Tester

Today is the first time that Cam has been inside the Tester Facility. It’s a plain rectangular building with virtually no windows and only stands a couple of stories high. He’s ridden past it on his bike every school day for the last eleven years, but he never paid it much attention until now. Since stepping inside and being directed to a nearby elevator, Cam can say with confidence that there isn’t a whole lot to see.

The elevator doors pull apart to reveal a white corridor that stretches farther than Cam can see. Something twists in the pit of his stomach. It’s a strange sensation knowing that today, in a way, is the first day of the rest of his life. He’ll be meeting his coworkers, learning what his daily routine is, and finding out what exactly his job as a tester entails. Not a whole lot is known about being a tester outside of the ones who are one, only that their work is essential to the progression of their community as a whole.

Cam walks past a few archways until he arrives at a pair of double doors, a sign labeled NOVICE hung above it. The first thing his eyes land on once he pushes the door open is a girl. She’s bound to one of the two chairs that are in the middle of the room with her head hung down, but Cam recognizes her instantly: Devin.

In the community, everyone must appear the same. For women that means covering up their bodies and making sure their hair is long. On the last day of education, Devin had made an ultimate act of defiance by chopping it short. No one has seen her or her parents since that incident, but now it appears that she’s back and here to start her first day as a tester too. A part of Cam is relieved to not be alone anymore.

Cam sits down in the seat beside Devin’s and takes a moment to look around at his new surroundings. It’s a large and open area that has a wall of cabinets to his right, a desk and chair set up in one of the corners, and then a trashcan by the doors. It isn’t much to go on in terms of understanding his new role.

Before any more thought can be put into what to expect, Cam jumps at the sudden movement coming from Devin. She’s wriggling both of her wrists against the polyester straps that are tying them to the armrests. From how raw her skin looks in contrast to how pale she is, it’s obvious she was struggling against the restraints before he ever stepped foot into the room.

Cam clears his throat, “I don’t think you shouldn’t be doing that. I imagine they put those restraints on you for a reason, so you should probably stop before someone comes.”

Devin grunts and tugs at her restraints.

Maybe she didn’t hear him? Cam opens his mouth again to speak but is cut off.

“I need to get out of here before they come back,” Devin lifts her head and meets his eyes, “You should too. We need to get out of here while we still can.”

Cam spots a silver chain around Devin’s neck, but whatever is hanging from it is hidden beneath her shirt. The only time he’s ever seen someone wear a necklace is on adult women during special occasions. His mother would wear one every Friday night, that’s when his parents would go out on their weekly date, it was a silver locket in the shape of a heart. There was nothing inside of it though.

“I mean it,” Devin glances at the doors.

To help Devin would mean going against the establishment. Cam doesn’t know the details of what happens when someone disobeys orders, only that they’re whisked away as soon as a problem arises and then no one sees them again. The community gets told that the problem has been resolved and to resume life as it always has been, and so they do. There wasn’t any room to dwell on the problem, much less speculate where those people ended up.

“You should feel honored to be here. Testers play a crucial role in the advancement of our community. We would still suffer from terminal cancers and birth defects if it weren’t for their service.”

Devin stops struggling and stares at him for a moment, lips parted.

Did he say something wrong? Cam only repeated what the letter said. It felt like he was waiting forever for it to arrive in the mailbox, an envelope that would tell him how he scored on the End of Education test and what line of work he would be in for the rest of his life. Usually, it would include the name of the significant other they would be paired with, but that was only for members of the community who worked the typical everyday jobs such as engineers and doctors. Testers didn’t fall into that category as they had to dedicate their time to the community’s advancement, a spouse and a child would only slow down their overall progress. The thought of not having a family of his own had upset him at first, but the letter explaining the importance of his new job assignment had been enough to remind him about what’s important.

“Is that the garbage they put into your head?”

“It isn’t garbage, it’s the truth. Testers play a crucial-”

“Yes,” Devin hisses when she frees one of her hands. Her wrist is bright red to a point it looks painful, but she doesn’t appear to be phased at all. “What they told you is absolute garbage. Being a Tester is torture, they’ll blind you with chemicals and give you shots loaded up with poison and just so many other horrific things. You’re basically a ragdoll that they run experiments on until you die.”

Cam shakes his head, “That’s not true. You sound like one of those conspiracy theorists.”

“Think about it. When is the last time you’ve met a Tester? They walk in here and then they never come out.”

It’s true, no one has seen a Tester after their first day. Cam was never friends with anyone who was assigned a Tester though, so in his head, it wasn’t ever something to sit down and think about. He only knew that Testers were the most dedicated members of the community. He hadn’t considered anything past what he was told.

Devin manages to get her second wrist free, but her victory is short-lived at the sound of distant footsteps and murmuring. She quickly gets to work on the thicker strap that’s wrapped around her ankles. It’s a different-looking fastener than the ones used for her wrist, and it’s behind the footrest which makes it more difficult for her to reach and figure out. Her eyes keep flicking between the double doors and her shaking hands. “Help me,” She pleads, “Please.”

This was a situation that Cam had never found himself in before. When there was a public problem, it was resolved within mere minutes if not a few seconds. He didn’t have to get involved at all. His job was to resume his life like it always has been. That’s it. Now, he had a girl his age saying that the two of them were going to be tortured and that she needed to be set free. The Establishment would tell him not to help her, but he had an unpleasant feeling in his gut that was urging him to do the complete opposite. What was he supposed to do?

Cam had arrived here with the idea that he would be doing something great for the community. Maybe one of his tasks as a Tester would lead to something amazing like eliminating the need for consuming food. He isn’t sure exactly. Now, it’s like the entire world has been flipped onto its head. What was he even supposed to think right now? The claims Devin made sound exactly like he stated: conspiracy theories. So why was he all of a sudden feeling more fearful than he was anxious?

The heavy strap comes undone from around Devin’s ankles and she stumbles onto her feet, bracing her hand against the wall.

Two men in lab coats burst into the room and grab hold of Devin. Both of her arms are pinned behind her back as she uses her feet to try and stop them from moving forward. The men pick her up so she can no longer touch the floor, and her blood-curdling screams can be heard as she’s carried out and down the corridor.

Cam gulps as he stares at the double doors for a minute. He isn’t exactly sure what it is he’s watching for, as there’s no doubt in his mind that Devin won’t be coming back. Maybe if he had eaten a bigger breakfast then he would be puking in the nearby trash can, but for now, he has to settle for being light-headed. He rubs a hand over his face with a shaky breath.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Cam spots something left on the ground. It’s a necklace similar to the one that his mother wears. He collects it into his hands and brushes his thumb over the engraving of a dove, then opens it to reveal a small picture in each half. The first is of what Cam believes to be Devin’s parents, as she’s nearly identical to the woman in the picture. Tucked into the other half is a picture of Devin and another girl. She looks identical to Devin and her mother. Then it dawns on him, Devin has a sister.

Cam had forgotten that there were a few select families who were allowed to have a second child, and even more so that Devin was a member of one. Her sister was a year older than the two of them but had disappeared after receiving her job assignment. Had she been a Tester?

The double doors open again and Cam slips the necklace into his pocket.

“Hi, are you Cam? I’m Dr. Smith,” The woman greets with a wide smile on her face, “I’m sure you have some first-day jitters but I assure you that there’s nothing to stress over. It’s an honor to have you! Testers play such a crucial role in the advancement of our community, so it’s always amazing when another member is added.”

Cam rises from his seat and follows Dr. Smith out of the room. Why had he let Devin’s words get to his head in the first place? There’s no way that the Establishment would put its community in harm's way. As Dr. Smith said, it's an honor for him to be here.