“This is welcoming,” I retort. Mori smirks but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.
Nolan huffs, his impatience isn’t unexpected. “Did Mori brief you on what to expect for your test?” he asks as he waves me over to a chair. I shake my head. “You’ll be entered into a VR simulation that is geared at triggering your response to danger. As you know, these medications enhance everything in the human body including your aggression and fight-or-flight reflexes. We’ll be monitoring if you’re still mentally sound or if your brain is already deteriorating due to the drugs.”
My breaths become uneven and my fingertips tingle with the rush of anxiety.
I kept telling myself that I wouldn’t be afraid if this did kill me, but now that I’ll actually find out if it is or not… I’m afraid.
Mori won’t look at me. His jaw muscles are feathered with tension.
Does he care whether I’m going to survive this or not? I don’t know when it started to matter to me, but the feeling stirs deep inside my chest.
Nolan gets us both hooked up to machines similar to an ECG. Sticky ends of wires are placed around our torsos before we’re eachgiven VR headsets. They are black helmets that completely cover the head, much like a motorcycle helmet.
I take a deep breath before placing it over my eyes and ears.
Darkness shrouds me instantly. I hesitate to lift my head and study my surroundings, but the sound of a deep breath steals my attention. I look to my side and see Mori there, he’s sitting up and staring back at me. He’s shirtless, and against my best efforts I can’t help but let my eyes soak up every inch of his skin. Long scars trail down his chest and ribs. Tattoos dance and weave between them like ivy does mossy statues.
His entire chest is like a tapestry, a story of all he’s endured and experienced. A pang of longing to know him more than I’ve been granted stirs within me.
This might just be a simulation of him. The idea sparks. We could potentially each be in our own world right now.
“Is this…” I start but let my words fall.
“Real,” he murmurs. “We can see each other through the simulation.” I’m half alleviated and equally as mortified.
My throat bobs with unease. “Are you the one that’s going to trigger my responses?”
A wicked smile pulls up at the corner of his lips. “Who else, Em?”
My body has a visceral response to his voice, and I have to swallow down the warmth that fills every cavity of my body when I look at him. He does things to me. Unspeakable, cruel things.
Our eyes remain locked for a few seconds, and then the world around us erupts into a battlefield, one filled with fire and mud. Explosions shaking the ground beneath my feet and making me nauseous.
My eyes flick back up and Mori is now dressed in tactical gear. His black vest is covered in blood and dirt. His helmet has massive cuts along the side and his face is bleeding profusely. His eyes and lips drip with red liquid, and yet he still blinks through it and shouts at me, “Move!”
Sharp pressure blooms across my shoulder as I force my legs to run to him. I turn to see what’s causing the odd sensation and find a blade buried deep in my back. Horror rises in my throat as my eyes lift to the soldier who’s behind me.
His eyes are a sea of green. He looks identical to Mori, but I know him by another name. One I’ve long forgotten. An overwhelming thread of betrayal consumes me, even though I’m not entirely certain why.
It’s just a simulation, I remind myself, forcing my eyes forward and sprinting ahead toward Mori.
His eyes are wild and mania spills from him, infecting the air with nervous energy.
“Who is that? He looks just like you?—”
“It’s just Nolan fucking with us,” he snaps at me defensively. I look into both his eyes, finding doubt. I nod, but there’s something vile that he’s not telling me.
A slew of soldiers attack us from ahead. It’s like we’re actually on a battlefield. All the faces are ones I recognize but cannot place. A beautiful woman with dark skin and brilliant braids lifts her rifle to shoot me.
I’m frozen in place as I take her in. Chills erupt over my arms and tears prickle my eyes when I sense a strong loyalty to her.
Who are all these people? And why do they fill me with so much sorrow?
I can’t find it in me to shoot them. Mori doesn’t hesitate though, he pulls the trigger effortlessly. They fall like paper planes into the ocean.
A surge of adrenaline pulses through me and my head starts throbbing. It’s the first pain I’ve felt all week and it’s so intense that my teeth gnash together.
The urge to kill Mori becomes overwhelming. To stop him from killing people I once knew. Sweat slicks down my temples and my breaths are heady and raspy.
