Trident Trials: The Glimmer

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Three

I shot up out of the simulation chair faster than I ever had before. I did the pat-down to make sure that all limbs and everything was still all attached, and they were. Immediately, I noticed that the room was awfully quiet for simulation training. I looked around the room expecting to see Brian but was instead met with a quiet room with no one in it. The lights were all shut off except for the emergency lights. None of the technicians were here, none of the other people that were here doing their simulation training were still in the room. It looked a little like a ghost town. I've never seen the simulation room or any part of Trident this absent, except in the simulation that we just came from. Did it not work?

Remembering the keys, I checked all my pockets and freaked out. Had the grenade blown me up before I could take care of it myself? Was the whole thing a weird task that meant nothing? I looked around the room for any signs of anything that would help answer these questions and noticed a glint out of the corner of my eye. Laying on the floor strewn about were the keys. I picked them up and put them in my concealed pocket underneath my shorts. I wasn't sure how they came to be across the room, but they were all there. That's all that matters.

I went to go find Jax, who was hopefully in his office, and then stopped and thought about it. It wasn't uncommon for the lights to be off in here, but for it to be completely empty was strange. The technicians were asked to stay and wait with the participant to ensure they didn't need any medical care, anyone to talk to, and they were required to debrief us at the end of every mission. Did this mean that something was really going on at Trident in the real world? Whether or not something was, I decided it would be better to be cautious. There was a door that I could take outside that lead to the outdoor entrance to Jax's office. I didn't know the route by heart, but at least I would be outside in case anything happened.

I opened the door and saw that the sun was just rising over the mountains in the distance. Normally, the natural light would hurt my eyes after being inside for so long, but it didn't. I assumed it was just the stress that I'd been through in the simulation. I carried a pair of sunglasses with me just in case, so I pulled them out and put them on. Taking in the view, I kept noticing a brief glimmer in the sun, which was strange because I swore my glasses were clean. I pulled them off and wiped them off with the cloth I kept with me and put them back on. The same glimmer was still there. I decided it wasn't worth wasting time on and that it could have been coming off some snow on the peak or something and started walking towards the path that would take me to Jax's office.

The cabin that I'd seen when I first came to Trident was over here, the one with the weird flowers, and as I approached it, I saw the purple flowers that littered the grass in front of the cabin and got a weird feeling of déjà vu. It could've been from the first time that I came here since coming to Trident, but it felt a little different from that. I couldn't place my finger on it, though. It really was a beautiful sight to see. Realizing that I was stopping too much, I quickened my pace. I should only be about five minutes from Jax now, and I needed to talk to him. Finding answers was my chief priority. I couldn't stand to not know what was going on any longer.

Nature was coming alive along the pathway the longer that I walked, but I still had seen no other students or professors along the path. Maybe it was just the first day that everyone slept in. I figured probably not, but I didn't want to worry about that. My focus was already so off balance as it was. As much as I enjoy taking in nature and doing walks like this around the facility, I don't think I could even enjoy it. The stress from this last period was too distracting. I wanted to talk to Jax and get an explanation for all the weird shit over the past day and a half. I saw his door and right up to it and started knocking and didn't stop until the door opened.