Landon and Logan brought Isabel and Lucia to the reception, shoving them in front of them. Isabel was puzzled by the change of behavior, yet she remained silent, not wanting to look nosy. Instead, she stood next to her sister, watching her cautiously, to make sure she was completely safe. Although the camp was a place for children and teenagers, the eldest couldn’t imagine losing the only one she had left. Well, that’s what she thought. For now.
Lucia was nervous, and she didn’t even try to hide it. She was chewing on her lower lip, her gaze wandering around, as if she was afraid a zombie would attack her. Her hands were gripping the dagger from time to time, her eyebrows dancing as she tried to catch her breathing. Isabel’s heart pounded against her chest; she felt bad about her idea of bringing Lucia here. She looked like she was about to snap, faint, freak out. Although it was the safest solution, the girl didn’t like to see her like that.
She tried to focus on the room where they were. Lucia was on her right side, Landon was on her left, and Logan on her sister’s right. They were protected, and that’s what mattered. Could the men be trusted? Indeed, because if they wanted to kill them, they would’ve killed them already. They had that one reassuring aura, but that cuts you off from getting attached to it, because of the brutal coldness they had. Their gazes were piercing and icy, and they looked heartless. Well, that’s how they learned to grow, that's the mission Never show your emotions.
That’s what Lucia told her too. Her deep brown hair fell in front of her eyes as she lowered her chin, before she lifted her head and began scrutinizing every detail. Any way that she could escape if something bad happened. Isabel had her gun, and Lucia her dagger. Most of all, they had their luggage that they had to keep safe, considering all they needed was there.
The room was lit by a golden chandelier, hanging by the ceiling. It wasn’t much of a welcoming place neither the main entrance. Men stood by the door, holding submachine guns, black sunglasses covering their eyes. What were they doing? She didn’t have a clue. What were they waiting for? Isabel was about to discover it.
“Isabel and Lucia Fletcher.” A voice called out, almost robotically.
As if they had practiced that gesture multiple times in their lifetime, the sisters nodded their heads simultaneously, searching for the source of the voice. But there wasn’t anyone. Correction, it was robotical, mechanical. Probably enhanced intelligence into artificial intelligence.
“To that door.” Landon whispered, leaning to her level, “They’re waiting for you, come on. Don’t make them wait.”
“Who’s they?” She questioned, arching her brows in curiosity.
Yet Landon didn’t respond, his gaze locked on the door he gestured earlier. The eldest sighed. Visibly, she wasn’t getting answers today. Squeezing her sister’s hand tighter, she tilted her head and pursed her lips, trying to make her understand that they had to go. Lucia understood, and so, side to side, Landon, and Logan behind, they opened the door, their hearts beating faster.
As soon as they entered, the door closed behind them, as they found themselves in a blank room, with nothing. Every time she coughed, gasped, or made any sound; she would hear her voice again. But...There wasn’t anything in this place. Just a blank. Just a simple white room.
Then, Lazarus appeared in front of them, having a calm and relaxed expression. Almost too calm. The man joined his hands together and grinned, gesturing around as his voice echoed around the room.
“Beautiful, isn’t it? A room where everything can come true, and that imagination rules the place! It’s awesome!”
“What do you think everything can come true?” Lucia replied as she squeezed her sister’s hand tighter, knotting her brows together in confusion and fear.
Isabel responded to her gesture, comforting her with the strength of her black gaze. Lucia relaxed, but she still stared at Lazarus as if he was a potential threat to their survival. If looks could kill, Lazarus would be dead right now. But it wasn’t hatred, but anticipation.
“Oh. It’s metaphoric.” Mr. Jalikee shrugged, “But I guess you’ll figure it out quite soon.”
Suddenly, the man became a clown. His hair colored multicolor as a clown makeup drew itself in his face, and suddenly, he was wearing a bloody tuxedo holding a knife. It was terrifying. Lucia could’ve told you it too, as she screamed and hanged her sister’s arm, shaking. Isabel, her, didn’t react as much. SHe froze and stared at him in fear, wondering how such a thing could be possible.
“Please, change back to normal...” The youngest cried silently, shaking.
“Indeed, I just needed an example for you to get used to it.” Lazarus spoke simply, snapping his fingers, coming back to his usual self, “That’s called an illusion, that isn’t magic, if you want to know. My team has been working on illusions. Ten years earlier, we knew this was going to happen, so we’re more advanced in the technologies than the others.”
Lucia catched her breath, but Isabel remained thoughtful, her throat tightening. All of this was planned. But what about her wish? Was it planned in the future, was it known that she was going to make a wish and destroy humanity? The teenager preferred not to think about it.
“Now, it will be the time to test your fears. To test your abilities. We will do this to judge where you belong in the leagues, and what type of training is necessary for you.” The man spoke simply, mentioning this as if it wasn’t anything bad.
“M-my fears? But what if I don’t want to fear them?” Lucia asked, her eyes widening.
“You’ll have to find a way to either calm yourself down or beat the creature. Depends on what it is.” Lazarus then shifted to the youngest, his expression hardening slightly as he raised a brow. “Nobody wants to face their fears. But you made the choice to come over, so now you must”
Lucia stared at her sister with hatred, her eyes holding thunderstorms. The concerned one’s shoulder slumped down, avoiding her gaze. She knew what her sister's worst fear was, and she wasn’t ready to face it. Getting killed by someone she used to know. Isabel didn’t know why, but her sister feared it. And truly, she would have to defend herself, because even though it was an illusion, she could die.
“Good luck, girls. Only remember this is an illusion, and nothing is real. Well, you might get hurt, but don’t worry, we’ll take you to our health center if ever we will be able to save you. Do your best. We don’t know what your fear is, but we’ll evaluate you, and most of them pass.”
Slowly, Mr. Jalikee’s body began to fade, as the girls found themselves secluded in the white room. Then, they got pushed away by an odd force, separating them into two different rooms. Isabel looked around, but she couldn’t see her sister. They could only see each other when they finished. It’s fine, they’re filming us, and all of this is an illusion, the eldest thought as she tried to reassure herself.
“The tests will be starting in thirty seconds. 30, 29, 28, 27...”
The voice kept on counting less and less, as both sisters stood in their secluded place, wondering how they’d do it. Taking deep breaths, Isabel whispered to herself quietly I can do it, I bet I’m not scared of anything.
***
Lucia was sitting on a swing, in the school's playground. Her friend Natalia would be swinging next to her, laughing as they discussed the weather. Their favorite colors, their new crush or the gym teacher’s weird comment on the last course. Lucia adored Natalia. She was a genuinely nice kid, and she knew her since ever they were babies. Unfortunately, it was all an illusion. Lucia wasn’t here. She was in that white room. But now, she was stuck in a moment of pure ecstasy.
“Come on, Lu, I have to show you something!” Her best friend’s voice called her out, as she lifted her butt from the swing, smiling widely, to reveal her plain teeth and her pursed lips.
“I’m coming!” The girl spoke as she followed Natalia, moving robotically.
She was stuck in a trance. She felt like she was watching it, but at the same time, she lived it. It was troubling. Yet the youngest didn’t understand it just yet. She stepped through the forest sheepishly, strolling, her boots kicking sunflowers as the sun warmed her skin.
After a while, her friend stopped, speaking in an enchanting voice, her eyes glimmering with anticipation. Her warm smile became a creepy grin, and her gaze was no longer soft. It was dark, and creepy. Suddenly, her white dress was covered with blood stains, and she stilted her head.
“I have to show you something.”
When Lucia finally understood what happened, she felt like she couldn’t move. She was frozen in place, her gaze lost in air as her jaw dropped; she shook with fear, trying to compose herself. This was an illusion; all of this was fake. The only thing she had to do was to convince herself of that, and make this nightmare stop.
“T-thank you, Natalia, but I don’t want any gifts....” The girl whimpered, stepping away as she looked down.
Natalia pulled out a dagger, looking even more crazy than before. She laughed maniacally, and the sun was setting down, leaving place for crows to sit in the trees.
“Come on, it won’t hurt you...”
“This is all a lie. You’re not real, you’re not here. The real Natalia wouldn’t betray me this way...” Lucia retorted, trying to convince herself of that.
“Come on!” The girl that wasn’t her friend laughed; you can’t be this stupid!”
Then, Natalia rushed to Lucia, stuffing her dagger in the girl’s forearm, too quickly for her to dodge it... Wincing, she stepped back, stumbling, as she took her own dagger, a hand on the bleeding wound. The fight was a few minutes long, but in the end, Lucia managed to hit Natalia right into her heart. Her eyes filled with tears, her forearm all bloody as she shook, the illusion finally disappeared.
She could seek her sister, in her very own space, fighting her inner demons.
***
Isabel didn’t know what she was supposed to do. She was all alone, in front of her house. But there wasn’t anyone. Anybody. No sounds, no animals, no lights. No life. Except herself. Secretly, she feared being alone. She feared being the last alive, having nobody left, nobody to trust.
She knew it. But she couldn’t admit it to herself. The wind was hitting her face repeatedly, as she brushed a hand through the strands of hair that fell in front of her eyes every time it did. Isabel wasn’t afraid, she was confused. What was she supposed to do? She didn’t like it. Not at all. And yet.
How was she supposed to communicate with the camp? How was she supposed to tell them she didn’t understand what she had to do, that they could stop the illusion? It became increasingly stressful, and white fog was starting to form around her, making her cough.
“What the hell?” She whispered to herself quietly, feeling her heartbeat quicken.
Then, she understood. The eldest knew what she had to do. Admit it to herself, how she didn’t feel good enough, that she was afraid of losing herself, being alone in the big old world. Yet she couldn’t. She was too stubborn, and her pride was too big for her own good.
If I want to get out of this shitty place, I must admit it. The girl thought as she felt her expression growing into a frown, and she coughed even more. Is this going to make me unconscious, kill me?
Never mind. She didn’t want to test that theory, because she surely wouldn’t even be back to make a hypothesis. Isabel breathed shakily, trying to admit it to herself. She feared a lot of things. No, not creatures. Not spiders, not clowns, neither the dark. She had those insecurities that made her wonder why she was still there.
And so, she stepped on her pride.
***
The girls finally saw each other. When they did, they hurried to hug each other, shaking with fear. They did it. They survived. And now was the time to start the training and make this world a better place. When Isabel pulled away from Lucia, she noticed that her left forearm was all bleeding, and that she was sweating.
She swallowed with guilt. Lucia had to endure all of this, all alone. And she was on the verge of fainting.
“Quick, we must get you to the camp’s hospital!” She yelped as she wrapped her arms around Lucia’s shoulders, carrying her towards the exit.
Unfortunately, the girl was too weak to pronounce a single word. Before leaving the room, Isabel saw a note. Lucia Fletcher= Bronze League, Isabel Fletcher= Silver League.
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