Dr.Willow led 636 down a set of halls she didn’t recognize. The walls themselves looked the same as any other wall in the facility but the order of turns they took were drastically different from what she was used to.

636 eyed the two men behind her. They both wore a stoic expression and were dressed in identical uniforms. She had never seen the two before. Were they new?

New procedures, new paths and new guards. What was the point of it all? She wondered.

Dr.Willow had said that the last test she took would be the next step for her. A step towards what exactly, she had no idea.

The group came to a stop in front of a set of red doors. A large contrast to the white hallways and the sight of it reminded 636 of blood. Her throat contracted but she tried to keep a neutral look on her face.

The two men that were previously behind her, walked up and opened the doors. A large spacious room was revealed. A few machines she had never seen before resided near the walls. When she looked up a suspended track came into view. There were parts that went into the wall, suggesting there was more to the track that could not be seen. The room was a sight to behold. 636 had never been in a place like it. The testing rooms were usually cramped and confining.

636 subconsciously turned around to get a better view. There were so many different machines and tables littering the area and she wondered what each was for. When she completed a full turn she once again faced Dr.Willow.

The doctor knelt down to her level and began removing her chains. 636 had forgotten she was still wearing them until he took them off. When they left her wrists and ankles she felt as if a weight had been taken off of her shoulders. She had become so accustomed to them over the years and didn’t realize how great it felt to move around without them until Seth had shown her what it was like to have a free range of motion.

After that first night when he took them off, she hadn’t put them back on until today. No one had asked her to and she enjoyed the flexibility. She got used to the freedom of it and now felt better with them off in contrast to how she used to feel. 636 no longer felt comfortable in the chains.

She suddenly felt cold skin touch hers and barely resisted the urge to jump. Dr.Willow smiled at her as he applied strange patches to her chest, arms, and legs.

“We’re going to be running some new tests today to get a read on any changes that may have happened since the last time.” He said calmly.

636 opted to stay quiet and once again eyed the guards that had followed them here. They held their weapons close to their person and looked surprisingly tense.

Dr.Willow noticed her stare on the two men and turned her so she once again faced him. “Don’t worry about them, they’re just a precaution.” He got up and motioned for her to follow him.

They walked up to a table near the wall. On it was a variety of different tools and documents. Dr.Willow pulled out a needle and a blank paper. He scribbled some things down and told 636 to take a seat.

He pricked her finger and pressed it onto the paper. The red dripped down her finger before it stopped a second later. Dr.Willow busied himself with the document again and 636 took the opportunity to look at her hand. If the blood wasn’t there she would have thought the momentary hole was just her imagination.

The next test involved a small hammer. She would close her eyes and Dr.Willow would lightly hit her in different places and ask where it was that he had just hit.

The tests were strange and nothing like what she was used to. 636 didn’t know how long it went on for but the metal chair was getting more and more uncomfortable by the second.

Unfortunately for the next test she still had to sit in the cold metal chair. A poster was hanging on the other side of the room and she was asked to read the random assortment of letters that got smaller as she went on. 636 read through it quickly and easily, and for once in her life she was eager to move on to the next test.

Dr.Willow asked for the two guards to stand on the opposite side of the room, each standing in a corner. 636 watched them the whole time they moved across the space.

“Focus on them with your ears 636, not your eyes.” 636 snapped her attention back to Dr.Willow, who was watching her intently. “Close your eyes and tell me where they are in the room.”

It was a strange request but she didn’t dare disobey. Closing her eyes, 636 tried to focus on finding the men with nothing but her hearing.

There was shuffling near her but she knew that was the doctor so she ignored it. There were too many noises. Air coming into the room, beeping of various machines and the sound of Dr.Willow beside her, scribbling down information on a piece of paper. It was too much and was causing her to lose focus.

“I can’t.” She breathed.

“Yes you can.”

“I can’t tell anything apart anymore.” Her frustration showed on her face when she forgot to hold her tongue. Speaking out of line.

“What makes someone human 636?” The question confused her and she wanted to look at the doctor to see if she could find any indication of what he meant but she resisted and shrugged.

“What is the difference between a person and a machine?” He asked.

Still 636 didn’t know what he wanted her to say. Sensing her confusion he spoke up again. “A heartbeat. On the outside a person can be as quiet as a mouse but it is rather difficult to control one’s heartbeat.” He clutched her shoulder. “Listen for the heartbeat.”

“How?” 636 asked quietly.

“Calm yourself. Take a deep breath and just listen. You will hear what others can not.”

636 did as he said, breathing in and out deeply. Paying attention to her own heart before drifting her focus to the rest of the room.

She heard the ambiance of the whole room first, then zeroed in of any sound that had been similar to her own heartbeat.

A distant ’lub dub’ entered her ears. One came from the left and another from the right. The two guards had separated.

“Have you found them yet?” Dr.Willow’s voice was loud next to her.

She nodded. 636 knew exactly where they were.

She pointed to each and opened her eyes. Fingers pointed at each of the men, she felt triumphant. A bit at a loss, however, because she never recalled being able to do anything like this before.

“Good. Now we can move on to the next test.”

636 stayed in that room all day, doing weird tests to determine her different levels of strength and ability. Dr.Willow had seemed very happy with the results.

He glanced at his watch and scrunched his eyebrows. “I didn’t realize it had gotten so late.” He said under his breath.

Walking over, he continued to mumble to himself. He took off the patches on 636 but made no move to grab her shackles.

“You’ll be sleeping in here for a while. There’s a bed in the corner. Everything you need will be provided for you so you don’t have to worry about food as usual.” Dr.Willow continued to speak but all 636 could focus on was his first sentence.

If she slept in here she wouldn’t see Seth. How long were they going to keep her away? She told Seth that she’d see him soon but now she wasn’t sure how soon ‘soon’ was.

“How long will I be here?” She asked warily.

Dr.Willow paused his mumbling and stared at her. “Until we’re finished. It’s inconvenient to drag you down here every day. So until we’re done with our tests you’re staying here.” He exited the room without another word, the sound of the door slamming echoed through the large empty area.

636 was left alone in the peculiar room, with nothing but her own mind and intimidating guards to keep her company.