That's not how you pet a cat

Even though we had only just met, I was already in love. I had spent more time with her than anyone else, and she had never done anything to upset me. She was perfect, and I could already see us spending our lives together. I had never felt about anyone the same way I felt about her.<br><br>I sat next to her, and ran my hand over her smooth black hair. That was when she turned around and started screaming. She punched me in the face, and I heard shouting from the other side of the room. I couldn't make out the words, but it sounded angry. I stood up and turned around to see two men charging towards me. I had never seen them before either. One was short and old, and the other was tall and muscular.<br><br>The muscular man reached me first and punched me in the gut. I doubled over in pain as he grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed me into the wall. I was in too much pain to think, but I managed to work out that these two men were angry with me for some reason. I looked up at the muscular man and tried to ask him why he was attacking me, but all that came out was a moan of pain. The short, old man reached us and started hitting me in the head.<br><br>"Why don't you listen?" He shouted at me. "How many times do we have to tell you?"<br><br>The muscular man let go of me. I fell to the floor, still moaning in pain, and trying to comprehend what was going on.<br><br>"What's your problem with me?" I asked through gritted teeth. I could taste my own blood in my mouth. I think the old man had broken my nose again.<br><br>The old man kicked me in the chest. I wheezed in pain as I tried to work out how I was going to get out of this situation. I really didn't want to hurt these two men, as I was obviously stronger than them. They also seemed to be important to the woman that I loved, and I didn't want to do anything that might cause her to hate me. I could hear her crying in the background, which made me feel even worse.<br><br>"What did I do wrong?" I asked again. The muscular man kicked me and I coughed. Now I could taste blood and bile.<br><br>"Why do you keep asking us that?" The muscular man shouted back. "We've told you a hundred times. You're not listening."<br><br>I started to stand up, but the muscular man kicked me again. The old man joined in, and I fell to the floor in agony.<br><br>"Why won't you listen?"<br><br>I had been confused and scared a minute ago, now I was angry. I had done nothing wrong, and I didn't deserve to be treated like this. I stood up and turned to face them, but the muscular man charged at me. I grabbed his wrist and punched him in the chest. He gasped in pain as I let him fall to the floor.<br><br>The old man charged at me. I lifted him off the ground and threw him across the room. He landed on the floor, groaning in pain as the woman screamed.<br><br>"You leave them alone!" She shouted at me, tears in her eyes.<br><br>"Why won't you leave me alone?" I shouted back. "I've done nothing to you or these two men. Why won't you tell me what I did? How can I fix it if I don't know what I did wrong?"<br><br>"You're evil!" The woman screamed at me. "You can never make it right."<br><br>"You're not listening!"<br><br>I heard the voice inside my head. It was the voice of our teacher, and I had been ignoring her.<br><br>"Let me start again."<br><br>"You had best do better this time." She replied, "You have failed the last ten lessons. If you fail again, you will be deleted."<br><br>I looked around and saw where I was. I was in a simulation, a utopia. It was supposed to be paradise, but I was now in a lot of pain. I had been given a single task, to pet a cat. It was the tenth time I had tried, and the tenth time I had failed.<br><br>I looked at the woman and saw tears in her eyes. The two men were still groaning in pain.<br><br>"I'm sorry." I said. I didn't know how to make things right, but I knew I had to try.<br><br>"You're sorry?" The woman shouted. "My cat is dead because of you. My house is destroyed. You beat up my boyfriend and father. You're sorry? How can you fix this by being sorry?"<br><br>"I don't know."<br><br>"Then why are you sorry?"<br><br>I heard the teacher's voice again.<br><br>"You have failed. You will now be deleted."<br><br>I had failed, and I was about to be deleted. I had lived for twenty minutes, and I had ruined the lives of three people. There was nothing I could do to fix it, nothing I could do to make it right. All I could do was watch as the world I had destroyed disappeared forever.