My School Stories~ 2 Choice of Reality~

"Turn it on, Major," My eyes meet Alex's. They are glazed with fear yet determination. "I'm going in and never coming back." Alex's eyes fill with artificial tears. "Don't leave me, oh please don't leave me!" Her arms wrap around my waist as she pulls me into a tight embrace. Her fragrance perfume wafts to my nose. I take a sniff and crack a smile as I think of when we were children. She was never girly until just a few years ago. "Alright fine," I feel her heart beat faster. "I couldn't leave you here alone anyways." Her and I both enter the inside of the machine. As I was only ready for one person, and now there is two, space is cramped. We tightly wrap our arms around each other as my left arm reaches for the dial. I give a huge crank. "I guess we're going to 2136!" I wrap my left arm back around her. "Oh no, I think I have teleporting gate sickness!" Alex squeaks from parted lips. Her arms squeeze my torso. My face gets flushed and filled with color many times. My cheeks puff. After what felt like forever, the smoke escapes from the top hatch and stops the shaking. The sound of canopy leaves brushes against the top of the machine. A loud piercing roar hits our ears before we can set out. The grinding nut and bolts below us swivel and finally give out. They spark as they rusted pieces pop off. The sliding metal door opens as wires spring out from both sides. Another ear-piercing roar hits the side of our hearing organs. Both of our gazes look from each other to straight in front of us and through the holographic horizon.

We both let out a small groan, to try and not disturb what lays in front of us. Two large and magnificent rainbow reptiles drink from the fresh and sparkling spring water. Out of confusion and surprise, Alex and I both start jotting down what we see. "Gray weathered grass that seems to be unharmed, the bright pink color of the sky. The water line that meets the ocean to the sky is a deep and wonderous purple. And these fruits!" I look up and gently snatch one of them from above us. The fruit is large and bright yellow with fun stripes and dots. I take a small bite and taste the sourness of it all. "It's so good!" My mouth waters and dribbles as the sweet nectar drips from my lower lip and to my chin. "What a paradise." Alex whispers.

We get stiff as our minds flicker as well as everything around us. The colors go away and fade into a dark stadium. The reptiles, juicy fruit, its all gone. "This is the music we would listen to as teenagers, it was.. Yeah! This is from Persona." The soft Korean lyrics fill our heads. I arch my back and hold my ears in pain. I'm practically crawling on the floor. Everything goes black. I don't see Alex and she doesn't see me, but we can hear each other. "Alex?" "Savannah?" "I think someone or something started to work the mind enhancements we destroyed a few years ago." She lets out a sigh. In a matter of seconds, her nose is against mine and we have no control over our bodies. I feel something tightly grab my wrists and my ankles as well as my torso. My limbs change from a ray of color as well as hers. Our paralyzed lips can't make out any words, so our screams muffle. We try thinking our way out of this again but there is no use. "Yes, scream for your Master!" a loud voice bellows from the shadows. "Come my puppets, entertain me!" Our limbs dance around as we let out quiet yells that fade to whispers as our voices scratch. "Yes, Master…" My eyes fog up as I lean my head. I black out.

Chapter end