Escape to Paradise/Newt, book 2

Chapter 15

"Alright, everyone. Listen up!" Janson called, shushing the group as he stood on one of the tables.
"Can I have your attention?"
Everyone quieted down, and he nodded.
"Very good."

I sat next to Newt, clutching his hand silently. Neither of us said anything, but we were itching for him to keep talking, aching to see our friends. Janson cleared his throat, taking a moment to sweep his eyes over the room and make sure all attention was on him.

"For those of you who weren't aware, the simulation has come to an end." Janson paused, letting the group talk amongst themselves. Some people were surprised, some seemed sad, and some were quietly celebrating that anyone not in the room had made it to the end safely.

"Ava and I have been talking. We decided to follow a set of procedures that some of you will probably be glad to hear." Janson said as he looked down at everyone.

"The remaining subjects that are still in the simulation, are in the safe haven, as you know. Or at least, that's where they think they are. I'll spare you the details, but you know the drill. Their bodies are still here in the facility." Janson explained.

"Now, it would be a long process to explain the simulation to them, so instead we are moving their bodies to an actual safe haven, identical to the one they believe they are actually in."
He paused to let the crowd converse, then continued.

"I know, most of you probably thought that it didn't exist. In reality, we already have one set up, which we replicated in the simulation itself.  The one that they believe they are in is merely a copy of the real safe haven. It's been set up for months, and in relation to the simulation, its identical. Therefore, we will begin moving their real bodies there every night, and taking them out of the simulation. They won't even realize anything has changed." He continued.

"Now for the part that I'm sure you'll all be interested in. Starting next week, those of you that have been here for longer than 6 months will be brought to the safe haven along with the remaining test subjects, where you will spend the rest of your days with them. Those of you that have not been here for that period of time, will unfortunately remain here for further testing."

The rest of the cafeteria buzzed with voices, as everyone seemed pleased with the announcement. Everyone whispered, some hugging each other happily at the thought of a reunion, while others seemed upset at the mention of not being able to go.

"That's not the deal." I whispered, clutching Newt's hand in mine.
"That's not.....that's not the deal."

Newt sat quietly, almost frozen as he thought about what Janson just said. He wasn't supposed to get to the safe haven. He hadn't been out of the simulation for 6 months. I glared at him, mumbling under my breath.

"That son of a-"

"Thank you all for your attention. Now, everyone, remain calm for just a few more minutes as we work some things out. Thank you." Janson got down from his spot on the table, and I had to force my hands to unfold from fists at my sides.

"Emmy, relax." Newt said quietly, even though he looked as if someone had crushed the remaining bit of life inside of him.

"No, I need to talk to Ava. Right now." I said firmly.

Newt didn't notice the other boys whispering quietly. Alby, Chuck, Ben, Winston. All of them were able to go, along with me. They exchanged glances. And each one quietly looked at Newt before lowering their heads.