The Sector

Chapter Three

This room was as dimly lit as the last and completely empty save for two more Officers standing on either side of the room. A thin plastic curtain hung from the exposed piping in the ceiling, diving the space in two.

"Seth on the right, Patrik on the left," Frasier told them, motioning.

Brows furrowed, the boys moved to stand on either side of the curtain, out of each other's line of sight.

Frasier gave a small nod and the Officers stepped forward.

"Boys, if you would take your shirts and trousers off, please," Frasier said.

Seth's eyes flicked from Frasier to the Officer and back. He didn't move.

Apparently neither did Patrik, because the next thing Frasier said was, "This is the first part of your Testing. As I said earlier, we need to determine your physical baselines, which requires us to carry out a physical examination. In order to do that, we need you to strip down to your underwear." He explained. Then, when neither Seth nor Patrik moved, "The quicker we begin, the quicker we will finish. We're not here to judge you, boys. This is one-hundred percent impartial and strictly Test related."

Slowly, reluctantly, Seth reached up and pulled his shirt over his head, then dropped his trousers to the floor. He didn't think anyone had even seen him shirtless since the time he'd been old enough to dress himself, let alone all but naked—and in front of strangers at that.

He shifted his weight as the Officer approached and began to examine him. The large man pulled at his arms, moving them this way and that, bent and straightened his knees, checked his eyes and mouth, and tested his muscle function. It went on for all of about five minutes, then the Officer turned and left the room. Patrik's Officer soon followed. Not once did either of them utter a word.

"Wonderful," Frasier said, clapping his hands together with a smile. "If you'd both like to get dressed, I'll show you to your new Residences while we set up the room for the next stage of your Testing."

Seth and Patrik stepped back into their trousers, pulled their shirts back down over their heads, and followed Frasier out of the room. He took them back through the corridors and into the first room they'd seen. From there, he turned left and led them through the nearest doorway. Down more passageways and past more rooms, eventually they stepped out into a large, enclosed courtyard. Another two Officers stood guard at the entrance.

Surrounded on all sides by more cement buildings three stories high, and with dirt and stone paths under their feet, Frasier ignored the guards, walking the boys towards one of the buildings on the far right.

Seth thought idly to himself that it almost looked like home, except much, much bigger.

Frasier took a small key out of his pocket, unlocked the heavy wooden door at the base of the structure, and stepped inside. He waited for Seth and Patrik to follow before continuing up one staircase and then another. Finally they came to a stop in the middle of a long hallway, numbered doors lining the walls, side-by-side. It was eerily quiet.

"Patrik, your room is number twenty-seven. Seth, yours is number nineteen. Be aware that the doors can only be opened from the outside. Officers will escort you to and from your quarters and you have phones installed in each of your rooms. If you ever need anything, dial the first number in the contact list and an Officer will arrive shortly to assist you."

"Why are we being locked in here?" Seth questioned, his eyes down to slits.

"Try not to think of it like that, Seth. We're not holding you prisoner. The reason you're unable to leave your rooms without an Officer is firstly because this is a very big place and it's easy to get lost, and secondly because if you were to run into anyone else going through their Testing, they may exchange classified information about the Tests with you, which, of course, would be counterproductive. In order to achieve the most accurate results, you can't have any prior knowledge or preparation for what's to come. We're simply trying to ensure everyone is assessed fairly and correctly."

Seth was silent.

With a polite smile, Frasier continued, "The other Officers should already have brought your things inside. Someone will be here to collect you as soon as we're ready to carry out the next examination."

"Which one is that?" Patrik questioned timidly.

"We'll be assessing your mental baselines next. Don't worry about that for now though, boys. Just focus on getting settled in. You'll be here a while."

He gestured for them to explore their new Residences with a smile, then turned and left, his footfalls echoing on the concrete steps as he descended.

Knowing the guards would still be at the entrance to the courtyard, Seth saw no point in trying to follow him to get more answers. Instead, he gave Patrik a halfhearted smile, and opened the door to room nineteen.

Stepping inside, he found his belongings in a neat pile by the door. The rest of the room was empty save for a bed beneath a window overlooking the courtyard. The phone Frasier had mentioned sat atop a small nightstand beside it. To his right, there was a bathroom, complete with a shower, toilet, and wash basin. On low shelf sat a single bar of soap. 

Seth stepped further inside, closing the door behind him, and took it all in.

With a strange feeling settling in the pit of his stomach, he thought to himself that this would be his home for the next four weeks.