Page 22 of Obsession

She hesitated. “I don’t know.”

I waved her toward me. “Come on. There’s nothing deadly in here. Don’t you want to see what this place was like several hundred years ago?”

She huffed out a breath, as if relenting under duress, even though she gave me an exasperated grin. “Fine, but just a quick walk around.”

“Agreed,” I said. “We both have classes to get to soon.”

Britta stepped over the threshold of the chamber doors, joining me inside the simulation. We walked side by side down the corridor, both of us inspecting the impressively realistic holographic creation. I instinctively traced my usual route to the main hall, stopping for a moment to absorb how different the old academy had been. Where the inclinator usually hummed up the staircase, there was only the imposing staircase sweeping up and around the high central atrium.

“Incredible,” I whispered, as I walked to the banister and ran my fingers along the gleaming surface. “It looks so similar, but it’s not.”

“It still creeps me out just how realistic holo technology is,” Britta said, as much to herself as to me. “How is this just light made into matter?”

I knew her question was rhetorical. She knew the science better than I did.

“I know I should be used to it, but it honestly still amazes me,” I told her, looking up with a smile.

She returned my smile, and it felt like we were sharing another moment, although this one was sweeter than anything forbidden.

Then Britta gave herself a quick nod and turned. “I should head back.”

I would have loved to explore more of the simulation, but she was right. We both had morning classes, and I planned to put my first years through their paces in the sparring rings.

The lights flickered, died, then sputtered back to life. The floor beneath us shuddered violently. I met Britta's wide eyes. "Was that part of the program?"

"Nothing I programmed." Her voice was tight with barely contained panic.

Fear seized my chest. Was the real academy under attack? We sprinted back toward the entrance, but the doorway had vanished into seamless stone.

"Computer, reveal exit," Britta commanded.

Silence.

“Exit,” I said, in my most authoritative voice.

Nothing.

"Grek,"we said together.

Britta hurried to the wall, running her fingers over the stone wall in search of the exit, but I knew that with the simulationrunning, she wouldn’t find it. Cursing, I swung my head up and around, hoping for any flicker of light or indication of the door leading from the chamber, but our surroundings looked exactly like the dark stone corridors I knew so well.

Britta rounded on me. “So, what happens if you get stuck inside a simulation?”

My stomach dropped. I had no idea. As far as I knew, it had never happened at the academy.

Until now.

Chapter

Fourteen

Britta

My hands shook as I feathered my fingers over the holographic wall that felt all too real. I was searching for any indication of the exit, but there was nothing.

“Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.” I stomped one foot, talking to myself even though Kann was behind me.

“The holochambers have never malfunctioned like this before,” he said. “It cannot be more than a momentary glitch.”

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