Ruby (Now Completed!)

[Chapter 5]

Teto was in that dark room for what seemed like hours, but this time, she had someone to talk to. Someone who understood her feelings and made her smile for the first time in what seemed like years.

She and Piko spent the time telling jokes and stories and playing simple games. Piko was just showing her how to play Chopsticks when the door creaked open.

Len slipped inside and shut the door behind him. Teto could tell there were others outside the door, though. She and Piko stopped smiling and glared at him.

"Now what?" Teto snarled angrily.

Len's heart sank yet again. If she didn't hate him before, she hated him now, didn't she? And now she's found someone she's happier around. It made him feel a little better to see her smile for the first time though.

He cleared his throat and tried his best to sound intimidating.

"Ruby, it's time for you to go for your testing. As for you," he said, turning to Piko, "your doctor will be coming to collect you shortly. Believe me, I do hate to separate you two like this." He added the last part out of pure spite.

This was about it for Teto. She sprung up and lunged at Len, raising a fist she intended to send deep into his pretty face. However, Len was too quick for her. He grabbed her wrist just as she was throwing her punch and twisted her arm, causing her to land on the floor at his feet. Piko sprung up to go to her, but Len pointed a finger at him.

"Stay where you are."

Without another word, Len dragged Teto out of the room. She and Piko exchanged a "good luck" glance before she was out of sight.

Teto was restricted as soon as she was out the door. She was pushed along by the scientists until they arrived in front of a plain white door. Len pulled out a key and unlocked it, then opened it, revealing a large room with plain white walls. There was nothing else to it: no windows, no hangings, just white, and a small vent in the low ceiling. Teto was shoved inside and the door was quickly closed and locked behind her. When Teto turned around to pound on the door, she couldn't even find it amid the white.

Teto immediately started to panic. If there was anything worse than being locked in a room alone, it was being locked in a room alone where she couldn't see well enough to move around. She clung to the wall and closed her eyes, holding back her tears.

She felt like she was there for several minutes before suddenly, a voice filled the room. It was Dr. Luka's.

"Welcome, Ruby, to the simulation test. Here, you will experience some situations where we will be observing your reactions. There are no rules, so react in any way you feel is necessary. Now, in order to start, I need you to go stand on the red dot that is blinking over there."

Teto turned her head and saw what Dr. Luka was talking about: a red blinking dot about the size of both her feet together in the middle of the floor. However, she could not gather the courage to move.

Upon her refusal to move, she heard Dr. Luka sigh, then the faint click of a button pressing. Suddenly, the wall she was clinging to felt very hot. She quickly jumped away and took a quick glance at her forearms. They were reddening from the sudden burn.

Feeling her face burning with rage, she tensely walked to the dot on the floor. After she had done that, she heard Dr. Luka again, she assumed she was speaking to Len.

"Begin the simulations, please."

After that, the room seemed to disappear. Teto was left in darkness, stretching to the point where she thought she was dead. Then, suddenly, she was at some sort of party.