5 days in Hell (part 1)

Day 1: Hell's gates

The sky grew dark as we moved on. Sleep was hopeless. Not only was the fact that we could die at any time making us awake, but the truck had no roof and the roads were bumpy. There were some kids on the truck that I grew up with. I saw Terra, David, and Alex. Terra was about 16 years old. David was my age and so was Alex. To see them on there was just terrible. We all knew this day would come. In fact, we spent the last week together. It was great and all, but now that's over. Alex was always an upbeat guy. He tried to lighten the mood. "If we die, aren't we the lucky ones?" He commented.

"No Alex, they can use us as their damn lab rats." David shot back. The truck was mostly silent. I disagreed with David. If I died there, I could see Sarah again. Still, that would have left my mom alone. "Can we all just shut up and get through this." Terra said. Her voice was dull. She looked at me with her sad green eyes. Me and her used to be best friends. After last year's testing, she kissed me. It always seemed like we had a connection. Except, she was always hard to be close to. She lived with her brother. Her parents died in the war. So she didn't want anymore emotional connections, because she didn't want anyone that she loved to die. I couldn't tell if she was crying or if it was the rain, but a tear fell from her cheek. The pain was to much for me, so I looked over to David. He wasn't scared or sad, just angry. "They can't do this to us, I've got to do something." David said with anger. He was the strongest of us all. His plans were to join the rebellion, but I always told him there was no point. They can't stop a bullet, and neither can he. "David, don't get yourself killed. There really is no point in trying." 

There was usually a warm feeling that I got around Terra, but it wasn't here now. It's not a surprise. I put my arm around her. She put her head on my shoulder. "We'll make it. I promise you." I assured her. "Michael, you know I love-" The speaker interrupted her. "Ladies and Gentlemen of Wisconsin Sector 4, we will be arriving at the Testing stations. You will be split into groups of age." This was probably the last time I saw Terra. I kissed her on the forehead. They called groups of age, starting with 18 year old's.

As time passed, the truck got less crowded. We stopped at different stations, dropping off different groups. Terra's group had left already. Now, it was my group's turn to leave. The truck took an hour to get there. We arrived in the afternoon. Finally the rain stopped. As we got out we saw signs everywhere that said "Welcome to Madison! The testing area of Wisconsin." Everywhere I saw buildings that looked the same. They were skyscrapers that had been torn down. Only one skyscraper was left. It red banners everywhere and a black design. On the top was what looked like a base of some-sort. Jets and heli-pods were going in and out of the building. As they lined us up, I saw some trucks and heard loud creature noises. I don't know what they were, but I guessed it was those monsters that they make out of weak testies. I got up to the front where a man had a checklist. "Michael Trevor, age 15, '5"6, Father deceased. Okay, next!" The checking was over when I got to the station.

David walked beside me. "This isn't right." He said. I kept on walking, hoping he would end his ranting. Besides, this wasn't the place to talk. With Terra gone, I didn't even want to talk. Still, David complained even more. "Michael, they can't just take us from our families. We should rebel. I mean, you can't just stand there! Are you going to stand there and let them kill you? Let them kill you like they did with Sarah?"

I turned around quickly and grabbed his arm  "Don't you dare talk about my sister!" He looked confused. "Michael, I'm not the bad guy here. We're friends. No, we're brothers." I loosened my grip. "My Dad left me and my sister died. The only family I have is my Mother." I let go and walked away. 

What I did back there, I had to. Still, it wasn't completely right. David was like a brother to me. After my sister died he stayed at my house to comfort me. With the tests happening I should be happy he is trying to help me. There was just too much tension for me to be myself then. The gates were up ahead. I could see groups of 15 year old's in jail cells. This place used to be a prison. My mom said prisons used to be where people who committed crimes were put in. In a world like this, I couldn't think of any crimes that were unjust in the eyes of the people. If they still had prisons, the people in the prisons would be no different than the people who put them in there.

The guards took me to my cell. My cell was a steal room. It was small, but spacey enough for me. There was a bed and a toilet. Everything looked very uncomfortable. I sat down and sure enough, it was uncomfortable. A guard came with some food. The food was strange, so I raised an eyebrow in question. "This food makes you stronger, faster, and smarter. It will enhance you to pass. Still, if you're too weak you won't pass. Get some rest kid. You start tomorrow." He clarified.

I took the tray from him and sat down. The food looked okay. Doubtfully, I ate a piece. It actually tasted good. I quickly ate the rest. Right away I felt the effects at work. Sleep seemed relaxing at this point. The bed was a lot more comfortable. Did they drug me? I felt sleepy and dizzy. So I went to bed. This place was just preparation for the Hell to come. I heard someone talking in the cell next to me. They said one thing,

"Welcome to Hell's Gates"

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