The Simulated

The last one was different. In the last one, we lived a normal life, going to school, meeting friends, coming home, and doing what every teenage does. We lived the life that we were supposed to, what it was like before containment. Today, they changed it. Today, we were not waking up peacefully and going to school. But today, we woke up, drenched in sweat, and wondering why it’s so hot. Getting up, we noticed that we were sleeping on the ground, in the middle of the woods.

Slowly, the five of us circumcised the area, to figure out where we were and what we had to do this time. Taking our time to examine our surroundings, seeing the vast area before us. Moving around, surveilling the woods, and the tents given to us, checking the supplies gave us no idea as to what we were supposed to do. I checked the 2 bags lying beside me, seeing canned food, water bottles, some medicines, a map and clothing. Going inside the camp set a few meters away from us, we see bedding, matchstick, wood logs, and a few other necessities. This simulation was different from the others. In the other, we had to prove that certain conditions are livable in, if approached with a clear mind. We were given instructions before. There used to be more people.

The five of us; Tom, Sam, Clarke, Derek, and me. We volunteered for an experiment as a joke, and ended up being a part of a simulation that goes on continuously, changing frequently, and seeing the chances of survival in each sim. As the simulation changed, we started fighting, arguing about things, and eventually fell apart. Through simulations, we talked to each other until we solved or failed the simulation, in a formal tone. But other than that, nothing.

As I headed towards east, tom went to the west, Sam to the North, and Derek to the South, while Clarke stayed at camp to check for anything we missed, and alert us in case of anything. Roaming around and searching for clues, I return back to camp empty handed, sitting on the floor, as Clarke and I wait for the rest to return.

One by one, Tom, Sam and Derek all returned, saying that they couldn’t find any clues, except for some technical glitch in the sim, which appeared when Tom poked at some bushes. We all sat down in a circle, and talked about the various scenarios which could happen, and what they would have to do.

A few moments later, as we were sitting silently, there was some movement from the bushes and the sound of someone moving hastily. On our feet, we ran towards the place where the sound seemed to be coming from, when a horde of people came rushing out from behind the bushes on our left, the place I had gone to search. As the people came rushing forward, screaming about some wild boars coming after them, the five of us got separated in the midst of it.

Tom and I were just a few meters from each other, while the other three were not visible to us. We moved forward with the people, going in the same direction they did, in hopes of finding our friends. It didn’t matter that we were no longer in speaking terms, or best friends as we were, it only mattered that we had to stick together and solve problems thrown at us collectively.

Turning around to see what we were running from, I saw a large group of bears chasing us, motivating me to run faster, dragging Tom behind me. At a faster pace, Tom notices Clarke, running just a few steps ahead of us, pushing us to go even faster. Catching up to her, I grab her hand, and the three of us run together, as one by one, all five of us are running together in a single line.

Spotting a huge tree, we run towards it in hopes of hiding behind it or climbing it. As we get nearer, we notice a hole in the middle of the trunk, and with a closer look, it turns to out that it is mountable. One by one, we get inside it, and squeeze ourselves. As soon as we all get seated, the tree starts shaking and suddenly we start falling.

Waking up to bright white lights in front of my eyes, with a pounding headache is not a nice way to get up.

‘WELCOME BACK. THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING TO BE A PART OF SIMULATION9. WE HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE 24 HOUR EXPERIENCE, AND HELPING US.’

These words were written in bold on the wall next to me, white washed like the others, but with that black wordings, adding a bit of splash to the room.