The built up tension in the main room made seclusion a comfort. No one could stand to be in the company of the other residents, except for Maddy. Most of the group was counting down the minutes until the confession room door would unlock. They all needed answers, and couldn't handle waiting to get them. Their hunger for knowledge left them starving, and they were hangry. This was the moment that they all had been nervous for.
When the time came near, the group congregated in the main room, and waited. Like a caged tiger, Jordan paced up and down the wall as time ticked by. He took turns rubbing the flexed muscles of his arms during his movement. His jaw was noticeably clenched, and his brow was tense. From time to time, he would stare at Aiden as he walked by him.
Vivienne's thoughts had been on Stacie, and her lies, while she sat on the couch. It was hard for Vivienne to accept that everything Stacie had told her during sessions, was a lie. The betrayal was weighing heavy on her. She had spent so much time fighting and defending Stacie. There wasn't any room inside her that would allow her to be angry at anyone else, but Stacie.
Aiden sat in his doorway, with his back resting against the frame. He picked at his nails thinking about entering the confession room again. He sweat in uncomfortable places, knowing that he no longer controlled his secrets. Keeping his hands out of view, Aiden hid the way that they shook in anticipation of learning what people were going to do with the knowledge of who he really was.
Trent sat on the floor, outside the seating area, with his back against the couch, and stared out the window to the back yard. He hid from the confession door. There wasn't any part of the truth that he wanted. He missed the early days of the experiment when he lived in bliss with Stacie. There was a constant sick feeling in his stomach, but he hadn't eaten anything all day to throw up. With a pale complexion and a disgusted look on his face, he waited for the final nail in his coffin.
Stacie was curled up on the couch, wrapped up in the blanket from her room. She had the blanket over her head, and hid her face. Her thoughts were on her sister. She was able to forget the experiment, and its participants. There was no longer a care for those that she lived with. The pain of her loss had taken over, and it welcomed her back into the depression that she once fought to get out of. Without her best friend, her troubles were too much to bear. It was easier to forget about them.
Maddy sat at the dining room table, feeling like an outsider. Watching the actions of the people in front of her made her happy about her decision. Deciding to part with her memories, and start over fresh, was exhilarating. Although she was happy on the inside, she felt that she had to hide her feelings from the somber ones around her. She was alone in her ignorance, and she felt fine.
All movement stopped as the second hand made its final pass before nine o'clock. When the hour hand clicked into place, the screens illuminated, returning the emoji face. Trent stayed behind the couch, and was the only one that couldn't see the screen. Jordan remained standing, while everyone sat, awaiting instructions.
"Good evening subjects," said the voice over the intercom. "Tonight is the first night that you have the option the release yourself from your confinement space. If you all choose to enter the confession room, further instructions will be given on how to proceed. If you all do not choose to enter, I will need a volunteer at this time."
The door unlocked, and everyone looked around at each other.
"Let's go," instructed Jordan.
Vivienne was the first to get to her feet, and Maddy followed shortly after. Jordan stared at Aiden, making him feel awkward. Aiden reluctantly got to his feet. Stacie stayed wrapped in her blanket, but she stood up. Trent was the only one that was still seated.
"Get up Trent," said Stacie. "It going to be alright."
"No it's not," Trent said under his breath before picking himself off of the floor.
Jordan was the last one to enter the confession room. He wanted to make sure that everyone was going to enter. Trent pulled up the rear, and once he stepped into the room, Jordan left the main area behind, and closed the door.
The confession room wasn't any different. There was a single chair in the middle of the room, facing a screen on the wall to their right. Across the room was the other door, with three buttons on each side. When the door was closed behind them, the screen to their right illuminated.
"Welcome to the last stage of the experiment," the voice said over the intercom. "Each of you now must proceed to a button on the other side of the room. Open the panel beside your button and secure to restraint to your wrist before we can begin."
Jordan, Vivienne, and Stacie took the buttons on the left of the door. Maddy, Trent, and Aiden took the buttons on the right side of the door. Within the panels next to their buttons, there was a handcuff connected to the wall. Each one of them placed the handcuff on their wrist. Trent tried to leave his loose, but the light within the panel wouldn't turn green until it was around his wrist firmly. When everyone was secured next to their button, the instructions continued.
"One at a time, from left to right, you will press in your button, and state your secret. If what you state is the accepted secret, a confirmation bell will sound over the intercom. If your statement is not accepted, a buzzer will sound. When everyone's statement is accepted, further instructions on your exit will commence. You are able to work at your own pace."
"I guess that means that it's on me to start," said Jordan. He pressed in his button, and looked up at the intercom speaker in the ceiling. "Many years ago, three associates and myself, retaliated on police violence. One night, we picked cops at random, and ambushed them. We killed five cops that night. I was one of the two that were never caught."
A confirmation bell rang throughout the confession room.
"Are you serious," Aiden yelled out. "That was you, you piece of garbage? This whole time you've been giving me grief about killing, when you're a murderer yourself."
"Those pigs had it coming," Jordan replied. "Every week they were gunning down people in my neighborhood, treating us like dogs. Well, when cornered, dogs bite back. We're not just gonna sit back and get trampled over. They weren't innocent."
"You picked them at random," Aiden yelled out. "How do you know they deserved it? One of those men was the best person you're neighborhood could've had. He implemented so many community programs that ended up just fizzling out because of his death. I joined the force after that happened, but they talked about him for years after that...You're an idiot."
"You're an idiot," replied Jordan. "Wait until it's your turn, and then I get this cuff off of me. I'll show you what you have coming."
"Enough," Vivienne interrupted. "Let's get this over with." Vivienne pressed in her button. And took a deep breath. "At my lowest point, fighting with drug addiction, I used my job to get free drugs. I would exchange information on my patients to my dealer. I would let my dealer put guys around my building, and I wouldn't run them off. It allowed easy access to vulnerable people. I hurt a lot of people that way, and I'm not proud of it."
A confirmation bell rang over the intercom.
"This just keeps getting better and better," said Aiden. "You two were ready to burn me at the stake, when it turns out you two, are a couple of scumbags."
"Shut your mouth," said Vivienne. "Let's just wait until it's your turn. Let's see how shiny your halo is."
"It's not shiny by any means, dear," Aiden replied. "Our horns are just as pointy...I bet you're the one that dealt to Stacie's sister...Aren't you?"
"I've done my part. I don't have to answer to you...I'm not talking anymore about my guilt."
Angry, Stacie punched in her button with the palm of her hand. "I lied about being raped and abused, just so I could get back on a man that hurt me. I sat back and watched everyone turn on him, and I said nothing. I actually enjoyed seeing him go through the pain. I wanted to make his life hell, and I succeeded."
The buzzer startled everyone. Confused looks surrounded Stacie. She dropped to her knees and began to cry. There was something she was holding back that she prayed no one knew. It was a truth that she tried to block out of her mind. Denying it was something she was getting good at, but there was no more running from it.
"I used Vivienne's contacts to buy dirty drugs," said Stacie. "I then gave those drugs to my sister because she got involved with a man that I hated."
A confirmation bell rang over the intercom. Stacie slid the rest of the way down to the floor, and disappeared inside her blanket, except for her hand still connected to the wall. It was now Maddy's turn, but she wasn't sure what to say.
"Stacie," said Maddy, "what did I tell you."
From under her blanket, Stacie unsympathetically said, "You have AIDS. You knowingly slept with customers unprotected. You even sought out specific men to have sex with, just to give them the disease. You also got paid to sleep with certain individuals, unprotected."
The whole room fell quiet with shock. Maddy was the happiest of all of them until now. Her bliss was ripped from her by the most mundane voice. She didn't know how to take the information. She wanted to believe Stacie's words were a lie. The only way to find out the facts, was by testing the button. Maddy pressed in the button, and searched for the courage to find out the truth.
"I have AIDS," Maddy said with a quiver in her voice. "I slept with men unprotected, knowing I would give them the disease. I was even paid to give men the disease."
The room was silent as they waited for the response over the intercom. Maddy shook all over while waiting for confirmation. She prayed that Stacie was just being vindictive, and what she said was a lie. Her hopes that it was a prank were shattered when the confirmation bell rang aloud over the intercom. She too sunk to the floor with her eyes wide as she stared off into nothing.
"This is unbelievable," said Aiden before he hit his head against the wall.
"You're up slugger," said Jordan to Trent. "I need you to hurry up so we can get to my man down there. I need to hear what he has to say."
Trent wasn't quick to press in his button. He took a minute and just stared at it. There was nothing about exposing his truth that he looked forward to. Trent didn't even want to escape the experiment. Regret for gaining his memories back, knotted his stomach.
"Let's go," Jordan called out.
Tears started to run down Trent's cheek as he built up the strength to say what was needed to be said. "I," he said before pausing, "was with Stacie's sister when she overdosed...I watched her die, and did nothing...Aiden helped me cover up that I was with her. That's what he used against me...I didn't want to be tied to her death. Aiden helped me with the story that I was locked outside when we found her body. That's why I helped him. I allowed her to die, to escape the drama it was causing with Stacie..."
"No," Stacie screamed out. "I hate you!"