Alan Wayne (18), who thinks he's interviewing for a job at McDonald's

Alan stood under the shadow of a barn as he checked his phone. Alex’s creepy girlfriend was absent on Sunday mornings, which was a plus, though Alex and Emma had somehow managed to get their whole band to show up at four in the morning for practice. Just outside the barn was a comfortable and private place for the interview while avoiding the noise.

The phone rang. Alan answered and paused, realizing it had said “Don’t” instead of anything sensible. He shrugged. “Hi, this is Alan Wayne.” He told the phone as he held it to his ear, considering whether putting it on speaker to investigate the caller ID would be rude.

“Hi, I’m Miss Black. I sent you a text after you applied to McDonald’s. Your application was interesting, but I thought it would be better if we had a brief phone call before we brought you in.” The voice on the other end was cheerful, far more awake than Alan expected for a morning call.

“It’s not a problem.” Alan shrugged. “I was surprised you wanted nine AM for a phone interview. Is that normal?”

“I’m new to this job myself. I thought getting it out of the way early would be for the best. You’re my first applicant. So, what can you tell me about your availability? Your application said you volunteer for a ranch that does horse therapy, and you aren’t available on weekends.” Ariadne sounded mildly distracted, and Alan guessed she was checking his application.

“Yeah, my aunt Kaitlyn runs Miranda’s. It’s a nice place. We work with local schools. We used to get a lot of veterans, but the war ended, and that’s started to slow down a bit. I know I could get a job there, but I kind of wanted my own thing, you know? I’ll still help on weekends, but I’m free on weekdays.” Alan wasn’t entirely sure if he should push his reason for wanting the job without being asked, but he could always try Burger King if he screwed this up.

“Horses can be dangerous. It sounds like you are used to responsibility if you worked with them.” Ariadne sounded interested.

“Man, if people knew what horses were really like, there’s no way we’d get so many kids.” Alan laughed. “They’re terrified of everything and hate surprises. Untrained children on their backs are full of surprises. Yeah, we have to be careful. No accidents in the fifteen years since my aunts started the program, though.”

“That does sound impressive. Can you tell me how you avoid accidents?”

“You just have to know what to look for. Everyone says I have a knack for horses, whatever that means. They say I got it from my mom, but it’s not like I can ask….” Alan paused, realizing he’d just overshared.

“I’m sorry.” Miss Black sounded quite sad, and Alan frowned, hating himself just a little for the slip.

“Don’t worry about it.” Alan glared at the horizon.

“No, it’s my fault.” Miss Black answered, and Alan rolled his eyes at the apology. Everyone wanted to take the blame when they wanted to move on from a topic.

“She’s in a coma. I think there were complications when I was born. I’ve never seen her wake up. I can’t see how you could be responsible.” Alan knew he had lost his temper and probably failed the interview, but he had stopped caring about that.

“I understand why that would be sensitive. We can move on if you’d like. I have a few more questions to ask. It’s basic stuff.”

“Sure.” Alan tapped his foot. He wondered if she was following strict rules to complete a bombed interview, or if he was missing something.

“You’re eighteen, right? I’m only supposed to recruit legal adults right now.” The voice seemed cheerful again.

“Yeah, my birthday was late August. Can’t you work at McDonald’s starting at sixteen?” Alan frowned.

“I’m actually interviewing for something a bit unusual. Your application has caught the attention of someone higher up the food chain, and we need to ensure you’re at least eighteen for this. It’s a kind of promotional thing, more of a reality show than a typical position, so we can’t have a minor.” Miss Black sounded like she had recovered from her earlier awkwardness.

“Um, I’m eighteen. Can you tell \me more about this? You’re not doing a stunt for McDonald’s involving aliens, are you? I know this is Roswell, but that sounds embarrassing.” Alan was thinking carefully. This might explain why the outburst had not ended the interview, as someone freaking out on camera might be good for that kind of thing.

“Oh, nothing like that. We have some paid promotion, but the show isn’t even set at a McDonald’s or in Roswell.”

“I don’t want to leave Roswell.” Alan grimaced.

“I can understand that, but your application stood out because of your history with therapy. One of our sponsors is a program that raises awareness of and resources for domestic ****. The whole program we have planned should be done in about five weeks. It feels like you would make an excellent match for what we’re doing.”

Alan had gone still as he listened. “What would I be signing up for?”

“Part of the format involves twists, but we want to be very clear about the fact that investigating the show is part of the game you will be playing. I promise you it’s all for a good cause. You’ll have all the information you need, but it will be on you to put it all together. I can tell you that there will be weekly challenges and Audience votes. I promise you will be compensated, though the details will depend on your performance in the game.” Miss Black sounded excited while Alan continued to be still.

“What would I have to do?” Alan asked after a long silence.

"We can arrange to pick you up whenever you're ready. To capture your immediate reactions to our show reveals, I'd really prefer to handle the next stage in person. Would you be willing to come to our set?"

“Sure. How long will it take to get there?” Alan asked.

“It won’t take long.” The voice sounded as if she were laughing. Alan suddenly felt a little sick, closing his eyes for a moment.

Alan was no longer in the shadow of the barn when his eyes opened.

Alan investigated the room he found himself in, which resembled an auditorium. It featured one wall lined with doors and an opposing wall with windows offering a view of a cloudy sky. The remaining two walls displayed striking murals: one depicted an ancient naval battle, and the other a dense jungle teeming with snakes.

A ring of comfortable chairs stood in the center of the room, with a large gap between two of them. Alan failed to find any camera, light switches, or explanation.

The wall with the doors was the only option. Alan felt calm. He had never been prone to panic. He had already considered that a dream or hallucination was too hard to disprove, so he simply tried to gather data.

Alan frowned in thought. The connection between the vague pitch on the phone and the current situation seemed real, but it was hard to imagine how that worked. Game shows wouldn’t be able to kidnap people. Perhaps there was some kind of criminal version of a “game show” involving a Dark Web streaming site, but that seemed less likely than alien abduction. People reported alien abduction more often than abduction by illegal streaming platforms.

Alan eyed the plaque thoughtfully. If this were a trap, what would be the point? He couldn’t imagine a business model where putting a tiger behind a door, so Alan explored the others. “The Lady” was the first plaque, and the second was “The Egg.” The third read “The Idol,” and the fourth “The Tiger.” Five and six were “The Boomerang” and “The Godmother” respectively.

The first and the last doors were the only real options. “The Godmother” might tell him what was going on, but it seemed more likely to be a trap than the others. After a careful check of the window, which showed a swamp full of colourful insects, and the two murals, Alan tried to search the chairs, which seemed to lack compartments for hiding a clue. Without tools that could overcome the leather of the chairs, he returned to the doors.

Alan knocked on the first door. A second later, a girl pulled the door open. Chloe looked sweaty and smelled worse. She wore a tiny jacket and shorts with a bikini top that seemed chosen to deny her the option of swimming comfortably. Black hair was braided into a tangle that looked painful, and sunburn clashes with tan in uneven patches on her face and shoulders.

“Alan?” Chloe looked around the room.

“Were you just waiting inside?” Alan asked as Chloe charged out.

“Inside where?” Chloe turned around. Alan looked back at the wall, which lacked the door Chloe had left. No knob or hinges, just a plaque to mark where she had emerged.

He stepped closer. The wall was seamless—no frame, no hinges, not even scuffed paint where a handle should have been. He pressed his palm to it. Solid.

“Where were you just now?” Alan asked.

“Um, my dorm? Wait, there was that party from the frat that got disbanded last year, but still hangs out together, and we moved from there to that bar. Um…” Chloe frowned. “I remember falling asleep. I should have a hangover, right? When did you get to Dallas?”

“I didn’t.” Alan smiled. “I think you owe Emma five dollars. It looks like an alien abduction”

Chloe spun around, focused eyes on the walls, floor, and ceiling. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, but not confident. I was at home, and I fell asleep, but I woke up here. I think you just walked through a wall, or a door vanished.

Chloe proceeded to spin, pinch herself, and examine the plaque on the wall. “Please don’t be aliens…” She muttered. “Please, please be something cooler.”

“Aliens could put us back home when they’re done.” Alan pointed out.

"Your grandmother would never have hidden in Roswell if she had met aliens," Chloe retorted sharply.

“We don’t know she’s involved. It could be aliens who don’t tie into my family’s mysterious history.” Alan smiled.

“Still think Grandma A’s birth certificate is just a cartel fake?” Chloe grinned.

“Hey, either she looks like my kid sister because she’s a lot younger than she says, or she’s in her seventies. She got carded on Monday.” Alan smiled.

“Well, I think my theories are looking pretty good, but still, aliens?” Chloe shook her head. “So we have a missing door and missing time. Can you tell me anything else?”

“Well, something weird did happen before I showed up. I was having a phone interview that started to tell me about a game show.” Alan paused. “It was kind of ominous, looking back.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Chloe looked thoughtful. Alan watched as Chloe repeated his steps of checking the room before they circled back to the doors.

“The Egg.” Alan read the second plaque.

“Well, we see the same text. That’s something.” Chloe smiled and tried to open the door, which was locked.

“Huh.” Alan knocked on the second door, and a pale man who looked like he was in his mid-twenties pulled it open as Chloe stepped back.

“Chloe?” The man looked confused as Alan pushed his foot into the door before it could close.

“Samuel?” Chloe looked uncomfortable.

Alan jumped back as a wave of muddy water started to pour out of the door, soaking the feet of the three youths.

“What the…” Samuel spun around and looked at what was now a blank wall.

“So, we don’t mess with the doors.” Alan nodded.

“Are you crazy?” Chloe shouted, Samuel forgotten. “Give me your shoes!”

“Did I miss something?” Samuel frowned.

“Who cares?” Chloe was eying the plaque that read “The Idol” and bouncing on her feet. “Do either of you have a phone? I can’t believe we didn’t try to get a video!”

Alan sighed and started untying his shoes, knowing he had no phone. “So, how do you know Chloe?” He asked the confused man.

“He’s my TA!” Chloe snapped, blushing. “Math guy, friendly. I don’t think he was even at that party.”

“What party?” Samuel was reading the plaques on the walls.

“What do you remember before you got here?” Alan asked.

“Silent Hill f and, um, yeah, that’s it.” Samuel shook his head. Chloe had taken the first of Alan’s shoes before Samuel had finished talking.

Chloe began a series of raps on and near the door and plaque reading “The Idol” to no results, alternating between different hands and the shoe.

“Sorry, but are you being literal?” Alan asked. “None of us remembers how we got here, so if you have gaps about everything but a single video game, I want to know.”

Samuel frowned. “The president is a jerk, Taylor Swift continues to release music, The Empire Strikes Back is the superior Star Wars film, and e=mc2.” He concluded with a nod. “Mom is Mildred, Dad is Calvin. I believe that covers everything.”

Chloe had begun kicking at her door aggressively while Alan and Samuel started to back away.

“How do you know Chloe?” Samuel asked Alan.

“We’ve been friends since middle school.” Alan was smiling as he watched Chloe’s ****.

“Wait, are you the alligator guy?” Samuel looked more awake.

“At least she mentioned me.” Alan nodded.

“Nah, her Instagram has pics from summer.” Samuel offered a closed fist to Alan, who bumped it. The two eyed each other. Alan was tall with brown hair, tanned evenly and fidgeting constantly. Samuel was short, thin, with red hair and freckles that would make a life in Texas painful in the unlikely event he braved the sun.

“She does things like this a lot,” Alan gestured to Chloe’s increasingly personal fight with the locked door.

“Wait, does she think this is haunted?” Samuel looked worried.

Alan gestured at the water on the floor and the wall where two doors had vanished. “I would hope this turned out to be another unexpected reptile instead of a ghost, but I don’t think that would-” Alan stopped talking as Chloe started dragging him to the door.

“Wait!” Alan raised his hand. “We should try him.” He pointed at Samuel. “I’ve knocked on two doors, and they opened.”

“Oh, thanks!” Chloe beamed.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Samuel looked at the friends.

“Oh, c’mon, just try it!” Chloe bounced in place as Alan stepped back to give Samuel room to try.

“Well…” Samuel frowned and knocked. Nothing happened as he repeated Chloe’s experiments before turning to Alan. “I got nothin’.”

Alan knocked once. A panicked middle-aged woman in yoga sweats and a grey shirt charged out while Chloe lunged past her and towards the door.

“Are you alright?” Alan called after the woman as she slowed down and looked around. The woman looked familiar, with a striking face and exercise clothes.

“What the hell was that!” The woman turned to the wall. “Where am I?”

Chloe frowned at the wall and rubbed her forehead. Alan helped her up.

“I have no idea. What’s the last thing you remember?” Samuel asked. “Do you know either of them? I’m Samuel, that’s Chloe, and um, the tall guy saved Chloe from an alligator when they investigated a haunting. I’m Chloe’s TA.”

The woman stared for several seconds. “Are you joking?”

“Huh?” Chloe looked back.

“Do you know her?” Alan asked the other two. There was an awkward silence.

“Wait!” Samuel snapped his fingers. “I can’t believe it. I was watching this old movie with my dad. It was something about immortal pirates and I think she was in it Yeah, I remember now. You were short, a little pale, dark brown hair, way too skinny to fight huge guys with swords since she wasn’t an elf or anything, but that’s Hollywood. Her accent was cute as hell, but I guess she’s not really British.”

“One, that was Christina Nightly. Two, that movie was from 2003. Three, haven’t any of you seen Star Wars, or any Marvel movie?”

The three looked at each other.

“I would have been two years old.” Samuel shrugged. “I don’t think those two were born yet. Totally an old movie.”

“Natalia Porter!” Alan snapped his fingers. “She was in that movie about a ballerina who turns into a bird.”

“Oh, I remember now!” Chloe nodded. “Didn’t Emma come out after she had a birthday party where you all watched it?”

“That was Alex, not Emma,” Alan clarified with a nod. “Emma just put up the Darkest Dreams poster and joined a punk band. Alex needed to do something about it.”

Natalia Porter had returned to looking at the wall “Moving on, how did you get here?”

“None of us remembers it. What is the last thing you saw?” Alan asked.

“I was walking my dogs.” Natalia frowned. “Wait, no. I’d just handed Milo off to the new dog walker and, oh hell, she nearly ran into traffic. That’s why I was freaked out.” Natalia nodded.

“We’re kind of counting down doors. Chloe and I tried to find clues, but I think we need to keep going.” Alan sighed. “Would you mind knocking on this?”

Natalia looked at the door with the plaque “The Tiger.” She paused. “Lady, Egg, Idol, Tiger, Boomerang, Godmother.” She shook her head.

“You and Chloe make sense.” Alan looked at the plaques. “I don’t think I had a door.”

“Why does she make sense?” Natalia turned her eyes to Alan, keeping Chloe between her and the young men, as well as a bit of distance.

“Mine fits.” Samuel looked at the plaque with an odd expression. “I get the joke, at least. It’d take too long to explain, but it’s not random.”

Chloe rapped her knuckles against the new door. “I don’t think it’s just teleportation; we seem dormant. That’s creepy.”

“Yeah. I remember a video game binge, Alan was talking on the phone, Chloe was at a party, and you were walking your dog. I don’t see a pattern. Maybe we were **** and don’t remember what really happened well?” Samuel suggested.

“There is no **** that could cause that kind of amnesia.” Natalia said confidently. “We are all too lucid.”

“Well, we soaked our shoes. That’s not a hallucination, right?” Samuel shrugged.

“That was because I tried to keep the door open. We might be dealing with someone who wants us to stick to rules, but since nobody’s told us any rules, that doesn’t help us.” Alan looked at Chloe.

“I hate to say this, but I think you’re right about going in order. The upside of learning more is huge, but this does seem to be prepared in steps.” Chloe nodded. “Natalia, mind knocking?”

Natalia knocked on the fourth door a few times before stepping back.

Alan hesitantly knocked a few times. This door opened slowly, for once, and Chloe eagerly looked to see what was behind the person, catching a glimpse of yellow before she heard shouting.

“What the hell are you doing here!” The girl in the doorway was nearly a mirror to Chloe, but one that had tried to look as different as possible. Short hair dyed a red that had come out orange, a jacket covered her body, and ear piercings that had mangled her left ear stood out. Skin lacked the patchwork of tan and burns, instead she was paler than Samuel, though she lacked freckles.

The twins locked eyes, spun around, and made their way to opposite sides of the room without talking.

“Huh?” Samuel looked at Alan’s back as the taller man marched after the doppelganger. Samuel paused and started knocking on the next door.

Natalia started after Chloe after looking over the scene. Her instincts were screaming that Chloe shouldn’t be left alone while Alan talked with her sister.

“Um, Christian?” Alan hesitated over by the wall.

“Where are we?” Christian asked. “I don’t remember how I got here. Something’s fucky, isn’t it?”

“None of us remembers anything. I was opening doors on the wall, and people came through. Chloe, her TA, someone who might be a celebrity we don’t recognise, and you.”

“It sounds like one of those stupid logic puzzles they put in math textbooks.” Christian looked away. “You know, like how you always do better if you switch doors when you’re hunting for the goat, or have to get a fox and two goats across a river.”

“Eh, I’m guessing ‘alien game show’ until we learn more.” Alan shrugged.

“I doubt it.” Christian scowled at the wall. “Alien abduction reports have notable gaps. The classic narrative seems to involve contagious elements originating from misunderstanding and cultural transmission. Reports of abduction by entities start much earlier than belief in UFO abductions, but are likely rooted in psychiatric conditions, mistakes, and deliberate deception. UFOs are a credible possibility and may be aliens, but abduction is unrelated and one of the less plausible patterns in parapsychology.”

“Is that why you moved to Salem?” Alan started laughing.

“We moved to Salem because Chloe met your grandmother. You know ny mom and dad needed chumps. Salem was the best option.” Christian sighed. “How is my wild side, anyway?”

“Well, Chloe’s drinking, having dangerous sex, dragging me to scout out a hospital she thinks is haunted, and probably having sex with her TA in college.” Alan smiled. “She’s doing a lot better. How are you and Charlotte?”

“Mom is okay.” Christian glared at Chloe and Samuel on the other side of the room. “Dad’s still living with his new girlfriend in Boston, but he visits.”

On the other wall, Chloe and Natalia’s conversation had been going in circles.

“It’s personal.” Chloe was glaring at the mural of an ancient naval battle.

“Yeah, but we’re all here for a reason.” Natalia looked back at Alan and Christian, who were making silent eye contact in the distance.

“Alan can get through to her, but I can’t. Christian stayed with our adoptive mother.” Chloe glared across the room.

“Is there anyone who would want to…” Natalia gestured helplessly.

“...kidnap twins and record a **** therapy session?” Chloe snorted.

“Well, that’s a point to you.” Natalia made a small bowing gesture. “It feels like a production, but we’re missing a piece we need to understand whatever we are dealing with.”

“Well, we have two more puzzle pieces back at the wall.” Chloe pointed at Samuel, tugging and pushing a door that behaved as if bolted to the wall.

Alan returned to Samuel with Christian behind him. The room had answered his knock every time so far. Not Samuel’s.

“Do you have an ex-girlfriend or something?” Samuel asked. “Any of you three, I mean. The next reveal has to be bigger, right?”

“Nope.” Christian grimaced.

“How would you know?” Chloe had arrived with Natalia.

Christian suddenly hugged Chloe. “We were the Twin Detectives, remember?”

“I…” Chloe hugged back in a fierce gesture before the two disentangled, both eying the other as if expecting an attack,

Alan approached the door, hoping to break the awkwardness. “Everyone, try to stand away from the door,”

Christian stood to the side next to the “Godmother” door while the others stood at the wall that held the missing doors. Alan carefully knocked, pulling his hand back quickly as the door opened and a hospital bed rolled out. Christian frowned at the sight of greenery behind the door, but Alan started shouting and running after the bed before she could figure out what she was looking at.

“Oh shit.” Chloe ran after him and helped stop the rolling bed

Christian stood back and examined from a distance. A girl was asleep on the bed. A card lay on her chest.

“What the goddess?” Christian muttered a half-remembered neopagan curse.

“Does anyone know why they’re freaking out?” Samuel asked.

“Well, it’s not his ex-girlfriend.” Christian shook her head. “That’s Alan’s mother.”