GREY

I stood in the middle of an empty room with bright white walls and wood floors. I knitted my brows in confusion at the change of setting. What is this?

I suddenly heard a subtle rushing, crashing noise that grew louder by the second.

A huge body of water bursted into the room and surrounded me, wetting my black jeans. The sudden freezing temperature shot a shiver down my spine.

It was almost up to my knees and it rose rapidly. My chest heaved, my heart pounded against my lungs. I attempted to walk but the rising, rough, deep blue water made each step heavy and difficult.

I lost my footing and slapped my hand against the wall to keep me from going under. I knew that would eventually become inevitable pretty soon.

The water was now above my waist and I began to float. Panic wracked my body as I got closer to the ceiling the more the water level continued to heighten.

I tried to keep myself above surface as long as I could with my hands and nose pressed against the ceiling. It was up to my neck. My breathing patterns became irregular.

This was it.

I sucked in a deep breath and plunged into the water. I swam out of the fully submerged room to a larger empty room with the same brown wooden floors. It almost looked like a studio with it's tall white columns. I swam through and spotted a hallway.

This whole setup was weird. It was like a big unfurnished house.

I found another doorway once I was in the hallway and swam in. My arms were starting to feel strained from all the swimming. I kicked my legs and stroked my arms faster, desperate for air.

After swimming through yet another empty room, I entered another, relieved to see the surface.

I shot up from the water, inhaling the needed air into my deprived lungs.

As I panted, I surveyed my surroundings. I was in a black walled room with nothing but the large square opening containing the body of water.

I swam to the edge and lifted myself out, several droplets dripping from my soaked body and splatting onto the ground. I slipped off my white sweater, feeling the cool air bite at my bare arms. My sodden white tank top clung to me.

There was a doorway straight ahead so I exited the room and saw a white arrow on the wall to my left. Pointing straight. With skepticism, I followed, water droplets trailing behind me. The arrows were on every other wall.

I followed the given directions, constantly making turns down narrow hallways with hollow rooms on each side. It was the exact setup as the area I just swam through with the exception of black walls.

I contorted my brows and slowly came to halt coming up on a grey narrow room containing a pool of clear aqua blue water. Lights were built into the wall below the water giving the pool a glimmer.

A metallic grey colored wall closed the strange rectangular room in. There was a doorway several feet away from me on my right and the only way to get to it was to swim.

I shuffled towards the edge of the pool. "Seriously?"

I huffed a breath of exhaustion before diving in head first, freestyle stroking to the exit. I frowned when at the edge of the pool, there was an unloaded gun with ammo arranged neatly next to it.

I got out of the pool with my drenched heavy clothes weighing me down. Looking through the doorway, it was like deja vu. The same bland setup. But now, I was supplied with a gun.

So now, this peculiar little game is about to change.

I loaded and locked the gun effortlessly. The click of the metal satisfied my ears.

I walked through the eerily quiet hall. Taking each step cautiously with my gun held up at arms length, entering and exiting the several empty unfurnished rooms. They were interconnected, the exit to one room was the entryway for another.

The anticipation started to eat away at my sides. I could hear the pound of my heart in my ears. But something felt different.

I stopped dead in my tracks and lowered my arm when I realized my . . . outfit changed.

I was in a leather suit. A black long sleeved leather top in a cracked design.

The leather bottoms fit snugly around my legs. I wore high black wedged boots.

There was a holster for my gun at my hip and one strapped around my thigh - with another gun placed in it. I took in my new appearance with astonishment.

How.

I let out a sharp breath and continued to walk. Only to be stopped again when I saw a man standing in a doorway in a far distance. He threw daggers at me through eyes.

I walked slowly toward him with squinted eyes. I stopped once more and turned my head to the side, sensing another presence. Another man.

I smirked. "Well I guess it's playtime."

Within seconds I swung my elbow back and jammed it into the man's face and kicked my foot back, ramming it into his crotch. I heard him grumble his way to floor in pain.

The other man in front, charged toward me. I slid down on one knee and swiveled my other leg around so that the back of my heel clashed with his shin and the ground was swept from under him. The man's back hit the floor with a loud thud.

My head was yanked back by a handful of my hair from behind. I scrunched my face in pain, trying to undo their grip as my body was lugged up from the ground. He then wrapped an arm around my stomach and lifted me up. I kicked and hit at his arm violently.

The other guy on the ground, staggered to his feet and pulled out a gun. Before he could even wrap his finger around the trigger, I kicked my foot to the bottom of it and the gun went flying out of his hand.

Quickly, I snatched the gun holstered at my thigh and chucked the hard piece of metal at his face. I sprung my leather clad legs up and hooked them around his neck in a deadlock.

He smacked and clawed at my legs, which only caused me to tighten my hold. The man holding me attempted to take steps back, but I ended up dragging my victim with me.

His face was began to color cherry red. His retaliation started to slow down. Finally, his eyes rolled back and body collapsed to the floor.

I pulled out the other gun at my hip and positioned it downwards. Blindly aiming down at my captors foot, I pulled the trigger. The man's shout of agony told me that I aimed right.

He dropped me and I smacked against the floor. He was now curled next me squeezing the gash in foot.

I stood to my feet, grabbing both guns and placing them back into their place. I took one last look at the man dealing with his anguishing pain and smirked.

When I walked out of the room, the scenery finally had changed. I was in the spacious studio with grimy grey floors and black colored columns.

I inched further in and saw a digital clock with vibrant red numbers ready to count down, hung on the wall. There was a black rectangular button that read DONE in white letters under the timer.

3 minutes, the clock read.

Suddenly the room became restricted with bright red streams of laser, beaming on every inch of the room. The walls to the floors to the ceiling.

The timer began to count down. I wondered what would happen if the timer went off, but something told me I didn't want to find out.

Ever so carefully, I weaved my way under and over the lethal beams. Bending and ducking my body strategically.

2:00.

I still had a long way across. There was no way I could make it. I dived my body down to the floor, in a push up position. My body inches away from a red beam. My arms felt strained. The tick of my clock made my chest heave and anxiety spark up.

Thirty seconds.

I can't do this.

Twenty seconds.

I was on the verge of relieving my arms and crashing to the floor.

Ten seconds.

But I came to a realization and a sudden idea hit me like a brick.

Nine seconds. 

Remaining in the same position, I carefully pulled out my gun and aimed it at the ticking clock with narrowed eyes. Just aim and shoot, Xander's words came to mind.

I fired and hit my target victoriously. The clock blew up and white electric sparks sprang into the air.

I shot up from my seat with a gasp.

Grant rushed over from behind me with his mouth ajar. I ripped the suctions off my temples with trembles hands, panting.

"Hey, hey," Grant whispered, gaining my focus.

I clutched his arm in worry. "You said I wouldn't remember."

"You remember your Sim Test?" He asked.

I nodded and his eyes went wide.

*

XANDER

"How'd she do?" I asked curiously, leaning against the glass doorway of Vera's office.

"Oo wouldn't you like to know," She teased, skimming over papers to what I surmised to be Grey's results.

I did want to know. She's only been here for two and half months and Vera already has her taking the Sim Test. Which contained the power to practically destroy her mind.

"Well?" I asked impatiently.

"She passed . . . All four assessments. Her results show that she has recollection of the test."

There's no way.

A smile bloomed on Vera's face.

GREY

As I headed down the hall with Deeliah, I rubbed my arms, attempting to rid my body of its tingling. Grant wouldn't tell me what remembrance of the test meant. He didn't tell me anything.

Did I pass, did I fail?

Deeliah held a small platinum silver briefcase. She lead me down the residence hall where Society Agents reside.

"Remind me why we're walking down here."

Deeliah seemed to have extra pep in her step today, she wore a small smile on her face the whole walk.

She swiped her card over the card reader to a room and the door clicked open. She swung in the door, allowing me to walk in first. The room was similar to the one I inhabited now, but it was bigger.

Instead of a low platformed bed, there was a king sized bed with a dark grey heavy plush duvet. An empty bookcase stood against the wall near the desk. A body lengthened mirror was screwed into place on the door.

"Your new room," She gestured to the immense sized room and placed the brief case on the bed. A radiant smile on her face.

I looked at her perplexedly.

"Come," Deeliah walked over a accent grey metallic colored wall. "Now lay your hand there," She pointed to a specific area.

I hesitantly pressed my hand against the cool wall and small white strips of light lit up in a circle. A doorway sized portion of the wall then slid back slowly and my moth fell ajar.

The area was lit up with white light as a mannequin stood in the middle. Wearing an outfit.

Scenes of the Sim Test flashed through my mind.

The suit.

"Oh thats not all," Deeliah went to the bed and grabbed the silver briefcase. She signaled for me to come over as she undid the latches. My heart skipped a beat when I saw what was revealed.

A gun. The slide was a shiny gold while the rest remained jet black. Deeliah took the gun out of the case and handed it to me.

I took it in my hands and noticed that my name was engraved on the slide of the gun.

I looked at it with contorted brows, switching my gaze from the gun to the suit. I knew what this meant.

"You passed the Sim. Congratulations Grey, you're a Society Agent."

_______________________________

A/N - Grey is an Society Agent now! 😱 Yay or nay?

so the first 10 chapters are all up and I just want to know if you guys are liking this story? Is it well written enough and intriguing? bc I doubt myself so much.

My hopes are that is does just as good as Into the Woods, if not better 🙏🏽🙏🏽.

I can tell you rn, that things are gonna start speeding up for sure now and I'm so excited for you guys to see what I have in store - and I hope you like it 😝

Votes/Comments, are much appreciated xx

- kya h. ♡