44.
“End simulation?” a voice asked.
“No. Maintain possibility ten,” Jake replied.
Fly, babe. The words echoed around me. Taunting.
“Scramble the doors. Heighten security on the directional tech.” The spoken words cut through the ones looping in my nightmare.
“The subject is under great duress, sir,” the computer said.
“Vi?” Jake put his hand on my back. His touch sparked something inside. I coughed. My lungs felt like someone had scrubbed them out with peroxibeads.
I tried opening my eyes, but they stung too much. My limbs felt heavy, weighed down with frustration. And water.
“She’s reviving, sir.”
“Resume stealth,” Jake said.
Everything came rushing back. I pushed myself up and opened my eyes. The unyielding floor pressed into my tailbone. I could see the steady green light and the pulsing blue light from under the two doors.
I hated Jag then, more than anything.
Flying? I don’t think so.
“Jake?”
No answer.
“Jake! I know you’re here. I’m going to kill you when I see you again!”
“You promised.” His voice came from everywhere.
“Screw that,” I said, standing up. “I jumped off a freaking building. Someone has to die.”
“Take it up with Jag. He forced me to set the simulation.”
“I could have drowned.”
“You’re a water girl. You wouldn’t have.” Jake’s voice carried a smile. I imagined it on his face.
My anger deflated. “Whatever. What now?”
Jake didn’t answer.
I looked around the room, hoping for a big arrow to point me in the right direction. The hallway had sealed itself.
“There’s no way out.” Panic rose in waves. I suppressed it by taking a deep breath.
“Fly,” I whispered to myself. “That makes no sense.”
The green light now burned under the middle door. Darkness existed on the left. Blue pulsed on the right.
The equipment in my pack seemed to be in working order, so I slung it over my back. I placed my hand on the left door.
The force of the tech almost threw me backward.
My head spun. I tried to remove my hand, but it seemed welded to the metal. My stomach clenched. My chest burned.
I slid to my knees, finally able to break contact. I needed another one of those purple pills. I’d take ignorance over internal combustion any day.
I crawled toward the next door. I didn’t even have to touch this one. The tech buzz filled my ears, my eyes, my mouth. I puckered as if I’d eaten something sour.
I moaned and pushed myself past the middle door. Once free of the debilitating tech, I stood up. This third door only held a whisper of buzz.
“Tech simulations,” I said, the realization hitting me in the gut. “Jake, you’re so dead! You tricked me with that purple pill!”
“But now you know you can’t control the elements,” he said.
Like that made me feel better. “I hope you have a will!”
“Blame Jag,” he responded.
“Oh, I do,” I snapped. “Trust me, he’s going to die too.” I imagined the way he’d smile when he saw me. He wouldn’t even see my fist coming.
The only door without bucket loads of tech had the pulsing blue light. The doorknob tingled with techtricity, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Certainly not an entire simulation’s worth.
So I took a deep breath and opened the door.