Transit

No one beats the Sim.

Sterling tried to push the thought of impending defeat out of his mind as he ran through the dimly lit subterranean tunnel. The sounds of footfalls echoed through the pipe as his sneakers splashed against the swelling waters. Ahead of him, the single file line of teens continued on their path through the rusted drainage system trying to escape before the trailing wave could overtake them.

A few steps ahead of him, he watched as the girl with the long braided ponytail stumbled and fell face first into the slimy water. She propped herself up in the muck while the kid trailing behind her dodged to the side and kept running. Sterling stopped and reached a long, skinny arm down and pulled her back up to her feet. Without saying a word, she took off sprinting down the tunnel leaving sprays of water in her wake.

“You’re welcome,” he muttered.

The tall, lanky teen bringing up the rear of the group shook his head and then returned to the race to find a way out. Squinting as he ran, he watched the bright light at the end of the tunnel grow in intensity with each stride, overtaking the dull fluorescents lining the curved, algae covered walls. Finally he neared the end of the passage and could see beyond the pipe to where the narrow tunnel emptied out into a small chamber with a pair of circular openings on the wall on the other side.

No one survives the Sim...

Leaping from the tunnel into the sunlit chamber, he pushed the nagging thought out of his mind hoping that this time things would be different. Every day, he broke off early from scavenging to log on to the one class that he never missed where he actually had a passing grade with the hope that he could beat the Sim. As he now neared the hour mark, he hoped that today might be that day.

He looked upward, and could see the clouds from the outside world hundreds of feet overhead and then glanced back towards his group. The cluster of teens that had been randomly assembled by the system paused to catch their breaths in water that was now above their ankles. As usual, this assortment of kids looked different from his neighborhood and this was the only realm of the world where the playing field was oddly leveled. No matter how much money they had or where they came from, they took this course and were destined for the same fate. And now all of the members of the group stared at the two round holes on the other side of the moss covered chamber.

“Which way do we go?” The stocky kid with the long dreads whined as the sound of the rushing water grew louder in the background.

Quickly, Sterling headed over and peered inside both openings that each had a rusted metal door on hinges hanging ajar. He could see that inside the hole on the left a busted ladder missing rungs led upward while the hole on the right held a wide pipe sloping upward.

“This one. I think we’re better taking our chances on the ladder and maybe I can get the door shut to keep us dry,” he pointed to the left as he decided the fate of the group. “We need to get moving.”

No one argued. The short, pale girl with the round, rosy cheeks who had fallen earlier pushed her way inside first and started climbing up the rusted rungs. Sterling shook his head as the rest of the group entered the cramped space.

Another priv looking to save her own skin…

The ladder creaked and swayed as she struggled to make her way up.

“One at a time,” he added as the eager kid who was next in line reached for the ladder.

He turned back towards the opening and examined the round, metal door while the others got in line. Grabbing the circular handle with both hands and pushing with all his might, he nearly forced the hatch closed but the portal didn’t shut all the way and it couldn’t be locked. Getting on the ground in the cool waters, he sat and braced himself against the floor pushing his legs out until they reached the bottom rung of the iron stairs. The hatch creaked as it closed a little more.

“Keep moving.”

There were three others left to go still, and none of them offered to take his place as one particularly pale kid actually stepped over him to get to the rungs and exit the drainage area. Although he tried to focus on getting the group to safety, he could feel his irritation building knowing that he probably just helped a bunch of privs that wouldn’t pause for even a second to help him. But leaving your group in the Sim wasn’t an option in the programming, which always left him stuck with whoever was assigned. The group had to succeed to have any chance at all and he truly believed that a different ending had to be possible if he could just make the right combination of choices.

The thunder on the other side increased in intensity as the oncoming wave would soon crash into the chamber on the other side of the rickety door. Bracing himself, Sterling prepared for the impact as he sat in the water, determined to keep the door mostly closed for those few extra seconds until it was his turn. Looking up, he watched the last kid hop on to the bottom rung and start scurrying upwards. The ladder broke free at the base and swung limply as he reached the next level.

Just when Sterling was able to get up to take his turn, an explosion of thunder was paired with the force of the steel pounding into his back as the water slammed against the portal. Unable to hold shut, the door burst open and knocked him loose into the rising waters. The swirling current swept him up while he struggled to keep his head above the crest. Looking towards the ceiling, he saw the boy get high enough to avoid being swept away with the busted ladder that broke free from the wall. For now, that kid would get away but the truth was that they all were only postponing the inevitable.

No one beats the Sim.

Sterling stewed in disappointment while he swirled in the rising, cold, dark water and the world went black.

He stepped off his mat and removed his helmet to let in the light from the bulb dangling from a wire in the ceiling overhead.