Welcome to the Inc. Where everyone is happy. Every single one of your desires are here. You have no reason to leave. You can't leave… --------------------------------------------------- Lucas opened his eyes, to take in the scene in front of him. A huge, dark room, adorned with expensive decorations and furnitures. Hypnotic music pulsated through the air, the singer's voice almost lulling him back to sleep. But he stayed awake. What he saw before him, put him on edge. The room was filled with people, all of them enjoying themselves. They were either lounging on the vintage love seats, dancing, eating rich foods, laying in piles of gold, or drinking deep red wine. But they all had this look about them, that was off to Lucas. Their eyes… they were vacant. Dead, even. Lucas was put off by this. Surely they should be happy, people were surrounded by the things they've always wanted. That would make anyone happy, right? At least, he thought it would. Why he felt empty inside, he didn't know. He took a reluctant step forward, only to trip over somebody. Lucas looked down at a boy laying on the floor. "Hey… are you alright?" he asked. He didn't respond. The boy was as good as dead. He was alive, actually, but not inside his mind. The boy just blankly stared ahead, seeing nothing, occasionally murmuring the words; "Enjoy yourself…" He blinked, scrambling to his feet. The sight had made him nervous. But once he saw the boy, he noticed everyone else like him. Among the crowd of people indulging in what the Inc. had to offer, there were a few bodies limply slumped over couches or on the floor. All of them blankly staring ahead, murmuring. Lucas tapped a girl sitting on stacks of gold coins. She looked incredulously at him. "What are you doing?" she said, with a confused expression on her face. "There are people on the floor"- "You should be enjoying yourself." she said simply, laughing as she tossed a few gold coins in the air, laying back on the pile with a sigh. But her eyes were blank as well. Was she truly enjoying herself? Was anybody here actually happy? Lucas was extremely confused. He didn't even know how he felt. Stepping over people and avoiding the deathly-still ones, Lucas caught sight of a window. It let streaks of light in through the smudged glass. In fact, it was the brightest light source in the whole Inc. Everything else was dim, and bleak. But the outside world? Nobody knew. They were all so absorbed in the illusion of paradise the Inc. put in place, none of them knew what was happening past the concrete walls they were enclosed in. Outside, was a wonderful place to be. The air wasn't thick with cigarette smoke, the world was bright, everything was in order. And nobody was allowed there. Lucas approached the window, pressing his hands onto the cold surface. He squinted against the rays of sun, before his eyes finally adjusted to the light change. Lucas gasped in wonder, looking out at the world below him. He had never seen anything like it, and it was always right there. "Everybody! Look at this!" he called excitedly. He was ignored, and everyone continued to indulge in the things they were given. Lucas sighed, and glanced out the window again. A girl about his age, clothed in a pure white dress, was sitting under a tree, lightly strumming an acoustic guitar. She seemed like the happiest person ever, and she didn't have any of the things the Inc. had. Lucas was dumbfounded at how carefree she seemed. The girl stood, the simple movement making her dress and her long black hair flow, like there was a light breeze outside. She paused, and looked up at the tower, to where Lucas was standing at the window. The girl saw him, and smiled lightly. Her eyes seemed to smile too. He watched in amazement as she picked a flower, and sang to herself, walking off. He didn't hear her voice, but he was positive it was beautiful. "…there's a world out there! Why aren't we outside?" he said, turning to face the people. The ones that were slumped over on the ground slowly sat up. Their eyes were still blank, and they still muttered the words: "Enjoy yourself." "Listen to me! We should leave!" he shouted. Lucas' voice was drowned out in the music, the lead singer's melodious voice grew even more mesmerizing as she sang louder, her cold eyes boring into Lucas'. "There's nowhere to go, so why try to leave?" He stepped back, pressing himself against the wall. She was right: there wasn't anywhere else for him to go. The window was an impossible exit too, they were many stories above the ground. The people were oblivious to what was happening, while the others joined in the singer's twisted ballad, a disturbing harmony as a result. Lucas pressed his hands to his ears, trying to block out the music. But it was too late. The song was imprinted in his mind. He felt a euphoria of some sort, yet an intense drowsiness. Lucas dropped to his knees, the corners of his lips turning up into a bitter grin. "Enjoy yourself…" --------------------------------------------------- This may be a story or not, I dunno. But! I based this off of the song Feel Good Inc. by Gorillaz. It has an huge meaning behind the lyrics if you ever check the song out. What do you guys think of this? (ahem, I posted this on PIMD, but wanted to see KaW's FF reaction )
Well, we recently had a massive plagiarism streak by a player here, so we've been looking for more copies. I skim rather than read, but I don't think you plagiarized. Knowing that and skimming through it, I have to say it's not too bad.