It was getting late in Hotel OJ, all the residents were heading back to their rooms after curfew was called. Once everyone was back in their rooms, the lights dimmed.

           The silence was deafening to Cabby, as she scribbled away in a small notebook. She was trying to distract herself from spiraling, overwhelming emotions bottled up inside.

            This was the only time she could unmask and let her guard down. Never would she ever want anyone to see her like this. No one would want to befriend her like this.

             Her grip on her pen tightened, as she marked out a mistake, spelling the word again. She misspelled it again, and again, tears threatening to spill on the already stained page.

              The entire page was starting to fill up with black scribbles, upsetting her as she  finally sat the book down and cried into her ink-stained hands.

                 Everything was her fault, wasn't it? It was her fault box wasn't at the hotel right now. It was her fault the teams were rearranged. Her fault she was eliminated.

It was her own fault the object she idolized hated her guts.

                  Turning over on her side, she wiped away her tears and sniffled. With a heavy sigh, Cabby closed her eyes. Soon enough, she would drift off to sleep.

[ ~ ꕥ ~ ]

Cabby opened another door, confused to find a distorted mirror behind it. Quickly closing it, she glanced at the other doors around.

Every time she looked away, they rearranged themselves into a different order. A twinge of stress shot through her as she furrowed her brows.

There were too many choices...too many paths. It was overwhelming, and it seemed like they were multiplying. Cabby clenched her head, backing away.

She let out a slight noise when she bumped into something, quickly spinning around. However, that fear quickly washed away when she saw what it was.

It was another door, but something about this one seemed calmer then the others...Periwinkle in color, there was a soothing, friendly aura coming from it.

She stared at it for a moment with curiosity. The handle looked like it was made from some sort of polished, pink rock. Cabby was drawn to it, wanting to see what was waiting just on the other side.

As she reached for it, the door, along with everything else shattered, as a blaring alarm woke her up. Cabby groggily hit the snooze button, sitting up in her bed.

She paused for a moment, thinking about the door. It was only a dream, she really shouldn't have been reading too much into it.

In her opinion, at least. Dreams could have meanings, but something about opening a door didn't seem particularly symbolic to her.

She shrugged, rolling out of bed and towards the door. Taking a deep breath, she smiled, before turning the handle and starting the long day ahead of her.

{ ꕥ end of prologue ꕥ }

{ quick a/n }
the cover took me too long to make-
but i was really excited for this idea!

its weird to think about in hindsight, but i was terrified of Cabby for reasons im not even sure of anymore.

when iii 7 came out, it sparked a scene in my head where Cabby would become a bigger threat later in the season, and might even team up with cobs.

that was what i was originally going to write, with bow being her main target because she still needed answers.

i had a timeline down, but never really got around to writing chapters because i felt like i needed to practice writing horror scenarios

then, the exit interview dropped. but that's not what made me see Cabby in a different light.

it was an analysis video that i was recommended.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

( So, Cabby got eliminated. - SkaterCheese - video link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7P0IPXT16L4 )

and this made me have an "oh" moment

and from there, i just started thinking about her in a completely different light.

from her perspective, Test Tube really did betray her.

and there is no straight explanation for how she talked about Test Tube in the interview /hj

and i couldnt stop thinking about the aftermath of it all and how it would effect her.
so thats why I chose this and scrapped my horror idea.

imsorry this a/n is taking so long, i just wanted to talk about what inspired me to write this.