The 538 Objects: Intellect

LOG-1: COLLECTION OF THE "OBJECT OF INTELLECT"

So, you want to hear my story on how I got item 26 of 538? Well, here it is:

First off, I would like to say you should take the following items with you when you are looking for one of the "Holder" items:

A sheet of paper with the Holder item story on it.
A bottle of water
A backpack filled with useful necessities in case of failure (Food, water, entertainment items, etc.) Moral: Keep yourself sane as long as possible.
A weapon, make it a gun, a knife, or anything that can make something hurt.
A camera, this is crucial for proof.

So, this is what happened.

With my backpack slung over my shoulder, I walked through the empty grounds of Pripyat, Ukraine. The wind had kicked up somewhat, and I felt the wind blow through my face. I did indeed think of the different chemicals that would possible be in that wind, but I tried to put it out of my mind, and move on. I pulled out the rolled up piece of paper, "26" stamped in bold letters at the top. As I walked through the empty streets, I read to myself the first words:

"Go to any abandoned school, or educational grounds, and look for a classroom still standing..."

With that, I place the crumpled piece of paper back in my backpack and trudged on. My eyes analyzed all the scenery around me, trying to find something that looked even remotely like a school. Leaves seemed to be flattened to the ground, unmoved by wind. I cannot even to begin to describe the clattering my footsteps made in that dreadfully empty city. Clump, clump, clump I was most definitely alone. I heard a slight crack behind me, I jumped and turned around. It was...a three horned deer, offspring of the radiation. It looked at me, judging if I would charge it or not. Our eye contact remained for a good thirty seconds until he scampered back into the plutonium ridden woods. My eyes swiveled back to where I was going- and saw what I was looking for.

A total wreck of what used to be a playground was laid out in front of me, and before that stood what used to be an old school. I was at the right side of it, so I trekked around the the front in a jog. When I got there I saw a sign that its letters had long faded and were no longer recognizable. To me, it sort of had the look of Springfield elementary in the Simpsons, except it was a grey, granite color. It looked like more of a private school. I walked right up the steps and into the school. The inside was worse than the exterior, filth ridden, furniture laying about, paint peeling off the walls, the floor had been completely demolished, even a few rats ran past me in my arrival.

There also that smell...the smell of wet wood. That's the best I can describe it, and the smell of decay. I began to get a bit anxious, I wasn't sure If I really wanted to do this in the first place, but I nodded it off, found some stairs, and walked up into the dank hallway above. Dripping sounds greeted me. As before, the top floor was complete and utter destruction. Even the roof was slightly caved in. I walked under one of the ripped holes in the ceiling and saw the cloudy sky above. Most of the classrooms had caved in, or were infested with some sort of parasite that I did not want to deal with. Eventually I found one classroom that was still standing. Many desks were sprawled across this space, some knocked down, others it seems, had been standing just as they were those so many years ago.

I pulled out the sheet of paper again, the next instructions were as follows:

"Approach whatever object that can be written on and grasp it, while closing your eyes. State aloud: 'I wish to learn and seek the truth.'"

Here we go ,I thought, I was just on the brink of leaving safety...and going into unsafe realms. It didn't take too long to find a small, graded test lying near me. I picked it up, Ukrainian writing was on it, it looked like some sort of quiz. I could not discern it, so I wasn't that interested when I closed my eyes and uttered the words: "I wish to learn and seek the truth"

My balance shifted, as to say I almost fell, and the piece of paper disappeared from my hand. I remembered the last line on the sheet after what I had read:

"...and you must immediately open your eyes when you finish"

My eyes opened immediately. I saw not the classroom that I was in before...but a large, bulging room. It was as if I were looking at the room from a fish-eye view. That's all I can describe it as. It seemed to stretch infinitely...though as my sheet had instructed, I should not try to comprehend this. I pulled out the sheet again, the next instructions were:

"Walk straight and look for the classroom with a number 56. Make sure, as you search, make no noise. This is crucial for your survival."

I gulped, and with all the courage I had, I walked very slowly down the hallway. I breathed in and out of my nose, to not make any sound. I strolled very slowly, careful not to make any noise with my shoes as well. The silence, I can only describe, was deafening. I began to see rooms, all of which had mixed numbers "540" and the next would be "666". There was no order these numbers were going in at all. Suddenly my nose caught a scent of something...it smelled like rose pedals. I'm allergic to rose pedals. I tried to hold back the sneeze but it was already too late.

AAA-CHOO!

I looked around, so severely panicked. Though I saw nothing. I looked behind me and saw my fears come to light: A dark haze was on the horizon. Getting closer and closer. Shocked, I ran, ran as fast as I could go. Though I could imagine the coming dark was faster than I was, but I had to try. My stomach hurt at my running, but I had to keep going, for my own life's sake.

Rusted numbers raced past me...I saw them in a blur, but just two seconds after I saw the rusty "56", I wheeled around: The darkness was almost upon me. I sprinted in big steps backward, toward the door, darkness had fully taken up the space behind me, leaving a large blot of black in the place where the ever stretching hallway was. I was able to put hand on the doorknob just as the darkness reached me, and slammed the door behind me. I breathed heavily, trying to come back to reality as best as possible. Then I noticed that the classroom was full of children, sitting inanimately at their desks. I looked at where they were watching. A teacher was standing behind a wooden desk, he wore a white button up shirt, and black dress pants. He had black hair, and a smile on his face, even as the students looked very hypnotized. He was holding....

A pointer stick.

It was item 26 of 538.

I tried to regulate my breathing as not to disturb the class already in progress. I ripped the holder story out of my pocket and read:

"Enter the class and take the closest seat, avoiding everyone that would be able to see you. Sit silently but do not look at anything or close your eyes. Pay attention to the teacher's words or your life will be devoted to learning as those who failed this task and became that monster's pupils."

I saw that the seat in the front row was an empty one, so I silently walked over, and sat down. I listened to the teacher's words, he was talking about...the Chernobyl accident, writing on the board with chalk the exact models of what happened, etc. Eventually, after what seemed like eternity (it may have been), the teacher asked for questions. My face went pale white: I didn't remember what to do here. I did remember I had to do something after five seconds.

Five...

What was it?!

Four...

I remember a bit of it, I thought.

Three...

Didn't I have to raise my hand?

Two...

Then what do I say?!

One...

I know!

I raised my hand attentively, the teacher grinned and pointed #26 at me, stating my name:

"Xavier? What's your question?"

I took a deep breath...and quietly muttered: "What...is the true meaning of anything?"

The teacher's smile diminished. A horrific sight unfolded before my eyes; his perfectly combed hair began to fall out, his skin was falling off in flakes. His clothes began to disintegrate. He fell to the floor slowly, like he were melting, but he still stood in his place. All the while he began speaking of details of "How the universe was actually formed", and "Is God real?". So many more questions like this were answered again and again, and I remembered from the story:

"...he will start decaying, while answering all the questions that will ever be asked."

My vision seemed to blur at the climax of his decay, like a distorted video in a Documentary horror movie. Before his face was gone, he was able to whisper one more question.

"What are the holders?...They are darkness."

And then, in a soft whisper:

"They must never join..."

And he was gone in a poof of dust. This had a duration of more than ten hours, I recollect. I don't even remember how long, I was so traumatized at all the answers he had given me...to all the unspeakable questions that scientists could not answer. Over all these hours I had completely forgotten that the pointer stick was my goal, and I snapped back into it. I slowly rose from my seat, and walked to the front of the class. #26 was on the floor, sitting like an inanimate object, but I knew what this powerful thing could do.

I picked it up and held it up to the class of children, for all of them to see. My memory was clear and I uttered the last of what I needed to say to get this object:

"I have learned...and so have all of you." I said this in a very triumphant voice. My balance switched again: I found myself back in my hotel room.

I forgot to mention this at the beginning, me and my family had been vacationing in Europe, and so we stopped by Ukraine: I took off from my family because I wanted to see if this holder story would actually work, and it did. I looked down in my hand...I was holding the stick.

It was over, that hell was over. I smiled.

That was a couple of days ago, I have returned to the United states with #26.

Here is a picture of it: