Reveille (The Hybrid Disasters, Book One)

Chapter 17: I'm Still Standing

The following morning came too soon. Ember and I were instructed to show at eleven o'clock. We arrived at the same time to the elevator that would take us to the twenty-first floor and didn't speak a word to one another. There was an agent there to pass the retinal scanner to give us access to the secure floor. Once the elevator arrived at our destination and its steel doors opened, we stepped out into a long hall that looked precisely the same as the off-limits floors; blindingly white and squeaky clean. Mr. Wilkes greeted us as we disembarked. He directed us down the hall a short distance before stopping in front of a white panel emerging from the polished white floor. Along the wall to the left of the panel stood a large set of double doors. After typing briefly on the touchscreen, Mr. Wilkes placed his hand on the screen, and with an authorized scan, the doors slid apart, revealing a dark room. Mr. Wilkes entered the room and a light cut on automatically, revealing a small, enclosed space with a large glass wall. The narrow room reminded me of the police interrogation rooms I saw on TV, only, instead of another cramped room with a tiny table and two chairs through the looking glass, I was observing an enormous, empty, and entirely green room. The vast space beyond the glass wall was the length and width of a football field, if not bigger. Taking in the distance, I gulped, fearing a highly physical examination.

"Put these on," Mr. Wilkes instructed, interrupting our scrutiny of the green room. He handed us what looked like Virtual Reality helmets with matching jumpsuits, boots, and gloves. The garments were silver and sleek minus the dark lense of the headpiece and the black 'DPO' label stamped noticeably across the backs of the suits. "I'll be providing you instructions through the speakers in your helmets. You have five minutes to get dressed." The door we entered slid open, and Mr. Wilkes departed.

Ember and I looked at each other briefly before donning our equipment. Mr. Wilkes' voice came through moments later. "Please step into the yellow-lined box on the floor. A portion of the glass wall before you will drop, and then you'll enter the Simulation Vault." I looked down at the ground, not recalling seeing any markings on the floor. Sure enough, a yellow light from the ceiling above had casted a sizable square on the ground. I was grateful it appeared wide enough for both of us to stand in without touching. We had still yet to speak, and I was beginning to think this was going to be more of a competition instead of a collaboration.

Ember and I did as Mr. Wilkes instructed and stepped inside of the illuminated shape. Once we did, a countdown appeared in the upper left corner of my helmet visor. We had ten seconds before whatever was about to happen happened. It took me half that time to realize I was shaking, but before I could even consider how to calm myself, Ember's gloved hand reached out and grasped mine, squeezing it quickly three times before letting go. Before I could say anything, a segment of the glass wall directly in front of us dropped, and we stepped through into the vast space that was no longer green.

Immediately, tall, mountain-like structures began forming before us, obstructing our view. A volley of fireballs fell towards us from somewhere beyond the peaks, and I ducked for cover before they struck. Only they never did. I looked around, confused as to why the balls of fire never landed. I found Ember standing above me. He appeared to be... collecting the fireballs? I looked at him with incredulity. The individual balls of fire were gathering before him and forming into a much, much larger ball. I could feel the heat of the massive ball from where I lay on the ground beneath him. I shielded my eyes from the blazing sphere with my right arm as I watched Ember in amazement. His left hand was raised in the air above his head holding his massive ball of fire mid-air as his right hand appeared to be gathering and merging the continuous influx of fireballs into the aggregate ball.

"Hybrid!" he yelled, his visor reflecting the blaze before him. I knew that beneath the visor his eyes would also be blazing with the exact same light. "Find out where they are."