"Well, that's bullshit," Jonah snapped at the closed doors.
"If you're just going to complain about everything then why are you here?" Veggie Girl fired back. "If you need the money, do the tests. It's not that difficult."
"Excuse me, PETA, but what makes you assume I need the money?"
"Ivy. Call me by name if you're going to shout at me."
"She's right," the blonde girl said gently. "Why can't they tell us why we were selected? It'd take some of the edge off."
"Well surely it has to do with the experiment-"
"Thanks, Einstein," Jonah groaned, flopping onto a bright blue loveseat. "Do us all a favor and go run some experiments somewhere else. I'm already getting a headache."
"Well," Ivy growled, "I imagine this is confusing to the more simple mind...."
Jonah shot up from the couch, looking like laser beams were shooting from her eyes.
"Hey-" The blonde boy moved between them, holding up his free arm. "How about everyone just cools off, huh?"
Everyone froze. The girls weren't eager to upset the 200-pound bundle of muscle between them.
"I'm Peter, by the way." He scoffed. "Since no one else really introduced themselves...."
"Dany," Sweatshirt offered, raising a hand. "Just call me Dany."
The blonde girl piped up, "And I'm-"
"Wait," said Ivy. She paused, looking around. "There were 8 of us in the elevator, right?"
Everyone murmured and nodded, Ivy with them.
"Then why are there only 6 here?"
The group enjoyed only a few seconds to think before a gentle but persistant alarm sounded around them. The TV above the fireplace flickered to life:
TESTING DATE JUNE 1ST, 2019 - EVENING
And further down, in a list:
JUSTIN LEDFORD -- #5
And at the very bottom:
DOORS WILL OPEN AT 7 PM. PLEASE ENTER THE TESTING AREA PROMPTLY.
The 6 subjects glanced at each other, unmoving. Ivy took the first step, then wordlessly, the group moved as one around the pillar towards the testing rooms, stationing themselves in front of their respective doors. The yellow "5" stared Justin down as the alarm rang incessantly in his ears. It seemed to grow louder each time. His fingers started drumming on his upper thigh.
The alarm stopped. A gentle two-tone motif sounded just before all 8 doors slid upwards simultaneously. The room inside was too dark for Justin to make out much.
He gulped, then took a step forward. As he was just crossing the threshold he heard loud footsteps outside, in the corridor. Leaning back and peeking his head out the door, Justin caught a tuft of red hair slipping into room #3 beside him.
"Wai- shit," he grumbled.
He set his other foot forward and at last entered Testing Room #5 proper.
An overhead light turned on, illuminating a small space that continued the cream-wall, hardwood-floor trend of the living area. A single cushioned chair, like one he might find in his dentist's office, sat in front of a projector screen that covered the front wall. The room was silent. As Justin walked towards the chair, he suddenly noticed with horror open arm, leg, and neck braces affixed to the chair's metal backbone.
YOU ARE READING
The Henhouse
Mystery / ThrillerFor $5000, recluse Justin Ledford would do almost anything. When he's invited by the CIA to a month-long experiment in "The Henhouse," he hesitantly accepts - joined by 7 other high-schoolers from across the country. Together they're asked to comple...
