Space Between Universes 19

The cell door slid closed, finally separating Arkay from the armed guards that had been leading him around this massive facility. In front of him was Arkay’s new home, what was essentially a hermetically sealed studio apartment. There was a grand total of one window, which looked out into the hallway which Arkay had just come from, and, with the touch of a button near the wall, would instantly turn opaque, blocking anyone from looking through it. That was probably for the best because Arkay didn’t really want anyone to see him crying, as he had maintained a stiff upper lip throughout his strange trial and was now faced with the fact that he would be stuck here in this apartment for eternity.

With a shake of his head, Arkay pushed those thoughts away and tried to be positive. He had a nice new home to inspect.

The main room was rather high-tech, combining the living area, kitchen and sleeping area, at least compared to what Arkay was used to. He had always been a simple being, so all this fancy technology would take some getting used to. The living area had a very fancy screen which Arkay assumed was some sort of television, as well as a large variation of chairs, sofas, tables and cushions. A box had been placed near the screen with some sort of keyboard and console on it.

The kitchen though was something else. It consisted of an electric stove/oven combo which could reach temperatures of millions of Kelvin, while the fridge-freezer nearby was split into compartments that could all be cooled to various temperatures, down to 0.0001 Kelvin. An array of cooking utensils and pots, only some of which Arkay recognised, decorated the kitchen wall. Again, there was a box on the kitchen, similar to the one in the living area.

Last but not least, there was a bed. It was a pretty basic bed pressed up against the wall, but all around it were cupboards and stuff, placed in such a way that they somewhat separated the bed from the rest of the studio. There was also one more white box with a screen and a keyboard on it.

There was only one room separate from everything else. The bathroom. It was a very simple room compared to the rest of the apartment. A shower, a bath, a toilet and a sink. But again, there was a white box in here. This time though, there was a small booklet on top of it.

Arkay picked the booklet up and started reading it, his eyes not quite used to the language of the Decay-Lords yet.

“Omni-Satisfact Item Obtainer Box…” Arkay stumbled over the words. On the front there was a picture of the strange boxes in question. He opened up the booklet and sat down on the bed, intrigued.

“Congratulations on the purchase of your own Omni-Satisfact Item Obtainer Box!” the booklet seemed to metaphorically scream. “The OSIOB is a wonderful, amazing, perhaps even miraculous product! With the OSIOB, you may obtain any item you desire! Simply enter what you want on the Panton-Language Keyboard, press the red button and wait for your item to arrive! Please note that large items may take some time to arrive. Always specify a quantity. For more info, keep on reading!”

Arkay blinked, then decided to test the item out. He gently tapped the words “1 cheese toasty” on the keyboard, then pressed the red button. After a second of buzzing, a cheese toasty appeared. It was room temperature and lacked a plate, but it was definitely a cheese toasty.

Amused, Arkay glanced at the rest of the booklet, but tiredness had suddenly come over him. He had no idea how long he had been on his feet and the exhaustion was just starting to kick in.

“You know what? This isn’t too bad after all…”

Arkay smiled to himself as he climbed into bed. He was safe, he was secure and he actually felt somewhat happy. But more importantly, Arkay was tired and he finally had a nice place to sleep. The moment his head hit the pillow, Arkay found himself fast asleep.

As the little Decayling drifted off into a deep slumber, something strange began to happen. But Arkay would not find out until it was over…