I woke up on the side of the street in what looked like the Factionless part of town. I got up when I noticed two men that looked Factionless who were carrying a hatchet each. My gaze of fear at them was interrupted by the appearance of a bow and quiver filled with five arrows on my left, and a full set of clothing, with food on my right. I looked back at the men. They were nearing now, but still far away. I could grab the arrow, and shoot them, not knowing if they would hurt me, or why they would if they did. Or, I could offer the clothing, only hoping that they wouldn't kill me. I couldn't make up my mind, then again, there was a part of me, that knew that this was a simulation. If I killed them, it wouldn't matter. If I gave them the clothes, it wouldn't matter. At that point, I knew what I was going to do. I rolled up my sleeves and prepared my fingers nearing the two choices. It would be very difficult to fight the simulation this way, but when I thought that I got close enough, I quickly snatched up both choices and held them close to my chest, waiting for the simulation to tug one away from me, or make one disappear.
Nothing happened and I looked to see where the men were. They were about 20 meters away by now. It was now or never. I approached them carefully, like when I had first woken up to this world. They suddenly came to a halt in unison when we were about 15 meters apart. My heart beat heavy and fast in my chest. The Factionless man on my right, held the hatchet like a throwing knife, and I put the clothes down next to me, to draw forward an arrow. The Factionless man flung his weapon at me but I dodged and shot an arrow at him. It hit his chest, but he was already bleeding too much. His limp body soon tumbled to the ground shortly after. I felt a pain in my heart and winced. but I couldn't run. Not now. I came forward to the other Factionless man to offer the clothing and food. He snatched it from my hand, but gave me a smile of gratitude despite the fact that I killed his brother, minuets ago.
Three doors on the left of the street caught my eye, but each looked different. Somehow, I knew where each door lead. The one on the left was a decorated wood door, that lead to a library, the one on the right, to a court, and the one in the center looked like it lead to a building that lead to a farm far away. I inched closer to the doors, looking carefully at them. What was the purpose for these doors? I did not know. I started towards the library. It would be the most comfortable place in a simulation. I opened the heavy door. It creaked as it moved. Inside, books were stacked on shelves that reached so high, that I couldn't see the tops of them. In the center of the room, was a desk where a librarian sat, staring at an old computer that looked like a white block. She looked up at me. Her face looked younger now, but a frown didn't help take away the cold shiver down that crept down my spine. I shifted to the left and looked up at the shelves, trying to ignore the stare of the librarian.
"Have you ever taken out this book?" Asked the librarian in a voice that sounded like Jeanine's.
My eyes shot back at her. The book she held in her hand was one about biology. It seemed familiar, but their was a punishment in Erudite for overdue books because chances were, that someone else wanted that book, and the facts within it. I gave a worried look, but I knew also that I returned that book when I was finished with it, before I took the assessment that Jeanine gave me before I became a member of Erudite. But the question was not if I still had the book, but if I had ever taken it out. "yes," I said in a small voice. Instantly, the simulation stopped, and i found myself back in the room with Jeanine in front of me. She held a worried look as she stared at a tablet that probably had my results, but she fixed her face to look more confidant, when she felt my presence in the room. Her watery blue eyes stared at me in disbelief.
" Um... that, will be all Kristen," Jeanine whispered to me and took out a hand to help me out of the aptitude chair. Her hands were cold as they touched my back when she lead me out of the room. "Go, to the apartment, we will discuss what has happened there,"
I meandered back to the apartment. Once there, I spent the evening lying on my bed, staring up at the white ceiling. Somehow, I fell into a light sleep, but even that was faintly disturbed by worried thoughts turned into nightmares.