The Challenge

“Alright everybody, welcome to training!” Paityn yelled as we all stood in workout tank tops and shorts.

“It’s cold!” Isla complained.

“Look Sera, This is what needs to be done to prove yourself, now put on the goggles.”

We all took the VR goggles and put them on our heads. It felt tight and weird, I never had worn these goggles before, it’s different from the types in the city.

“WHERE ARE WE!” I yelled over the harsh wind’s swirling around us.

It’s cold, and there’s snow all around us. Our VR goggles have turned into snow goggles and our workout wear is now.

A girl with super coily dirty blonde hair pops out of nowhere.

“Hey guys!” The girl smiles at us and Isla steps forward.

“Isa?” She asks.

“Yep, it’s me. I will be explaining your challenge to you. You have to survive out here for a little while, there’s food all around that mountain over there, but you’ll have to climb it. Remember to think outside the box, after all this is a simulation.”

“Why do you look like that?” Nickolette asked, “I see similarities in your appearance, your hair is the same texture and length but a different colour and messier, your skin is a lot lighter than the tan it used to be, but your eyes are practically the same.”

“Yeah, since this is virtual reality I thought I’d have some fun and change my appearance. Now good luck!” She waved and then poofed away before she could hear our objections.

“That mountain is huge.” Elson said.

There were flags with different colours and a picture. Most of them were food items of sorts.

“I want a tent.” I said and then poof, a tent appeared.

“Wow, I can’t believe that worked!” Sanderson said, “I want to get out of here.

A projection showed up in the sky with bright red lights saying “Unable to Accept Request, Try a More Realistic One.”

“I want food.” Amias said and the sky lit up again. “You Heard the Girl, You Want Food, Climb the Mountain to the Flags. Each Color Signifies how Close it is to the Ground.”

“The capitalization of this is making me insane.” Nickolette said, looking away.

“Wow Nick, you almost sound like me!” Sanderson said and we all laughed for a bit.

Nickolette and Sanderson wouldn’t be more different. Sanderson had a flair for the dramatic, waved his arms around and talked with a lot of emotion. Nickolette was calm and naturally curious.

“I’ll climb the mountain.” I offer.

Everyone’s eyes turn towards me.

“Are you insane?” Isla asks.

“Look, it’s a simulation, plus I want to pull my weight, I’ve been a really bad friend to all you guys.”

“Friend?” Elson asked.

“Don’t push it kid” Camella says, nudging him.

“I want climbing gear.” I say and the climbing gear, plus a backpack is on the ground.

I pick it up and brush off the snow, sling it over my shoulder and steady my hands as I try to think about climbing it.

“Go for the purple flag, it’s not too high.” Elson said and I took a deep breath.

I’ve always been scared of heights, well I don’t know if it’s a fear, but it makes me uncomfortable. I won’t stop doing something High up just because of heights, but It’s not like I love them. I suppose it is far, just not one that can control me.

I walked towards the mountain and noticed little holes within them, like a climbing wall. I threw my tool up into the air and put my feet in the holes. They were icy and slippery but they held my weight, unlike if they were made of snow. The cold jolted through me and it woke me up.

My left arm is stronger than my right, so I mainly relied on my left arm to pull me up, sometimes even my foot and it didn’t take long to reach a platform with food on it, then Paityn appeared.

“Good job Cadence, this will definitely get you some bonus points.”

“You look a lot more like yourself than Isa did.” I point out.

“Unfortunately for Isa, I am not as self conscious about my appearance as she is. I’m glad I look the way I do, and I don’t have foolish fantasies about changing my appearance.”

“How long do we have to stay here?” I asked her after we kinda just awkwardly stared at each other for a bit.

“Just for the night, and don’t worry about the time switch from here to our reality, no time will have passed.”

“No time? There’s no way that’s possible, how are we supposed to sleep and survive for a whole night while no time passes in the real world?”

“Ok it’s not technically no time, there is a buffer period, but we will not be leaving you guys strapped up to the headsets overnight. It’ll take an hour, max, but most of the time five minutes is enough.”

Then before I could ask both her and I disappeared and I was back at the camp, where a tent and hut were set up.

“Boys in the tent, girls in the hut.” Camella was ordering everyone around.

“When did you get here?” Nickolette asked when she saw me appear.

“I don’t know.” I said and then did an awkward chuckle, which they did not find amusing.

“Where’s the food?” Amias asks and I realise I never picked it up.

I stayed silent and a message in the sky appeared.

“Check Your Backpack Luv” 

Sanderson ripped the backpack off my soldiers and opened it, finding enough food for all of us.

“Ew, this looks disgusting.” Guth said.

“What were you expecting a nine course meal?” Isla asked and we all laughed.

This situation is a lot like when we first met, but now we have more friends.

This simulation may be fake, but these memories, these words, this actions, these will forever be real.