The Experiment

Chapter Two - Part Two

Corbin

I had nowhere to go. Every door I knocked on, there was nobody home, except for the occasional crying kid. Where did everyone suddenly vanish off to? My thoughts screamed.

After trying every house on the block, I decided, I had to retreat back home. Even though even the thought of returning to that terrible place made me nauseous, I had to. So, I trudged my way back to the place where I never wished to be. Home. A place where most people felt safe in the midst of chaos.

Hastily, I rose my left hand and knocked three times. This was a mistake, this was a mistake. My thoughts screamed, begging me to turn back. But I just couldn't. I waited, and waited, and waited to hear footsteps, or yelling, but I heard nothing. Okay... I thought. This is getting really weird... I knocked a bit harder and still heard nothing.

"Mom" I yelled, worriedly. Nothing.

So, being the problem solver that I am, I decided to barge on in there. But when I barged in, all was silent... Okay, something is not right. It's never quiet... My thoughts churned.

Then I remembered, I had escaped through my window. Maybe they were mourning in there.

I tiptoed down the hall slowly and peered at my broken, swung open door. Oh gosh... I thought. He's gonna kill me...

After taking a few moments to recollect myself, and muster up the courage to take on my "father," I barged in, eyes closed, muscles tense, terrified.

What I would have expected, is for my dad to be waiting there for me, ready to knock me out. But that's not at all what I saw. I saw an empty room, with little yellow marbles where my parents would have been. By the window.

"Guys, this seriously isn't funny..." I muttered, the house so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Maybe I should check the television. Maybe they know why there are a ton of kids my age parentless...

I clicked on the television, and the screen was grey. Feeling useless, I reached my hand down to click it off, but suddenly, a message played on the screen.

"Greetings, kids!" The television typed. "You may be wondering, where the heck did everyone go? I can answer that. Today marks the first day of let's call it... the experiment. Now, you may be thinking, the experiment is to take everyone I know away from me? But it's not. This experiment is to see how you, twelve-year-old kids, can live alone for three hundred and sixty-five days. Your goal is to make it as long as possible without disaster, food shortage, and more. But you don't have to worry, if it gets super bad, we will remove you. The last one, or ones standing win! Now, have a lovely evening." The screen projected, and it went back to a dull grey color.

"Oh my goodness, is it true?" I whispered, as I ran back out of my house and went to knock on the neighbor's doors.

The first door I knocked on was a house that I knew has a mom, dad, and a seven-year-old daughter. When I knocked, nobody answered. No way. Where in the world did they all go?

To double check that they weren't just on vacation, I walked a few houses down and knocked on another door that I knew for a fact had a twelve-year-old girl, Lauryn.

When I knocked, she immediately answered, nervously. "Hello?" Her soft voice said as she hid behind the door.

"Hi, it's me, Corbin. Are our parents home?" I asked.

"No, my mom was in the middle of curling my hair, and suddenly, she disappeared, with only these marbled where she stood. Same with my dad."

"Do you know what is happening?" I asked Lauryn, wondering if she had seen the message too.

"Yeah, something about an experiment to see if we could survive a whole year with no parents. Want to work together?" She asked, coming out from behind the door.

"I would enjoy that," I replied. "Whose house?"

"I don't mind." She answered, as bad memories at my house flooded in.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." I slowly whispered, as my dad removed his belt, and held it up.

"Boy, look what you have done." He muttered as he clanked the ends of the belt together happily.

What I had done, was be late for school. The only reason I was ever late for school is because around my house, everything is put on me. Breakfast, dishes, even waking my parents up. So, eventually, I was late to school one too many times, and he got fired from his job. Like he really cared anyway.

"Father, I'm sorry..." I said at a low whisper, as a salty, warm tear ran dreadfully down my cheek.

"You have no rights to call me father..." He murmured, as he dropped the belt and slapped me as hard as he could on my right cheek, and I grimaced in pain.

"Boy, you have done nothing but terrible things in this house." He said as he slapped me across the other cheek, just as hard.

"I have done everything for you! And you treat me like this?" I replied, immediately regretting it.

"What did you just say?" He said, as he raised his foot and kicked me in the gut, and shoved me up against the wall. "Boy, you sass me like that again, your dead to me."

And with that, he clamped his way out of my room, slamming the door behind him.

"Corbin? Corbin!" Lauryn screamed, waving her hand over my face.

"Oh! Sorry! Just spacing off, can we stay here?" I asked, not ever wanting to go back to my own house.

"Yeah! Sure! Come on in!" She said as she opened the door slowly so I could see her. Fiery orange hair, beautiful ocean blue eyes, and only a little shorter than me.

"So, what's the plan?" Lauryn asked, my thoughts spinning like tires on a bicycle.

"Well, first off, we should probably turn the television on, we never know when the next message could come."

"Television?" She asked. "I got my message through my phone. Do you have a phone?"

"Oh! Yeah! Didn't even think about that!" I burst out and saw the same message from an unknown number on my screen.

"Well, let's keep it on just in case, our phones could die, and we could easily lose power," I said, flicking the television on.

"That is a good point..." She said, "Are you hungry?"

"I'm starving," I replied, as she showed me to the kitchen for a snack or dinner.

"Uhh Lauryn?" I said.

"Yes?"

"Something smells off..." I answered as I saw what it was. Bright orange flames, ready to engulf us any moment. I knew exactly what I had to do...