The Monster

Chapter 3

I woke up to a knock on the door the next day. I stood up and walked around the house until I found the front door. I opened it and saw a young lady in the same outfit as the lady from yesterday.

"It's time for testing miss," she said, "I see that you're not ready yet. I'll come back in half an hour. That'll let you get breakfast and get changed. Bye." She walked away and I closed the door. I found the closet and saw dress after dress after dress. Nothing I'd ever wear. I eventually found a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I put them on along with some blue high-top Converse. I walked down to the living room and ate some of the fruit lying on the counter. I heard a knock on the door and found the same lady waiting for me.

"Come with me, miss. It's time for the tests," she said. I reluctantly followed her. We reached a big silver building. She opened the front glass doors. She led me to a big white room.

"I know this is weird, but you'll have to change into this," she said holding up a white, skin-tight suit. I went into the dressing room and came out to find a man in a white lab coat.

"Novia Mace. Nice to meet you. I'll be conducting the tests." I tried to hold back my memories of white lab coats.

"Okay. What's the first one?" I asked.

"The treadmill. We want to see how fast and how long you can run," he said. I nodded. A treadmill appeared in the room. I got in and the scientist started it at a fast walk. It kept going faster and I had to jog. Then he got me going in a run. Finally, a hard sprint. It kept going and going. He told me that when I needed to stop, to raise my right hand. I did. I stopped and caught my breath. The scientist looked surprised.

"You were sprinting at twenty miles per hour for half an hour!" he said. I shrugged.

"I used to be so much better. I need to get back into shape," I said. He shook his head.

"You're in better shape than most of the world! I've never seen this. I don't think the fastest man in the world could run that fast for that long!" he said.

"I used to be as fast as Pappy," I said. I saw the scientist's look.

"Who is pappy?" he asked.

"We had a pet cheetah. I used to race him in open fields. I would beat him, he'd beat me. I think he was faster," I said, "He was seized when we were found."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"Eh. It was ten years ago. I'm over it." He threw me a water bottle. I drank it all in a hurry. When I was done, I was gasping for air. I handed him the water bottle. We did strength tests, tests on how well my eyes adjusted and more that I don't know the reason behind. When I was done, I was exhausted.

"Novia, you may go," the scientist said. I thanked him and walked back to the woods around my cabin. I walked around and relished the cold, fresh air. I sat down in a pile of leaves and leaned up against a thin tree. A branch cracked to my left. I sniffed the air. I caught a whiff of something I'd never smelled before. I took another sniff and it was gone. The wind was coming from behind me. I strained to hear anything at all. I heard a loud heartbeat. It was quick. I followed the sound and I was lead to a tree. I sniffed the air again and the smell wasn't there. I frowned and looked all around.

"Hello?" I called, "Show yourself!" No answer. I felt my own heart speed up. I didn't know what had made that sound or why it was here. I took a few deep breaths. I was over six feet tall and I was terrifying. I walked back to my cabin and ate a bowl of soup for dinner. I went to bed early, thinking about what could've been out there.