.

One second, I was leaning against the wall, the next I was dangling in midair. I looked up to see that I was being held by the ankles by another student standing perpendicular to the wall. She wore a fuzzy, light blue hoodie with matching sweatpants, and a pair of sparkly blue shoes. Her long blonde hair was dangling from two blue-scrunchied ponytails.

"What are you doing here, Freshie?" She asked me.

"What?" I was confused. "How did you know I was a freshman?"

"One - never seen you around before. Two - your answer to my question." She answered.

"Good point. Where are we going?" She was walking towards the exit.

"You're leaving." She stated.

"But, I don't know how to get back to my room." I whined.

"How'd you get here?" She asked.

"First, my roommate brought me to The Café, then someone named Brett brought me here. It's my first day here, can you help me out?" I explained.

She paused a moment, thinking. "Fine." She gently dropped me on the floor, right next to the exit. She then walked down the wall, and across the floor to the door. "Well, come on."

I stood up, and followed her.

"So, who's your roommate?" She asked me.

"Her name is R-"

"Wait a second." She stopped walking, and faced me. "The neko with the telepathy and headphones? That R?"

"Umm. Yeah." I wasn't sure how to respond.

"And you're rooming with her?"

I nodded.

The girl started walking again. "You have to be very careful."

"Why?"

"She's insane."

"What do you mean, 'insane?'" I asked, nervously.

"She killed her girlfriend as a sacrifice in some kind of cult."

"Seriously?" I didn't really believe her.

"Yeah, she's delusional, and is always talking to people who aren't there."

I thought about how R was a telepath, and wondered just how strong her abilities were.

The girl took me all the way to my room - without me telling her where it was, she claimed she knew the location of everyone's dorms - talking about how R was supposedly this horrible person.

I mostly just ignored her, assuming that she was making it all up.

When we were just outside the room I asked, "what's your name?"

The girl seemed surprised, and replied with my name is Yuna. And you are-?"

"My name is Juliet." I replied.

"Well Juliet, I hope you enjoy Northrook, and I hope you survive the night. Bye." She walked away.

I opened the door to my room.

Chapter 7
R

I sat there for a little while, staring at Juliet's empty seat, finishing up my muffin. When I was done, I stood up and picked up the wrapper remains of the cupcake, and what was left of the hot chocolate. I picked them up, and dropped them into a disintegrator on my way out of The Café. I headed through the hallways to my room.

As I approached my room, sipping my iced tea, I made the door swing open for me. I also made it close behind me after I entered. I placed the cup on the floor, and plopped myself down on my bed, landing on my back with my legs hanging off the end.

Hello, Lion. I greeted the little fox. He ignored me, not moving from where he lay curled up in a ball on Juliet's bed. After a while, I sat up, pushing down my hood. After a moment of hesitation, I pushed down my headphones as well.

I reeled from the increase of sound, and fell back onto the bed. I closed my eyes, trying to focus on someone - anyone - when my surroundings changed. I was surrounded by mist. It was dark, and cold. Where was I? Had I teleported? What I having a vision? What I in someone's memory?

"R?" I spun around, searching for the source of the voice. "R? What's happening?" I found it, and realized with horror that I was trapped in a memory - mine.

I looked away, covering my ears, but her voice came again louder. "R! Please help me! Whats happening?"

I groped at my neck, trying to connect with my body in the real world. I managed to quickly get the headphones up, and I could concentrate on the present again. I pressed a button on the side, and the music cut off, and was replaced by a steady tone. I closed my eyes, but still found it difficult to focus.

I shakily stood up, and made my way over to my desk. I pushed around some stuff, looking, then went over to the closet. I dug around a bit, and finally found what I was looking for.

I stumbled back over to the bed, and sat down. I twisted open the little orange bottle, and poured some little blue pills into my hand. Not bothering to count them, I swallowed them. I capped the bottle, leaned down, and grabbed the iced tea, taking a sip.

Suddenly, the room started spinning I dropped the cup, and crawled to the center of the bed. The voices quieted, and my vision blurred.

I closed my eyes.

Chapter 8
Juliet

I went directly to my bed to pet Lion. As I rubbed behind his cute little ears, I said, "Look, R. I'm sorry for ditching you. Are you mad?"

When I didn't get an answer, I turned around, and gasped when I saw her. She was splayed across her bed, her hood and headphones off, unconscious. In her hand, there was a little orange prescription bottle.

I ran over, and grabbed it. I read the label, and my eyes widened in shock, knowing what it was.

I took out my phone, and called the off-campus hospital located barely a mile away from the school.

"...what is your emergency?"

"Yes, hello." I tried to stay calm. "My name is Juliet, and I am a student at Northbrook University, and I think my roommate just overdosed."

"What is the name of your roommate?" The operator's voice sounded concerned. I could hear computer keys clicking.

"Her name is R." The clicking stopped.

"Is she human?" The operator asked. Her tone had changed. It sounded annoyed.

"No." I admitted.

The operator sounded almost mad, for some reason. "This line is for emergencies only."

"But-"

"Your friend will be fine." She sneered, then hung up.

I looked at my phone, shocked, then threw it on my bed.

What the hell? Was she being discriminatory? Was this common? Was there something about R I did't know? Was I overreacting?

I got up, and left the room, knocking on the door across the hall. After a minute, a tall, sandy-haired guy answered.

"What do you want?" He asked, sounding half asleep, even though it was probably around 3pm.

"Umm. I think my roommate's in trouble?" I said nervously.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I think she might've ODed?"

"What's her name?" He asked.

I hesitated for a moment, remembering the other person's response, but said, "R."

"R?" He shook his head. "Are you new here?"

I nodded.

"R can't die." He stated.

"What?" my jaw dropped.

"She's a Copycat." He explained.

"A Copycat?" I repeated.

"Look it up." He closed the door, retreating back into his room.

I went back to mine, and stared at R.

What the hell was a Copycat?

Notes to save

chaotic campus - lots of color and different shaped buildings

lime green apartment is R dorm - room hat3109

scanner to get in rooms - symmetrical two beds, desks closets.

roommate - Yuna - fuzzy tracksuits hoodie/pants sparkles pink obnoxious

Cafe - massive, colors abstract - microtech

grace - bad boy nightcore image- electricity manipulation

We got off at the 24th floor, and went down to room red4286, where Grace opened the door with her thumb. The room was identical to Yuna's, except for the color scheme being pink - not green. The left side was already occupied, so I started to unpack on the right side.

R - copycat - thoughts - ice

See Also

Pulse

(These two stories were originally written in tandem with the intention of Pulse being the prequel to Escape. Both stories were based on the same dream. Neither story ended up finished, so they ended up being abandoned before properly connected.)