Testing Vickie

Chapter Three

As I bathe, the smell of cheese and pancakes wafts it way through the house. I get back downstairs and find Ana at the kitchen bench with two plates of pancakes with cheese and poached eggs on top. I wolf them down, then in my peripheral vision, I see her sitting properly. Shoulders back, head up tall poised to eat suitably. I stop a moment and remember myself. I sit up a properly like her, then excuse myself.

"I'll go make a coffee." I say warily. "Mocha with one sugar?"

“Mmm, you’ve already convinced me that you know everything about me.”

The morning passes as if I never had left my present world, we chat and we laugh, I sing and she dances until we exhaust ourselves. We sit in the hut and draw into the afternoon. Well, Ana draws and I try to. As we draw, my mind travels to a book. But it seems empty. I feel a dizziness, then I stupidly stand; a darkness sweeping over my eyes as I feel myself falling, almost as if it was slow motion. Then, I freeze. Not like my mind froze, it’s still thinking. But my body is frozen, paralysed almost. I can barely move my eyes then suddenly a phantom hand eases my head up, adjusting the rest of my body accordingly as if it was a mannequin until I see a person.

There’s light emanating from behind him and his blonde hair almost seems glowing. A deep voice bypassing my ears yet pounding in my head says: “You must finish the test. You have 12 hours.”

Then without warning, I fall and darkness claims me.

A rough shaking of my shoulder.

“Vickie? Vickie?” A voice calling out.

Warm light streams through my eyes as the sun is setting. Then I remember. “Ana! What time did I pass out?”

“I dunno! Drink water now!” She says anxiously. I accept the water and ask more urgently.

“What time did I pass out?!”

“I think it was about 4 o’clock?” She says nervously, her eyes shocked.

Crap, crap crap crap.

How am I supposed to figure this out in 12 hours? “Ana, what’s the time?”

“Uh, about 5:30. PM.”

Less than that now, 10 and a half.

“Do you remember all the stuff they talked about at school? About the TEST’s?”

“The Terror Evaluative Sanity Training?”

“Hah, training my ass. I’m in or well, doing that right now. How do I get out?”

“I dunno. It’s your TEST.”

“Helpful bestie up for sale” I say jokingly nudging her softly. She falls onto a beanbag. “How much sleep did you get last night?”

“I think about 16 hours?”

“Ok you got plenty, ready for an adventure?”

“I mean, I guess.”

“I’m guessing yes. Let’s go!”

“You’re not going out in that dress, are you?”

“I don’t have time to get changed, nor can I be bothered and I almost kind of like this dress.” Ana gives me a weird look. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing. I’m gonna get a jacket then let’s go.”

We go to the warmly light streets and run a track which led us unsurprisingly to my house. All our tracks are ones to and from her house and mine. Maybe there’s a reason for that.

“They’re having dinner Ana, I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to go barging in.”

We run again, stopping at the park to hydrate when I notice something that isn’t normally there. A path with bush and shrubbery on both sides. Except it’s got this glittery film over it. “Hey Ana, slow down a bit.” She slows looking annoyed that I’ve stopped her. “What goes down that path? The one with the glittery film?”

She looks at me as if I was delusional. “What glittery film? It’s just the path to the library.”

“No, the path to the library is the off the path into town after the path to the pool on the left.”

“Maybe it’s part of your TEST?”

“Perhaps, should we go down in?”

“I mean, if it looks strange to you then sure.”

“But what if something happens? Do you have your phone?”

“There’s a phone booth halfway through and it’s only 750m. I’m sure we’ll be fine. I can run that in one minute and a half and I’m sure you can match it.”

“Fine, fine. Wanna race?”

“Uh no, you’re going to beat me.”

“Loser buys the winner an icy pole?”

“With what money, huh Vickie?”

“Ugh, never-mind. Catch me if you can!” I yell as I speed off down the track. I hear footsteps behind me and keep running, determined to beat Ana.

As I see the library, the footsteps slow to a stop. “Ana? You there?” I look back to not find Ana behind me. I run back a little and there’s nothing there. I run all the way back to the start of the track and Ana is nowhere to be found. “Ana? Ana! This isn’t funny, where are you?” Suddenly I hear a scream. Ana’s scream. It came from the track. I run back in and I hear her scream again, this time from the left just ahead. I run towards it and see a gap in the shrubbery I didn’t see the first time I ran through. I run through it and see Ana there, tied on a chair, eyes bewildered.

“Don’t hurt me!” she says, “Please don’t! I don’t have anything to give!”

“What do you mean?” I say, confused. “It’s me, Vickie.”

“Don’t try to lie to me! Vickie isn’t real! How long have you been stalking me for? Days? Months? Doesn’t matter. I know you’ve been following me!” she sounds like a mad woman on crack. I move towards her and she lets out a small scream.

“I’m just trying to help you. I’m just going to untie the rope.” I try to say, as calmly as I can without freaking myself out.

“I know what you are!” She says, her eyes staring at somewhere on my body. I follow her sightline and see that she’s staring the that tattoo. For the first time, I take a good look at it. A tattoo about the size of my palm save for the centimetre-thick band around my lower left forearm. On the inside of my arm, centre with the band is a laurel wreath, on the inside, a capital V. It actually looks really cool.

“What am I?” I slowly, cautiously, take a step.

“Take another step towards me and I’ll scream.” She’s been screaming her head off for the past 5 minutes what difference would it take?

All of a sudden, sirens call and feet pound down the track. “POLICE CLEAR THE WAY” calls a loud booming voice.

I take that as my cue to run and leave. I run next to the track on the other side of the shrubbery and before I know it, the clean white building that is the library stares down upon me.