TRAIN [FIRST DRAFT]

Chapter 15: In Half an Hour

 Everything in The Arena looked the same, even smelt the same, but Aimee and Stefan could feel a difference. Change was usual, but this version of The Arena had been specifically designed for Aimee. And Stefan wondered if maybe his being there with her again had something to do with the sudden shift.

They walked up the stepping stone path. The water was moving in muffled waves and the sun was muted in the skyline, but the trees were high and thin. Bits of bark cracked until they curled over like weak strips of paper; the sound broke the silence. Aimee held tightly to Stefan's arm, and that bothered her more far more than it bothered him. She let go again promptly, already doubting her readiness for what was to come. She glanced at Stefan's face, wished that she could be as fearless as he appeared to be.

"What do I have to do?" she queried, sounding much too nervous for her liking.

"I can't really explain it... but I guess you could say it's like the physical version of that simulator you were just in. In there, you can tell yourself it isn't real. In here, you're still conscious; your body experiences everything and can actually be injured." He glimpsed imperceptibly at Aimee's side, remembering what Gavin had told him.

Stefan's casual demeanour proved that it was safe to talk, even with cameras camouflaged in the area. They stepped onto the beach sand and paused.

"So, like The Hunger Games?"

Stefan looked at her docilely, "You won't have to kill anyone with a beating heart."

"But I'll have to kill life-like copies, right? This is going to mess with my head like the simulator did," she said matter-of-factly.

Stefan frowned dolefully, nodding, but barely, "What happened in there?"

"I saw a memory of Gavin and myself, then I destroyed wall-camera-machine-gun-things, and then I spoke to you. But you weren't... you." She saw the concern in his eyes. "Don't worry, I'll be fine," she whispered with the intention of sounding sincere, convincing.

Stefan squeezed her hand, "I know. Still, I won't leave your side."

For a moment, they could ignore the video cameras they knew were there, and whoever controlled them, watching, recording.

Stefan led Aimee along as he vaguely recalled spotting a 'hideout'. It just seemed like a smart idea to have a Fort Knox in case someone got hurt or they couldn't find the door. They came upon a cluster of massive rocks that created a sort of boarder between the beachfront and the marsh. Climbing over them was relatively easy. Onward was an enormous cliff – it seemed to mark the end of the beachfront – with a sand trail running to its summit. Stefan walked Aimee along the seam of the swampland that thrived on their left and the expanding cliff face. After a while, they found an opening in the cliff, a narrow cave. That was where they would hide. It was curtained with vines and reeds, which were not too difficult to manoeuvre through.

They sat on the floor like kindergarteners at story-time. It became exactly that when Aimee began to ask her eager questions.

"Is this your special hideout?" she asked what seemed like a probe into his real life. She wanted to know him better. "You look so comfortable."

He grew aware of his posture as he leaned his back against the wall, right at the mouth of the cave, peeking through its leafy teeth.

"I hid here once when I was younger," he elusively explained. "I think it's here... because I am."

"What do you mean?"

"The simulation is supposed to be unique to you, the trainee. My presence may be compromising that."