Haguko’s Curse

 

Day one

I woke up today with a raging headache. And for five seconds I couldn't make sense of anything. I was on a cold steel floor. There was a tightly shut steel door a few feet in front of me. My temples were pounding with pain. And my back definitely hurt as well. 

It's been a few hours since then. If I woke up in the morning, it could be evening by now. The sense of duration adds up.

I'm hungry. And really really disoriented. Matter of fact I don't think I even remember certain things right. For example, what happened last before I passed out? I was at home. I remember that much. I woke up in the middle of the night and went to grab a soda, I think? And then I came up to my room because I heard noises, I guess. And then.. I don't remember anything else. 

I woke up here. That's the next thing I knew. And those tiny details of my memory aren't coming back to me just yet. 

Man, I'm hungry. 

They did give me something to eat, though. Something like a protein bar. And I don't really know who "they" are because my designated butler is apparently a dog..?

Well, his name is Kvie. And he's not really a dog. What I mean is he doesn't exactly look like one. He wears a costume. There is a glass helmet around his little head, and he’s wearing a cool yellow jacket – looks kinda like a life jacket, i don’t know. He looks as if an otter was crossed with a dog or a cat. Big dark eyes and a small mouth. Fellow looks really cute, to be honest. His body is mostly furry but some spots are rubbery and strangely blue. Very weird. Is this some kinda experiment lab?

Anyway, Kvie is sweet and innocent and very obedient. They’ve mounted a leather ball to the back of his jacket so I played with him for a while when he brought me my food. I don’t know if we’re supposed to do that. But then again what else is the ball there for?? 

When I talked to him, he put his tongue out and wagged a blue, rubbery tail. So in my head, he’s a dog. Simple as that. 

Kvie also brought something like a small notebook and a pen. These are what I’m currently using to write things down like this. I’m surprised. Usually I hate writing diaries. But right now, it feels strangely relieving. All day I tried not to panic and assess the situation and look for an escape. I can’t make any big moves without knowing where I am and who’s keeping me here. So I need to observe what they’re doing with me first. Even so.. Even so, writing this diary makes me feel at ease. 

Oh I think Kvie is at the door again. Thank God.

 

Day one: a couple hours later

I’m really really hungry, man. And cold. And tired.

I don’t know the exact time. There is no clock here. Honestly I feel like I took clocks for granted. I used to have the luxury of knowing the time 24/7 just by glancing at my phone or my watch or my computer. 

But today, I haven’t checked the time in what feels like close to 24 hours. I don’t know. Maybe not that long. Maybe I’m talking outta my ass. 

Kvie came in a couple hours or so ago and he brought with him.. a new visitor. Dr. Sylos. He looked.. really.. unique.. He had a weird looking mint green lab coat on. But that wasn’t the only thing green about him. His face, his arms, his legs, his whole skin was green. A very mint green. And his hair was all gone. 

He was very stern. So emotionless. He talked with me as if somebody coerced him into it. As if he’d rather be somewhere else sleeping. For a moment it got me thinking that this is probably how Daiki feels talking with me. I use such terse, curt sentences with him most of the time. Just because I’d rather be doing something else than talking to him…

I wonder how Daiki is doing… 

And my parents…

Anyway, Dr. Sylos asked me a few questions. And the answers, he typed into some small mobile device. He asked me for my name first. For a second I swear I felt like I forgot. “Takashi”, I said to him then and he repeated it in the most bizarre way possible. Like TA-KAAW-JI. My name is pretty common. In Japan at least. But even when I lived in America I haven’t heard my name pronounced quite as bizarrely as that. Actually, the way he pronounced Japanese was weird entirely. 

And then he asked me for my “stage”..? 

I said I didn’t know what he was talking about. 

He then corrected himself and asked me for my age. I said I was 19. He typed that into the device. 

“And Takawji-san, how are we feeling today?”, he asked me. God, that awful accent of his. 

I said I’m feeling disoriented.

“Are you scared?‘, he asked.

“No”, I replied. I’m not sure about that. I mean what can I achieve by being scared right now?

“Are you hungry?”

“No”, Didn’t expect him to give me any food even if I said I was hungry. So I decided to look tough. 

“Are you cold?”

“No”

“Are you sleepy?”

“No”

“Angry?”

“No”

“Lonely? Depressed?”

“No. No”

“Do you like Kvie?”

I almost answered no but then realized what he’d asked. I looked at Kvie. He looked back at me, wagging his little blue tail and smiling with his tongue out.

I replied, “Yes”

“Hm”, he said and just walked out after that. So abruptly. Kvie barked after him and ran outside too. 

Well, anyway, there’s another thing that proves that Kvie is a dog. He barks. 

 

Day one: late night, I think

I fell asleep. It must be night. They’ve switched off the lights in my..cell. 

But then I woke up to these strange rustling noises outside. They weren’t alarming noises. But loud enough to wake someone up. A few minutes later they died down. I couldn’t sleep though. I was too hungry. So here I am. Writing in my diary, I guess. 

Looking around my cell carefully and slowly now, I can finally see its details properly. My bed is actually in a small breathable glass chamber. That is about 1/4th of the entire cell. They’d actually been generous with this space. Straight ahead of this glass chamber, on the opposite side of the room, is the heavy-looking steel door. 

There were not many objects here except what looked like a small enclosed bathroom to my left side of the room. It was dark but there was a light coming in from somewhere. I saw shadows dancing on the wall. Shadows from outside. 

Hm.. I remember this from home too. That night. I went into the kitchen to grab a soda and I remember seeing creepy shadows on the wall. 

Home.. My room..

Mom and dad must be worried as hell. 

Wait.. the door is opening.

Oh it’s just Kvie. She has a few items on her jacket. Let me check them and get back to you. 

 

Later

I think..someone is trying to communicate with me. And they’re not on the same side as whoever is holding me in here. 

Okay so here’s what happened:

Kvie came in, as I mentioned earlier, with some stuff on her jacket. There was of course food. Two big protein bars and a big packet of milk. 

Hungry as I was, I began taking the food out of Kvie’s jacket fast, when I noticed something taped to the back of one protein bar. It said, “paper inside, read discreetly”. 

Okay so here I had a cryptic message that asked me to handle it in secret. Clearly I shouldn’t do anything out of the ordinary or anything unexpected. So naturally, I first devoured my food. There were probably cameras inside, monitoring me. That’s why this person wanted me to read their message discreetly. I haven’t noticed any cameras yet but they’re probably here. I mean I haven’t even noticed what the source of light that kept creeping into my room at night was either. So it’s safe to assume there’s a lot I don’t know.

I devoured my food in two seconds because my stomach began to growl at the smell of the fruits and nuts in the protein bars. Then I played with Kvie for a few minutes and sent him on his way. I packed up one protein bar wrapper and the empty milk packet of course but that’s just it. The other wrapper, I safely hid in my t-shirt. 

Here’s the thing. I don’t know if they will check my empty wrappers later. If they do, that would be a crazy level of security. But considering that food is the only thing coming and going in and out of my cell, I’d say it’s the best way for an outsider to communicate with me, in case they’ve found a way to breach whatever building I am in. But I really don’t know the logistics here, so I decided to work with what I know. 

I decided to pretend to go to sleep and secretly open the piece of paper that was hidden inside the wrapper. 

“Can bust you out in exchange for info. Get acquainted with agent. Find out the true nature of Project Gwonak. Find out coordinates of base. Find out project leader's name. Strengths and weaknesses if possible. Can allow 4 days.”

 

Day two: morning

They’re taking me somewhere. 

Woke up today to Kvie happily licking away at my face as I lay on my bed. The glass chamber had been opened. This freaked me out a little but before I could look around or do anything a couple of prison guards held me and took me away to a large vehicle. 

They loaded me up into a pod inside the vehicle and now I’m being taken away. I don’t know what’s wrong. Or what’s going to happen to me now. Honestly.. My heart is really pounding right now. My stomach is aching too. Like I ate something bad. 

I don’t know where I am. When we came out of my cell I remember seeing endless passages of cold shiny steel - possibly leading to more cells. And then they took me through this black metallic interior. It was kinda like a video game to be honest. Like some ship or spacecraft in a video game. Some parts of it also had pulsating luminous beams, like embedded into the walls. It’s honestly so trippy. I don’t understand. This..whatever vehicle we are traveling in was also parked in that section and it looked like a giant insect whose tall limbs had wheels. 

And on top of it, my note is gone! Like they took me through this scanner and I was dreading that someone would find it. But nope. It’s gone already. What if they already found it?? 

Are they going to kill me??

 

Day two

Holy shit! What if this notebook is connected to one of their systems so they can read whatever I write?? Oh no. I mean why else would they give it to me?? Why would they give a prisoner a notebook?? Fuck. I was stupid. Shit shit shit shit shit.

 

Day two : later

I dissected the notebook. No one can see me right now. So I dissected the book and tore out the pages. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck. It did have some tiny cables attaching the pages to its spine. 

What should I do now?? They probably even saw the note that I got. 

They’re definitely gonna kill me now aren’t they? 

 

Day two : later

Using the torn up pages of the notebook to write. Hopefully no more tracking mechanisms. Fuck. It doesn’t even matter. The vehicle is still going on and on and on. I’m really losing my mind right now. I can feel us jostle over bumps on the road. But it has been going on for an hour or so now. 

I tried to find a way to escape the pod I’m in. But it’s so seamlessly shut. I don’t even have anything on me that could be used as a weapon. Just my hands. And I’m NOT good at fist fights. 

 

Day two : later

The vehicle is slowing down. Feel like this is the end of the journey. Can hear some strange noises outside. I don’t even know. 

I might die today. 

I might die right now. 

Phew. 

 

Day two : lunch. I’m having lunch

I didn’t die. 

I didn’t die. They didn’t kill me. They Actually

Well actually I’m having lunch right now. Will write later.

 

Day two : after lunch

So I’m in a new cell now. I didn’t die. No one killed me. No one even tried to. Quite the opposite. They just brought me to a bigger, more facilitated cell. This one has a nice bed chamber with a mirror, a small table, and a closet. 

The washroom here is larger too and it also has a mirror. There is also a shower and a towel cabinet. Outside the bedchamber is a small..fridge? Kitchen cupboard? Something of the sort. I opened it. And it has a buttload of protein bars. And that’s not even my meal anymore. Just snacks. My meals are proper cooked meals now, but guess what? Kvie still brings them to me!

He wears his little yellow life jacket thing and brings a plate of warm food. For lunch I had ramen. And of course, I got to play with Kvie too! This time they’ve included more toys. Thrown some squeaky toys in there too. And this time Kvie doesn’t have to carry his own toys to me, I have them stocked up in a small bin near my bed chamber. 

This is not bad. Not bad at all. 

But I wonder why they’re doing this. What’s their end goal? Are they just fattening up the pig before the meal? But I see no point in killing me like this. What could they gain from that? Are they going to perform experiments on me? Like they’ve probably done on Kvie? And possibly Dr. Sylos? I mean..why is he green? You know?

Phew. I don’t know. This all feels so strange to me. I feel like I might be coming down with a fever or something. Gonna try to get some sleep. If that’s even possible. 

 

Day two : evening

Napped for a few hours. 

I think..hmm

I don’t know. There’s something weird. I saw something..weird.

So the guards that took me out of my last cell.. At the time I felt like they were vaguely familiar-looking. I’ve seen them somewhere. They just..looked familiar. But I shook it off. Maybe I was mistaken, yeah? But then..when they transported me into this new cell, it was two different people. This time, a man and a woman, but they too looked super familiar to me! I’ve..definitely seen them before. What the hell. 

I don’t know man. What is even happening? Who are these people?? Who is holding me in here??? And who sent me that note??? SHIT. I forgot the note! Forgot all about it! 

And I don’t even have it anymore. If I remember right, they asked me to get friendly with..someone. Some agent? I guess? And find out about Project Gwon..? Gwamak? Gwonak? Something like that. 

Oh shit wait. Actually I wrote this stuff down earlier. Let me check. 

Yes! Project Gwonak. And I'm also supposed to find the base. And find out who their leader is. Right. And I could get an escape route in exchange. 

Phew. How the hell am I gonna do this? Who is the agent? Is it Dr. Sylos? I’ve had one encounter with the guy but he doesn’t really seem like the type to divulge any info. 

I wish it was Kvie. 

I wish that Kvie could talk. He would tell me anything. He would talk about anything. For hours. So cheerfully. Just like….

Anyways, it’s gotta be Dr. Sylos. He’s my only contact here that could talk. I should try to crack him. The next time he visits me, maybe I’ll ask him some questions too. Let’s see. Phew. What am I even getting myself into?? Phew. 

It doesn’t matter. My poor parents must be worried sick. I gotta get back to them. 

I really miss them. 

 

Day two : night

I..

I don’t know how to write this. I don’t even know what to believe. 

You know that feeling when you’re on the verge of discovering the truth about something that’s been tearing at you for a long, long time. And you start seeing little hints of that truth and it’s something that was both pretty obvious and also completely unexpected at the same time??? And the fact that nothing is confirmed but this truth is lying there right in front of your eyes, driving you insane??? I feel that now. And maybe I have more than just a little hint. Maybe I have hard proof. But my brain just can’t process it.

Here’s what happened:

Dr. Sylos visited. He appeared to be the same as we met last. The same grouchy persona. But.. he asked me some questions. I’ll write them here:

Sylos: How are you feeling?

Me: Good.

Sylos: Anxious?

Me: No

Sylos: Scared?

Me: No

Sylos: Hungry? Sleepy? Depressed?

Me: No. No. No.

Sylos: Hm.. are you using the notebook we provided?

Me: I stopped.

Sylos: May I see what you’ve already written?

Me: No.

Sylos: I see..

Then he narrowed his eyes at me for a long time and typed something in his mobile device.

Sylos: In case you need a replacement or a new notebook we can arrange that.

Me: I don’t need one.

Sylos: Just let us know.

This was weird. Have they not seen my old notes yet?? Is that why they’re desperate to see it now? Anyways, he kept asking general questions like this about the food and the cell. Then it quickly took an unexpected turn. He asked me…something really strange. Let me just write the whole conversation.

Sylos: Are you familiar with this..object?

And guess what he held up. Just guess what he held up in front of me. 

My DJI Mini 2. 

My drone. 

Of course, I was taken aback.   

Me: Uh yes it’s mine. It’s a drone.

Sylos: Care to explain what it does?

Me: I can fly it remotely and take photos with its cam, do surveillance, stuff like that. 

Sylos: Is it used in military operations?

Me: Uh yeah. Of course. 

Sylos: Hm.. Well, you can have this back.

Me: Why?

Sylos: Isn’t it yours?

Me: You can use this to surveil me.

And at this point. Something strange happened. Dr. Sylos smiled. Faintly, but he did. 

Sylos: I don’t think we will. You can have it back. I will, however, need you to answer all my questions honestly. Now I have just a couple more questions coming up. I hope you can be totally honest with me. 

I don’t know man. Why the sudden change in his disposition. He sounds…very curious now. It’s freaking me out. But I just..nodded. I gotta ask him things too. Thought I should use this as leverage.

Me: Sure. But..I have a condition too.

He looked taken aback a bit. But whatever, I was unfazed. 

Sylos: What is it?

Me: I can ask you two questions too. And you will be honest with me. I will cooperate. But you should help me out too.

He hesitated. Of course he did. But he finally agreed to it. 

Sylos: Understood. We can play that game. I will ask you a question. After you’ve answered, you can ask one from me. Yes?

Me: Yes.

Sylos: Good. My first question is this…