Today was Aria's simulation day. Her parents and friends said there was nothing to worry about, as they had all already gone through theirs, but in reality, Aria was terrified. She knew nothing of what could possibly happen and that scared her. It wasn't like she could skip the simulation, but she did try. Instead, her Mother made her leave an hour earlier than she would have. The walk to the simulation room was quiet and tense. However, it didn't get any less tense upon actually going inside the room. What awaited Aria as she entered the room was a chair and a doctor in a long white coat. Laying on the table next to him was a menacing syringe filled with a strange green liquid. Aria was lead to the chair and instructed to sit down.
" The simulation you are about to experience will take you through apocalyptic situations. In order to prepare you should an actual apocalypse occur, something like nuclear warfare, It is not uncommon to die the first time. Your objective is to spend twenty full days and twenty-one nights alive in the simulation. Should you die at any point in the simulation, you will restart in the same location you started the last time. Do not worry, when you die, you will not feel any physical or mental pain, nor should you be left with any physical marks from where you died. Anything you'd like to say before entering the simulation?"
" No," Aria answered quietly.
" Very well, so the simulation shall commence," said the scientist. Aria closed her eyes as she felt the cold prick of the needle and the familiar stinging sensation as the serum raced through her system. Aria closed her eyes and counted down from twenty as she waited for the serum to take effect.
When she opened her eyes, she was in a car. She shivered against the realistic simulation, pondering what horrors could possibly await her. After about twenty minutes, the driver pulled up to a house and stopped the car.
" Good luck," he wished her, then vanished. Aria was confused as to how the man had left so quickly, but she put it off as being part of the simulation. An enthusiastic cry sounded as Aria's mother ran out to greet her.
" Oh, Aria, I am so glad you made it here safe, hurry, we must get inside," she exclaimed as she tugged Aria out. As soon as her socks touched the wet ground, Aria flinched and crawled back into the car.
" Mother, my shoes," she added politely. Aria's mother laughed and nodded. As Aria fumbled with her shoes, trying to get them on as fast as she could, she heard the nearby bushes crackle as a man lurched out. Aria's mother paled.
" Aria, dear, please hurry, we must get inside," She hissed frantically. As the man dragged closer, Aria could see that his face was mutilated beyond recognition and his eyes were beet-red. Aria shoved her mother towards the building and shut the car door.
" Mother, get inside. I will be fine, trust me. You have to get inside, I will hide under the seats," she shouted through the thin glass. Aria's mother, well, the simulation version, looked back remorsefully and turned and ran into the house. Part of Aria was terrified, but she knew that she would not be hurt. Nonetheless, she locked the car doors and hit as far under the seat as she could right as the man started banging on the windows. Aria closed her eyes and all went silent. She carefully lifted her head and screamed as glass sprayed from the broken window in front of her. The man grabbed her head and she felt a pain in the back of her neck. Then she woke up. Her hand immediately went to the back of her neck as she still felt pain. She noticed the doctor staring at her.
" You died, and you felt pain and have a scar. That's not supposed to happen," muttered the doctor as she flicked the syringe. Right now, that was the last thing Aria wanted to hear. Aria whipped her head to the door as she saw another whitecoat bring in a syringe. " You will need to be retested as you failed your first simulation," said the white coat as she brought the syringe near. Aria felt the needle in her neck as the blackness set in. This time, the simulation was different, Aria was no longer in the car, but in a forest. And she knew she wasn't alone.
