It’s August 16th 2097, and twenty years ago a group of aliens invaded Earth, causing total destruction and making it uninhabitable. In an effort to save the human race, world powers decided to put the surviving humans in a simulation, underground. 

When Mr. Tabbs, my abductor, snatched me from my home yesterday and explained the situation to me, I couldn't believe it. Now that I’ve opened my eyes to the possibility of it, everything seems so much clearer. On a normal day I would think this man is crazy and demand he let me go, but for some reason with everything that’s been going on lately, my gut is telling me to believe him. He continued to tell me about a team he’s on that was trying to determine whether the Earth’s surface was safe to live on or not. He let me go after giving me the option to join his team, he told me I have 24 hours to decide. 

18 hours later, here I am laying on my bed, actually contemplating joining him and his team. I have school in 15 minutes, and I haven’t slept. I can’t exactly relay my situation to any of my friends. They would definitely tell me he’s trying to make me “join a cult.” 

As I walk to my car door, I try determining whether I should even go to school. I mean if what Mr.Tabbs said is really true and we are in a simulation, what’s the point of going to school? It’s pretty much pointless, if you ask me. 

I decide to go to school because if on the off chance that he’s actually wrong, I cannot afford another absence, my mom would kill me. When I walk into my first period my mind is clouded and not where it should be.

After lunch is over, I decide to ditch school for the rest of the day. Once I get to my car I reach in my center console and grab the card Mr. Tabbs gave me. Before he let me go last night, he gave me a business card and said to call him if I came to the decision that I wanted to join. 

I stare at the card for what feels like an eternity before finally dialing the number. It picks up on the first ring,  “Wow you must be really busy, huh?” I say.

“Hello, Sirii. I assume you’ve picked the right choice and you want to join us.”

“I guess you could say that,” if I’m being honest I’m not even sure why I’m agreeing to this. I mean I could’ve continued to live in my ignorant world. But no, my stubborn mind has to make me join them so I can get answers for myself. 

“Go to the abandoned warehouse on Helm St. I’ll be there in 5 minutes.”

Then there’s a dial tone. Well I guess I’m going to the warehouse.

When I get there I don’t see anyone, so now I’m standing in a creepy abandoned building asking to get murdered. I walk around looking for

someone, anyone. Out of nowhere Mr.Tabbs pops up, “Gosh, you scared me!”

“Sorry, I had to make sure you were alone.”

“Why would I bring someone and risk making myself look dumb?”

“Fine, I guess you're right. Let’s sit down.”

There are no seats. Where does he plan on sitting? He walks us around the wall and there are two chairs. He sits down first. I’m hesitant, but I sit. 

“Here, drink this,” he says, as he hands me a blue drink.

“What is it,” I say skeptically. 

“If you want to see the real world, you need to drink it.”

I tilt my head back and drink the entire glass. I start to feel a little fuzzy. Wow, I feel sleepy. 

When I wake up, I have a raging headache. I blink my eyes until everything becomes clear. Mr. Tabbs is sitting at a desk and there are at least 5 other people in the room. Actually, it doesn’t even look like a room, more like a spaceship. 

“Morning Sunshine,” says someone to my right. 

“Gosh, why are you so chipper?” I say in a blank tone.

“The real question is, why AREN’T you chipper? ”

“Why would I be? I have a horrible headache.”

“I’m Cypher, and you should be ecstatic because you’re finally in the real world.”

I look out of the side window, and everything looks destroyed. Not radioactive but definitely demolished. If this is the real world, do I really wanna live in it?

TWO YEARS LATER

Since I joined Mr. Tabbs and his team, we’ve recruited 15 people. When we first tell people about the apocalypse that caused us to go into a simulation in the first place, they look at us like we’re insane. We’ve been working on trying to analyze the Earth’s surface to see how we can make it tenantable. We’re finally getting somewhere, and I’m so glad I made the decision to join the team.