["It was. You were just too absentminded to notice."]
"Yeah, right," I replied.
Something was definitely wrong with me. No matter how much I thought about it, this wasn't normal. Could this be a side effect of having my memory wiped? I kept losing focus at the worst possible moments.
Anyway.
The Graphto Watch wasn't much to look at on the surface. It was just a watch, or at least that's what it looked like.
["It's more than a watch. It helps the collar transmit signals, tracks your location, contains your profile, power levels, personal data, and much more."]
'WHAT?!'
This tiny thing did all of that?
["Yes. That's why you can't take it off."]
I turned it over, looking for a latch or a seam, anything I could use to remove it, but there was nothing. It was completely sealed.
"That's all for now! Oh, wait, one more thing," Wilston's voice boomed across the room before he broke into manic laughter that went on for a solid ten minutes. Then, in a tone that made my skin crawl, he added, "EVERYONE, EXCEPT YOUR FELLOW TEAMMATES, IS FAIR GAME!"
The massive doors swung open, and no one needed it explained further. We all understood perfectly. No one was safe.
Some people actually smiled at that.
Inside the building, I took a slow breath and looked around. Fluorescent lights lined the ceiling in neat rows, lighting up the entire space, and below them, rows upon rows of VR pods filled every inch of the floor. This was only the first floor, and there were already enough pods for the absurd number of students gathered here.
Impressive.
"Form your teams now. We won't interfere with the process," Wilston announced, his grin doing nothing to reassure anyone. "Once you've formed your team, register and proceed to your assigned pods, which will be linked to your ID number on the Graphto Watch. Begin."
Chaos broke out immediately. People scrambled in every direction, desperate to lock in someone strong enough to carry them through. I, on the other hand, stayed exactly where I was, because two people I never expected were already walking straight toward me.
"Jayden?" I raised an eyebrow.
"So, want to team up?" he asked, grinning.
But I wasn't looking at him. My eyes had moved to the girl standing just behind him, and the moment I registered her face, everything clicked into place at once.
'OH MY GOD.'
I couldn't believe it. I genuinely couldn't believe it.
Anna Renay Crimson.
Pink, neck-length hair. Blue eyes. It was her. It had been her the entire time, and the answer had been right in front of me through every single retry.
She was the reason I kept dying.
In the game, she was responsible for several mysterious deaths, but she only ever went after the weak, and I was about as weak as it got. I practically had the word written across my forehead. No wonder she kept coming after me. I was probably the easiest target she'd ever had.
And the reason? I had accidentally brushed hands with Jayden a few times. That was it. That was the entire reason.
Anna was Jayden's childhood friend, they'd known each other since their very first day at the Terium Nexus, and she had this habit of completely losing it whenever anything involved him. In the game, that instability made her dangerous, and now I was living proof of just how dangerous.
I died because I accidentally touched that idiot's hand.
I was not letting this go. I would get my revenge for every single death she'd put me through, but that could wait.
First things first.
"Sorry, I've already made plans with someone," I said, giving Jayden a polite smile before stepping around him before he could respond.
But I felt it immediately, a stare drilling straight into my back.
I didn't turn around. I just kept walking.
Damn. Which one of them was it this time?