SHATTERED GLASS AND SHAKING CHAIRS
By Juliet
I sit down, put the headphones on, place my hands on the table and close my eyes. I hear a soothing voice in my ear. It tells me that everything will be alright, that I’ll be okay. I hear footsteps approaching, and a hoarser voice comes to my right ear. It threatens me, and I wince when I hear glass shattering around me. More footsteps, more voices, more glass. I hear something fall to the floor, and the second voice comes to my ear again.
“That’s gon be you, boy,” it says.
I feel my chair tremble under me. I wince again. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and think it might be the person who is supervising the people taking the simulation, but everything simulated feels so real that I can’t tell anymore.
"Just breathe," I tell myself. It seems to work for a short while until my chair shakes under me again. More glass breaks; there are screams, yells, and groans surrounding me. I feel the hand again.
I don’t think I can make it! As much as I want to, the simulation is so realistic that wails of sirens cover the chaos around me, signaling for me to take the headphones off. I breathe, processing what happened, but something in me doesn’t feel right. I could hardly make it through a simulation of what happened 50 years ago. Back then, people had to be stronger; our society has changed so much since then.
“That’s gon be you, boy,” it says.
I feel my chair tremble under me. I wince again. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and think it might be the person who is supervising the people taking the simulation, but everything simulated feels so real that I can’t tell anymore.
"Just breathe," I tell myself. It seems to work for a short while until my chair shakes under me again. More glass breaks; there are screams, yells, and groans surrounding me. I feel the hand again.
I don’t think I can make it! As much as I want to, the simulation is so realistic that wails of sirens cover the chaos around me, signaling for me to take the headphones off. I breathe, processing what happened, but something in me doesn’t feel right. I could hardly make it through a simulation of what happened 50 years ago. Back then, people had to be stronger; our society has changed so much since then.