Tested

T H I R T E E N

I walk into the small room. I look through the shining glass. A man walks in. He takes my wrist and sticks a needle in. I felt dizzy, almost like I was drifting away. I then close my eyes. When they open the illusion kicks in.

I'm swimming underwater. I can breathe. I swim and scoop the sand. I have a bit of fun. A echo fills the ocean. I see a figure swimming towards me. A mermaid. Her skin is green, the eyes are bright red, and her blood dripping teeth. She swims faster towards me. I pull out the gun. It's not there. I have no weapons. I swim over to the rocks. She is in my face. She tries to get her teeth into my neck but I push her off with my feet. I grab a sharp edged rock and sink it in her head. She lets out a screech I cover my ears.

Four more appear. I swim as fast as I can. In a small space between the rocks I see a knife. I swims into there. It squished me. I grab the knife and start to turn and swim out. As I get closer to the exit the rocks start to close into me. I make it out but my left foot doesn't. It is caught in the rock. The mermaids close in on me. I close my eyes. I think to myself.

Damaged people are dangerous cause they know how to survive

I make a decision. I need to survive. As they swim closer I let the blade of the knife touch my foot. I then start to cut. Blood squirts out. I feel loopy. I continue. More blood. More Pain. My feet then separates from my leg. I stab a mermaid in the neck, the next one I stab in the head, the last two I cut its tail off. I swim up to shore. I can no longer breathe. I then close my eyes and wake up in the illusion test room. I passed I survived. I look down at my feet. It is there.

"That was interesting." A young girl says "I should give you advice so you don't kill yourself in the real world." She says. She is pretty young for the testing results. "In a survival situation its do or die."

"Well isn't that what I did, I mean I cut off my goddamn foot!" I sass her. "You're done you can go back to you're room." She then orders me. I get up and go back to the room.

• • •

When I arrive Faith, Leah, Ryan, and Jared are on the beds. "Good you're back!" Leah says. "We have a plan." Ryan says. "If it is leaving this place we stand no chance." I tell them.

"No it's not like that." Faith says. "We are planning to kill Miss Ash."