《Destiny》
Chapter One: Maddie
13 Years Old...
Kaelem frowned as he left the library. He''d been studying late after school since he didn''t understand a few things in his biochemistry class. Most days he found a reason to stay around. It was always better than returning home to the constant fighting of his parents.
He left the building and sighed as he looked into the bright sun and turned his back on it. He walked away from the lustrous neighborhoods and beautiful family houses and walked toward the little neighborhood that had gang signs and graffiti covering almost any area where there was space.
It was hard being raised in such an area, but in no time at all, it seemed, Kaelem learned where he should avoid pretty quickly. He had scars from an unfortunate accident, more like a brutal beating but the police were never wrong, where he''d taken a wrong turn and walked into the middle of a gang war.
Guns lit the darkness and knives cut through soft flesh. They didn''t discriminate against him when he had the misfortune to walk into the middle. He was cut, beat, shot in both legs, but there was no permanent damage to his body stopping him from functioning like any other person.
He walked down those dangerous streets and it was already starting to get dark out. School released at 3:45 PM and he stayed until 6:30 PM, long enough for the safety of the sun to disappear. He knew when to cross the road to avoid the people that would be harmful to his health and continued on like this for six miles. Due to all the turns he had to take to avoid crowded streets, it took him nearly five hours to reach his home.
He walked in the rotting door that had pieces fall off when he closed it and heard shouting ahead. This was usual, but the next sound was not.
His heart skipped a beat. His eyes glazed over in red. His breathing stopped.
Two loud gunshots rang true striking his mother in the chest and knocked her against the wall.
It had happened so fast that he didn''t have any time to react, nor did she. He watched the light fade from her eyes, her screams of pain and agony muffled by the blood gushing from her mouth. She slid down on to the floor and looked him in his eyes until her body slumped over.
Two Nights Later...
He heard the sound of sirens, the loud sound of foot steps and a door breaking shocked him. He looked up with eyes that held no emotion. He hands were covered in blood and he still sat on the corpse of his long dead father.
They looked at him like a monster, held guns close to him, and made him drop the knife while saying very loud things.
The knife simply fell back into his father''s chest again and he heard sounds of shock. He didn''t once shed a tear. There was no room for innocence. There was no room for pain or agony. This was the real world. This was his Destiny.
8 Years Later...
He walked out of the "special" classroom with his book bag slung over his shoulder. He''d ignored all the information the teacher uttered. That woman was indeed a waste of oxygen. She was simply repeating simple text knowledge they''d all learned when they were very young in elementary schools.
He had to take learning into his own hands and self teach himself throughout the years.
He entered the cafeteria and found his table, the one in the furthest part of the room that was almost unnoticeable, and placed his bag on the table.
He''d changed a lot since the incident. He''d been placed in psychiatric wards since people knew that he''d never be adopted and they feared what he would do on his own. The Demon Child, they would call him, who had murdered his father in cold blood when he was only thirteen. He knew that they thought that he would never have a place in society.
They were all wrong about him though, he knew what he was worth. He worked harder than any others and studied hard to make up for his lack of natural intelligence that was gifted upon so many other fortunate people. The truly "special" and "gifted" people... It made him sick to his stomach to think of them.
He''d once known them all, been best buds with half of them, and even helped study with all of them on more than one occasion. Now he was the outcast.
He was forced to where a uniform, black jeans with a plain white t-shirt and white shoes, forced into many "special" institutes where they could monitor his mental health and deem him "worthy" of being ingrained into society once more.
He didn''t know what kind of technological advancements had been made in the past few years as he was only allowed a black and white television for fifteen minutes once every four days. They thought that too much television would corrupt the minds of patients and give them ideas of violence and hinder their rehabilitation process, not that any patients ever got better.
All "patients" that checked in knew that they were most likely never getting out. Only two in the three hundred years the facility had been around ever made it out. Kaelem was determined to make it out. He wanted to see the world as he''d never seen it before and experience the life that others had the pleasure to live. He wanted to see what kind of things he''d missed out on.
He got up to get food and stood in line behind the rest of the "special" people that were kept here. Many were violent and therefore had electronic constrictions to reduce their threat level, and if that didn''t work then they were forced to take "special medicine". Never once had he swallowed the medicine they''d given him because they thought he had violent tendencies, but he had always acted as kind and orderly as he possibly could.
He was very strict on himself about following the rules that governed over this Hell of Earth. He was angry all the time, but he never once showed it. The false smiles could never be seen through unless you honestly knew him, and there was nobody left alive that did.
He grabbed the food that was supposedly edible and went back to sit at his stuff. Another person sat three seats down from him on the other side of the table. He noticed that the person had long dark hair that was curled and went down to her back. She had tanned skin and was probably two or three inches shorter than he was. Her looks were astonishingly beautiful.
He set his tray down carefully, the metal tinkling against the stone table, as to not startle or alert the girl.
She looked up and her eyes got wide. He was astonishing when it came to looks, but he never cared to tame or style his hair so it rested down to his shoulders, and he had tattoos that went to his wrists. His eyes watched her like a predator watches its prey or a child watches its new toy.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
She looked away with red blossoming on her cheeks. He could only speculate what had caused her to do so. He pulled out the text book he was currently reading over bio-engineering and human trials over physical enhancement. It was simply a hobby, he had no test in trying it out on himself.
He had earned special privileges throughout the years of kind behavior and advanced reports from his tests, physical exams, and intellectual exams.
He hated everything about this place, how it looked so much like a prison, the terrible food, everything. He moved in front of the girl. "I haven''t seen you around here before." He said it with little emotion in his voice. Just a simple fact. He tried to make it sound friendly, but he''d forgot the feeling and the sound of true friendship.
She looked up to face him from a chart she''d been writing on. "I''m just visiting."
"Visiting? You must be someone pretty special to get to visit such a delightful place as this." He said flatly, stretching out his hands to gesture to the cafeteria that was made mostly of polished steel, with the floors of solid concrete.
"I work for the Clinic of Safety and Health." She shrugged like it was no big deal. "You don''t seem to fit the standards of patients that we see here." She tapped the pen against her lips and then held it in her mouth.
He looked straight into her eyes and she shuddered. He was unique, only enhancing his image as the "Demon Child", having been born with beautiful eyes that grabbed attention wherever he went. The iris'' was gold and it slowly faded away to a beautiful silver on the outer part of his eyes.
She shuddered once more as she felt those eyes peering into her, looking into all of her secrets, taking her apart brick by brick to find out what made her tick and what made her moan sweet nothings.
He smiled, "I''m sorry to have been so rude, I never introduced myself." He had perked up once he''d heard what she was here for. "I''m Kaelem Solich, wild Demon Child. Nobody would dare be seen with me, so I never really get the opportunity to have nice conversations like this. Sometimes I forget there''s a world out there." His eyes wandered off to stare behind her, imagining the world outside.
"I''m Maddeline Williams." She paused, "It''s amazing out there." She said, although Kaelem now looked as though he''d been chewing on lemons.
"I''ve always dreamed what it would be like outside." He said under his breath.
"There''s been many advancements lately. About six years ago a game that revolutionized the world came out called Royal Road. It''s been active up until today. They''re shutting it down and the company, Unicorn Corp, is releasing a new and improved game." She said excitedly. Her eye twinkled like stars.
He found it quite interesting that so much could change in so little time. "What''s it like?" he asked with complete interest. There was no need to fake it with her."
"It''s really great! Royal Road was the best game ever and now they''re releasing a newer game." She sighed. "I can''t wait. It comes out in two weeks." She bit her bottom lip and looked away.
Kaelem raised an eyebrow at this. "Is everything alright?"
She stood up and walked next to him. "You don''t seem anything like any other person I''ve seen here." She bit her lip again. "If you make me a promise, I''ll release you from the facility." She watched him uncertainly.
He looked her dead in the eyes and his mask of friendliness disappeared and his face was blank of emotions, but he was feeling a pounding in his chest. He felt a small feeling that began to grow as she spoke, and it beat even harder. The feeling he felt...
It was hope...
"What is it that you''d have me promise to?" He asked seriously.
She looked taken aback but continued on. "Don''t worry, it''s nothing too serious. I just get really bored in the game by myself and would like a fun companion to travel with." She shrugged and smiled at him.
He almost kissed her out of joy. Jackpot.
His eyes lightened up and he reached his hand out. When she touched it, he pulled her into him and gave her a big hug.
She embraced him, although feeling awkward, and waited just a little longer before stepping back. She took out another form and starting reading through and signing in various places. She handed the paper out to him and smiled once more.
He looked at the paper and she had signed it where there was a label: "Authorized Personnel and/or Guardian Signature".
"Of course I''ll play with you, but I have a problem." He said sadly.
She seemed to have thought ahead of him and shook her head happily. "You''ll come stay with me for as long as it takes you to get on your feet. There''s been a lot of changes and I can''t just let you go out there all alone in this crazy world of ours."
She''s living alone? She looks much younger than I am, maybe eighteen at the most.
He scratched his head and looked away, "Are you sure that''s okay?" He definitely didn''t like taking charity or being unable to pay someone else favor back.
"Yep," she poked his nose. "and you''re only payment is to enjoy the game by my side."
She sighed, so this was how it was gonna be. Well, his situation was now the best it had ever been and she definitely was attractive. He sighed... Again... Then shrugged. Why not? It can''t be too bad.
She handed him the pen, "All that''s left is that you sign."
He took the pen quickly like it was a pot of gold and signed the release form.
"Thank you so much for all you''ve done and are going to do for me. I couldn''t have asked for anything better." He knelt before her in respect and gratitude. "I''m forever in your favor." He said with a serious demeanor.
In eight years... He''d forgot what it was like. He felt emotion, he smiled, and he believed that he had real hope. She had given him his free ticket out.
He followed her to the front office where they went through the process of checking him out. For the last time, he was tested physically, psychologically, and intellectually before being buzzed through the gates and allowed to leave. He smiled happily. In two weeks he would be playing a game with her, but until then, he was gonna enjoy life to it''s fullest... Or so he thought.
He smiled, "Now, to begin my true Destiny."
Chapter Two: The Proposal
Kaelem had adjusted quickly to the change in scenery. He always hated the prison, so he was excited to be out and about. Her house was a single story house with three rooms and a shared bathroom. The bedrooms were decently sized and had space for a bed, two drawers, and a closet. It was indeed a nice place.
He had studied for three days straight so that he could drive without her permission. It was silly, but he wanted to make sure that she would trust him. He didn''t want to have to depend on her for anything else.
He decided to take the car out. There were still eleven days left before the release of the game. They had the capsules set up and they both were just waiting for the release date. He parked the car and noticed a black Sedan pulling up next to him. He''d seen it every where he''d went today.
He shrugged, he was just being paranoid. Nobody would be interested in him.
He walked into the diner and looked around with a blank look. There were three men and and two woman serving them. He sat down at the back of the diner and waited for one of the waitresses to come and ask him for his meal.
The door swung open only moments later and a man in a black pristine suit looked around the room. His eyes were covered in sunglasses and he carried a silver metal briefcase. As soon as he saw Kaelem, he walked toward him.
Kaelem was slightly surprised that his paranoia wasn''t for nothing. The man placed the case between them and took a seat.
Kaelem found this to be strange and waited for the man to speak, but the only reaction Kaelem got from the man was the suit case being moved toward him. He was surprised, but he turned it toward him and carefully unlatched the lock and lifted the lid.
"What is this?" He didn''t trust the man and was confused because there was a laptop with his name on it. This was really starting to worry him.
The man finally spoke, "Open it." His voice was deep and he had a husky Russian accent.
Kaelem shook his head, "Who are you and what do you want with me?" He pushed the case away and folded his arms.
The surprise visitor smiled wickedly and took off his glasses. His eyes were a shade of creamy brown and they seemed so light. They made his face look inviting, but his body language showed that he wish he was somewhere else.
"You''re Kaelem, correct?" Kaelem replied with a nod. "Good, then I''m not wasting my time here." He took a second to prepare and then spoke quickly. "You''ve been selected for a special program that can''t be refused. Attempting to refuse will come with great consequences and, honestly, the perks of accepting, in my opinion, are completely worth it." He took on a friendlier tone, but Kaelem only tensed up. He didn''t like hard choices or surprises and this sounded like both.
He took a second to think, "What are the consequences?" He was bothered by the fact that his questions had been ignored.
The man''s eyes lit up, "I represent the private sector of Unicorn Corps experimental division. We''re curious to see and hear your adventures and see how someone who''s had your life reacts with others." He shrugged, "It''s not that unusual. I''m also in the program. There''s eight others that participate. Every eight months of in game time there''s a brawl between all ten of us and there''s rewards beyond belief, but penalties that are outrageous. " He slowly explained and as he did, he sounded younger and more like a teenager instead of an adult that was conducting experiments.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.Kaelem sighed, he would never escape what he''d done so long ago. The man continued, "I''m Dimitri Ivanov, as I stated previously, a rep. of Unicorn Corp. The laptop is pre-programmed to a character creation screen. It allows you to custom make any avatar and incorporate new races into the game, if that was what you wished for." Kaelem sat back and listened to his explanation. This sounded too good.
"You''re not telling me something." He knew this was way too good. Dimitri smiled once more, his sharp teeth showing.
"You could tell?" He didn''t sound like he expected an answer and it was confirmed when he started speaking again. "You''re incapable of logging out and must play within the vicinity of the other people at Unicorn Corp HQ. You''re incapable of logging out for a period of four months at a time, in game time of course."
Kaelem''s mouth almost fell open. Four months inside of the game was a month in real life. Dimitri enjoyed his reaction, but continued speaking. "After you log out, which the button is disabled when you enter, you have two days to yourself, in which you can re-enter the game but most people choose to spend time with friends or family, before you have to resume your journey. If you''re late to the beginning of a session then you''ll be removed from the program, permanently banned from any Unicorn Corp product and will probably have an interesting ''Disappearing Act''."
Kaelem swore, "So there''s no choice." He would have agreed anyway since had promised to play already. Without saying anything more he pulled the laptop closer and opened it. It took no time at all to turn on. It simply had an eye scanner.
"You scan your eyes and the first time you log in you''ll have unlimited access to the character creation process." Dimitri explained at his confused look. He did as he was told and was rewarded with a black screen and a red box reading: "Eye scan complete."
He closed the lap top and pushed the case back towards Dimitri. He felt sick knowing that he had been forced into something he really didn''t want to do. He wanted to explore the world and see all the things that he''d missed out while he was in his "prison", but now he''d been forced right back into something he didn''t really want. He figured this time it wouldn''t be so bad since he''d be enjoying his time in the game and talking with people that could have decent conversations.
Dimitri had that smile that meant he was hiding something. Kaelem waited for him to speak, but Dimitri simply waited. "What is it?" Kaelem''s patience ran out.
"Report tomorrow at oh-nine-hundred for your first session. Another privilege is the opportunity to play before the official release date as a beta crew. We play thousands of years out in the ten days before the release to determine the history.
Kaelem''s jaw dropped. This was something that had changed his view on the incident. Being a beta member was the chance of a lifetime, although your character was reset upon the official reset date, you understood the world a lot more. You understand the history and you have knowledge of hidden powers or dungeons. It was invaluable. "You should lead with that next time..." He sighed, his appetite lost, and left.
He now had the job of explaining why he would have to leave so soon to Maddie, as she''d asked him to call her. He sighed again, how would he play with her and become strong enough to compete against the others? He shrugged, "In due time Kaelem, in due time." He turned the car on and sped off to the house.
Chapter Three: The Cat
Finally able to start up again. I''ll probably work on the story at least 2 hours a day. More so on the weekends. Comments are appreciated. Hope everyone enjoys!
Kaelem took his time returning home that night. He picked up food on the way back with the little money he had left over from Maddie. He''d worked as much as he could by running errands so that he didn''t feel like she was giving him charity, although he knew it was a lie.
He thought about all the possibilities he had with being able to have a full customization of his character in Destiny. He couldn''t honestly say that he wasn''t excited to be in the Beta, but he still wished that it didn''t come with all the strings attached.
He had no choice in the matter. Two reasons: One, he''d promised to play with Maddie for his freedom. He wouldn''t go back on his word. Two, they threatened to make him disappear and no matter how much he wanted to convince himself it was against he will, he was more than happy to have the advantages they were offering. He didn''t like the sound of the tournaments though.
He parked the car and sighed, leaning against the door and looked out the window. It was raining and the clouds completely covered the night sky. It was only about seven. Reluctant to go in and give her the news, he grabbed the food in the seat, some modern fast food chain, and got out of the car. He walked up to the door and noticed a cat hiding under the shelter of the house.
The poor animal was soaking wet and had little feathers stuck to the side of it''s furry mouth. He looked at it with pity and opened the door. He set the food down at the table and went to get a towel. He came back to the cat to find it hadn''t moved an inch. It''s ribs were sticking out of its sides and its fur was suntanned to an orangish grey tint. He wrapped it in the towel and almost gagged at the smell.
Struggling to get away, the cat hissed and clawed at the towel. The reaction surprised Kaelem, but it was no matter to him. Tightly holding the cat in the bundle, he walked into the house and shut the door behind him. He looked around at the place he would have to leave in the morning. Even though he hadn''t been there long, it was still the first place that was ever comforting. Maddie made it as homely as possible.
Speaking of Maddie, she came in from her room and saw the shivering cat in his hands and had a big grin on her face.
"Awwwwwe, it''s so cute." She ran over to Kaelem and took the bundle of fur from him, holding it up high to get a good look at the tom cat. It was grey with scars all over its body. It looked like it had been through some pretty hard times. He was surprised that it was able to survive the weather, rainy with a wind chill that seeped through even the biggest bundle of clothes. The cat had nothing to protect it but a small amount of fur. Kaelem felt an emotional attachment, oddly enough, to the beaten up cat.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
"Will you keep him?" Kaelem hoped he wouldn''t be put back on the streets. Hoped that the cat had a chance of a decent life. He didn''t want it to end up in the pound, it reminded him too much of his own life.
She looked at him and then looked around the house, shrugging. "Do you want to keep him?" She asked sincerely.
He felt bad that he still hadn''t told her that he''d be leaving in the morning. He rubbed the back of his head. "We should sit down. A lot happened while I was out." He beckoned toward the kitchen table and then sat. He opened up the food and made plates for both of them. He explained everything that had happened after a few bites here and there, omitting the dangerous details that he didn''t want her to worry over.
"Oh..." She stopped petting the cat that she''d held on to the whole time and frowned. She took a second to think about it and then smiled. "Well that sounds great! I wish we would be able to spend more time together, but that opportunity is a once in a lifetime thing! You have to do it! We''ll see each other every now and then, so go ahead and go have fun."
Her whole face lit up like a candle. Her smile reached her eyes and she seemed sincere. He asked his question again, "Will you keep the cat?"
She looked at him curiously and then looked around the room again. "Well of course! I could never put such a cute animal out on the streets! I mean, just look at him! He''s so adorable." The cat stared at her dumbly and tried to jump away. She just hugged it closer to her chest.
He started to feel bad for the cat. After they finished eating and talking about their plans in Destiny, he prepared for the morning. He packed a back of spare clothing. He didn''t have much besides that so he set an alarm to go off at six in the morning. When he finished, he gave her a hug and said his farewells.
"I''ll be leaving tomorrow morning before you awake for work, so this is farewell." She looked into his dazzling eyes that were so unnatural yet so alluring and smiled.
"This isn''t farewell for we will see each other soon either in Destiny or when you have your break. You better come see me or I''ll drag you out of your capsule and I''ll beat up all those bullies! The least they can do is give a girl a chance." With that, she kissed his lips softly and ran off to her bedroom with a quick wink before she closed her door.
He sighed, girls...
He laid down and waited for the morning. He dozed off immediately and got lost in nightmares of blood and death.
Chapter Four: Prison or Paradise?
I apologize for the delay. Wrote out this and next chapter and lost it so rewriting it all :D Fun stuff, ya know? Anyway, comments are appreciated and I hope you all enjoy!
Heart pounding, blood racing, limbs morphing into black disfigured shadows, Kaelem felt himself changing. His surroundings were dark and desolate, empty of existence. He tried to move and panicked as he felt his body falling. There was a dim light far away as he faced, what he believed was, down. There was no telling in this place what up or down was, let alone what it even was. His body continued to change and grow more mangled and disfigured by the second.
His skin charred away and left behind black bones, shadow enveloping the new figure. It configured to his form and molded into an uncontrollable beast. Hands that held claws, spine that now contained a forked tail at the end, and a body that was volatile to say the least quickly accelerated to the light. It grew brighter and brighter as he slowly got closer and closer. He thought he would be completely crushed as he approached the light which now seemed to be a floating platform that held a door.
The light sheared away some of his new found body, but he resisted until he slowly landed. It was like throwing yourself on a burning flame, excruciatingly painful. He wretched the door open, blinded by the pain, and jumped through into a dark night. He didn''t recognize the single house that was alone, nothing else in sight, as he entered it.
He heard screams. Throat clenching, bloodcurdling, screams of pain that awoke a fire in his heart. A Fire to punish the cause of the screams. Entering the room, the being that was Kaelem found the source of pain and quickly ended it. A male being... No. His father. His father destroying his mother, beating her to death. He wouldn''t let it end the same was as last time.
The phantom-like maw that was now his hand tore out his father''s still beating heart. It beat in his hand, letting off a delicious aroma. The heart flowed endlessly over his hands, beckoning him. Begging him to end its suffering. Teeth tore through the soft membrane and drained the heart of all life.
Looking down at his victim, his senses were shell shocked. Where his father had been, Kaelem now stood in front of Maddie, her chest now sporting a gaping hole. Her eyes were full of betrayal and loathing.
An agonized roar emanated through the walls of the vanishing house. The sound was like amplifying the sound of nails across a chalkboard by at least a thousand.
Kaelem sat up in his bed and threw off his thin sheet. His hands were shaking and his heart threatened to jump out of his chest. His breathing was labored and he tried to calm down in fear of hyperventilating. The bed frame groaned under his intense grip.
He rushed into the bathroom and ran cold water in the sink and started the shower head running. He washed his face, but his body was covered in sweat. His clothes stuck to him like another layer of skin.
The clothes were almost torn off in a desperate struggle to get rid of the feelings that were gnawing on his soul. He felt like a real monster. His hands shook uncontrollably and he was chilled to the core. It was so cold until he jumped into the shower, letting the warm water melt away his sorrows.
The water rejuvenated him, giving some color to his pale body, making him forget the horror of the night. He let the water run over his body for a few moments more before getting out and washing off. Standing in the mirror, he couldn''t help but look at his scarred body, his hands tracing every single one.
Time passed and he forgot that he had somewhere to be. After tracing every self-inflicted scar, he decided he should leave soon. When he walked out of the bathroom, he was surprised to see it wasn''t even past five in the morning. Swearing, he pulled on a new pair of simple grey sweatpants.
Maddie was in a t-shirt with no bra and very skimpy underwear getting an early morning snack when she heard Kaelem''s door open. Her face went read immediately and she turned and lowered her shirt before he could see her. Kaelem walked by and only noticed her after she squealed a bit.
For a moment he was at a loss of what to do, and then all the emotions returned, he wanted nothing more than to lose himself in the warmth of her body. Her cheeks were rosy red and her breasts stuck out of her shirt, he could easily imagine what she was hiding. He embraced her, lips locking together, losing himself in the curves of her body.
The hours passed until it was finally time for him to depart. There would be absence on the first day of Beta from him, valuing the opportunities too much to let them slip. Gently kissing Maddie, he whispered a goodbye with a promise to return soon.
A cab showed up after a few minutes and he arrived at the headquarters of Fate Inc. where he would be staying for his journey through Destiny. He arrived at the headquarters and gave what remaining money he had to the beautiful driver with a picture of three children and a funeral card for someone that had her last name. He didn''t need the money anyway, so he hoped she''d put it to good use.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
His attention was turned to the headquarters as soon as the cab was out of sight. The building looked extremely high tech. It sported cameras that covered every single nook and cranny, no rock was left out by the security cameras. He walked up to the building and a door opened before him. When he entered, there was no path for him to follow, but instead his body was scanned.
His identity was confirmed and he was finally allowed entrance to the building. A badge hovered near him, suspended by who knows what, that had his information and access level. Access levels were shown in colors, his being purple reading "Grade Two: Full Access". If grade two gave full access, what was grade one?
There was not much to see in the main entrance of the building. Enough guards holding plasma rifles to fight off an military invasion. This wasn''t unusual, so Kaelem just walked up to the attendant, who was hidden behind a plasma field, and asked for directions to the Beta Testing Environment. His curiosity peaked, but he refrained from snooping around the place. The attendant motioned him towards a door that hadn''t been there moments before and disappeared from sight.
After stepping into the door, he was surprised to find an absence of anything. He thought that something had broken until moments later more scans were initiated. It automatically routed him, although he had no idea where he was headed. There was only a little bit of surprise as the door opened a few minutes later and he was now looking at the controlled Beta Testing Environment.
The ceiling was high, the room felt homely and unlike the rest of the facility. He imagined the displays that showed images of mountains, clouds, underwater volcanoes, and the such, were two way windows that allowed the scientists to perform their studies while allowing the testers to have some space. There were blocked off rooms in which he assumed were designated for each tester. When he stepped inside one that had his name on it, he found everything that he could ask for. There was a soft bed and a wardrobe full of his style, simple denim t-shirts and blue jeans.
The room had food, drinks, and a surprising amount of pornography. He could only laugh and toss it away. The morning''s experiences had him longing for physical contact. No magazine or video could give him that. What was lacking...
The elevator, that''s what he assumed it was, dinged and gave way to the rest of the beta testers. There was only a few more seconds until they would be submerged into the gaming world for extended periods of time. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he saw some of this competition.
Their appearances varied, although their was the same amount of women as there were men, ten participants in all. They looked extremely relaxed and it made him nervous. He promised himself that he would survive. Another door opened and a typical scientist, mid forties with a five o''clock shadow, wearing a white lab coat walked in and assessed them. His hands moved slowly and all of the capsules appeared in the space behind him.
"Any questions before we begin?" Cutting straight to the point, he looked at all of them.
"Will we be getting paid for our time here?" Kaelem had no problem asking.
"Of course. A gracious sum of three hundred thousand will be deposited in bank accounts for each and every one of you after every one month session. You will also be given a spending card from the company with a million dollar limit, renewed after three one month sessions." Kaelem was surprised to hear how lush the life of a beta tester could be.
"No more questions?" There was no time to ask another because he continued quickly. "I''m Neil. I''m the head director''s assistant in this project. Every one of you will have assigned supervisors watching over your in game experiences at every moment and tending to any of your needs. Feel free to make yourself at home. You won''t be going anywhere until your first session is over in one month''s time."
How he said it made it sound ridiculously creepy, but Kaelem showed no sign of discomfort. Neil continued, "The first ten days will be unlike any other. This will be Beta time in which you will be creating the history of the game. The time will be different at this point, five hundred years will be the equivalent to two days. As soon as you finish the beta, you will have a twelve hour break to spend freely before the official release." He waited for acknowledgement. "All participants will return for the release and begin their one month adventure."
Someone started to raise their hand and he continued to talk, "Our staff will make sure to sustain your physicality, improving some other''s," he said looking at two round individuals with distaste, "to a top notch degree." He gazed over most of them like they were diamonds, worth fortunes.
They were instructed to lay down. At exactly nine thirty, they would begin the Beta. Kaelem lay comfortably awaiting the beginning, eyes closed. This is what he was here for. This was his destiny.