A Training Simulation
We started the simulation first thing in the morning, relieving the anticipation for it was much more important than trivial matters such as hunger and thirst.
We needed to finish this trial, we needed to come out victorious, no matter the circumstance. If I can't even accomplish something like this, I don't deserve to become an agent.
That is my ultimate goal, isn't it?
Become an agent and use that status to make my road much clearer, that seems like the most logical proposition for me to accomplish this.
But this, this is just the beginning, even though it seemed like a challenge yesterday, it shouldn't be so today.
We've had more than enough time being eaten alive by anxiety, now is the time when nothing should be on our minds but our goals, our aspirations.
That, that will push us to the other side.
"We'll start your training simulation today. I hope you all are prepared." Bob said as he stood tall with a confident face on his shoulders.
Was it confidence that we should accomplish this, or confidence in our defeat, it was hard to tell.
He stood there and pushed his hand into the mat behind him as if there were a secret passage beneath that mat.
A tubular large machine shot up from the floor, catching all of us by surprise, so much so that it even alarmed Sofia, someone who always has their guard up.
"Your mission will be given to you by JIL."
"JIL?" Paul asked, jumping forward with the question that surfaced within all of us.
"Yes, she is the AI system here that assists agents in training and on missions as well… Just take these earpieces and you'll be able to hear her while you're in the simulation. You'll also be able to hear me as well."
"Wow, they really make sure the youth program is well funded here." My father said, for once complete nonsense didn't exit his mouth.
The earpieces were extremely light, as if it weren't there, to begin with.
They looked a lot smaller than the average Bluetooth earpieces that are sold to the public, and they were white, but as soon as it touched my hand, it became transparent.
It attached to my ear as if it were a magnet, this is some serious tech, I should expect no less from the justice agency that I recently discovered.
All three of us stepped into the tube that shot from the ground, taking initiative, something we had trouble with yesterday.
"Good luck." Bob said. Then without much pause, the doors swiftly closed.
It didn't take long for the elevator to do its job, but its speed was much faster than your average elevator, which isn't as fun as one would think.
"Why the hell is it going this fast for?!" Paul exclaimed, looking nervous with the unwarranted speed of the elevator.
I hate stuff that moves like this too, but it was better if I kept my vulnerabilities to myself, this reminds me of a theme park.
"Hah! I remember your first time at Galaxyland, you were puking everywhere!" thanks for the morale booster dad…
It felt just like a roller coaster, an uncontrollable speed that shouldn't be experienced, or should, maybe that was its purpose, giving the members a boost in adrenaline prior to their mission of failure.
Just as I thought it would never stop, it began to slow down, and feel similar to an elevator and not a roller coaster.
"We're T-Minus 10 seconds from arrival." a crisp, clear voice spoke into my right ear.
It didn't sound like an average AI that comes with the latest smartphone, no, it sounded a bit more intense than that, it sounded human.
"What type of simulation is this anyway?"
"A mission." Sofia replied, telling me what I already know, I'm not sure if that was on purpose or not though, her monotone attitude didn't help giving me the answer to that as well.
"I hope it'll be something interesting, like a hostage situation or something" Paul exclaimed, showing much more interest than yesterday during our training.
"We have arrived."
This is it, the moment we've been waiting for, our first official test.
I could feel the tension within the elevator, everyone was tense, but still prepared for whatever was behind those doors.
This is what we came here for, no matter the challenge, we have to overcome it, we have to prove that this is nothing more than a hurdle and not the finish line.
"I'm so nervous…" Ryu whispered, of course, the only one verbalizing their nerves isn't even with us, sometimes I wonder if there's ever a filter to him.
Maybe one day I can get him out of my head, but now isn't the time for that, I need to stay focused on the mission at hand, and nothing like my father having conversations with me while he remains six feet deep.
The doors swiftly swung open, catching me somewhat off-guard even though it was right in front of me.
The area in front of us was pitch black, the only source of light was coming from the elevator, which wasn't much.
It was just enough to see a building in the distance, however, barely to say the least though as fog surrounded the environment outside the elevator.
It's as if we were actually outside, it smelled like it had just rained and the crickets were harmonious within the darkness.
If I wasn't told of a simulation prior, I wouldn't question the authenticity of what awaited us outside of the elevator.
"There are two floors within the building ahead, your mission is to rescue the hostages within the building."
"Aww man, a hostage mission! Sweet!" Paul was excited, which was shocking, to say the least.
"You will be at a disadvantage, the enemy will have weapons and you won't. Make sure to save all 7 Hostages within the building" Bob relayed, dropping a huge weight onto our shoulders. "Weapons? How does that even make sense, isn't this computerized?"
"My point exactly, this is a simulation, so how is it possible for them to have weapons?" Sofia added, just as curious as I.
"It is a simulation and it isn't real but while you're in the simulation everything you feel in there will feel real… including pain" Bob relayed.
"Ok—" I should've expected a response like that… "—how should we start then?"
"Maybe just go through the front?" Paul replied.
"Alright, we should stick together and sweep the first floor and whatever remains should be on the second. We should work from there. If they have weapons and we don't, it'd be best if we don't get split up." Sofia replied, she already planned ahead, something I didn't really give much thought to as I remained focused purely on the simple fact that we have no idea what is just ahead of those doors, anything can be waiting there for us.
It could be an ambush waiting for us, I bet Mr. Bob would love to see how we handle ourselves in a situation like that.
I need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, I can't let something like that surprise me, that's what would get us killed, the worst-case scenario.
"Ok—I think I'm ready, let's go."
This is just the beginning, I know this will be a process and I'm ready for whatever challenge awaits to get better…
I have to do this for you…
I'm tired of sitting around and waiting for something, from now on, if I want something done, I have to do it myself.
If I want the person who is responsible for your death to be brought to justice, I'll have to do it myself, no one else but me… Father…
The inside was dark, broken lights spanned across it, and remains from its former life were scattered throughout the walkways.
"Can we ask JIL for blueprints to the building?" Sofia asked, directing her question at Mr. Bob.
"Good question, but blueprints are not available to you, so keep moving."
And so we did, even though there wasn't much to navigate other than poorly lit halls, we decided to head for the only one with a staircase at the end of it.
We could easily ignore the three rooms that separate us from the staircase, but that isn't the best choice to do, especially if we're here looking for hostages, they could be anywhere.
"We each can check a room to see what's inside, if there is more than one enemy inside, do not proceed. Yuki, you get the left, me and Paul will get the two on the right." Sofia commanded.
It was a bit of a surprise at how natural it came off her tongue, it's as if this was nothing more than child's play to her.
We naturally followed her commands because she seemed like she knew what she was doing, and me and Paul obviously had no clue how to do something like this.
She is one person you don't want to be enemies with.
The door was closed, all of them were, but contemplating certain entrances could be bothersome, what should I do, how should I do it?
I can try to remain silent, and catch the potential enemy off guard, even though it is almost certain they'll be watching the only accessway into the room.
Maybe I should just follow suit of the others, I'm sure they didn't take this long deciding something so meaningless as certain entryways into the room that may be empty.
Paul didn't hesitate at all, entering his assigned room as aggressively as possible by kicking in the door and shouting "Who in here?!".
I couldn't quite get his character, sometimes he showed to be a perfect agent, even being forgotten in plain sight, and sometimes he was as abrasive as a territorial primate, what was his deal?
Nonetheless, this seemed like the best way to enter.
"I think it's better if you enter quietly, son."
"Who's in here?!" I gave the door a solid kick, which it caved in accordingly, but not without the pain of jamming my toe on the door.
"Welp… at least I tried warning you…"
The room was as poorly lit as the hall before it, and it contained nothing more than two individuals tied up in the center of this room that was no bigger than a walk-in closet.
Something wasn't right here, other than the obvious of the two hostages sitting in the room, why weren't they trying to escape by now, being that they are unattended for.
There's only one blind spot in here, that's… behind me!
A swift spin and blind block was just enough to halt a knife from plummeting into my chest, it's just as I thought, a man, masked, which only led me to properly assume him as the enemy.
"You thought you could save the hostages you fool?!"
I see, so the simulation remained PG in language even though we're in a hostage simulation.
I still couldn't believe how real the man in front of me felt, his weight being brought down onto my forearm felt as if I was really wrestling someone, as if I was actually a few seconds away from being stabbed by a masked criminal.
A simple hook to the gut, which was wide open with him now wielding his weapon with both of his hands attempting to make the final push into my chest, should do the trick.
He swiftly fell to his knees, gasping for air as he… he disintegrated into digital particles… It was like a video game.
That was a lot easier than I expected, this can't be it, can it?
Once I freed the two hostages, I headed back to the hall behind them, where Sofia and Paul were waiting as if I took too long with my room, what the hell were these two made of?
"That's four, that means we have 3 more on the second floor" Sofia said.
The second floor, it didn't take long for all of us to find ourselves halfway there, and there they were, the last three hostages.
They were bound much like the ones from the first floor, and sat in front of a half masked man that looked over 7 foot in stature, wielding an oversized sledgehammer that looked small compared to his size.
His lustful grin for destruction flashed under his half mask, it was a ski mask that couldn't fit his head, which I couldn't determine whether to laugh or be even more frightened at that.
This man wasn't someone you'd normally see holding three people hostage, he was large enough to be in a championship for weightlifting or something, his build and height was too large to be wasted on something so minuscule as this.
"I didn't know there was going to be real criminals here?" Sofia said under her breath, maintaining our hidden position in the process.
"What… he's a real criminal?..."
"That man… his name is Lester Nelson…"