It’s official, the testing has begun (even though it has already begun, with John letting his keys drop on purpose) and there’s no way for Urien to escape his situation. He saw himself sign the contract which didn’t allow for him to leave until the one hundred LOOPs were finished. Who was to say the video wasn't faked? That he had to escape? He feels that these TESTs are going to destroy him, mentally. After all, what if his second TEST has already started? He wouldn’t know. The best thing to do currently is to stay on alert, he thought to himself.

Another thing that gave him hope was the fact that, if John was to be believed, this really was his twelfth time going through a LOOP. That means he has survived all the TESTs up until this point, meaning the chance of him dying was lower than you would think in a “captive” situation like this. He couldn’t think of it as a captive situation himself though, seeing as he willingly agreed to go through this process for the money. Upon watching the video, it was as if seeing himself talk about his family made him remember a little more than he could before watching it. It seemed to him that The Interviewer was right: when she said seeing other people would help you remember and ruin the memory-wiping process she was right. He just remembered that he does live with his stepmom: that was a hundred percent sure to him. Suddenly, he got emotional thinking about the financial situation they were in… Getting through a hundred LOOPs, it was his goal: to escape this building and return safely to his home. In no situation would he stay to work here.

After some small talk with John, he is told to go back to his room. John also gave him five silver coins of some kind. He said that they could be used in the cafeteria. Taking into consideration that this was his first day on “the job”, he didn’t have much to do except wonder… Where are the other Testers? Why is he still alone here? Are the twenty-five rooms just a decoy of some sorts?

He went through the hallway back to the cafeteria, and there he made sure to take note of any other rooms he could be needing in the future. Sure enough, there was a room labeled “E.R.” very close to the Main Room he was just in. He could barely see through the windows in the hallway, but what he did see gave him the slightest bit of hope. A couple of pine trees. It looked as if he was in some kind of forest. There was electricity in the building though, and the lights of the vending machines that were in the cafeteria were on; so, he wasn’t someplace “too” far from society. The building he was in had to get its power from somewhere, right?

The mask was uncomfortable at first but after a couple more minutes Urien seemed to get used to it. “Man is my neck itching all of a sudden… Ugh….” – this was his main complaint. He knew there was no way that he could guess the code on his mask, so he didn’t even bother trying. His main goal currently was to find more information about the mysterious building he was in. The only thing he knew was that he wasn’t on the floor level of the building, as he saw the pine trees from above. Upon coming into his room, he saw a paper with something written on it there as if it was a note of some kind. Urien quickly realized that those were the instructions for his next TEST, which was to take place today.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“TEST #002

“The Puzzle”

Will start when all sand is at the bottom.”

There was no clock in his room, so the only way he could be told when the testing will take place is to look at the big sand-clock on the table that was put next to the note. All that he was given was a couple of arrows that were drawn on the paper, starting from a dot labeled “Your room”. “So, …they don’t want this place being mapped out… Looks like I got myself something to do...” – he thought.

Next to this paper was an ID of some sorts, which, when he inspected closely, only had a picture with his mask on along with the ID of “TESTER #4402”. His name was nowhere to be found. He took the ID and put it into his pockets. The piece of paper with the instructions was a piece of paper that he was given for free, and he wasn’t about to throw it away in the room’s trash can. A lot of things he needed to remember, but no pen or pencil were available to him. Upon checking the vending machines in the cafeteria, he noticed no other items other than food and drinks was available. There was also a cup full of straws which were needed if you wanted to drink something while having the mask on.

Next to the vending machine a card scanner of some sorts could be seen. Above the scanner there was a paper with a lengthy number of sentences. “Please scan your Tester ID before using the vending machine otherwise you will not be able to purchase the item(s) you have selected. The remaining trash must be put into your room’s trashcan so we can make sure you aren’t making anything we might not allow while you stay here. Your TEST leader will count the trashcan’s trash upon roll call every morning to make sure all the things you have bought have been disposed of correctly. In the case of finding contraband, a punishment will be fulfilled. Thank you.”

“They sure made it a point not to forget a thing. I thought that using the soda cans could have come into play if I needed to make a sharp object or something of the sorts which could have helped me with my stay here. I guess they don’t want Testers killing each other with sharp soda cans… I’m going to need a sharp object. I’ll think of a plan to fool him.”

The system was really built to be as secure as it could. Every item you bought on the vending machine was to be logged onto an account and then displayed in a list. In the case John found out that the items displayed on the list didn’t match with the contents of the trashcan, you would be punished in an (probably) unwanted way.

“I still have time before the second TEST, and John gave me five of these silver coins to get me started. Apparently, I’ll earn more of them as time goes on…”

Urien bought a soda of some kind. After grabbing a straw, he drank it as quickly as he could. He then made a full lap around the floor of the building he was on, and he took a mental note of all the rooms and hallways. After making sure he remembered everything right (or, as right as he could) Urien sat at the desk in his room with the empty soda can in his hand. He started to tear it apart and, after doing so and folding it in a way he could hold it like a knife, he started to poke it at his left pointer finger until it started bleeding heavily. “If I can’t get a pen or pencil, I’ll have to use some of my blood instead. I should hurry up and map this floor before the next TEST begins. This will come to use in the future, I’m sure of it. An escape plan could be planned… I’m full of ideas.”