12

The Sphere: Phase 2 Test

Was she dead? She heard all around her the rustling of leaves, the chirping of birds. She no longer had that feeling of suffocation produced by the thick smoke of the city and to which she had become accustomed. No… the air was pure… and for the first time she was breathing. The sun had never smelled, yet she felt she had just breathed it in while resting in a soft, comforting cocoon she didn't want to leave.

Suddenly she grimaced. Her chest was heavy, and she felt like a weight had been placed on it. But she felt too comfortable to pay any attention to it. It was at this precise moment that what was oppressing him moved.

A panicked Rayne grabbed it and pulled hard. A moan of pain was heard.

“My nose…” whispered a male voice.

Rayne realized then that it was the hand of a man she had just pushed away.

She tried to talk to him, but before she could even open her mouth, a throbbing pain was felt in the back of her head.

That was his only pain.

To her amazement, she could open and close her fist as if her fingers hadn't been dislocated hours before.

She then decided to open her eyes. But she realized they already were. She closed them immediately to reopen them, in vain.

She was blind.

"I don't see anything… I don't see anything" shouted the one who was at his side.

He was panicking. However, this was not going to help the situation in which they found themselves.

"You're not the only one…" she added in an exasperated tone.

She expected him to speak to her, but felt his hand move to her face and begin to feel it.

"Enough! You don't know what personal space means!" she cried, waving her hand away.

“Not so personal, judging by the bracelet on my left wrist,” he said in a deep, slightly mocking voice.

Rayne touched her right wrist and indeed felt a metal bracelet wrap around her. It seemed to be welded to that of its unfortunate companion. She looked for a lock in vain. In rage, she hit the ground causing a cry of protest.

- Hey ! Be careful ! I would like to find my fingers intact at the end of the test.

"I thought they were supposed to give us citizenship if we passed their damn test!"

"He's certainly not finished and maybe being blind is just the beginning," he said.

Rayne sighed. She had of course thought like everyone else to try the test, but the number of deaths had discouraged her. She had promised herself that she would continue to live after Ryan's death, and participating in this test would have had the opposite effect. She had spent the last month trying to find new meaning in her life. It was still quite difficult to get up, even though she had given up the job of garbage collector. She survived only on her tips at the bar and the meager savings she had made to treat Ryan. But now she was in an unknown place, with a stranger and, moreover, blind.

“We have to move. Surely there is a meaning to this ordeal. I don't think they would have left us there without giving us a clue...

Suddenly the breathing of the young man became more jerky as if he were suffocating; he froze abruptly and let out a howl.

She felt his chest, trying to find a wound. There was nothing. She then took her face in her hands and felt a liquid under her fingers…blood…blood dripping from her nose.

"I have good news and bad news…" he said hoarsely after calming down.

Rayne sighed in relief hearing her whisper the words.

The good news… is that I know why we are here. The bad news is that we were sent here to die.

" to die ?" she exclaimed

“They sent me this… vision, you know… like on Awakening Day, with those headaches. We are still inside the Sphere. It is a highly developed artificial intelligence. It almost looks like she has her own personality. We are bound to her by these bracelets. It alone decides whether or not we pass the test. Only then will we be able to get out, but she will provide us with clues through these visions... very painful. If it doesn't kill us, these visions certainly will.

We have to move, we can't just sit there like sheep to be slaughtered, he continued.

"And how exactly are we going to get out of here? I remind you that our hands are tied and at the latest news we still can't see anything," Rayne said.

The young man was about to answer him, when they heard a cry.

- No no ! Allan wake up! Nope ! Do not kill me ! Pity ! I swear to you that I will not do it again! I promise ! The screams stopped abruptly.

A long silence followed.

- Let's not stay here! Rayne whispered. They got up painfully and threw themselves into the darkness.

They fell… then straightened up to continue their clumsy walk. Were they moving away from danger or approaching it despite their best efforts? They didn't know it, but carried on knowing they might be going in circles. Not a single tree had stood in their way. The landscape was flat and the grass caressed their ankles.

After several hours of walking, Rayne began to shiver. The temperature had dropped and the thin jacket she wore was not enough to protect her from the cold.

"Do you hear?" said the young man

"What ?"

"They sing… "

"What are you talking about ?" she asked

"Crickets, they sing. I've never heard them before," he said in wonder.

It must be dark… he continued.

“We'd better seek shelter. We need to rest for a few hours," Rayne offered.

They felt like they were going in circles, and had found no shelter. There was only grass and pebbles around them.

Until Rayne hears a metallic sound under his feet.

- What is that ?

She bent down to examine the piece of metal.

“Looks like a manhole…” she said hesitantly.

But it wasn't there a few minutes ago… affirmed Rayne

"Maybe it's a shelter..."

“Or a trap…” Rayne said.

"So what do we do? I don't know what this ball has in store for us, but I'd rather spend the night in safety.

A drop of water lands on his face at the same time, followed by another until a veritable torrent crashes down on their already tired bodies.

"I'm not staying in this rain! Rayne exclaimed before trying to move the metal plate.

It's too heavy ! help me ! she cried

They both started trying to move the manhole, but it didn't budge an inch.

"It's impossible. We must have missed something."

Rayne touched the piece of metal with his hand. There was no catch. The metal felt smooth to the touch and the young woman noticed no markings on it. Still, it was a starter.

"There must be a lever somewhere," she said hastily. The rain had given way to a storm.

But where to look? They put their hands on the ground, but felt nothing but wet grass. They dared not go too far for fear of never finding the entrance. Their soaked clothes stuck to their skin. Rayne stayed by the hatch, and held out his arm to allow his companion to cover more ground.

"I do not find anything !" he shouted

The rain then stopped abruptly, but before they could rejoice a deafening noise startled them.

"What was that ?" Rayne asked

"A flash. Let's hurry," Kieran said before resuming his search.

He was surprised to find himself sweating profusely within minutes.

The heat was becoming unbearable.

“It was raining a few minutes ago…” mumbled the young man, wiping his forehead.

"I think the plain is burning!" Rayne exclaimed.

Indeed, the lightning from which they had just escaped had transformed the plain into a violent inferno.

Fuck open up! she shouted before hitting the hatch. The more the minutes passed the more difficult it became to breathe.

"If you have a solution, it's now or never!" yelled the young man

"If only we didn't have those damn handcuffs!" she exclaimed before banging the bracelet against the hatch in exasperation.

A metallic noise ensued. The hatch had just opened.

They quickly rushed into the opening, clinging to a ladder that had become their only means of escaping a fall.

Rayne began the descent. She was still attached to her companion who followed her slowly so as not to fall. The descent was long and delicate, they could only use one hand to hold on and if they pulled too much...

After five minutes of precarious balance, Rayne's feet finally touched the bottom of the cellar.

They walked around the walls of the room they were in. Their hands remained their only guide. They found themselves at the foot of the ladder again a few minutes later.

"No way out," said the exasperated young man.

"Let's try to get closer to the centre. Maybe there's something we didn't take into account."

They hesitantly moved away from the walls, but seconds later they were crumbling to the ground.

"What is that ?" Rayne questioned.

"A box…"

"Wait! Rayne said as he was about to open it.

What if it's a trap?" she asked

"We'll know soon enough," he replied before lifting the lid.

There are bags…" he said, feeling them with his fingertips.

It's food, I think, he continued, putting the tip of a packet to his mouth.

Looks like… mashed potatoes, he concludes before handing one to Rayne.

Rayne placed the mouthpiece in her mouth to suck up the porridge. But as soon as the product reached her tongue, she spat it out and grimaced.

"Why is it so sweet?" I feel like I ate caramel with a straw!

"It's disgusting, it's true. But we have nothing else. And we don't know if this cellar won't be gone by tomorrow."

"I know… But it's worse than the super protein bar," she said, trying to suck the contents of the packet slowly so as not to vomit its contents. She didn't hear her companion's whisper following that remark.

"Don't be so sure..."

After a few minutes of silence, Rayne tried to open the discussion. She wanted to forget the unpleasant taste that this mixture left on her tongue.

"I had a horrible day with you, but I don't even know your name?"

"My name is Kieran"

"Kieran... no last name?"

"I haven't found the time to pick out a new one yet," he said with a strong animosity in his voice.

"Family problems?" asked the young girl with a note of curiosity

"Who doesn't have one?" he retorted. Rayne tensed at his words.

She didn't have any more.

"And you, what's your name ?" he asked

"Rayne, Rayne Elkurt"

"Like the rain? he asked humorously

"Yeah, don't think you're the first to ask me that," she said sarcastically.

"And why did you decide to touch the Sphere, Rayne?

"I'm asking you the same question," she replied.

A tense silence settled. They both understood that the conversation would go no further.

“We should get some sleep… We don't know what this Sphere has in store for us tomorrow,” Kieran said.

They lay down on the floor and tried to find a comfortable position despite their situation. A few minutes later, they were both asleep, exhausted from their first day. They did not know that on their bracelet a small red light had flashed all day. It had just turned green.