The Black Box

35

I open my eyes and look around. Still shirtless. I feel foggy and my head's filled with cotton balls. I'm behind the glass wall again.

"Yes, I did taser you. For a good reason though," says Isaiah through a microphone.

"Why?" I ask through lips that feel like lead.

"Because I had to."

"But why?"

"You know Peter, I've always hated questions but I'll go easy on you since you're a little slow."

"Slow?" I snap to my senses but I still pretend to feel groggy.

"Yeah. You don't listen."

"To what? The commands in your head you never bother telling me?"

"Yeah. Exactly." He rolls his eyes. "Let's get this over with too."

Just like before the room's temperature changes, but it gets hotter, not colder. The room doesn't fill with magma or something hot. "Why don't you just pour kerosene over me and light a match?"

"You think I'm that brutal?" says Isaiah, looking down at the keypad.

"Yeah, I think you are. Not exactly brutal, more like ruthless."

"Well, I'm preparing you for anything that comes at you that you're capable of handling and by the way, that's just down right inhumane."

"Burning someone alive?"

"Yeah. No duh. Plus, I do not want to smell burning flesh of a Purest and be held responsible."

He presses a button and something hot comes from the ceiling.

"What the heck is that?" I point to the liquid oozing slowly from the ceiling. Looks like magma but it isn't.

"Oh, new substance we found recently near The Break. That stuff is pure death."

"Then why do you want me in a tank with it?!"

"Training."

"By burning me alive this time?"

"To see if you are what you say you are."

"And if I'm not what I'm saying I am?"

"It would burn you alive, like it would to anybody else."

"Thanks for breaking the news." The liquid is slowly coming to the floor. Instead of cowering in the corner, I go up to the liquid and touch it. It doesn't burn; it only feels warm, like if I stood really close to a fireplace.

Isaiah quickly stands up and walks over to the tank to watch me. I have an idea. I bring some of the liquid over to the liquid and smudge it against the glass, right in front of his face. he starts talking but I can't hear him through the soundproof glass. He rolls his eyes and goes back to the keypad. He presses a button and I can hear him. "What the heck are you doing? I know you're proving yourself but you don't have to rub it in my face! Literally."

"I kinda do though. For fun." I smile through the smudged glass. The liquid is at my ankles, slowly rising. I pick up my foot and inspect it. Nothing has happened to it; it looks unscathed.

It kinda got boring 'cause the liquid doesn't rise very quickly so I ended up speeding up the process by just laying in on it with my back. Isaiah was just by the keypad, occasionally looking over. He got bored and materialized a chair from the floor and sat in front of the glass.
"What the heck are you doing?" He has a microphone on him now.

"Is that your new catchphrase now? What the heck are you doing?" I mimic him. The liquid is almost covering the heels of my feet. "Does this stuff rise any faster?"