Far From Home

Chapter Two

Chapter 2

Surrounding the auditorium were six testing halls which faced the exits from the auditorium.  Mochrie and I walked into the hall closest to our seating area and were surrounded by a large space filled with what looked like tanning booths. Two of the cubicles in the furthest corner of the hall were still open and conveniently next to each other, Mochrie and I looked at each other with a smile and made our way over to the cubicles. We gave each other one more look, without a smile this time before heading in. Once I entered the cubicle which truly was only the size of a tanning booth, the door closed behind me and an orange light came on above. “Adira Zhou please turn around and face the screen” an automated voice commanded. I turned and faced a dark screen, looking past the screen I looked at the bags underneath my eyes and the other obvious wear on my face from the last few weeks. Even my hair which I usually kept a vibrant red had started going back to its’ black hair at the roots. “Adira Zhou are you ready to partake in the test? The test in no way defines your future and only uses personal traits and interests to guide you on your path to work. The test is designed for you to answer 50 questions of multiple choice, we ask that you answer truthfully as to fully complete this test.” The silence magnified as the voice went off, I was beginning to become really claustrophobic in here.

“Adira Zhou, begin the test,” I watched the screen merge from black to white. Then a ‘Question 1’ came up on the screen, for about 45 or so of the questions everything was generic and all about what I had been best at and what I was excelling at. Then after I’d answered question 45 the questions stopped, I thought that it was odd knowing that I still had five questions to answer. “Adira Zhou before we continue we need to know that after this message anything that happens will be kept silent. We ask that you swear to secrecy or decide against it and continue on with general questions which will take you into a field that will never make you feel a sense of accomplishment.” What the hell? What is this? Does everyone go through this and just can’t say? I thought to myself, utterly confused. “Adira Zhou please now declare your loyalty and sworn secrecy,” the voice breaking through my train of thought. “Uh...oh I Adira Zhou pledge my loyalty and secrecy?” What am I pledging myself too? Shit maybe I should’ve said no. Well...too late now. “Thank you for complying, after this message a set of instructions will be set for you to follow immediately after you are finished reading. Adira Zhou please prepare yourself for the next step in this journey.”

The instructions were clear and had a tone of authority in it. I was to first make my way out of the testing hall without anybody truly recognising me; I managed to walk to the exit of the hall before I had to stop and looked back at the booth Mochrie was in. How was I meant to let him know I hadn’t just abandoned him? I hesitated now, I had the feeling that if I left now, Mochrie would not be in my life again for too long. I turned back towards the door; the Test always broke friends apart as they went into their given work places. Mochrie would soon forget and maybe then it would just be for the best. I walked through the door my decision made.

The next instruction was to make my way back to the auditorium where I’d been just under an hour ago. I was to go and wait by the entrance furthest away from my testing hall and wait there. I wasn’t given any more instructions after that, just to wait and watch. Why am I doing this? Yeah Adira this is just like you to wander off into an unknown situation blindly. I can’t believe I’m doing this. While I had been thinking how stupid I was, I hadn’t noticed a black Cassiack car glide up. It was impressive since Cassiacks were the newest form of safe energy; they kept the Earth and the living things safe as well. It’s too bad that nobody could buy them since they were around a million dollars in worth, so only about ten people on Earth owned them.  The door hissed open and the darkness within the car beckoned me slightly. I walked over and got into the car, the door slowly hissing as it closed behind me. Inside the car was a low lighted scene with red leather seats facing all around apart from the door I entered. The car started off, the motion smooth and gliding.  The windows were tinted so darkly that there was no wonder why when I was outside I couldn’t see the interior of the car. I finished looking around and focused on the three gentlemen facing me. Two giant behemoths of men flanked a much smaller one who for his stature was quite portly, it was too dark to identify him but it was obvious this was the guy behind all this. “Hello Adira darling, how’s everything? Sorry for the big hush hush, but you’ll understand in due time why this all had to be kept a secret. Hey kid, do you mind if I light up in here?” His laid back drawl had me confused and I missed him directly speaking to me. “Kid come on, you aren’t in shock right? She can’t be in shock right?” He muttered this last part to his large friend on the right.    “Oh uh yeah it’s fine if you want to smoke, uh I just have one question...who are you?”

The guy chuckled with his head back; his childish demeanour really contradicted the cigarette in his hand. The man knocked on the barrier, closing us off from the driver “Hey cabbie can you lighten us up please?” he said lightly. The cab grew brighter and my surroundings though clearer were still filtered by the cigarette smoke. But I could see the man who I was talking to now quite clearly. I’d written mock reports on him; I’d seen him on the television, laughed at him with Mochrie over his flawed human antics. This man was Tanner Marx, eccentric multi-billionaire who’d inherited his father’s fortune at 16. No doubt it would be hard to lose your own father at 16 but Tanner Marx never showed it. He’d grown into a dirty man, who dealt in dirty business, but he had a passion for the world and that kept him in everybody’s good books. “Oh shit, oh sorry! Mr Marx my apology for not recognising you.” He shrugged it off “eh don’t worry about it. We aren’t here right now for me, we’re here for you.”                                                                                                                                                       “Okay why are we here for me then?” I asked,                                                                                                   “We’re here for you because I want to send you to space Adira.” He put simply.