Fading Reality

Nick eyed his vast green surroundings with renewed energy. The forest drapery surrounded him on all sides and he wanted to explore every inch of it. However, Nick knew it wasn't real. It couldn't be. There was no such thing as a place that truly existed. This could have only been a simulation. Nick jumped as he heard the brittle sound of a dead leaf crunching beneath a boot. He whirled around to find himself facing a man around his age. The man had dark brown hair and caring yet firm amber eyes that demanded attention.
"Welcome", the stranger said in a monotoned, robotic voice.
"What is this place? Why am I here", Nick insisted.

"You are to complete a series of obstacles. If you pass, you will join us. Fail, and well, we won't get to that yet", The robot man replied calmly. The man disappeared and Nick found himself confused and surrounded by metal walls on all sides. It suddenly seemed cold and he felt small, the forest was gone. In the middle of the room was a wall made from bars. On the other side, a black panther paced hungrily, his fangs bared. Nick felt his eyes grow round with fear and adrenaline pulsed through him at a great rate. What kind of test was this? The cage wall lifted and the panther ran at him with terrifying speed. It leaped first, straight at Nick's head. Nick closed his eyes, preparing for extreme agony and prolonged death, but to his amazement, the cat went straight through him! It was a hologram! Nick sighed in relief and opened his eyes to see the robot man staring at him with disapproval. He clicked something on the tablet he held and once again, Nick was thrown into another scenario. In this one, he was is a boat. The boat was in a river, gliding carelessly through the calm waters. Nick almost laughed. This was the challenge. He leaned against the back of the boat mockingly and yawned as if he were bored. Without warning, there was a rapid change in the current. These people knew no mercy. They had placed him on a waterfall! Nick gasped and frantically tried paddling with his hands and tried in vain to steer the boat, but got nowhere. suddenly, the river disappeared. Empty space for miles separated him and the merciless water below. If he was going to do something, now was the chance. He grasped last second at a low hanging vine above the water and wrapped his arms around it before his boat fell to its doom. He sighed in relief and allowed himself to breathe before swinging himself to the safety of the ground. Never before had he felt so grateful to be on land. A deep voice behind him boomed,
"Are you ready for the results of your tests, Nick?"