Dream Simulator {Discontinued}

CHAPTER 26 - The Meeting

Micah placed a reassuring hand on his sister's trembling shoulders.

"You'll be fine."

Refusing to meet his eyes, Arabelle pulled on her Society issued rain boots and slung her heavy book bag over her shoulders. It was heavier than normal, but it only seemed that way because she was exhausted. Keeping her eyelids open even became somewhat of a challenge.

The night before, anxiety, anger, and hatred wrapped her up in a cold blanket, completely blocking out the sleep she desperately needed. Micah even had a hard time falling asleep, so the two of them just sat in the living room, mourning everything they had lost: their mother, the black market, and now Arabelle.

No matter how many times her brother had tried to comfort her, it just made the fear stronger. She could see the concern in his eyes for the first time in days, but when she looked at her own boring ones in the mirror, all she saw was nothing. They were completely emotionless and distant, looking like they had given up.

It was no secret that she had already given up the fight she had put up with Society for so long.

Shrugging off his hand, Arabelle tugged open the door and stared down at their recently painted porch, not saying a word. Society stole everything from her: her family, her home, her freedom, and now her will to speak.

She didn't care anymore. She'll let them ruin her bit by bit, and maybe, just maybe, they'll kill her sooner.

❈❈❈

"All students who have received a visit from an Official last night, please report to the cafeteria immediately," an android spoke through the intercom, and tiny speakers throughout the school echoed its voice in the corridors and classrooms. "I repeat, all students who have received a visit from an Official last night, report to the cafeteria immediately."

Some students around Arabelle gasped and began murmuring to one another, waiting intently to see if anybody from their class had received that visit. So far, no one had stood up, making her more nervous. If people saw her, a cyborg, stand up because she received a visit from an Official, whatever sliver of a reputation she had would be destroyed.

Damn it. Would it hurt them to be a bit more subtle about it? I don't know, something like "Students who received a piece of paper last night with their apparent partner's name on it please report to the cafeteria"?

Careful not to meet any of her classmates eyes, Arabelle pulled back in her chair with a loud screech, and the murmurs stopped immediately. Thirty pairs of eyes landed on her, and she refused to meet them back. Their shock and confusion filled the air, threatening to suffocate her.

Keeping her head down, she slowly walked out of the classroom, and out into the empty hallway. Not a single soul was in the hallway, and Arabelle began to believe that she and Archer had been the only students chosen for whatever inhuman experiments the Department of Discovery was planning to preform.

Why did it have to be Archer? Why couldn't it have been Tyler or Olivia? Why not Micah?

The large creamy white doors that led to the cafeteria were already open, so she just let herself in, and half expected to find Archer sitting in 'his' table with elbows relaxed against the hard surface. Instead, she was met with four other students all sitting in pairs, and all of them had the same look of worry on their faces.

When she looked for a table to sit at, Archer's lone figure in the corner had caught her eye. He was indeed sitting at a table, but it wasn't the one he always sat at. The table he claimed was in the far corner, and he was so stoic, Arabelle couldn't tell if Archer was alive or not.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she slowly moved towards the table he was sitting at, and sat on the opposite corner of him. Ever since the day before, she didn't trust him at all to be near her.

The second she sat down, an familiar female Official made their way throughout the opposite doors, and the breath was knocked out of her as she recognized the long, chestnut brown hair that came to tell her the worst news of her life for the third time.

"We assure you that this meltdown will be her last."

A tiny whimper escaped her throat.

"The scientists from the Department of Discovery have recently managed to come up with a new treatment to solve problems like these."

She hardly heard Archer get up from his seat and take the one right beside hers.

"You're free to lea-."

Everything in her froze as she felt him gently take her hand in his and stroke the base of her sweaty palm with his thumb in a reassuring way. Arabelle's eyes went wide, and she sucked in a breath, trying to ignore how the goosebumps were already erupting on her cold human arm.

Is this why he chose this table? If so, how does he know?

In that moment, she didn't feel like punching him the way she always dreamed of doing. Mainly because there was an Official standing right in front of them, and partly because she longed the comforting gesture.

"Hello everyone," the Official announced. "I am Official Barker for those of you who don't know," and her eyes found Arabelle's.

"I'm going to keep this sweet and simple. You six were lucky enough to have been chosen by the Department of Discovery for their upcoming tests. And please, don't worry," she chuckled, "These tests won't hurt a bit. All you're doing is helping test out some new technology they made. This technology could change everything," and her eyes found Arabelle's again.

She felt Archer stiffen and lace their fingers together, which made her heart skip a beat.

"In three days, you will all be taking an anti gravity train to the Department of Discovery's headquarters for the first part of your tests. You won't need to prepare for these at all. There will be four tests in total, and one will occur each week. We will meet here in the morning of those days to make sure everyone is present, and then we'll head out. Does anybody have any questions?"

Everyone sat completely still, not making a single sound.

"No? If not, then I will meet you back here in three days. You may all return to your classes."

Without saying anything else, Official Barker strode out of the cafeteria, and Archer briskly let go of her stiff hand as soon as everyone else got up. He disappeared without a single word through the doors Arabelle came in from, but didn't take everything with him.

His hand still lift a warm, ghostly print on hers.