Divided We Fall

Chapter 4

(Art is by me. If you want to check it out in more detail- or see the video/other still image- it's on my insta DreamRealmReality and Tumblr DRRealitySlenderverse)

She groggily sat up, coughing a few times as a feeling of being punched in the chest registered in her mind. Standing, she found herself alone in the room. She'd expected at least Alastor to still be there, having been the last to die, but perhaps he'd woken up quicker. They didn't really know each other so it was unlikely he'd stick around to wait. Ash quickly made her way down the hall to join them in the lobby.

Her crew was sitting around, murmuring among themselves when she entered. Ethan glanced up from his conversation with Alastor as she sat down in one of the remaining chairs nearby. "Can't believe you'd do that to me. I'm hurt."

He was teasing her of course. While his tone was pained, the exaggerated theatrics of putting a hand over his heart gave it away. Well, that and the grin on his face. She gave a small smile in response. "Yeah well, I can't believe Zac actually attacked me."

The blond perked up at the mention of his name. "I mean, it wasn't against the rules. It isn't like we couldn't defend ourselves outside a simulation, why not in one too?"

"Fair point." She sighed, starting to relax back in her chair before a small fact crossed her mind. Straightening, she glanced around. "Where's Emma and Alice?"

"Alice left to look for her." Zac shrugged, unbothered.

Ethan notably looked more worried. "This isn't like her. It's been a while, she should be back by now."

He was right. Emma was usually so reliable, which made her absence odd. The only thing that stopped Ash from getting up to go looking for the two missing women was the sound of several sets of footsteps walking down the hall. The four looked up expectantly as three people walked into the room, Alice being one of them. The dark haired woman gave nothing away as she walked over to the remaining chair and sat down. Despite this, something about the silence felt wrong.

Ash looked expectantly up at the remaining two in front of them. Before anyone could say something Mr. Slim was speaking. "There was an accident with the simulation due to a power surge. Unfortunately, we lost one of your crewmates. You should all be thankful it wasn't more."

She didn't like the way he ended that. Had another crew lost multiple people? Others were on different levels of this building- split up by crews or other functions of the company.

"And you didn't think to end the simulation?" Ethan's voice wavered at the mention of Emma's death. Ash hadn't asked before but the two had been rather close; judging by his reaction she could assume they'd been a little more than friends. "She-"

"It was unexpected and a tragic loss." Their boss' tone was cold, leaving no room for further discussion on the matter. He turned his head to look down at his assistant. "Haas, I need you to finish analysing the data and get back to me. This mission needs to get underway sooner rather than later."

Kevin Haas- or Observer as many had nicknamed him behind his back due to his tendency to watch people from behind his thick rimmed glasses- nodded and gave a rather creepy grin. Ash thought he always looked creepy though, so why would his smile make him look any better? "I'll call them to the meeting room when I'm done. It shouldn't take too long."

Silence filled the room as the two walked out. As soon as they were gone however, Ethan jumped up. "This can't be right. Emma... If there was a power surge it shouldn't have just killed her."

"Who cares? It wasn't me so that's all I care about." Alice shrugged and gave him a side glance. "There's nothing you or anyone else can do anyway. Just forget about her- she'll be replaced soon enough."