by Eliza Green
But the fourth question threw him for a loop.
‘If one had to die, whom would you kill?’ A photo of his mother and father accompanied the question.
He hit the blue button on screen and thought of his response. Both.
It was how he felt right at that moment.
‘Why do you hate your parents?’
Because they abandoned me.
‘Where did they go?’
I don’t know.
‘Did they join the rebels?’
I don’t know.
‘Is there a rebellion movement nearby?’
I don’t know.
‘Are they planning an attack on Arcis?’
I don’t know.
‘Do you think there are rebels in Arcis right now?’
I don’t know.
‘Why are you avoiding our questions, Warren?’
I can’t answer your questions.
‘If you don’t answer them properly, we will detain you here.’
Okay, fine. I don’t think there are rebels in Arcis. I hate my parents for leaving me behind. They didn’t tell me where they were going.
The screen went blank and the supervisor returned to the room. Warren pulled the white circles from his head. ‘The first five people on this side of the room have made it to the next level.’
Anya, Dom, Yasmin, June, Sheila.
Sheila released a quick breath. The boy from the sixth floor in Anya and Dom’s group had missed out on rotation.
‘The rest of you will take the test again.’
Jerome punched his chair. Warren folded his arms. Anya glanced over with a look of pity. She could keep it. Dom, on the other hand, couldn’t keep the smile from his face.
Warren, Jerome and the rest of the retakers were told to wait in the dining hall. Anya and the others followed the supervisor out of the room.
Warren couldn’t believe he’d missed out on rotation. What had he done different to Dom?
‘What the hell happened? Why are we being kept back?’ he said.
‘No idea,’ said Jerome. ‘I answered the questions the way I thought I was supposed to.’
‘Well, are there right or wrong answers?’ said one of the boys. ‘Is that why we’re still here and the others have rotated? Because we answered the wrong way?’
‘It’s hard to say,’ said Jerome. ‘Some of the open-ended questions were so vague, it was impossible to know.’ He sat back and groaned. ‘How the hell does this floor work?’
Warren sat up straight. ‘The supervisor said we get to do the test again. So next time we answer them differently. See if that changes the result.’
Jerome nodded. ‘Okay. I’m up for trying that.’
8
Warren
The supervisor didn’t return straight away. Warren, Jerome and the remaining four boys and one girl, whose names he hadn’t bothered to ask, entertained themselves in the dining hall. Warren grabbed one of the dinner knives and convinced the others to play his favourite game. All the person had to do was splay their hand out flat on the table while he stabbed between the fingers with a knife. The girl set the timer while the boys played.
‘The first person to flinch loses,’ said Warren. He’d played this game once before, on the first floor. Jerome had surprised him by holding out the longest.
The first boy flinched almost immediately. He swapped seats with Jerome.
‘Careful with that damn knife,’ said Jerome as Warren stabbed between his fingers. Despite his protests, Jerome kept his nerves of steel, never flinching once.
Warren had practised the game many times alone, but playing against an opponent made it more interesting. He’d played it in school against kids he suspected to be children of rebels. His theory? If they flinched, they were too weak to be connected to the rebellion. Everyone did in the end. But he got a kick out of scaring them anyway. And sometimes, on purpose, he nicked the fleshy part in between the fingers.
Another of the nameless boys was up next. He splayed his hand out, but as Warren stabbed in between his fingers, the boy’s breathing quickened to the point where Warren thought he might pass out.
One centimetre to the left and the sharp knife would puncture the skin. Warren resisted the urge to test this kid’s resolve. Weak people were either losers or wound up dead, like Lilly. If Lilly had been a stronger person, she would have seen that Ash had been trying to get them both to the next level. If she hadn’t flipped out, Warren would have had a choice of both Ash and Jerome as an ally.
He upped the tempo, increased the speed of the knife. He wasn’t sure what really drove him to push this kid. The boy started to sweat. He never took his eyes off the knife and neither did Warren, except to check on the kid’s status. When Warren sensed the boy was about to flinch, the door opened and the supervisor appeared. The boy slid back his hand and let out a long sigh.
‘Please follow me. The test is about to recommence.’ The supervisor left the room.
‘That doesn’t count as a win,’ said Warren to the boy. ‘On the next break, we go again.’ Warren smirked as the blood drained from the boy’s face.
On the way back to his chair, he noticed the supervisor appeared to be nervous and less confident than before the last round of tests. He looked around the room at the seven remaining participants. Just them. Nobody new. The lack of new participants was a deviation from every other rotation. What was different this time round?
He sat in the chair and thought about his new strategy to get off the seventh floor. The supervisor attached the dots to his head and he closed his eyes, breathing in deep. Had his unwillingness to answer questions about his parents’ whereabouts held him back? Why did Arcis want to know so bad?
Because it has expressed concern about increased rebel activity in the area and it thinks you’re a rebel, too.
It had to be why Arcis had asked if he’d thought rebels were in the building. It wanted him to confess.
Warren settled into the chair. He would pick a different answer if Arcis asked him again. He would tell Arcis what it wanted to hear, that his parents were rebels, and they’d left a note.
With the white circles in place on his head, Warren resumed his test. The first question appeared on the screen.
‘What would you be doing right now if your parents were still in Oakenfield?’
Warren pressed the blue button and thought his response.
I would probably be doing chores. They were strict.
‘Why were they strict with you?’
Warren shifted in his chair. I don’t know.
‘Unacceptable answer. Were you a bad child?’
No. They were just strict, that’s all. Like a lot of parents in Oakenfield.
‘Why do you think that is?’
I don’t know.
‘Unacceptable answer. Where have your parents gone?’
It would be easy to tell Arcis about the Beyond, or the rebel stronghold his parents had mentioned some time ago, located somewhere in the mountains.
I told you, I don’t know.
It was easier to lie.
New text appeared on the screen.
‘You must know where they’ve gone. You are their only child. Have they travelled beyond the safe zone?’
The safe zone? I don’t know what that is.
‘Did they leave you a note?’
Warren gripped the arms of his chair.
No.
‘You’re lying. Your adrenaline has just spiked.’
No, I’m not.
‘Then why has your heart rate suddenly elevated?’
Warren thought fast and clutched his stomach.
I feel sick. Sometimes the bread makes me sick. I think I have an intolerance to wheat.
‘Did your parents travel beyond the safe zone?’
I don’t know anything about a safe zone. Stop asking me.
‘Unacceptable answer. Tell us us the truth or you will receive a shock.’
I don’t know anythin
g about a safe zone. I swear. My parents didn’t tell me jack shit about what they were doing or not doing. You’re wasting your time with me.
A snap of electricity, delivered through the circles attached to his head, jerked him sideways.
Stop! I’m telling you the truth.
‘What did the note say?’
There was no note.
Another shock forced Warren to clench his teeth. He groaned.
‘We can keep this up all day. What did the note say?’
We?
I don’t know—
Another shock cut off his thoughts. He screamed through clenched teeth.
Okay! It said I wasn’t ready to see what they wanted to show me.
‘And what did they want to show you?’
Hell if I know. They didn’t tell me anything.
A pause followed. ‘We believe you, Warren. You may think our methods to be cruel, but we are just protecting you from harm. From a serious threat to our survival, and yours.’
What threat? The rebels?
‘You must endure the shocks for a little longer. We are not finished with our questions. If you tell us the truth, we will not need to use force—’
A sudden loud rattle shook through the ceiling and then the floor. Warren’s screen went blank.
‘What the hell was that?’ said Jerome looking around. Warren looked up in fear at the ceiling that might be about to collapse in on them.
The supervisor relocated from the corner to the middle of the room. She looked up at the ceiling as well, confused.
‘Continue with the tests. I’ll check it out.’ She headed for the exit and walkway.
‘Screw this,’ said Warren, peeling away the circles. He didn’t want to wait in a room that could collapse in at any moment.
‘What happened to you during the test?’ said Jerome. ‘You looked like you were in some serious pain.’
‘The bastards shocked me. Said I wasn’t answering their questions to their liking. Well, I’m not staying here to get shocked again.’
Jerome pulled off his own circles. The others did the same. ‘Shocked, why? What sort of questions was Arcis asking you?’
‘The usual. Nothing important. Hey, how about we just find a way off this floor?’
‘Yeah, I wanna go home,’ said one of the boys. The girl nodded.
‘The rest of you can do what you like,’ said Warren. ‘But I’m heading up. I came here to reach the ninth floor.’ He couldn’t turn back now, not when he was this close to finding out where his parents had gone and uncovering their secrets.
‘Well, if you’re going up, then so am I,’ said Jerome marching away. ‘Come on, let’s try the elevator.’
Warren smiled and followed Jerome out of the test room, which the supervisor had left the door unlocked. They crossed the walkway and arrived back to an empty changing room. There was no sign of the supervisor.
He called the elevator and turned to the others. ‘Well, are you five going up or down?’
‘Down,’ said one of the boys. The others said nothing, looking unsure.
‘Well you’re all going to have to wait, because me and Jerome are going to the ninth floor. So if you want to go down, you’ll need to find another way to do it.’
The girl sat down on the bench beneath the clothes hooks and folded her arms. ‘I think we should wait until the supervisor comes back. I don’t want to get into trouble.’
Warren rolled his eyes. ‘The supervisor isn’t coming back. She’s busy with whatever’s happening up there.’ He pointed up. The ceiling shook a second time and Warren thought he heard muffled gunfire.
‘What the hell’s going on?’ said Jerome as though he’d heard the same thing.
Warren shook his head. ‘It’s got to be rebels.’
Jerome shot him a disbelieving look. ‘Why would rebels be in this place? It’s an education facility.’
‘I’m serious. The voice in the test asked me if there were rebels in Arcis. Why would it ask me that if Arcis wasn’t already suspicious?’
‘All the more reason to get the hell out of here,’ said the girl.
Warren sighed. He couldn’t leave. There was nothing left for him back in Oakenfield. He didn’t care what the others did.
He called the elevator again and waited. There was no stirring of a carriage, no hum of a motor. Nothing.
‘Is it broken?’ said the boy from Warren’s abandoned knife game.
Warren ran a hand through his hair ‘I don’t know. Maybe Arcis has it on lockdown... Shit. I really need to get off this floor.’
‘You eager to meet a few rebels?’ said Jerome. ‘Because if they’re up there like you say, that’s what will happen.’
‘If it is rebels, they’re not here for us. They’re here to mess with Arcis. With any luck, the supervisors will wipe the rebels out and everything will go back to normal. They’ll unlock the elevator soon, you’ll see.’
‘Maybe there’s a set of stairs somewhere.’ Jerome looked around the room, then back at Warren. ‘You know, like an emergency exit in case the elevator is broken?’
Warren clicked his fingers. ‘Good thinking.’
They searched the changing room and the adjacent area. All Warren found was solid walls. They found no access point in Tower A, so they agreed to check out Tower B as a group.
‘Look how high up we are,’ said one of the boys as they hit the walkway again.
Warren crossed fast and avoided looking down. His thoughts drifted to Ash and Lilly.
The door to the test area was still unlocked. Warren ordered everyone to split up and they searched the room to find nothing. Next, they moved to the dining hall, bathrooms and dorm room. There was no sign of an exit point anywhere.
Warren sat on one of the beds in the dorm, his face in his hands. ‘There’s literally no way off this floor, other than the elevator.’
Jerome sat beside him and patted him on the back. ‘Don’t worry. The elevator will unlock and we can—’
A loud crash and another vibration nearly knocked Warren to the floor. Jerome jumped back and stared up. The other boys and the girl crouched between two beds.
‘What the hell’s going on up there?’ said Warren.
Jerome continued staring at the ceiling. ‘Beats me, but it’s more than just a gunfight.’
Warren stood up. ‘I want to check something.’
He returned to the test room and sat in one of the dentist chairs.
Jerome came to his side. ‘What are you doing?’
‘We can talk to Arcis if we have these circles on our heads. So I thought I’d ask them a few questions.’
Warren hesitated in the chair, worried he might receive another shock.
The screen was blank.
What’s happening? What are those noises we keep hearing?
He waited but there was no response.
He tried another chair, another set of circles.
What was that noise? Are there rebels in Arcis?
No response.
It wasn’t until the third chair that he finally got an answer.
What’s going on? Tell us. The supervisor is gone.
‘The ninth floor is under attack. Please stay where you are. Do not try to leave. Your safety is our utmost priority.’
Attack? From whom?
‘The rebels have gained access to our facility and are trying to take it from us.’
The rebels? What do they want?
‘We need your cooperation to ensure the rebellion does not destroy the good work Arcis has done here. We are not the enemy.’
Warren needed no convincing of that. He hated the rebels as much as Arcis did. They were trying to destroy the towns’ way of life, the status quo. Town life might not suit everyone, but that didn’t mean everything should be destroyed.
What can I do to help?
‘You can stay here. Don’t move. It’s for your own safety.’
Give us access to Electro Guns. We can join the fight
against them.
‘We have the situation under control. Please do not worry.’ There was a pause. ‘Why do you want to help us?’
Because I hate the rebels and everything about the rebellion.
Another pause. ‘I believe you, Warren Hunt. Your heart rate is normal. Were your parents rebels?’
Warren paused.
Yes.
‘Why did you lie to us earlier? Tell us where your parents went.’
He yanked the circles from his head before they could shock him again.
‘Well, what did Arcis say?’ said Jerome.
‘It wants us to stay put.’
‘So should we?’
The test room gave him the creeps now. ‘Nah. I’m going to see if I can get the elevator to work.’
Back in the changing room, Warren removed the elevator panel and fiddled around with the components. He had no idea what he was doing, or if he was making things better or worse. But he needed a distraction from what was happening above, and from Arcis’ probing questions.
Arcis kept asking about his parents. Who were Philip and Jean Hunt? Were they more than just rebels? Why did Arcis need to know so bad, and in the middle of an attack on its facility?
He replaced the panel and leaned against the wall. The floor rattled again. The vibration felt strongest through the wall; he pulled his back away from it.
Everything went dark as the changing room lights went out.
‘I don’t like this,’ said one of the boys.
Warren stood up and felt his way along the wall to the door between the changing room and the adjoining area. The door was locked.
‘Looks like we’re stuck here.’
‘For how long?’ said a panicked Jerome. ‘I suddenly need to pee.’
‘Damn, Jerome. Now I need to go,’ said Warren.
‘Me too,’ said the others.
Warren sat with his legs crossed for what felt like an hour.
When the lights finally flickered back on, Warren tried the elevator again. The motor hummed and a noise travelled from the pit below.
His hands became clammy as he waited for the elevator to arrive.
There was only one way he was going.
9
Warren
The others, scared of being left behind, followed Warren and Jerome into the elevator. They rode it up as far as it would go. The doors opened and Warren stepped out first into a straight corridor that led to a single door. The corridor was softly illuminated by backlit frosted-glass partitions. Warren walked fast to the door and tried it.