Riddle Middle Two

Chapter 29: The Interview

5 (3rd person)

5 fell asleep and woke up in a small room. The walls were painted with calming tones of blue. 5 arms were tied behind to a chair, along with his legs. Sitting across from him was a humanoid without a suit. 5 jumped. He hadn't seen a suit less humanoid before. The humanoid had long hair. It looked feminine. "Is everything alright?" She asked. "W- What are you?" 5 asked. "Calm down. I just need to ask you a few questions," she said. 5 forced himself to be calm, or at least, to appear calm. "So, what do you like to do? Reading, writing, drawing, sports, things like that," she said. "I... Well... I like drawing, though I'm not great at it. Why am I tied up?" 5 asked.

"It's just precaution. I know you didn't do anything wrong, but we just want to make sure you don't try to escape," she said. "Okay... Where am I?" 5 asked. "Well, this is sort of an experiment. You humans always seem to escape from your cells, so we're trying to keep you somewhere else. We're going to put you and some others in one of our prisons. We think a less controlled environment would ensure your... Confinement," she said. "Okay," 5 said. "You seem like a good person. Do you get along with others?" She asked. "Well... I think I'm friendly enough, but I don't have many friends," he said. "Got it," she said. "So, this prison your talking about, what's it like?" 5 asked. She glanced down at a clipboard in her lap.

"Well, there are different tiers of cells. A is the nicest and F is the... Most unpleasant. The food, guards, and appliances will depend on what tier your in. There's also tier A+, which you'd need a pass to get into. Normally, you'd be put into different tiers depending on what crime you committed, but we're just going to put one of you in each tier and see how you do," she said. "Okay. What tier am I in?" 5 asked. "You'll be in tier C. That's right in the middle," she said. "Oh. Will I have a cellmate?" 5 asked. "Yes, you will," she said. "Okay... They won't do anything to me, right?" 5 asked. "I'd hope not. It'll be what you'd call a humanoid; one of us," she said. "Okay," 5 said. The humanoid's skin looked jelly like, and 5 guessed that they probably couldn't do much damage. "Is there anything else you want me to know about you?" She asked.

"Well, my stomach's sensitive. I can't handle anything to intense," he said. "Oh. That may be a problem... We don't know how your stomach will react to our food. It should be okay, since our stomach acid is weaker than yours. Why don't you try some now," she said. She left the room for a minute, and came back with a small bowl. "I'll untie your arms for you," she said, walking around behind 5 and uniting his arms. She then grabbed the bowl and handed it carefully to 5. "Thanks... How do I eat it?" He asked, examining what he saw in the bowl. Inside was a black greasy blob. 5 felt like puking at the sight – and smell – of it. "Drink it," she said. 5 put the bowl to his mouth and felt it slide in. It tasted runny and flavorless. 5 forced himself not to spit it out. His gag reflex made swallowing difficult, but he managed to get it down.

"Are you alright?" The humanoid asked, examining 5 carefully. "Yeah, I guess..." 5 said. "Good. Well, our time is up. You'll have to go to your cell now," she said. A humanoid guard came in through a door behind 5. "What tier?" They asked. "C, A5, C683," she said. "Got it," he said. He untied 5's legs and grabbed his arm. "What's he like?" The guard asked. "He seems like a good guy. I don't think you'll have to worry about him," she said. "Good," he said. He pulled 5 up. He walked 5 down a hallway and turned left at the end. They arrived at a doorway with the letter C carved above it. They went into the hallway. The whole front wall was made of glass, so 5 and the guard could see inside. There were rooms with concrete floors and concrete walls. The floors looked a bit dirty. There were bunk beds with two levels and thin mattresses and no blankets. There was a dim lightbulb on the ceiling. There was also a small hatch with a keyhole in it on the wall closest to 5 and the guard, on the outside. "That's for giving them food," the guard said. "Okay..." 5 said.