"Be quiet."

       She quickly sat up, her head whipping from one window to the other. Heavy tension filled the air. Her head cautiously turned to the bamboo door; the faint unnatural rustling of leaves filled her ears and her senses sharpened. Her gaze quickly flew to the wooden stick on top of the old oak table. Now. She leapt for the stick, but found herself quickly getting pushed down to the dirt with a yelp. She cursed and protested, but soon found herself quickly losing consiousness.

"No!"

       Alice's eyes shot open and she breathed heavily. Cold sweat trickled down her face. The virtual panel that hovered over her head vanished and she sat up, resisting the urge to hold her aching head and scream out in pain. This is nothing. 

"Hey, you okay?" Alice looked up as Hyorin affectionately put a hand on her shoulder.
"She's fine. Let's try it again," Sunggyu sternly said as he started recalibrating the machine. Alice weakly nodded, earning a groan from Hyorin.
"You're clearly not okay. We've been trying this for twelve years, Sunggyu. Just jumping to a memory won't work. The Animus would just push her mind back and--"
"Hyojung, we're here to work, not babysit. Alice lay do--"
"Alice, I'll help you back to your room."

       Before Alice could protest, the older woman had already helped her up on her feet, and almost dragged her to her bedroom. Hyorin sat Alice down on her bed and sighed when she looked around the empty bedroom. Except for a desk and a bed, there was nothing in her room. There wasn't even a closet. It was weird how Hyorin got so frustrated even i