Spy School : Simulation

Chapter 2: Unsolved Questions

Zoe's POV

Mike and I had just finished our breakfast when we bumped into Ben while passing the principal's office. Ben looked really worried and there was a bit of fear in his eyes.

When Ben and Mike mentioned about the principal, I couldn't keep it a secret anymore. I had to tell them. We went in my room and I triple-locked my door, making sure nobody can get in.

"So," I started, pausing to give one last consideration, "I kept seeing the principal rummaging through stuff in the janitor's room after my counter espionage classes every Friday. But once I called out to check if he was okay and he turned around drinking from a bottle of bleach,"

Mike and Ben both burst out laughing, "So you're telling me, you saw the principal drinking bleach in the janitors room?" they asked at the same time, still looking amused.

"Yes." I answered firmly.

"Zoe, are you sure you weren't dreaming?"

"Yes! I saw it with my own eyes! I'm telling you, it's real! I was so shocked I ran back my to my room with my mouth open!" I started to feel anxious.

"Then why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"When he turned around he said if I told anyone he'd kill me! His eyes were glowing red just like a vampire, I've never seen anything like that. It almost felt like he controlled me into not saying anything."

"Wait what?" Ben started to look worried.

"A-and straight after he turned around, his body suddenly disappeared for a fraction of a second, then he reappeared but looked...faded. It was like a glitch in a computer game."

At this point tears started to form in my eyes. I was scared he'd somehow know I told them. But my thoughts were stopped by a sudden knock on the door.

We all tensed up, expecting someone to end our lives the next second. Only, nobody broke the door down. Mike slowly crept towards the door, with Ben and I following behind.

"There's nobody outside," Mike said after looking through the peephole.

I let out a small sigh of relief and went up to Mike, holding his hand tightly. He slowly reached for the doorknob and turned it after looking through the peephole one last time.

As expected, there was nobody at the door, except for a small nondescript box with a note on it.

Ben's POV

I was relieved that there wasn't an assassin at the door, but a bit confused with the box Zoe brought in after triple-locking the door again. It was small and black, and there was a note sticking out from under the lid.

Wait a second. I recognize that note. It's written on the same oily paper the assassin left me. Suddenly I felt my own blood run cold, the assassin was just one single door away from me.

The handwriting on the note was the same, although this time looking a bit rushed. It was also much longer than the last one. The three of us gathered around to read it.

"Ben, Zoe and Mike, I know you're probably very scared and confused right now. But you all have to trust me, I am truly sorry but it's not the right time to tell you everything yet. The only thing I can say is that everything you see isn't reality. Just know that I'm not an enemy, and I'm trying to help you in every way possible. In the box there is a bottle of pills. There are 204 of them to be exact. Take one every night before bed, every time you do so, you will have approximately 10 minutes inside that loophole. It's the only way you can override the simulation and stop it. Keep the pills safe. Please. Our lives depend on you."

I took out the bottle of pills and studied it carefully. These pills could just be poison. And it could very well be the end of us if we decided to take them. But somehow I felt a strange sense of closeness to the person who wrote the note. And judging by the looks on my friends' faces, I could tell they were thinking about the same thing.

As much as I wanted to finally get the answers to millions of questions, I knew we weren't ready yet. We still needed a bit of time to soak everything in and make the final decision. So we agreed on meeting up tomorrow night in my room.

As I turned to leave, I caught a glimpse of a dark silhouette outside Zoe's window. But it disappeared as soon as I saw it. I only hope everything works out fine. And I really need to find Erica.

Sorry for being a bit late. Recently there has been an outbreak of the coronavirus disease in China as you all probably know. I have lived in Hong Kong for the past 3 years and it's literally like a sci-fi movie. The virus is highly contagious has killed many many people. There is still no cure and school is canceled for 3 weeks until further notice. Everything has been crazy and everyone's rushing to buy face masks and supplies (masks are literally sold out in every store here) it's just been a completely unreal experience. It may take longer for me to update the following chapters, I hope you guys understand. And best wishes to people suffering from the disease.