《Zero Percent Remaining》 One Percent Remaining
Sometimes the truth is right in front of you.
But we tend to walk right past it.
When we backtrack, we realize that it is no longer there.
That is why we should never look back.
But, can we really not look back?
There is fear within us all.
And that fear, both lead us and bind us.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
Lead us to our greatest strengths and worst weaknesses.
Bind us to our pasts and responsibilities.
And, when that fear consumes us, we hit a dead end...
Zero Percent Remaining.
----------------------------------------------- A message from the authors: Welcome to Zero Percent Remaining! This story is a brand new reader interactive brought to you by Hikaru Seishin and Sachiko. You, the reader, take the role of the only contact that the characters have. Guide the characters through this nightmare horror story... The choice is yours. Who gets to live... And who gets to die? 1:15 PM
Day TWO - 1:15 PM - S - Abandoned Hospital Battery Life: 90%
Hello, it¡¯s me again. I know you probably won¡¯t reply to this, but you are my only contact to the outside world. I don¡¯t know if you actually exist or not. I will simply continue updating you on my progress. Maybe one day, you will see all this and respond. Or maybe, someone else may come along in the future, and use this to find their own way out. I will act as their record keeper, so that if anything happens to me, at least what I discovered could be of some use. ¡­ I am still at the hospital. Yesterday, when I last messaged you, I had found a way up to the second floor. The stairs from the ground floor to the second floor are still broken. Some of its steps are missing. I tried to climb up through the rumbles, but couldn¡¯t make the last jump. The gap was too wide, and there was a gigantic hole underneath the staircase. I didn¡¯t think it was wise to risk falling into that. I didn¡¯t know what could have awaited me on the bottom. Or if there was a bottom at all. So instead, I found an elevator in one of the corridors. I didn¡¯t want to take the elevator. There was no way out if it gets stuck, and I didn¡¯t know what awaited me on the other side. The feeling of no escape was unpleasant. Fortunately, nothing happened to me. I explored the area around the elevator for a while, then found a small room to sleep in. I made sure to barricade all the potential entrances to the room. It was a small storage room. There was nothing left in there, except the bare shelves. I curled up in the corner for for the night, but could only get a few hours of sleep. The tension kept me awake, and I was forcefully jolted from my slumber by a loud noise from outside the room. I am updating you from the inside of the room right now. The noise had stopped. I still can¡¯t remember anything. What I was doing here. Why I am here. And most importantly, who I am. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I woke up yesterday in this abandoned hospital, with a backpack, a phone, and rations enough to last me three days at most. Today is day two. I have enough food and water for one more day. I will need to find more to survive past that. There is nothing on my phone that tells me what to do next. I only have one contact number. You. There are also a few other applications: a calculator, a flashlight, the battery percentage bar, and a mapping system that updates as I explore. So far, the map showed all the areas I went to yesterday on the ground floor. This may be handy if I ever want to backtrack later on. Finally, there is a lock screen with the day number, time, and letter ¡°S¡± on it. I am not sure what that ¡°S¡± represents, but for identification purposes, you can call me ¡°S.¡± Now, I think that¡¯s enough of a summary of my current situation. I can tell you more later. But I need to make my decision. Should I go outside to investigate the noise, or stay in this room and wait it out? If I go out to investigate, there is a good chance I may not make it out alive. But on the other hand, whoever or whatever made that noise may be of some importance to me. Friend or foe? I will just have to see. Or, I could simply stay in this room, and wait it out. But, what exactly am I waiting for? I may be wasting precious time here. I will wait for your decision. But sooner or later, I will be forced to make my own. What should it be?
INVESTIGATE THE NOISE
STAY IN THE ROOM
----------------------------- From Hikaru and Sachiko: The chapters are text messages from the characters to the reader. Choose an option from the two, majority wins! If you have any questions, feel free to comment below! See you soon... 2:15 PM
Day ONE - 2:15 PM - K - The Castle Battery Life: 100%
Hello! How are you today... No response? Well, I wasn''t expecting anything really. After all, when you wake up in an abandoned castle alone with only the clothes on your back, a backpack, and cellphone in your hand, what else are you to suspect? Did I get attack by a robber baron?! Do you get it because it''s a castle so a baron, and I''ve been robbed... Yeah, sorry that was stupid... Anyways, your number seems to be the only contact with someone else I have. Do you mind if I spam you a bit? Haha, no response again. So let me tell you more about my situation. I have rations in the bag for a couple of days and this cell phone. I''m not sure what to do from here, though. I haven''t explored much beyond this room and looked out the window to the courtyard. No one else seems to be here which is a little unnerving, but that means no one is going to kill me right? I''m going to leave my room now. Waiting for something to happen isn''t my thing. I''d rather be in and out with no one the wiser. I''ve left the room now and the hallway is gaudier than the room was. Velvet tapestries and other expensive looking decorations adorn the hall. How much would this all be worth?! Why steal my stuff?! Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Excuse me, I''ve seemed to be off track. All the rooms except mine are locked and are barred from the inside... I picked one. Not sure how I knew to do that, but it was pretty easy. The hallway leads to a grand staircase on one end and another hallway down the other neither is inviting. I''m favoring taking the staircase. Then I would be on the first floor and have possible access to the outside. After all, this castle is like a maze, I don''t want to get lost. Though if you''re able to reply to me, and have a different suggestion. I''ll take it! Since you seem to be the only contact I have, there must be a reason for that. I''ll wait here for a little while so let me know!
TAKE THE STAIRCASE TO THE GROUND FLOOR
GO DOWN THE OTHER HALLWAY
3:15 PM
Day THREE- 3:15 PM - R - Opera House Battery Life: 80%
I hate you¡­ For whatever reason, this is your fault that I¡¯ve wandered deeper into this drama set... I¡¯ve been messaging the only number in my phone. NONE have gone through to you till now so what help can I expect from you? You¡¯re not reliable or helpful. Useless¡­ The worst part is all the actors have been replaced with mannequins. Some have heads and some don''t. I swear the ones with heads keeps following me with their stupid eyes. I really just want to burn this place to the ground. Maybe then the ugly things wouldn''t freak me out. So I''ve been sitting here while ranting to you, and the creeps keep moving in... Or maybe that just my imagination, but I''m leaving this place. Uh... What''s the point of talking to someone I don''t even know? How do I know I can trust you? You¡¯re as faceless and fake as the mannequins. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I guess it''s better than being here completely alone. Just know that if you end up killing me... What a baseless threat! I can''t even find you. Whatever, I''ll ask you even if it does kill me. There''s an emergency exit. It actually spells
MER CY IT
Because this place can''t manage to maintain itself. So there''s that exit or I could try to explore backstage some. What do you think?
GO THROUGH THE EMERGENCY EXIT
EXPLORE THE BACKSTAGE
4:15 PM
Day FOUR - 4:15 PM - A - Clock Tower Battery Life: 70%
Please reply to me¡­ Please, if you see this, help me¡­ THEY are chasing me. I am running. Oh goodness, I can¡¯t even- ¡­ Sorry that I got disconnected there¡­ I managed to duck into a loose vent on my way up the clock tower. I can¡¯t say much right now, but I promise to tell you everything soon¡­ I- ¡­ THEY are here!!! THEY found me!!! What do I do!? Do I climb deeper into the vent? I really don¡¯t like how dark it is¡­I can¡¯t see anything on the other end. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I don¡¯t know if there will be an exit, and if they decide to come after me, I won¡¯t be able to turn back¡­ The only other option is to throw the loose door of the vent at them, provide a distraction for me to continue up the stairs¡­ But I don¡¯t know how much further I need to run. Or how much longer I can run¡­ I really need to get to the top. I¡­can explain that later¡­but please¡­help me. What should I do¡­?
ESCAPE THROUGH THE VENT
DISTRACT THEM AND RUN
1:20 PM
Stay in the Room
Day TWO - 1:20 PM - S - Abandoned Hospital Battery Life: 85%
Thank you for replying. It means a lot to me. I¡¯m glad to have someone with me on this. I have taken your suggestion, and stayed in the room to wait it out. Indeed, never run toward the noise. Nothing good could come out of it. About horror movies, I have watched a lot of those. At least I think I did. My memories are fuzzy. I can recall running and crawling through a lot of dark and narrow places. Someone is always chasing after me. Were those scenes from the movies I''ve seen in the past? I hope I am not in one of those horror film settings. But given my strange situation, I wouldn''t be surprised. I must prepare for the worst. For some reason, I feel like I''m quite used to unexpected things. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡­ The noise had started up again, coming from the other end of the corridor. It sounded very human to me. That is both a relief and something to worry about. Whoever it is sounded like they are in pain. Maybe I should go see what is going on? If the person is in need of any help, I need to do my best and whatever I can. But, I still know nothing about my situation. Maybe it is wiser to wait some more, and see if things take a turn for the better. Or the worse. What is your decision?
INVESTIGATE THE NOISE
REMAIN INSIDE THE ROOM
NEW 2:20 PM
Go down the other hallway
Day ONE - 2:20 - K - The Castle Battery Life: 93%
So the hallway¡­okay, I¡¯m trusting you on this. Yeah, remember when I mentioned the tapestries well now there are paintings. These painting often portray a forest of some kind, and each one is almost the same but there are minor differences. In one some of them trees are missing replaced by a well or farm and the more I progress down the hall the more industrialized they become. Now the castle has replaced the whole forest and all seems well. There are nobles on horses, and servants cleaning the yard. Funny thing is, though¡­ people have started disappearing from the scene too and now are all but gone. Is this like the story of the castle? There is one figure that never disappeared and I don¡¯t know whether or not to be happy or concerned. They are always in the east wing just moving from window to window¡­ Hopefully, this isn¡¯t the east wing as much as I¡¯d like to meet someone. I get a bad feeling every time I see the figure. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I¡¯m at the door now, and it opened surprisingly easily¡­ not good that probably means it¡¯s often used. Let¡¯s hope that person is barring their self in one of the other rooms¡­ So this room is dark, little candlelight and sunlight illuminate the room. There''re a desk and bookshelves all around. A study? There aren¡¯t any papers on the desk, but there are locked drawers. I could pick them like I did to the door earlier. Another thing that is interesting the window is open in the room. I almost didn¡¯t notice it, but the curtains ruffled in the wind. Haha, it was actually pretty funny. I screamed like a little girl and almost threw my phone at it. I¡¯m about two stories up, but I could be like one of that old prisoner and use the bed sheets from where I woke up and tie the tapestries together to climb down. The drawers or the window? You better choose quickly. If those paintings weren¡¯t lying, there is someone else here too¡­ I don¡¯t want to meet them.
SEARCH THE DRAWERS
ESCAPE THROUGH THE WINDOW