TEST ME

Home

(Amanda Seyfried as Lisa)

I wake, my eyes adjusting quickly as I hear a grating noise. I watch for a few seconds as the wall slides open (apparently it is quite thick) but my brain eventually switches on and I'm up against it, waiting painfully until I can squeeze through the gap. I slip through, but to my discontent, notice a woman dressed in white walking towards me. I involuntarily press myself back up against the wall and a rush of adrenaline flows through me: there is no way she is putting me back in my cell. Not now. Not ever. Not taking any chances, I dash right out of my cell, only to collide with the woman. We tumble to the floor, and before I can react a syringe is plunged into my neck.

                                                                                             ****

My eyes flutter open, and I immediately feel a dull throbbing around my eyebrow area. Hands immediately shoot up to feel them - they definitely feel sleeker than before. After a moment, I realize that my hands are now a paler, milkier color than previously (I didn't know that was possible) and I clock that I've been tampered with. Feeling begins to come to my legs, which match the paleness of my hands and the stinging sensation in my eyebrows. I am dressed in a short white dress, decorated with pink and soft orange flowers. Looking up from this bed, I can see myself in a mirror across from me: my hair is combed and straight, reaching down just beneath my breasts. My eyebrows are tidier and my skin glowing. My face is made-up: my lips are a bright red color, and my eyelashes are dark, but my eyelids are left alone. All body hair has been removed from my hips down, and from the eye-watering sting I assume this was done using wax. My ears are pierced with green emeralds that match my eyes, and I'm wearing skimpy leather sandals on my feet.

I don't recognize this girl in the mirror. She's so different to how I was last night - my mother wouldn't even recognize me! I am momentarily shocked, but I quickly come to the realization that these people that watch me can do whatever they want to me; they own me.

I sit up and wait (mostly gazing at my reflection), apprehending my collection. Having some idea of where I'm going next, I no longer feel the need to run. I've learnt from my previous mistake - I am powerless.

Seconds later, a door slides open and a young man walks in, followed meekly by the woman I bowled over yesterday.

"Come with us. We're taking you to your new home." He says, with an underlying commanding tone - he knows I don't have a choice. But I follow gladly.

He leads me down a series of hallways and up a long set of staircases, to the top of the facility. Here, we pass through a set of security before making it up onto the roof.

I can't explain it. It's so stunning. Grass, from the top of the stairwell, to the edges of the roof, is green and lush. Flowers in a range of colors are scattered among the grass, making me feel like Alice in Wonderland. A huge red-brick house sits in the center of the roof, surrounded by thicker bush interlaced with sparkling white flowers. Two huge maples stretch above the house on either side of it, their fairy-like leaves sprawling around them, concealing the singing birds within their arms.

Somewhere in the back of my mind I register the man telling me this is my new home, that he hopes I like it, and that the house is hiding an infinity pool behind it. Necessities are waiting in Room 4, upstairs on the right. There are no barriers stopping us from walking off the edge of the roof, so don't go near the edge - its a four-hundred meter drop! Three other Subjects are already inside, its in your best interests to get along with everyone - I don't know if your listening to me, but I'm going to go now - there's a large yellow button (we're not cliche here) that you can press if you want anything. I hope you enjoy your stay, bye, Lisa. And with that, he's off, with the woman trailing swiftly behind him.

Mesmerized, I go against my escort's wishes and stumble over to the edge of the roof. In a trance-like state, I collapse on the edge, and lie on my side. The roof overlooks a huge lake, surrounded by trees as far as I can see. I always expected the facility to sit in the middle of a huge city, but I guess I was wrong - maybe people don't want to look into the face of those they have condemned. Either way, it doesn't bother me right now because the view is breathtaking. 

At first, I am tempted to pick the flowers, and entwine them into my hair, but I don't want to ruin the scene around me so I just sit among them, quietly. They don't just look good: they smell amazing. Sometimes I close my eyes and inhale their scent, mixed with the exuberant grass and the fresh air, whilst other times my eyes are open and gazing at the scene beneath me. After a while, I gather the courage to sit right on the edge, my legs dangling in empty air. From this angle, I can see the panes of glass, connected by the building's metal infrastructure, going on for what seems like forever. I don't know how long I sit there, but I watch as the puffy white clouds disappear and the baby blue sky to melt from orange to purple, then to black, at which point I watch the stars. This is so much better than watching it on my screen - my heart swells when I think that I am free, free from my cell and all it entailed, and I will wake up tomorrow, inside this beautiful house. I'll meet my new housemates, and I'll do my best to survive the next three months.