Fatal Order

Part 6: Nothing But The Truth - 2

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"Ggh..."

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|SYSTEM SHUTDOWN INITIATED|

"H-huh?"

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"Gah!" Alex exclaimed as he suddenly woke up, upon feeling someone's touch on his shoulder.

"Whoa, calm down bud," Adam said. "It's me."

"Where- are we?" Alex asked as his vision refocused, and he rapidly glanced around, realising he had never seen this room before.

The room was incredibly dark, with just a red tint of light brightening it up.

The roof was covered in various lines of pipes, and the walls had metal bolts covering them like some prison.

Alex's body was cold from lying on the ground, which was distinctly flimsy steel with ridges dug into it like some cheap temporary flooring.

What stuck out most, however, were the giant, sci-fi-looking pods behind them, that were emitting a warm air that flew gently into his face as he turned around.

"Did we- come out of those?" Alex hesitantly asked, as if scared to know the answer.

"Indeed, we did," Adam replied. "It seems our real bodies were stored in there while we were inside the simulation for the last... however long it's been."

"Ooh," he shivered, "kinda scary. That must be why my body feels stiff, it doesn't feel like I've properly moved in a while."

"How does all this stuff work, though?" Olivia asked, glaring curiously at the pods. "I mean- everything felt so real... do you mean to tell me were really just asleep inside these pods?"

"I don't understand it myself, but I wouldn't say we were asleep, it's more so that our consciousnesses were transported to a simulated world, where we can feel all the same senses we would in the real world. It's incredibly advanced, I'm almost impressed that they had the resources to pull all of this off," Adam commented.

"Anywho," Maria interrupted, "we need to get going, right? We have a lot to learn, and I don't think standing here will do us any good."

"You are right," Adam agreed. "I was just waiting for Alex to come back to us, now we have to be very careful and try to get this place mapped out."

"What is the actual goal, though?" Nathan asked. "Are we just going to ex gape?"

"We can't just waltz out of the front door," Adam denied, "this place will be crawling with PyroTech workers, I'd assume. You should all stay behind me."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," a man suddenly commented.

They didn't recognise his voice, and so immediately turned around to see who he was.

Once they had all turned their heads, a dreadful realisation set in.

That red, smiling mask on his face was a dead giveaway.