Air floods through my lungs, inflating them like balloons. My eyes snap open, wide with shock, and I let out a sputtered cough. Bright light shines in my eyes, blinding me, darting back and forth across my face. Faces appear briefly between the bright flashes of light and voices sound from millions of miles away. 

“She’s stable,” A feminine voice drones. 

"Scar," A familiar voice soothes, "Hey, can you hear me?" 

My eyebrows furrow. The haze slowly starts to lift as several hands help pull me up into a sitting position. My fingers curl around the edge of the capsule I seem to be sitting in, one hand clenched tightly around someone's thumb. I blink several times, trying to make sense of everything that's going on around me. 

And it isn't until I hear, "Owe, owe, owe! Scar, you're killing my thumb!", that everything shifts into place.

"Jasper!" I gasp, fingers spreading wide, back hitting the opposite side of the capsule. I try to scramble back further, images of his animated corpse flashing through my mind's eye. 

He frowns, holding both palms up. "Scar, it's okay!" 

"You're dead!" I shout at him, pointing accusingly.

"Not really," He shouts, pointing back, smiling slightly, "They lied to you."

I stare at him for a few moments, "Who?"

Jasper gestures to the room around us. For the first time since my eyes opened, I look around, taking in the strange sights around us. Silver colored tubes and hoses cover the ceilings, the walls, rushing through a thick plate of glass into the next room -where huge computers and machines are set up. Several people sit behind the desks, typing away or fiddling with buttons -completely ignoring us. 

I sit in the capsule, the Activity Pod I'd climbed into for my annual check. The nylon lid is lifted, high into the air, and Jasper sits beside it, Mo and Sebastian standing behind him. Sebastian smiles at me warmly, something akin to relief swimming inside his dark eyes. Monique stands beside him with her arms folded across her chest. 

She smiles at me, "Well hello there, Sleeping Beauty."

"You're alive." I let out a hysteric laugh. My shoulders sag and I slump down against the side of the pod, staring at the trio, overcome with relief. 

"Indeed," An unfamiliar voice echoes through the room, "You're all alive; perfectly safe and healthy," A man slows to a stop at the foot of the Activity Pod, a clipboard in his hands. He adjusts his glasses, pushing the circular frames further up his nose, and smiles gently my way, "Welcome back, Scar. Do you know where you are?"

"Am I being pranked?"

"No," He lets out a laugh, shaking his head, "You were a part of an experiment." 

I stare at him, like he's just grown a third eye. Then my father steps out from behind him, smiling weakly, and says, “Allow me to explain..." 

Jasper takes my hand and I tear my gaze away from my father. I stare at our hands for a few moments and then my eyes widen with realization. Jasper frowns but I ignore him, ignore his hand. My heart thuds heavily in my chest –painfully. Carefully, I look back to my father, trying to hide the hurt. 

This was it. 

This was where they'd tell me I'd just been pranked. This was where I would what a replay of everything that happened to me and realize just what an idiot I’d been. Jasper really was being paid for this and Monique and Sebastian didn’t care. 

Everything was a lie. 

I grit my teeth. 

"I got the invitation several months ago." My father runs a hand through his messy locks, eyes falling shut, "And basically, the scientists you see here offered me a lot of money if I allowed them to secretly insert you into a video-game. I would have told you, Scar, I swear -but it was part of the deal. And we needed the money." 

I stare at him. 

"The simulation was not a video-game," The man with the glasses huffs irately, cutting off my father before he can begin another round of apologies, "It is a virtual reality simulation machine -designed to insert the human mind into a world of our choosing without the transfer being detected." He nods slightly towards me, "The four of you were supposed to test out different weapons against a possible zombie apocalypse."

"And obviously," His eyes shimmer with excitement, "We found our winner –the broadsword. We have already alerted the Head of Weaponry and more swords are being produced as we speak!" 

"But wouldn't the variables be biased, being that the zombie apocalypse hasn't happened yet?" Sebastian frowns and I jolt, shocked slightly. My eyes lock onto his form and he glances towards me, brows crinkled. He wasn't in on it? 

The scientist sighs softly and looks around, as if making sure no one is listening.

"Actually, we are nearing the early stages of the apocalypse. A few weeks ago, some poor cemetery lad discovered a Nanobot-controlled corpse and the military were called into play. We managed to save the poor creature and we have him here, in the lab, for testing. We were able to add in actual variables so the creatures in the simulator were incredibly realistic." 

My mouth hangs open. 

"So...you mean, all this time," I stumble over the right words, "All those deaths were fake? Nothing was real?" My hand lifts to my cheek, reveling in the smooth skin. No blood pulls away with my fingers from the 'gash' I'd received while fighting Sebastian. 

And I don’t feel bone. 

My hands shift towards my stomach. It doesn’t greet me with an angry grumble. I don’t feel nauseous or lightheaded at all. I feel…fine…somewhat. The scientist presses his lips into a tight line, his silence answering for him. Jasper's hand squeezes mine and I look over, staring at him brokenly. 

"When we died," Mo explains, "We woke up here. And Dr. Martin," She gestures to the scientist, "explained a little about what was going on and we got to watch everything that happened." 

Dr. Martin smiles slightly, “I apologize for the confusion with the bear. The facility is on a limited budget and the simulation was only supposed to last for a week’s time, so we had to speed things up a bit,” He taps the side of the capsule, “Little needles stored in here helped keep you alive by injecting water and liquid food into your stomach.” His explanation breaks off as my mouth opens, brows crinkled. 

“What’s a bear?” 

“The creature that attacked you, that infected Sebastian.” He chuckles softly, “Originally it wasn’t infected, but when we realized that it would put is over budget, we had to infect Sebastian.” 

I grimace as the image of a zombie-Sebastian leaps out at me, razor sharp nails slicing out. 

Jasper stares at me. 

Monique starts to explain what her death was like while the doctor shuffles around my Activity Pod. I kind of hear her, but I’m more focused on my thoughts –on the warmth in Sebastian’s eyes and Jasper’s last words. My heartstrings tug painfully and a grim realization stifles through me. 

I think…I think I like them both. 

A cloth is draped over me, barely covering my hospital grown and I subconsciously tug the cloth further up, clutching it to my chest like a lifeline. I feel so distant, so cold. Something warm touches my cheek. 

I look up into Jasper's sparkling azure hues, unconsciously leaning into his palm, his thumb caressing my cheekbone. Slowly, he moves forward, lips brushing against my forehead. Another kiss is pressed to my nose and, then, my lips. 

My eyes flutter shut; a warm buttery sweetness sizzling inside my veins. 

He pulls back; face deadly serious, "Scar, everything that happened on that island may have been a lie. It may have been fake and I know you may not believe me." 

"But I really do love you. And I only spoke the truth to you." 

I stare at him, mulling over his words inside my head. My gaze flickers to the side, to an indifferent Sebastian, whose arms are folded tightly across his chest and jaw is set –despite how much he tries to hide the hurt.

Everything has changed. 

I'm home now, but not home. My father still has some explaining to do, and in my opinion, so does Jasper and Sebastian. I feel so torn now, between the both of them. Sebastian and I grew close over the course of the week. But Jasper…is Jasper. He’s a jerk and a goof. And I like them both for different reasons. I know I have to choose. 

Jasper’s thumb still strokes my cheek and Sebastian stares at me coldly. I take a deep, shaky breath, pulling my face away. 

I smile at them both slightly. 

I’ll get through this. 

I just have to take it one step at a time. 

Okay. I have finally uploaded the rest of this story. Now I can finally mark it complete and move on! This is such an old story, and I just want to put it behind me for right now xD I may re-write it later on. Thank you for reading! Your support has been marvelous!