Ansel Elgort Imagines

New World Part 4

Things feel different...

Ever since the two of us saw that red light, things have been different. We can feel that we're being watched. It's unnerving. Anything we would have normally done, we don't want to anymore.
We're tempted to say we want out. Only we feel like they wouldn't let us leave.
We could try to contact Cameron and ask her about it. Only she's obviously in on whatever this charade is. 
"What do you want to do?" I ask Ansel as we're eating breakfast together.
"About today or in general?" he responds.
"In general—" I say before correcting myself. "Both."
"I say we leave," he replies, and I raise an eyebrow.
"Leave?"
He nods.
"Now?"
"No time like the present," he responds. He looks determined. I've thought of leaving—of course I have. Only it's slightly terrifying. I don't know what they'll say if they catch us trying to escape. I don't know what would happen if we said we wanted out.
I have no idea why they're taping us, either. I can think of The Truman Show. Is this that sort of gig?
I let out a breath. "I think we need to go out. Just the two of us," I reply, trying to let him know what I want to do without being too obvious about it.
"You sure? We could invite someone. Maybe Cameron could show us some good places to go."
"I'm sure. I think it'd be nice to go alone—just the two of us. It's more private that way," I say, and he nods. He takes a bite of his bread and seems to be in deep thought.
"Should we go fly something?"
"I don't see anything better to do," I say, trying to act cheerful. I have no idea if they're watching right now. I sincerely hope they aren't.
I once read this short story about these two writers that were put in this weird pod together. It was weird as fuck and kinda makes me think of our situation. At least condoms aren't falling from the sky.
We finish up our breakfast and pack some things. We don't want to seem too suspicious, but we do need some things.
We don't really know what we're going to do; in all honesty, we're winging it. Quite literally since we're going to be flying a fucking space craft.
The deal is, we know some of the "big wigs" (such as Cameron) have their own space crafts. They sometimes come and go from our original world, keeping everyone updated and retrieving supplies when necessary. The personal space crafts aren't too big, but they're definitely big enough for the two of us. If we could get in one and set the navigation system for our previous world, we should be okay. We should be able to fly our way out of here.
It's a crazy plan, but we're willing to try. It's like there's this external force telling me to fucking go for it. And I'm listening; we're going right this second

———

The space craft is literally parked like a car in Cameron's driveway. We know she keeps her keys at the door—we saw them there when we visited. Can we just grab them? That's insane. But we're already being fucking crazy.
We walk up the path to her door. We try to listen to see if she's home.
That's when I get an idea.
"Call her," I say.
"Call her?" he repeats.
"On the phone," I tell him.
He seems to understand, and he pulls out his phone. He dials her number, and we can hear it ringing inside.
"Coming coming," Cameron says inside. She has a habit of answering inanimate objects. The microwave beeps? She answers. The washing machine screams? She answers.
"It's ringing," Ansel tells me, as if I didn't know that.
"I'm aware," I reply before opening the door quietly. It's unlocked. Cameron answers the phone, and Ansel stays quiet.
"Hello?" I can hear her voice. I can see the keys on the table, and I reach for them. I grab them, but not before nearly knocking over a vase. I catch it, my heart beating rapidly at the close call.
I grip the keys tightly and close the door.
That's when we start running toward the space craft.
"Hey!" Ansel finally says once we're sure she can't hear his voice outside.
"Mute," I whisper, and he mutes the call quickly. I unlock the space craft; it beeps in response.
"Hey I wanted to ask you a question," Ansel continues.
We climb inside the space craft, and I turn it on. I can figure out the controls. I think. That's when suddenly, I hear alarms blaring. I panic. I fucking panic like a little bitch.
Ansel hangs up as I hyperventilate, trying to get the space craft to shut the fuck up.
"It needs a code. You didn't enter the code," he says, pointing to the screen.
"Fuck. What is it?"
"Four digits."
The alarm is getting louder. Cameron comes out of her house, and we can hear her yelling.
"When's her birthday?" I ask, trying to think.
"July tenth," he replies—how he knows this, I don't know.
I enter the numbers. The alarm stops. It's almost too easy. I blindly start the machine, getting it to hover slightly.
"Input our world!" I practically yell as I try to get it up higher. The controls aren't too confusing, and it literally has a joystick-like thing to steer. Only I'm panicked.
It could all be in a completely different language for all I know.
Cameron is yelling on the ground below us, and Ansel is trying to input our world into the navigation system. It should go into autopilot.
He can't seem to do it. We're both panicking.
Cameron suddenly runs back inside. I start moving the space craft away from her house. I'm trying to get us away as fast as I can. The machine creaks and shudders—I'm not operating it properly, and I know it.
Suddenly, I hear a beeping noise.
"What the fuck is that?" I demand, and that's when the screen flashes.
Self-destruct in 5
4
3
I don't even have the time to panic. I look to Ansel.
2
"I love you," we say at the same moment.
1
Everything goes black.

GAME OVER!

It flashes repeatedly on his screen. The boy groans, leaning back on his chair. It's the fifth time he's failed. He just can't seem to get past the part where he flies the space craft.
He checks the clock. He still has time for another try.
He pulls his chair back in and clicks the "restart" button.
The game starts once more.

My world has always been a bit boring. The moment I heard of an alternate world I could enter, I signed up.

A/N
okay I want opinions—how was that twist??
also the story I mentioned is something I actually wrote whoops self-promo (it's called Covet)
anyway I considered doing a Truman Show sort of thing
but then I opted for the virtual reality-ish thing where it was all a game