My mind woke up as if shooting to the surface from a pitch-black ocean. The moment my consciousness opened, an imaginary sledgehammer struck the center of my brain. The scene was still before my eyes: Alisha's cold-bloodedness, my head separating from my torso, and that metallic, rusty smell of blood... The worst part was her final look. There was a helpless resignation in that smile; as if killing me was a twisted mercy she was offering. This thought knotted my stomach; my heart was pounding against my ribcage. Yet, a strange sense of relief prevailed: I hadn't actually died.
I sat up in bed. The perfect silhouette beside me, that artificial woman, was in a deep sleep. With her smooth skin, messy hair, and regular breathing, she was as beautiful as a work of art but just as soulless. The simulation leaving someone in my bed every cycle was making me sick now. Was this a reward, or a test designed to strain my weak will?
"Not today," I whispered, my voice lost in the silence of the room. "Maybe in another life." I started dressing quickly. My mind was locked onto today's mission. To die... But this time not as a victim, but as part of a strategy. I went to the bathroom and turned the water to the coldest setting. When the ice-cold water poured down my head, my breath cut short, my muscles went rigid. Three minutes... Four minutes... The cold was ripping the ghost of Alisha's bloody hands off my skin. My mind was clearing.
When I returned to the room, I reached for the phone on the nightstand. 11:34. I had time, but the hunger was too dominant to ignore. When I stepped into the corridor, the building's walls were shining with that vivid, hypnotic glow again. I looked closer, carefully. That smooth surface was actually composed of millions of microscopic particles, colonies of nanobots. They refracted the light, creating an illusion of reality. The only truth behind this brightness was an infinite darkness.
I entered the cafeteria from the first floor this time. Alisha was in the center of the hall. Looking at her triggered my trauma, but I couldn't run. I now knew the deadly power lying beneath that flawless physique. Taking care not to make eye contact, I got my food with controlled steps and retreated to a corner. When I checked my phone, it showed 15:35. Time was running out.
I went down to the poolside to clear my mind. The surroundings were full of the simulation's flawless extras. Women smiling, swimming, sunbathing... They were all so perfect that this perfection started to stand out, to become disturbing after a while. Just as I was watching this artificial paradise, she entered my field of view.
Her chestnut hair was blowing in the wind. She squinted slightly because of the sun's brightness. She approached me, nudging my arm lightly, friendly with her elbow. "Hey," she said, her voice like a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't get distracted. Stick to the plan." The dimple that appeared on her cheek when she smiled was the most real thing in this artificial world. "I promise you," she said, her voice softening a bit more. "Manage to reach the fourth floor. You will get the reward for this. Maybe in tomorrow's cycle..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but her promise hung in the air. This was less a cheap flirtation and more an effort to give me a branch to hold onto. "Time is running low," she said, suddenly becoming serious. "We have to go. There will be a guard change in seven minutes; the doors will be vulnerable."
When she held my hand, the warmth of her palm surprised me. She guided me to the main hall with quick but inconspicuous steps. "Your time is limited. Clasp your hands over your head, hide your body heat, and go up to the third floor from the service door in the right wing. You'll tell me everything tomorrow."
It happened as she said. The guards had vanished. This security gap couldn't be a coincidence; the system wanted us to escape, or die trying. I shouldered the service door open. Dim, gloomy stairs stretched out before me. I started climbing. I paused when I reached the third-floor door. From inside came the annoying buzzing of a broken fluorescent light: Hummm… click… hummm… click…
I took a deep breath and pushed the door. Inside was no different from an icebox. The air was heavy, metallic, and oxygen-deprived. Under the blinking lights, the corridor seemed to lengthen and shorten. Five meters... Ten meters... My foot caught on a protrusion. Before I could look down, I groaned with a sharp, burning pain stabbing my calf. My knees gave way, I collapsed to the ground, my hands reflexively clasping as I curled into a fetal position, but it was futile. The pain climbed up my leg toward my spine like a poisonous ivy. My breath cut out, my vision darkened. And then... Nothingness.
The awakening came with a violent jolt this time. When I sat up in bed, I was soaked in sweat. My heart was beating as if to tear my chest apart. A phantom pain throbbed in my calf, right where that needle had struck. The simulation etched even the memory of pain into my body. "Idiot," I muttered to my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot. "You should have watched where you were going."
My shivering stopped after minutes under the cold water. I got dressed and went down quickly. I needed to find the chestnut-haired girl. I found her in the game room, by the billiard table. Beside her was a tall, built man who looked like he had stepped out of a magazine. A feeling of inadequacy, not jealousy, twisted my stomach. Everything here seemed designed to slap my face with how flawed I was.
When she approached me, she turned to me, ignoring the man. She couldn't hide the curiosity on her face. "Good morning. Tell me, what did you learn?" "Not much," I said with a weary voice. I told her about the Sentinel robot, the trap, the pain I suffered, and how Alisha hunted me down.
She bit her lip while listening, then touched my shoulder with a wistful smile. "Don't be hard on yourself. It was your first try. But..." She narrowed her eyes at me. "I feel you acted a bit carelessly. If you're going to suffer, at least make it worth it." "You're right," I said.
She closed the distance between us. Her voice turned into a whisper. "Don't be upset. My promise still stands. Just... be more careful today. Come to me with useful data." Again that light, encouraging touch. Then she got serious. "Time is 16:47. The loop is repeating. Go, now."
Same route. Right door. Stairs. Third floor. I didn't rush this time. I kept pace with that uncanny, blinking rhythm of the corridor. Hummm... click. Light turns on, I move. Hummm... click. Darkness falls, I freeze. Then I heard that sound. Beneath the buzzing of the fluorescents, a much more threatening rhythm. Click... click-click... The strike of metallic feet on concrete. Mechanical, cold, and predatory.
I crouched at the base of the wall. Four silhouettes appeared in the darkness. Sentinels with spider-like bodies, jointed legs, and single, crimson eyes. They were scanning the walls and ceiling. Red laser beams pierced through the darkness. I held my breath. My heartbeat had turned into a deafening noise in my ears. The scanners were checking the perimeter, not the center of the corridor.
Slowly, inch by inch, I slid to the center. The clicking was getting closer. Like the ticking of death. Four meters... Two meters... Suddenly, with a mechanical buzz, four red eyes locked onto me simultaneously. The light blinded my eyes. Walls started closing in on me in my mind, hallucinations bent reality. The pain of needles stabbing my body all at once was so intense that my scream knotted in my throat. I couldn't move.
And Alisha appeared. Not like a ghost, but like an executioner. There was no hate or anger in her eyes; only a sense of duty. Her hand closed around my throat. Her nails dug into my flesh. A single sharp movement... Warmth... And darkness again.
This awakening was unlike the previous ones. My lungs rejected the air; I was coughing as if drowning. My hand went involuntarily to my throat; my fingers sought a gash, a tear there, but my skin was intact. Yet that sensation of strangulation, that pressure, was still there. Sweat burned my eyes, my mind was splitting into pieces. Who was I? Where was I? Seconds, minutes later reality fell into place. Needles. Red eyes. Alisha.
I sat on the edge of the bed. My head was spinning, but there was a newly sprouting feeling inside me. This wasn't fear. It wasn't anger either. It was pure, unadulterated stubbornness. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. The terror in my eyes had been replaced by a cold determination. There had to be a way. And I would find that way, no matter how many times I had to die.