Chapter 1: Beginning
The first thing I noticed was the soft bed beneath me, and the second was the blinding light above. I blinked, trying to adjust my eyes to the harsh glare. My head throbbed like I'd spent the night drinking, but I couldn't remember having a drop. I sat up, rubbing my temples, and that's when I saw them.
Two girls lay beside me, both naked as the day they were born. I did a double-take, wondering if I was still dreaming. But no, they were very real, and very naked. One had long wavy brown hair cascading over her shoulders, and the other had straight blonde hair that fell to her waist. They were both just awake moment before me , their eyes fluttering open, taking in the same stark reality I was. I couldn't help but notice their bodies, their curves, their skin. It was a strange, surreal moment, but I was a guy, and I was naked too, so I tried to keep my eyes on their faces.
The brunette looked up at me, her eyes wide and confused. "Where are we?" she asked, her voice soft and slightly shaky.
"I don't know," I replied, looking around the room. It was a diamond-shaped space, with smooth, cold walls that seemed to slope up into the harsh light above. There was no floor, no ground, just the bed we were on, which seemed to merge into the walls. "I'm Caleb, by the way."
She smiled weakly, "I'm Brinly."
The blonde girl sat up, her eyes scanning the room. "I'm Gya," she said, her voice quieter than Brinly's.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her cheeks flushing slightly. It was clear she was more reserved than Brinly, her body language closed off, arms crossed over her chest. I noticed she had a small tattoo of a phoenix on her hip, the only blemish on her otherwise flawless skin.
"Nice to meet you both," I said, trying to keep the mood light despite our strange situation. "Any idea how we got here?"
Brinly shook her head, her wavy hair bouncing with the motion. "The last thing I remember, I was at a concert. I must have passed out or something."
Gya nodded in agreement. "I was at a study group.
We were working on a project, and I must have fallen asleep," Gya added, her voice barely above a whisper.
I looked around the room again, trying to find any clues. "There's no windows, no doors. How did we even get here?"
Suddenly, a robotic voice echoed through the room, startling us all. "Welcome, subjects. You have been chosen for a unique experiment."
We all looked at each other, shock and fear written all over our faces. "Who are you?" Brinly demanded, her voice shaking.
"We are the administrators of this facility," the voice replied, its tone cold and detached.
"You are here to participate in a survival challenge. Your goal is simple: find a way out."
I scoffed, "Find a way out? We're naked, in a diamond-shaped room with no doors or windows. How are we supposed to do that?"
The voice ignored my question. "To increase your chances of survival, you must engage in physical intimacy with each other."
I blinked, taken aback. "What did you just say?"
"You heard correctly, subject Caleb. Physical intimacy will trigger a response in the facility, providing you with necessary resources for your escape."
Brinly's eyes widened, her cheeks turning a shade redder. "You want us to...
have sex?" she stammered, her voice barely audible.
Gya's eyes widened, and she looked away, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson. I could see her hands trembling slightly as she clutched the bedsheet to her chest.
I let out a disbelieving laugh, running a hand through my sandy hair. "That's ridiculous. We can't just... just do that. Not like this, not here."
The robotic voice responded, "The rules are clear, subjects. Engage in physical intimacy to trigger the facility's response."
I stood up, pacing around the room, trying to wrap my head around this absurd situation. "This is crazy. We don't even know each other.
We can't just... start touching each other like that," Brinly said, her voice filled with disbelief and a hint of panic. She wrapped her arms around herself, as if trying to create a barrier between her and the idea the voice had just presented.
Gya remained silent, her eyes cast downwards, her cheeks still flushed. I could see her hands trembling slightly, the bedsheet clutched tightly in her grip.
I stopped pacing and turned to face them. "Look, I don't know about you two, but I'm not comfortable with this. I mean, sure, we're all...attractive," I gestured to our naked forms, "but this is crazy. We can't just...
start making out or something," I finished, my voice echoing slightly in the sterile room. Brinly nodded, her eyes meeting mine, a look of relief on her face. Gya, however, remained silent, her gaze still fixed on the floor.
The robotic voice interrupted our conversation, "Subjects, you have 1 hour to comply with the rules. Failure to do so will result in... consequences."
I felt a chill run down my spine at the cold, ominous tone of the voice. I looked at Brinly, then at Gya, who was still avoiding eye contact. "We can't just sit here and do nothing," I said, my voice filled with determination.
"We need to figure out how to get out of here, but we can't just... you know," I gestured vaguely between Brinly and Gya, "start touching each other like that. We need to think of another way."
Brinly nodded, her eyes meeting mine. "I agree. Not like this."
Gya finally looked up, her eyes meeting mine. "But what if we don't? What if we just... wait? Maybe something else will happen."
I shook my head, "I don't think that's a good idea.
We don't know what will happen if we just wait. We need to try something, anything, to get out of here."
Brinly nodded, her eyes scanning the room again. "Maybe we should look for something to use as a weapon or a tool. If we can't find a way out, at least we can defend ourselves."
Gya bit her lip, her eyes darting around the room. "But what if there's nothing here? What if we're just... trapped?"
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "We can't just give up. We need to try. Let's start by looking around the room.
There's nothing here but the bed and the walls. No furniture, no decorations, no hidden compartments. Just us and this sterile, cold room.
I started to walk towards the wall, my footsteps echoing in the silence. The walls were smooth, no seams or cracks to hide anything. I pressed my hands against the surface, feeling the cold, hard material. It was like touching a slab of ice.
Brinly and Gya followed me, their footsteps soft behind me. We all looked up at the ceiling, the harsh light casting long shadows on our faces. There was nothing there but the light itself, no vents or speakers or anything that might give us a clue about what was going on.
"This is pointless. We need to think of something else." "Maybe we should try to communicate with the voice. Ask it questions, see if we can get more information." "But what if it doesn't want to answer? What if it just ignores us?"
I shrugged, "We can't just sit here and do nothing. We need to try something."
I turned to face the wall where the voice had come from earlier.
"Hey!" I called out, my voice echoing in the room. "Can you hear me?"
There was a pause before the robotic voice responded, "Yes, subject Caleb. I can hear you."
"Good," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "We have some questions. Can you tell us more about this... experiment? Why are we here? What do you want from us?"
The voice hesitated for a moment before responding, "The purpose of this experiment is to observe human behavior under extreme conditions. Your participation is voluntary, but necessary for the success of the experiment."
"Voluntary?" Brinly scoffed, her voice filled with disbelief. "We didn't sign up for this.
We didn't even know we were part of an experiment until we woke up here!" Brinly's voice echoed in the room, her frustration evident.
The robotic voice remained unperturbed. "Your consent was obtained."
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, right. Like we have a choice." I shook my head, my frustration growing. "Look, we need to figure out how to get out of here. We can't just sit around and wait for something to happen."
Gya looked up at me, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and determination. "But how? We don't know anything about this place. We don't know what's going to happen if we don't… comply"
Gya said, her voice barely above a whisper. She looked at Brinly and me, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and determination.
Brinly nodded in agreement. "We need to figure out a way out of here. We can't just give up."
I paced around the room, my mind racing. Suddenly a timer started counting down from 1 minute on the wall where the voice had spoken from before. We all stared at it in shock.
"Shit," I muttered, "We're running out of time." I looked at Brinly and Gya, their faces pale with fear. "We need to do something. Now."
Brinly bit her lip, her eyes darting between me and Gya. "I...I don't know if I can...you know," she stammered, her cheeks flushing.
Gya remained silent, her eyes fixed on the timer. I could see her hands trembling slightly. "Look, I get it.
This is weird, uncomfortable, and completely out of our control," I said, trying to keep my voice calm and reassuring. "But we're running out of time, and we can't just sit here and do nothing." "I know. I just...I can't just...you know, with someone I just met. And in this...this place," she said, her voice filled with discomfort.
I understood where she was coming from. This wasn't exactly a romantic setting, and we were all strangers. But we were also running out of time, and I didn't want to find out what the consequences were for not complying.
I looked at Gya, who seemed even more hesitant than Brinly. "Gya, what do you think? We need to do something, and fast."
Gya looked up at me, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and resignation. "I...I don't know. I've never...I mean, I'm not...experienced with this kind of thing," she stammered, her cheeks turning a deeper shade of red. Suddenly the timer hit 0 without me noticing and a gas filled the room knocking us out.