Bulletproof [Sneak Peek]

4

OV SWIPED HER ID card and the door to the training facility slid open. She flew to the nearest available machine. There was only one other trainee in the room—probably cramming before his final. Everyone else was most likely having a powwow in the cafeteria now that classes were over. OV couldn't blame them.

The REALM unit stood idly next to a black leather reclining chair, its metallic surface gleaming under the fluorescent lighting. A long cord, from the end of which sprouted a multi-color array of different sized wires, protruded from it. The control panel on its top showcased some switches and a handful of buttons.

OV hurriedly took the headset from the seat of the chair, placed it on her head, and snapped the fastener under her chin. Its cold metal pressed snugly against her temples, sending a shiver down her spine. She shook off the feeling and picked the cord up off the ground, jamming the wires into her headset as fast as she could manage.

She had almost finished when AZ sprinted into the room.

"OV!"

She ignored him, concentrating only on putting the last two wires in place. He ran up to her and took them from her hands.

"Hey!" She snatched at the wires, but AZ pulled them away. "C'mon, give 'em back!"

"What's going on, OV? Are you okay?"

She pulled on the wires. "Let go, please."

He hesitated. "I'm a little worried about you... I know what happened, but still—I wouldn't throw yourself around REALM trying to find an answer to something that probably doesn't have one. You're only going to hurt yourself. Just take a few minutes and breathe, please."

Successfully tugging the wires from his grip, she quickly jammed them into place and bashed one of the buttons on the console before throwing herself into the chair. A monotonous hum filled the room.

"OV—"

"I've gotta find out more, AZ—I've waited too long already." She hoped getting into REALM sooner would help her chances of finding out more information. Maybe it would pick up on her clear memory while the scenario was still fresh in her mind.

AZ opened his mouth, but OV had already lost consciousness, swallowed into the abyss of REALM.

***

OV groaned.

By the sound of wind rustling the long grass, she guessed she was in a field of sorts.

She sat up and opened her eyes, feeling disoriented. Getting sucked into REALM twice in one day was making her dizzy, and the unusual change of scenery wasn't helping anything.

The sky grew darker; a storm was brewing. A muffled crash of thunder sounded in the distance.

Getting off the ground, OV looked around, taking in her surroundings. The field stretched as far as the eye could see, apart from the east side where she could make out the edge of a forest.

Great.

There was no way she'd be able to find out anything regarding the bioweapon here.

OV jumped at a crash of thunder, and a flash of lightning temporarily drowned her vision in white. The storm was moving faster than she'd anticipated. Illogically fast, she'd venture to say.

But then again, it was all in her head.

The wind whipped her hair around her face.

"OV."

She froze, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end.

A heavy drop of rain splattered on her dark gray uniform, followed by three more. The storm was breaking.