On Saturday, Sara picked up Allie to take her to Caveena for her evaluation. Bethany was back now, and though the evaluation day had been changed, everything was on track.
The young women got out of the car and stood in front of a house that had been turned into a nursery. There was a sign in the yard that said ‘Barlon Day Care Center’. The same name was also printed upon the side of the small building. The house sat alone on the edge of town at the edge of the forest.
They entered and walked past playing children and waved at the woman sitting at the front desk across from the door. They went to the back of the room and through two rooms, to a small elevator on the right side of the next room. Sara opened a panel and punched in a three-digit code. The elevator doors opened and they stepped inside. Allie felt her stomach sinking as the elevator went down several floors before halting. They exited and walked down a long hallway to a small room.
“This is another change room,” said Sara. She went to a closet and handed Allie a jacket and put one on herself. Then they passed through another two rooms to their final destination. Sara used her key to open this door and stepped into a familiar white room. “These are called vault rooms.”
“Seriously?” Allie wondered.
“Yes. You will find out their meaning later.” Sara led her through this room and down a hall to the door of the testing room. “The Elders will test you here. Keep your wits about you and show no fear. They can hear your heartbeat so stay calm and think of anything that will relax you and slow your heart rate down. Good luck, Allie.” She hugged her and opened the door. Allie stepped inside.
Shelby and one of her female friends from school came down the hall. They were not in uniform or wearing jackets and as they slowly walked down the hall their eyes, almost black in color, bore straight ahead. They passed by two Cavers in the hallway who immediately stopped and stood against the walls. They held their heads down in respect as the two red-headed women walked by them looking virtually identical. They turned a corner, then entered the next room. A female Caver was in this room; she stood at attention and bowed her head at the sight of them.
“Get out,” said Shelby in a low and deadly tone. The woman quickly left the room.
This was an observation room, and on one wall was a one-way mirror linked to the room beside it. Shelby’s eyes returned to their normal color and she stepped up to the viewing area and saw Allie in the next room. She would soon get her revenge on the young upstart.
Allie had entered the room and was unsure of what to do next. The room she found herself in was large, and in the center stood a table; on one side was a lone seat – hers, she guessed – and on the other were several. She thought she would face some type of oral exam by these Elders that Sara spoke of. She walked around the room but did not sit down, waiting for the Elders to show up. Allie saw the mirror but gave it little thought; her attention remained on proving she was up to the task and could do her job. They would have to fight her to take this opportunity away.
Shelby called over her friend, Stephanie. They both looked at Allie and grinned devilishly at each other. “Did you get Marcus?”
Stephanie laughed and pointed to the door at the other end of the testing room. They both laughed at the chaos they were about to unleash. Shelby gave her the go-ahead and Stephanie turned on the intercom for the room. Allie heard a whistling noise and looked up to the ceiling and saw a speaker. “This is Phase One of your testing. Go to the chute on the left side of the room and open it. Take off your jacket, earrings and necklace and place them in the chute. Next you will go to the dresser on the far wall and put on a gray jacket.”
Allie’s ears perked up. Finally, she would be a member of the Double E Club. She rushed over to the chute and opened it wide. She took off her earrings and necklace and placed them in the pullout drawer. She placed her jacket on top of them and closed it. Allie walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. Empty. She closed it and opened the middle drawer and then the bottom drawer – but again, all housed nothing. She looked around the room with confusion and looked up to the speaker for help.
Shelby and Stephanie were still laughing. Shelby reached down and pressed a button and at the end of the testing room a red light went off on the top of a black metal door. Allie began to panic, unsure of what the test was and what was coming next.
The door’s locks were a number of gears and cogs, like the innards of a watch, and one of the gears now began to turn. Allie watched in anticipation, and when the turning stopped, the red light extinguished and the door creaked open. Allie hid behind the dresser and was able to see a boy not much older than five standing in the doorway. The boy came into the room. Allie reached for her necklace – then realized it was gone! She’d stupidly thrown it away earlier. She watched the boy stalk around the room and her heart began beating louder. The boy heard the sound, stopped, and she almost died on the spot. He walked toward her, following the sound of her heartbeat.
Closer and closer he came, Allie’s heart sinking further into her chest. He saw her from a distance and started grinning. She stood and slowly walked backward toward the chute, keeping eye contact with the boy. Yet the boy matched her, advancing step for step. She reached the chute and reached her hand behind her and opened the drawer and felt around inside. She almost fainted when she felt nothing but the bottom of the drawer: her defense was gone and now she needed a new plan.
Allie remembered what she had been told by Sara: control her heart rate. This was a little kid and she was the bigger of the two of them. She would use her wits and all that she had learned and she would survive this. After a deep breath, she took a step toward the boy – and for an instant it worked; the boy stopped his advance. She confidently took another step.
Shelby saw it and pushed another button on the console in front of her and the red light above the black door went off in the room. Allie lost her concentration and jumped. He was about twenty feet from her and charged with a scream. Allie ran to one side of the room, reached the table and chairs, and did her best to keep them between her and the boy. The boy jumped on top of the table – Allie picked up a chair to defend herself.