The Simulation

Part 1

 Four sat down and opened her pink and purple plaid laptop, logging in with practiced speed. Not very many people seemed to be on, but there was a little conversation going on the the general chat. Her real name wasn't Four of course, but that's what she was called. Everyone in the chat had a number, from One to Eighty-Two. It was kinda fun that way.

*Hi 4!* Fifty-Seven sent.

*sup* Seven said. Four smiled.

After a little bout of friendly bickering between whether or not Fifty-Seven actually had emotions, Twenty-Four and Eighteen joined.

*you guys are never gonna believe what i found* Twenty-Four said.

*what was it?* Eighteen asked.

*tell* Seven responded.

*ooooh what* Fifty-Seven went.

*tlel us already 24* Four typed, realizing her mistake too late.

*tlel* Twenty-Four mimicked. A chorus of "tlel" popped up, and Four groaned.

*wow guys*

She was about to continue when a new user popped up in the member list. The icon was still the default website logo, and their username was just 'V3'. Four was pretty certain she'd never seen this person before.

*hi @V3 , you new?* She typed.

*hi v3!!!* Fifty-Seven greeted.

*hey V3 go #intro yourself if you want* Seven said.

*No thanks, I think I'll just watch for a while if that's okay.* V3 typed.

*no problem!* Sixty-Two popped out of nowhere. *what are we talking about?*

*24 was gonna say something* Eighteen explained.

*yeah, so* Twenty-Four began. Four watched intently, giggling as the story progressed. It seemed that Twenty-Four had managed to get into quite the dilemma after finding a little pool of tadpoles. It devolved into a water gun fight with Twenty-four's sister, Mango, only instead of water it was... hotsauce.

*o m g* Four laughed aloud at their shenanigans.

*i'm double dyign from laughter* Fifty-Seven sent. *i c a n n o t e v e n*

*i go on and the first thing i see is hotsauce mangoes* Thirty-Four's icon flickered to life in Four's member list, making her concerned. Was her internet doing alright? She checked, and she had full bars. She supposed it was just a little glitch.

*I would like to try something, if that's alright with you.* V3's text appeared on the screen,

*sure* Thirty-Four and Sixty-Two posted at the same time.

*jinx!* Eighteen said.

*it doesn't work like that* Twenty-Four objected.

*yes it does* Fifty-Seven argued.

*what's the thing V3?* Seven interrupted.

*It's an experiment.* V3 said.

*sure* Fifty-Seven replied.

*go ahead* Four went. V3's reply popped up, and a robotic voice read it aloud from her speaker, startling her.

"Welcome to... THE SIMULATION." V3 said.

Four's room began to shake violently as if it were a box and someone were trying to determine the contents by sound alone. She was thrown up into the air almost immediately and it only took a moment for something to hit Four on the back of her head, knocking her out cold in an instant.

---

Four woke up to vibrations and that feeling that comes when you can't breathe. Her heart pounded in her ears and she couldn't move to open her eyes or mouth or to sit up. She was lying on something cold and metallic that shook mechanically, making her dizzy. Four couldn't feel anything actually restraining her, but she was still paralyzed.

She fought to move, to do anything, but she couldn't even cry out for help. Then the vibrations stopped and her eyes could open. Bright light glared at her and she winced.

Four sat up slowly. When she saw her hair float in front of her she became aware of the fact that she was underwater, and that the bare white around her was the inside of a pool of some sort. She touched her throat and realized she hadn't been breathing this whole time. Was she dead? She opened her mouth but quickly closed it. The water tasted like old coffee and seemed to turn into gel in her mouth.

Before she could further investigate this, Four heard a noise come from above. She looked up to see a boy swimming towards her. He reached out his hand and Four took it, letting him lead her up and out of the pool. The pool was deeper than it looked, and was shaped like a well. Four pulled herself over the edge and spat out the silvery goop in her mouth, desperately gulping in the air she suddenly craved.Her clothes clung to her as she looked around the room.

The walls were as stark as the pool, which was set in the center of the otherwise empty floor. The floor itself was tiled black. Two white doors were on opposite sides of the room. The left one was open. The boy stood next to where she sat, water pooling beneath him.

His hair was slicked to his face and he wore a gray jumpsuit. He was a tiny bit shorter than her and his feet were bare, Four noted silently. Looking down at herself, she realized she was in an identical outfit. She wondered with a shudder who on earth had changed her clothes.

"Are you alright?" The boy asked , offering his hand again to help her up. Four's head jerked at the sound of his familiar voice.

"Seven?" She asked, taking his hand and standing.

Seven blinked. "Four?"

"Yeah!" Four grinned. "Haha, you really do look younger. And now I know what you look like!"

"Of course." Seven rolled his eyes, making Four tilt her head curiously.

"Didn't you say you had glasses?" Four adjusted her own as she spoke, which she woken up with. Luckily, the goop-water had washed off of them fairly easily.

"I do, or did, but I lost them. It doesn't matter though; you don't need them here."

"Where is 'here,' exactly?" Four brushed her hair out of her eyes.

Seven spread his arms dramatically and spoke in a sarcastic tone. "Welcome to the Simulation! Things are different here."