Experiment: Apocalypse (Reddit Crew AU)

chapter 3

Henry let out a dry laugh, arms folded over his chest.

"Cosy," he muttered, walking over to the bed closest to the wall. He slung his bag down at one side, and flopped onto the bed cross legged. A beat of silent, non-movement followed.

It was weird for all of them, a room full of strangers they're expected to share a month of their life with. Kwite wondered how this guy was seemingly fine with it. Perhaps it's a front, he pondered. Kwite followed suit with Henry's actions, claiming the bed next to him.

Everyone scrambled to a bed then. Each person either slinging their bag on the ground, neatly placing it at the foot of their bed or just plonking it on their bed.

Awkward silence followed. Everyone was sat stiffly in a position on their bed, waiting for someone else to make the first move.

"Soo... About that weather?" Diesel said into the silence. A few chuckles went around and he grinned back at them.

"Are we introducing ourselves? We probably should..." Ani mumbled, resting her hand on her fist.

"Okay then. I'm Henry, obviously from England. Uhmmm... I'm here because I'm broke as fuck." Henry made the first introduction. The tension in the room seemed to simmer down a bit, as Kwite introduced himself next. And then they went down in a line, introducing themselves.

Conversations flowed from there. They talked about random things, anything to ease their nerves. They kept away from the topic of what came tomorrow, since it all scared them.

Aksel yawned, reaching behind him to grab his phone.

"We should go to bed. It's late." He told them, standing up and stretching. A noise of agreement went around the room.

Henry tugged off his jeans and pulled out his from underneath his large hoodie, and then slid under the bedcovers. Variations of this act followed, with only a select few actually changing into pajamas.

Alex stood up and turned the light out, enveloping the room in darkness.

"Goodnight guys." Ani said, quietly. A few goodnights were muttered back.

-------

Alex groaned, pulling his covers over his head. The lighting was bright, despite the fact that there were no windows in their room. He could hear some people talking quietly and he blinked, opening his eyes to the pale blue shade of the quilt.

Alex sat up, looking round the room. To his left, he could see Aksel, Hoover and Ani, and to his right he could see Brandon, Kwite and Henry. For a moment, he panicked. He didn't recognize these people.

And then he did.

Alexis sighed loudly, flopped his head back down onto his pillow and pushing his palms into his eye sockets.

"You okay, man?" Aksel asked, looking over at the last one in bed. Alex moved his hands, seeing shapes and colours dance in his vision, and then turned to face the older one. He had already sized everyone up, taken in what they were wearing and matched it to a name, face and personality. He had estimated Aksel to be a friendly one. Something about guys wearing circle glasses and pale yellow nail polish gave off a friendly vibe.

"Mhm. Just," he paused to yawn, "tired." Aksel laughed in response, causing Alex to grin across at him.

"You should get up, I think that doctors coming to collect us soon." Aksel told him. It was now that Alex realized Aksel was already dressed, and a quick scan of the room told him that everyone else was too. "There's a bathroom through there." Alex nodded, climbing out of the bed. He cringed as his bare feet hit the cold floor.

He picked out his clothes, putting his toothbrush on top of the pile and then walking to the bathroom.

He sighed a bit once he realised he wouldn't be able to shower. Though, he figured those big tanks of water weren't for nothing.

Alex locked the door, placing his clothes on the side of the sink. He pulled one of the eight towels from the rack, folding it neatly next to the sink. Next, he turned the faucet, filling his hands with freezing water and wiping his face. He shivered, definetly feeling more awake and then buried his face into the soft, white towel.

He couldn't tell if he was ready for today or not. Nevertheless, he would soon find out and realise it would be the latter. 

Alex walked out of the bathroom in his fresh clothes a few moments later, joining the group of other participants. He found himself naturally gravitating towards Aksel, the tall Estonian who seemed nice enough.

The doctor was there now, and Alex turned a little red upon noticing they were waiting on him.

The group walked down the halls, and Alex was hit with deja vu from yesterday, when the group had first met and were being led to that room with the chambers. He shivered a bit when remembering those, which he assumed he would be using today. Whatever 'using' really meant.

The double doors were pushed open to the room, the 9 of them trailing in. Like yesterday, the nurses were there too. Only this time, each were stood next to one of the chambers.

"Today, you'll be going in. You won't be coming out for a month, but everything in there will seem exceptionally real. There is an area to stay in, granted that it is very large, and if you come close to the border red lines will appear in front of you. Try stay away from the border. There will be a crate with a few things to help you get started, but other than that it's up to you to survive in there. Work as a team, stay together. Or don't." The doctor lectured them. His eyes sparkled as he eyed the group in front of him. He was way older than all of them, with a few strands of dark hair turning gray.

"Is this for a game? Are we beta testers or something?" Diesel asked.

"That doesn't concern you!" He raised his voice slightly, his calm, collected manner dropping for a second. "We need you to change into these, and put everything else into the bags provided. The bathrooms are down there." He regained his posture, falling back into a controlled way. Each person grabbed a bag from the pile that he had gestured to, and then made their way to the door he had pointed at.

There were 10 cubicles in there. Alex pushed open the door, locking it behind him. He eyed up the bag filled with the clothing he needed to wear. He took in a deep breath, leaning his head against the wall for a minute and closing his eyes. Ready as ever, he thought to himself, ripping open the bag.