The Hex

Zin - Chapter 6: Mind Games

"Hello."

Neon lights flashed into luminance. I was sitting on a chair in the center of a metallic room, "Who are you." I growled.

A petite woman emerged from the darkness, tossing back locks of blonde hair. She wore a light blouse with an ebony skirt--a mole on the side of her face, "That's a better question for me to ask you," she said, "...Dryad Zin. Or should I call you by something else? Maybe Expirement 15?"

I glared at her, unmoving, "I won't let The Expedition leave."

"Unfortunately, that's not something for you to decide." She smiled dryly, "It's already too late, anyway. The planet that you remember is gone."

My eyes widened.

"Every single human was obliterated in an instant! Except you, of course. You were unconscious--"

"Shutup!" I grabbed the edges of the seat I was on, veins swelling as I raised it into the air. Before she knew what was happening, I launched it at her face. It smashed her straight in the forhead, triggering a blood-curtaling shriek. She toppled to the floor with her neck twisted sideways.

CLICK.

I was in a glass box. Blood dripped across my fingers as I held a broken radio. It broadcasted static, like the echo of a scream.

"What?" I turned to either side of me. The room was different than a second before--as if it had never been there at all. The chair was gone, and the lighting was colorless. The only thing that remained the same was the body of the woman.

No.

I studied her, hesitant. Fluid stained her hair--a deep black color.

"Black..." I stumbled backwards, "It was blonde before..."

Something wasn't the same. My heartbeat quicked as the woman began to writhe towards me.

"No..." I shook my head, leaning agianst the wall of the box, "...no... this isn't real."

"Zin..." she cried. My breathing trembled as Xo extended her hand, "Zin... I'm hurting..."

"You were someone else a second ago!" I quivered, "You were someone different!"

The radio spouted jargon, followed by a familiar voice, "Hello again."

I shuddered, dropping it, "...You. Who are you?!"

"Your last experience was an illusion--a virtual simulation inside of an exo-liquid." mused the woman, "But I can assure you--this is completely real!" she cackled.

My heart seemed to stop. I stared into the face of my master, tears welling in my eyes. This has to be a lie!

My hand touched the side of my arm, where the skin was cut from my needle. But it wasn't. Stranger still, my heartbeat was slower than usual. I wasn't on adrenaline...

"If that's true..." I faltered, "Why am I moving at the same pace as Xo?"

CLICK.

My body floated on the fringes of the Earth, obliterated in a flurry of flames. Everything around me had changed again.

"I was tricked a second time." I whispered, hesitant. Was this another simulation?

CLICK.

Aer screamed, dropping to the ground as a bullet shot through her head.

I closed my eyes, shaking, "It isn't real!"