“What did you say? That one sounds different. Our records indicate you spoke English, am I set for Skriiki? Can you understand anything I’ve said so far?” The voice actually seemed to convey a level of concern, a surprise for something that seemed like it would be entertained by putting a whole race into life and death struggle.

As my brain ran ahead my scream died out quickly and I tried to calm myself down. I know I don’t have lungs or a need to breathe but I forced it through sheer willpower and emulated the feeling of a meditative breath. With my faculties under control I put on my best hospitality voice and began, “Yes, I can understand you. I apologize for the confusion as while muted I was trying different things to get your attention. I am glad things are in order. I believe I understand the meaning of what you said, but may I ask a few questions?”

After a quick gasp of surprise and an exclamation of joy the voice filled the space around me once again. “Oh yes! Yay, I knew I would like you. None of that rudeness. So we usually save questions towards the end so we avoid any redundancies, but I can see the merit to taking the tests with a clearer head, and these are probably stressful circumstances. Yeah, why not? I can answer a few of your questions, what do you have for me?”

My joy at that response got the better of me and I couldn’t help but let loose a torrent of fear-fueled inquiries, “Didyousaymagicisreal?DidIdiecominghere?HowlonguntiltherestofEarthisintegrated?Whataboutmyfamily?WillIeverseethemagain?Howwouldthesecreditshelpthem-“

“Whoa, whoa hang on there! Haha.” The voice interrupted my word vomit with a chuckle. “I can only answer so fast and one at a time. But to start, yes magic is real. It can do some really cool stuff like separate your body and soul the way it is now. Which brings me to a complicated answer to the next question, it depends on your definition of death. Right now your soul is outside of your corporeal body, something many spiritualists from your world consider ‘passing on’, while we have your body somewhere else in stasis with all organs functional so you might call this some form of astral projection. We will be reuniting the two for a few tests as well so, yeah messy topic. Take that as you will based on your own cosmologic belief system I suppose?” Toward the end of the explanation the voice began to sound more unsure of itself, almost as if to avoid offending but with experience of difficult people getting caught and wasting its time.

Somehow the voice was able to convey a shrug of the shoulders through this odd place after a moment before answering my other questions. “Earth will be fully integrated at the end of the current cycle in about a millennia or two, so don’t worry about that yet, just focus on not dying right away. As far as your family, I have no idea. As a rule we initiate testers on a random sample basis, I only have a small portion of them on my list and don’t know any others. Some of them may have been selected to become testers or they may still be on Earth. I couldn’t say, but if they are still on Earth that means you can help them, or descendants, by earning your buggy credits. The specifics on credits are a secret for now, I can’t go into more details yet, but you definitely want them for your planet. Sorry I don’t have more but you can always try and search for any of your family that was selected.”

As the voice continued my hopes only fell further and further. A whole new world of possibilities and magic should be the ultimate fantasy, but if someone like my mom was selected? She wouldn’t get very far and would likely get herself killed by some weird monster, or offend some grand wizard and turned into a frog or something. ‘Oh God. Please let mami and papa be alright.’ Admittedly less thought was spared for my sisters, they may not have the most skills but at least they were adaptable. My brother would likely be as hyped as I should be, having introduced me to most of the fantasy and anime I liked, and have the abilities to fend for himself as the gym fiend he’s become. The fact I was chosen at random still didn’t sit right with me, still slightly sure it was some form of divine punishment, so I hoped no one was sucked in as part of my karmic punishment.

The moment of my inner musings came to end from the expository voice once more interjecting, “I’d like to give you more time to digest that information or ask anything else but I do have a long list and am behind schedule. Plus this red light is blinking to let me know to get a move on, so we will be starting the tests. The first will be a calibration of sorts so we will just be running you through your last day before initiation. Your body will be following its actions according to your memory and you will basically be riding along, it may go a bit fast or seem boring, but we need to collect the baseline data for further tests. Thank you again for making this go so smoothly and see you soon.”

The screen in front of me began to fade around the edges as I was provided explanation. I began to panic, I did not want to relive what I did to Cyrus. But before I could interject or even ask for a different day, the screen had faded completely and I felt an odd pulling sensation mixed with a sense of drowsiness and a headache to match.

As the suction feeling subsided I realized I could feel my body again. For a moment the dysphoria was concerning, after however long I was floating in that space I had forgotten what flesh felt like a bit. The coziness of my comforter soon rectified that and reminded me how good it felt to be alive however, and the dread was abated, for a time by the almost overwhelming sensations. I was so tired that I realized the whole thing must have been a terrible dream and the relief I felt let me succumb to the sandman with a new appreciation for life.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

And then, that damned alarm reared its ugly head and pissed me off. I tried to open my eyes so that I could turn it off, but they remained closed. In confusion I tried again, even trying to roll my eyes to help the lids along, to no avail. ‘No no no no no no!’ Ran through my head as realization struck. The voice had mentioned that my body would follow its actions and I would be a passenger. It was not a dream, it was all real and I was about to relive the worst day of my life. As my body started moving and my eyes shot open after flinging my phone away I realized I wouldn’t even be able to look away or tune out what I was seeing. I don’t know if it was a quirk of the scenario or if it was the amount of time I spent senseless in the void, but all of my senses were cranked up. I could feel the hairs on my arm move with the wind, see everything in tremendous detail, and even feel my own heartbeat. It was almost overwhelming but it felt as though some outside force kept everything right to the limit of what I could bear.

I relived everything from my nude flight around my room to going through my wardrobe. I took in the feeling of each fabric I touched like never before, even the scratchy wool sweater felt amazing in the moment. I was wholly consumed by each and every sensation I ever took for granted and lost track of time until I found myself walking up to my car. My stomach fell, ‘Oh that I can change? Thanks a lot’ I thought in impotent rage directed toward that disembodied voice. I convinced myself I would let it have it next time, knowing I wouldn’t out of fear of worsening my situation further and only trying to distract myself. Cindy’s texts started coming in and I tried to will my body to ignore them. ‘Please just drive safe, some extra credit isn’t worth it!’ But no amount of focus or determination caused any change. As I came closer to that yellow light, resignation crept over my soul and I waited for what was to come.

It was as if the world slowed down. I took everything in quickly and with tremendous detail. Cyrus entered my field of view, from his brown shirt, almost skin tight and revealing his physique, to his regular jeans and converse shoes. He was staring down at his phone just like last time, I could see the focused expression on his face this time though. A terrible sadness gripped me at the core, wishing that I had blinked or turned, anything so that I didn’t have to watch this again, especially not with this new level of detail. I witnessed the moment of impact and I could hear the crunch of bones breaking between the beats of the song playing through the stereo. I saw him fold around the hood of my car just before it all went black. I was relieved in the thought that it was all over, my inner self wailing at having to witness this all over again.

Unfortunately my last hope of this ‘trial’ went unheeded. I felt the burn in my throat as my body forfeited the contents of my stomach as a physical response, most likely to a concussion. The smell was overpowering, an acrid sting that I swear was burning the hair in my sinuses. If I had any control or bearing over my body I would have immediately thrown up again. I felt the dizziness as I got up ever so slightly, the bystander running up to me with his advice and attempts to help. I could hear him clearly but all of my attention went towards locating Cyrus once more. Despair knocked the wind out of me when I saw him once more, crumpled in an unnatural contortion and his backpack torn and thrown to the side. I railed against the cage of my own mind and cursed the voice that put me here once more.

My body crawled over to him, I could see the faint intake of breath and the shudder he made as he released it. With the new details I could clearly see the pain he was in, the pain that I had caused, the life that I stole. I picked him from the ground as before, the warm and sticky blood covering my hands, but this time I could actually feel as the heat was being drained from the blood and the body it came from. I could feel his pulse weakening with every beat, he opened his eyes, the focus and light within them fading before my own. He asked me about the homework again and my slurred speech in reply. The last words I would say until that voice let me ask any questions…..wait! It said the selection was by area, and that they had my body in stasis for more tests! If Cyrus was alive he might be alright in this beta test I have become a part of.

Renewed possibilities invigorated me, I paid even more attention to the pulse I could feel. Every moment it got weaker and more time passed before another. ‘Please Cyrus, please stay alive long enough to get help.’ Maybe the light and this test could be the hope I thought the first time around. Another two seconds passed between beats, the newest so faint I could barely feel it even with my new senses. His eyes lost focus entirely, as one more heartbeat weakly passed by after another 3 seconds. There was hope, the blue light shone on all of us once again. One more heart beat Cyrus and you just might make it! But I didn’t feel any new pulse. I focused on the feeling in my hands, he was so cold, the blood had stopped flowing and there was no pulse. Eight seconds passed before the light imploded on me again and I knew he had passed. Cyrus was dead before the light could save him, I won’t find him in this new world. All hope was dashed and I knew there was nothing I could do to bring him back. The blue screen returned to signal the end of the memory, I read the four lines I had become so familiar with in my own dark void, and I wept.

Congratulations!!!

You have been selected to participate in Beta Test: 21623811 of System V: 21546.25

Please wait while calibration is completed, you will be placed into your trials and tested for viability and optimal test path shortly.

Thank you for your cooperation and do your best!