Acrylical Situation

Chapter 6

   

Megan was in an endless meadow of yellow flowers. There was not a cloud in the sky and there was not any trees to cover up the cerulean sky. She felt a very strange sensation and all her surroundings when I was seem to be in slow motion. The wind was blowing and it made the flowers move as if they were a golden sea. She felt very happy and numb, but she also still felt confused. Behind her she heard some crunches of flowers. She turned around and saw Noah, he was looking at her with a deceiving grin.

     "What are you doing here!?" Megan questioned him. Her hands balled up into fists and she could feel that she was slowly shaking. No it didn't answer. He took a step forward an extended his arm to her. Megan's jaw tightened. "What do you want from me!?"

     "I'm here to be with you, Megan." Noah said with a very sincere voice. Megan didn't trust his tone.

     "No. You need to leave." Megan ordered him. He started laughing, but it was such a low pitched and slow laugh that was becoming frightening. He looked at her again.

     "Let's go." Noah said as his eyes pierced through her. He started to walk towards her and his smile disappeared. Megan couldn't move. She was paralyzed in her spot.

     "That will be alright. She is fine being without you." A very familiar voice

said, threatening Noah. Megan turned around to see that it was Miguel. Suddenly that sensation of comfort flowed through Megan's body, just like it had before in the conference room.

     Noah halted. A smile planted on his face again and his horrid laughter returned. Megan turned to look at Miguel to see his reaction. His face was blank he didn't even look at her. Miguel's glare was focused on Noah. Megan turned back at Noah's direction and it was as if her heart had stopped. Where Noah once stood was now replaced by a lion. The lion had a menacing stare towards Miguel. The lion began to pounce and Megan's reaction was to run, but as she did, she ran extremely slow. Behind her, she heard all the roars and grunts.

      Megan shot up from her sleep, coughing aggressively and hyperventilating.

     "What the fuck..." Megan whispered to herself as she wiped the sweat off her forehead.

     "What happened, homie?"

      Megan turned to look around and Freddy was laying down in his area on the floor. Megan cleared her throat.

      "I had a weird ass dream. I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep."

     "I feel you. I had fallen asleep too, but I keep waking up around this time, so I stay awake until dawn." Freddy told her.

     "What time is it?" She asked.

     "It's around 4 a.m." he responded.

     "Oh my god, shut the fuck up!" Yuliana groaned. Miguel started chucking.

     "Good morning gang! Looks like everyone is awake!" Freddy joked.

     "Riley is still sleeping." Miguel pointed out.

       "Let that nigga sleep." Megan ordered. Freddy snorted in amusement.

     Everybody grew into silence again. They all seem to be reminded of their situation. Yuliana broke the ice and pointed out the elephant in the room.

     "Are you all nervous?" Yuliana asked. Nobody said anything. I wonder where they will take us, but I also wonder what type of competition that this whole thing is going to be about. "

     They all continued to talk. The joke, trying to break the tension of their upcoming fate. Finally, the Sun broke through the windows in the art studio. The digital clock on the desk read 6 a.m.

     "Well, I'm finna get up." Freddy said as he got up and started folding the blankets that he was using. Slowly everybody got up and started doing the same.

     There was a knock on the door.

     " Who the fuck could that be?" Megan asked. Yuliana went to go open the door and to everyone's surprise, Ms. Rodriguez was at the door.

     "Why are you her so early? Yuliana asked.

     "Good morning to you too." Ms. Rodriguez said with sarcasm, "I'm you guy's sponsor for the lottery. Now get ready and dressed because its about to be time for the sendoff ceremony. Everybody's at the main hallway to cheer y'all off with good luck. I will see you all there." Ms. Rodriguez said as she walked back to where she came from.

     Yuliana looked back at everyone and gave a weak smile.

    "Well, this is it guys. Let's go."

     As a group was walking into the main hallway, they saw that all the students upstairs cheering while all the other groups were coming into their view. Principal Schell was standing in the middle of the hallway in her white suit waiting for the seven groups to gather around her. Once the groups settled around her, the crowd began to die down and she began to speak.

     "Welcome, competitors, once again! Today is the day!" she said to the groups, smiling. She turned to the crowd that was above. "Today your classmates will go to a secret location and will compete for their survival, the welfare of this academy, and the financial bonus of their respective Strand."

     Megan's mind started racing. How is she going to send them to a location and not even tell them where they were going. She would think that she would be way more nervous than this, but she wasn't.

      "Now then! Say farewell to your classmates and wish them good luck!" Schell said as she directed then into the library that was directly under the cheering crowd. Once they entered, there was complete silence. The library was usually very bright, but it was very dark and dim. An extreme notable difference was that there was a steel staircase that they have never seen before, leading below right in the middle of the library.

     It seemed very bright, white, and futuristic down there. The students looked around the library. This was a room that they were very familiar, but it seemed completely new right now. Each of the team's sponsors were there. Schell motioned them to begin walking down the stairs. The sponsors first, Schell, then the competitors. The stairs went a very long way down. Once the stairs finished,  there was a long silent hallway that had white walls and bright lights. All that could be heard was the noise the lights made and the people's footsteps. There was a nervous aura surrounding everyone.

     This long hallway lead into this large room with 7 machines that appeared like elevators that all around the perimeter of the room. By each of the machines was each of the Strand sponsors. Naturally, the competitors went towards the familiar face.

     "Alright sponsors, you have a few moments to bid farewell to your students." Schell said with an emotionless tone. "On my signal, I'm going to order the students to step into the teleporters to be transported."

     Ms. Rodriguez turned to look at the art team, it almost seemed like she had a tear in her eye, but it most likely had to do with the bright lights.

     "I need you to win this. Do whatever it has to take! Some are you are not going to make it back and I'm going to miss you!" Ms. Rodriguez said to the group, trying to be sincere. Megan just rolled her eyes.

     "Please step into the teleporters." Schell ordered.

     The sponsors went to the machine, pressed a few buttons and the doors opened. The group all looked at each other then stepped in. They pressed another few buttons and the doors closed again. Nothing could be heard. Suddenly, their ears started ringing and everything went white.

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