Alex stepped out of the elevator, her eyes blinking rapidly as she absorbed the unfamiliar surroundings.
"This way," the guard motioned to her, "Keep walking."
She began walking slowly down the hallway, the harsh fluorescent lights glaring down at them. "Um, aren't the evaluations supposed to be held in Amanda's office?"
"Through here," the guard pointed, hanging back. "You'll find her through the double doors."
Alex frowned, and carefully pushed open the doors. She stopped on the threshold, trying not to look too surprised at the laboratory setting.
"Hello, Alex," a smooth voice greeted her. Alex whirled around, but couldn't find Amanda anywhere. "Just relax," the voice continued, "I find most recruits have an easier time of it once they relax."
"Where are you?" Alex demanded, looking up at the ceiling and around the room to see if she could spot any two-way mirrors, or decoy windows.
"I'll be monitoring your progress from where I am," Amanda cut in, "So, rest assured that you are not alone."
"Progress of what?" Alex asked, her voice raising in pitch against her will. "What are you going to do to me?"
"There's no need to worry, Alex. You aren't the first recruit to go through these tests, and you're certainly not the last," Amanda replied, sounding slightly amused. "Now, for your first test, I'd like you to take a seat in front of the large computer screen in the far-right corner of the room you are standing in."
Alex found the computer almost immediately (it was rather large), and sat down on the cushiony chair in front of it. "Am I supposed to turn it on?"
"We control the computer from here," Amanda answered. As she spoke, the lights in the room dimmed. "Now, I want you to attach the electrodes connected to the chair to yourself. A figure will appear on your computer screen that will show you the proper placement."
Alex suddenly noticed the thin wires hanging off the edges of her chair, and she picked one up with some deliberation. At the same time, the computer screen in front of her became a blinding white and a stick figure appeared on it. Red arrows pointed to various points on the stick figure's body, and Alex slowly placed all the electrodes in the corresponding places on herself.
When she was done, there were two electrodes on either side of her head, one on the pulse point on her neck, one on her chest, and two on her wrists. "Very good, Alex," Amanda approved. "I see you've completed the first step." Alex hated the feeling that she was being watched over some security camera, and she looked around to see where it was. "Pay attention to your task," Amanda's voice ordered sharply, and Alex scowled as she swung her gaze back to the computer screen.
"What do I do now?"
"You will be shown a series of images, and I will measure your response to them. I only ask that you try to keep your eyes open. Ready?"
"What kind of images?" Alex asked suspiciously, feeling her heart start to pound uncomfortably.
"No need to be nervous, Alex," Amanda said coolly. "The images will appear in rapid succession. It is highly unlikely that you will be able to identify any single one. This test is more of a way to measure your...subliminal response."
That did nothing to help her feel better, but Alex didn't have a choice. "Okay, I'm ready."
"3...2...1."
The screen in front of her went black, and Alex mentally prepared herself for what was coming next. The room suddenly darkened completely, with the only light coming from the computer. Although she tried to be ready for it, she still gasped when a burst of images flashed before her eyes.
Amanda had been right; there was no way that Alex could identify a single image—they were too fast. Alex's eyes were burning, but she tried to keep them open. After a few minutes, the pace at which the images were being fired out at her seemed to slow down considerably. She was able to identify a picture of a young girl, a garden, a river, a woman's silhouette against a sunset, a single red rose...the image zoomed in on the rose, till the vast redness filled the screen.
At which point, it turned into blood.
Alex gritted her teeth, forcing herself not to think of that day when she thought Thom had been dead. The blood's redness seem to dim, and become an almost-orange color. Alex stared at the image, strangely mesmerized until she realized what she was looking at.
Fire.
"No," Alex whispered, her hands fisting against the chair. Clear your mind, Nikita's voice rang in her ear. Don't let them get past your defenses...
The fire grew brighter, until it was all-consuming on the screen. Alex forced herself to breathe. Think of something else, anything else, she commanded herself. Michael's face appeared in her mind's eye, the faint echo of his voice resounding in the back of her head. 'Make me proud, Alex...'
As she focused on his voice, she suddenly realized that the fire disappeared. The screen went black once more, and lights in the room flickered back to life.
"Nicely done, Alex," Amanda's voice announced, "You've passed the first test."
"I'm so glad."
"No need for the sarcasm."
Alex didn't reply, and ripped the electrodes off her skin with a vengeance. The door to the room clicked open, and two men in lab coats walked in. They were closely followed by Amanda herself. Alex eyed them all apprehensively. "What—hey, let go of me!" Alex protested, as the two men grabbed her arms and pulled her unceremoniously towards the white bed in the middle of the lab.
"Your second test is a simulation of sorts," Amanda said, watching as the two men strapped Alex into the bed. She pressed a button on the wall, and a small machine lowered from the ceiling until it hovered above Alex.
"What is this?" Alex shouted.
"You will look through the eye pieces on the simulator," Amanda said calmly. "We have prepared a special simulation task for every recruit to complete. Let me warn you, these dream-sequences will feel very real. I need you to remember that you're the one in control. Can you do that?"
"Do I have a choice?"
Amanda smiled, and signaled the simulation to start.
"Man, slow day, huh?" Birkoff commented, taking a swig of his Red Bull.
"We watch the recruits every year," Michael said tiredly, his brow furrowed as watched Alex and Amanda.
"Yeah, but there's usually something exciting happening. You know...screams, running, trying to escape—"
"I must say, the recruits are doing extraordinarily well this year, wouldn't you say?" Percy's voice came from behind them.
Birkoff immediately sat up straighter, his eyes widening at Michael for a second, clearly asking 'what is he doing here?'
"Sir," Michael greeted, eyeing Percy suspiciously. "You've never watched the evaluations before."
Percy shrugged, taking a seat next to Birkoff. "Like the genius said, it's been a slow day." He paused and glanced at Michael, "Nikita's been off the radar for a few days."
"She sure keeps things interesting," Birkoff murmured under his breath, earning a glare from Michael.
Percy nodded at the screen, "How's Nikita 2.0 doing?"
"Her name," Michael said through gritted teeth, "is Alex." He glanced back at the screen, "And she's doing fine."
"She passed the subliminal test," Birkoff elaborated. He clicked a few buttons, "And she's about to start the simulation."
"Oh good," Percy smiled coldly, "I got here in time for the best part."
"The best part? But we don't even get to see the simulation," Birkoff complained, "What's the fun in that?"
"Actually," Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper, "I designed Alex's simulation myself." He handed the paper to Birkoff, "We should be able to see what she's seeing once you enter this code in."
Birkoff glanced at Michael briefly before entering the code into the simulator program. Michael turned to look at Percy incredulously, "Since when do you actually...contribute to the evaluation procedures? I thought Amanda was very strict on her policies—"
"Amanda made a small exception for this particular recruit," Percy said dismissively. "After all, Alex is special, is she not?"
Michael narrowed his eyes, "What exactly did you program into her simulation?"
Percy's eye glinted as he leaned back, "We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?"
*next chapter is Alex's simulation...any guesses what Percy might have programmed into her "dream?" I can tell you that Michael will play a big role in it :) thanks for reading & reviewing!