Trident Trials: The Glimmer

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Rex was ready to go by the time I got there, as per usual, and seemed again as always impatiently waiting for me. I am sure that after telling him about what we were doing before he would understand, plus if he got really testy about it, then I would try turning the tides by asking him where the hell he was for the party. It didn't really seem like something that he would have come to, even if Torsten found him. Although thinking about it, I don't know that Torsten would have gone to look for him. Rex was a scary guy to approach all by himself. Even now, after knowing him for some time, it was still a little intimidating.

Rex approached me with a bit of an annoyed look on his face. I assumed not that bad, but maybe I was wrong. The news that we could do simulation training was hopefully enough to cheer him up. I knew he enjoyed doing the simulation training because when he left me at the end of our sessions, that's usually what he was doing. What I didn't consider was that maybe he enjoyed doing those on his own, and I didn't know if he did a different level of training than I was going to have access to. Jax said that it would be simple to start, basically just trying to get my feet wet. Simple to Jax didn't necessarily mean simple. I hoped that it actually was.

"Hey man, listen, I am sorry that I'm late, but I've had something of an eventful day today," I said. I trying to get ahead of the storm before it arrived. It rarely worked, but it was worth a try. This wasn't the first time that I was late meeting Rex, and I am sure it won't be the last. "Don't worry about it man, Jax talked with me and told me we would do some simulation training and orientation today. You'll have to get set up with the orientation advisor before we do anything. Go check-in at the front entrance and they'll get you squared away." He didn't seem annoyed with me at all. I thought that Jax probably told him about the party. I wish he would've come, but I guessed he was here setting everything up for me. I was surprised by this because normally this would have been a conversation about dedication to work and this affecting every part of what I did, but nothing.

Maybe Rex was softening up, maybe he even decided that I wasn't that same little skinny idiot that started here. It was doubtful, but I already started walking towards the entrance and therefore couldn't ask him, or at least that's what I was going to tell myself. Approaching the door, I got a little nervous. I wasn't really sure what to expect. The orientation wasn't likely to be that unusual, but I had no experience except with anything that was completely real life. How would my senses react to something that wasn't really happening, how would my body move in there, would I be hooked up with wires, or what is something completely different? I know they were going to explain all of this to me, but I want answers now. The more mysteries that Trident introduces, the more answers I wanted.

The first experience that I had with the simulation I didn't really count as an authentic experience. It wasn't anything that I planned or was even a little prepared for. I was exhausted from the day before they sprung that little surprise on me, and I honestly didn't even remember that much of the experience. It all happened so fast that I didn't even really want to remember much of it. Hopefully, this experience would be a much more positive one. If nothing else, this one wouldn't come as a total surprise and someone would hopefully give me some advice on how to navigate and work within it, as opposed to a complete lack of knowledge and sheer panic.

I would answer these questions soon enough, but my brain would not let me stop thinking about them until I gained the answers to them all. They made the door of glass and had a translucent look to it, but weren't able to be looked through. I assumed for privacy. I looked at the surroundings at the door, looking for a doorbell, or a camera, or literally anything to let them know I was here. As far as I could tell, there wasn't anything, so I decided I would just wait by the door and hope that some eventually came to get me.