Trapped | The Trapped Trilogy Book 1

Fourteen (Part 1)

Fourteen (Part 1)

I open my eyes.

I had been dreaming.

I'm in a spherical room. There are no corners and the walls are shiny and reflective. It's like I'm in a giant marble.

I stand up and look into my reflected blue eyes.

"Eenralla Land," Rebecca's voice echoes into the room.

And then I remember where I am.

"We will now conduct the next test."

I was being tested—examined. My memories were flashing before my eyes and I was watching them. They probably were too... I look down at myself and pick at my clothing.

"Black spandex?" I ask to the floor. The material covers my entire body. The only things not hidden by it are my hands, head, and my bare feet. My hair is thrown up into a sloppy bun, blonde wisps of hair spilling down into my face.

What's wrong with my hand? I ask myself, looking at it in my reflection. It looks bruised and purple—

"Are you ready for the test?"

"What is it?"

"These past few days we have gone through a series of tests with you. The first one was to prove that you are who you say you are. The second one was an IQ test. The third one you just woke up from. You weren't supposed to wake up until we got to present day."

"So I failed it?" I ask, looking around inside the sphere. Where is her voice coming from? "Why did I wake up?"

"Good question," I hear a smile in her voice. "Lights out, Eenralla Land."

Everything goes black. The sphere begins to vibrate, and blue light slowly starts to illuminate from the silver walls.

"What's happening?"

Suddenly, the room springs to life, and I stand before a speeding bus. It flickers.

It's not real.

My body moves to the side as it passes and it clips my hand.

I cry out in pain as the sphere flickers before me.

It sure feels real, I think to myself as I rub my hand.

I see gray matter in the shape of tiny little squares moving and shifting between the flickers as the bus disappears.

It changes again, and this time it wraps all around me, and the hologram flashes to look like water.

It's not real... It's not real—but it feels real.

I gasp for air, and water-matter fills my mouth. I thrash and kick my feet. What the heck is the point of this? Why do they need to torture me with simulations? Why not just ask me more questions?

I scream out and tread some more. The water-matter gets thicker and thicker.

Suddenly, the flashing matter drains out and seeps back into the walls, disappearing. I fall to the ground choking and sputtering. Rolling on to my back, I try to control my breathing and my heart rate.

"What is that stuff?" I ask, suddenly angry. I slowly stand up, my body already tired. "What is it?"

"What is what?" I can almost hear Rebecca grinning.

An arrow. A flashing arrow flies at me, and I duck as the arrow disappears into the trees. In the distance, I see a figure flickering wildly with its surroundings. Another arrow flies at me, flashing back and forth between the image of the arrow and the gray shifting matter.