Rough wall washed with blue light. No place to put my hands. Everyone is frozen. They have forgotten even being the protagonists of their own stories. Perhaps the story has been handed over to third parties. A light breeze blows. I think people are just clothes to be hung. Feet are pinned to the ground. A shadow looms over me, trying to suffocate me. Hülya's vague gazes are upon me. He is not there. I feel the wind being cut off on my right. My hair stands on end. It is him.
I wait for an answer from the Mechanism. I am no different from a remote-controlled car. Speakers begin to roar. Involuntarily, I look to my right. His cold presence and the things he told me pass through my mind. Suddenly, the Mechanism begins to speak:
[You made a mistake! When will you learn that it does not belong to you? How sure are you that the floorboard beneath you will not open?]
That noise-like voice sent shivers down my spine. Scattered pieces of paper on the floorboards, like down feathers, were swept away by the wind.
[You need a punishment.]
This was a terrifying warning addressed to Sis. The thought of the floorboard opening again was chilling. If I saw myself in a mirror right now, I would flee upon facing my snow-white face. Punishment? The Mechanism was speaking directly to him.
[Don't you want to know? Sometimes the greatest punishment is to be deceived.]
Turning towards Sis, I tried to see the change in his facial expression. "To be deceived?" Sis asked in a mocking voice. It was as if he were facing a person, not the Mechanism. He shook his head slightly. "To be deceived... You don't even know what you're talking about."
[Deception is necessary. What happens if this necessity becomes more attractive than hunting and being hunted?]
Against the vibrations of the robotic voice, my husband's accident scene flashed before my eyes. The face of that veiled man under the tunnel, telling me to get the hell out of the tunnel, appeared. It was as if he had appeared there representing the Mechanism. At the mention of the word "deceived," I couldn't even swallow. It was as if it weren't just talking to Sis, but also to me.
[The name of the game we are playing today: The Four Faces of the Mechanism!]
Four Faces... My nickname. Who knew me this well? What was my crime? An image of a figure with arms outstretched to both sides appeared on the main screen. Right next to it, an anime-style image of the four masks I had seen in the tattoo on Sis's finger formed. I felt sweat droplets under my chin. A game? Were these things we were going to do merely a tool for entertainment? The Mechanism continued speaking: [The four faces of the mechanism mean four options!]
The sound of a lid opening was heard. Fear had locked my entire body. I thought I would see bloodstains scattered around as soon as I opened my eyes. But in that flickering image between my eyelids, there was only a box placed on a square. A tear rolled down my cheek. Through my eyes, which were wet and misty windows, I looked at the wooden box. It was familiar. This was the exact wooden box I had encountered in the tunnel that day, the one where I found the letter.
A diagram appeared instead of the female figure on the screen. [1st option- Open the box] [2nd option- Choose one of the four options]
The box winked at me once more. My blood practically froze. What else was in there to ruin my life?
[Let The Four Faces of the Mechanism begin!]
The screen went dark. We were left facing a blank wall. Everyone was waiting for someone else to make a move. There was a movement beside me. Sis. I looked at him as if we had reached an agreement. He moved quickly from his spot. He approached the square with large, determined steps.
The Mechanism had not punished me that day, and it hadn't punished him now either. I didn't understand why. A huge, giant city. Giant rules threatening people with death. A prison. Like an underground bunker. Atrocity. Blood. You can distribute all of these, yet you simply cannot punish the patients. What was this if not tragicomic?
His eyes, knowing from the beginning that everything would be complicated, narrowed. He was completely focused on the wooden box. When he reached the square, everything he had told me passed through my mind one by one. What did he know? What were the things he hadn't told? Most importantly... the fear of talking about something with someone untrustworthy like him, and the possibility of sharing something common.
When he reached the box, Hülya began walking toward him in a way I hadn't expected. Upon this, the others also looked at each other. I concluded that they didn't want to take responsibility. As for me... how much responsibility did I want to take?
Sis rubbed his finger on the wooden box standing on the square. "Together," Hülya said, warning him with her gaze. Sis's eyebrows furrowed casually. He was acting as if this thing belonged only to him. Giving a command to my legs, I approached them in a few steps. My heart felt like it was going to stop. The thing I feared most coming out of it was... a gun. Wasn't that everyone's nightmare here?
Mert also took a few steps toward Hülya, bringing the box into his line of sight. We were like four scarecrows standing still. The others had gone to the most remote places they could find. With slow but controlled fingers, Sis wiped the dust off the box and placed his finger on the lock. I took a deep breath to suppress the feeling of contraction in my stomach. I was completely focused.
My eyes closed and opened heavily with fatigue. Even though I had no watch, I felt the ticking of time over me like a shadow. I could hear Sis's finger rubbing against the wooden surface. Even Hülya seemed to hesitate at that moment. Together they pulled the lock. The lid of the box opened with a creak. A click was heard. The sound penetrated to the depths of my soul. Just... in seconds, my lips were crushed between my teeth. I quickly covered my mouth with my hand.
"Oh my God!"