The Test

Chapter 1:The Test

“Move out the way, a*****e”, the driver yelled as his horn blared. I then saw the man in front of his car jump on top of the Ford Fiesta and stomp in the windshield. He then ran down the street and hopped over a fence. Typical behavior of a kid, yet he was a lot bigger than a child. The driver drove off going 90 mph screaming his head off and yelling to the clouds. To most it would’ve been a funny sight to see, but not me. It seemed almost childish.

My name is Reggie Barnes, I'm a very unlucky child from the wrong side of town. Walking home is a bore, since no buses ran this late in this part of town. Not to mention, there's always something going on in the streets whether it's people fighting or just your casual drug deal. Either way, walking to Tracey's Trailer Lot was still the same boring walk as the past 3 years. I saw the sign in the distance and started to slow my pace as my body began to freeze from the cold. Thoughts began to fill my head, it made me tense. “What if he was drunk again, what if she was bruised like last time”, I felt a chill go down my spine. Most days I come home to my family's trailer to find my old man drunk with the hint of strong liquor on his breath. I walked into the lot and went to the back where our trailer was. It wasn't the biggest in the lot, but it wasn't the smallest either, at least I had my own room. I swung the door open, expecting my father to pop up in the doorway with alcohol in his hand. He didn't, I glanced around and saw him lying still on the couch. The strong scent of whiskey in the house made my nose hairs curl and sent goosebumps across my body. It's not my fault that I live on this side of town, the side that no one in the small town of Mutatio would claim is part of the town. Instead they refer to it as "The Abyss",and rightfully so, seeing as everything thrown in there is lost forever. My mother was in the kitchen she pressed her finger to her lips and ushered me over, she cleaned dishes, while some food was spread out over the counter, waiting for me to consume it. She was wearing her pink nurse uniform, so she recently got off of work at the clinic. Her hair was always straightened, about down to her back, and red like fire. With her pale skin, that was always rosy blushing, she smiled at me. She was extremely beautiful, so beautiful that it’d have to be a book to live in this house. I hadn't eaten all day, I had skipped lunch so I could have a few extra minutes to finish my classwork. The meal wasn't much, but then again nothing was.

"How was practice today, sweetheart?", My mother asked quietly

"It was fine, coach was on my a*s all day about moving up to Varsity", I complained

"Well you should consider it, colleges look at stuff like that, you need to get a scholarship, you know very well that we can't afford tuition", My mother nagged

"Yes I know, but I just don't feel ready for that level of commitment, and I'm not sure I have enough  time to dedicate to football, school, and Zoe", I reasoned

"Zoey," my mother groaned her name, "that girl is no good for you, she's from Mutatio not The Abyss, she promises a fake future for you. Besides you're only 15 you don't need a girlfriend yet", My mother spat. Although it didn’t feel like she was mad, but almost envious.

Zoey and I have been dating for a year going on two now, yet it feels like we've always been together. I know I'll never be good enough for her. She's a cheerleader, honor roll, the perfect girl. And I'm just a boy from the wrong side of town that got lucky to have someone like her in my life. We met a few years back, in grade school some of the girls were picking on her and teasing her. I jumped in to defend her, after that we were the best of friends. And I've been in love with her ever since. Our parents hated the fact that we were friends, their reaction to us going out was disastrous. Funny, because she's the one that asked me out after our 8th Grade Formal. I'd do anything to keep her, because I know that no one else will ever love her as much as I do, she'll never go through heartbreak with me, she'll never be hurt, she'll be happy. But they don't see it that way, after all, I'm from The Abyss, they think I won't amount to anything. Most kids become thugs, thieves, and murderers. It's a filthy stigma that I've always hated. I want to be better, I will be better. I educated myself, I will get out of this godforsaken town. One way or another, Zoe will come with me.

“I love her mom, I don't know what you want me to say”, I insisted.

“I know you do, but I worry. But you must promise me one thing”, she grabbed my face and stared into my eyes.

“Yeah? What's that”, I said staring back at her unmoved.

“Treat her right, and never become your father”, a tear left her eye. She wiped it and went back to the dishes.

I continued to eat my food in silence, while my mother did her dishes, and my father stirred on the couch. I glanced over to check of further movement, luckily he was as still as a statue. I can't believe she would even think I would become anything like that man. My phone dinged, I pulled it out to check my texts. I received a text from an unknown number. Then my mother's phone went off, then my father's. His phone, however, was nowhere near him, today was a very lucky day.

I rushed to get some water from the sink as my mom typed into her phone, suddenly a loud laughter came out of her phone, followed by "Game over, you've been rejected".
"Hey, mom, what's that some new game?" I asked
"Yeah, baby, just something to pass the time" she responded, her cherry red lipstick puckered into a kiss as she grabbed my plate and went to the kitchen. I walked to my room and turned on the TV. I threw my bag on the bed and flicked through the channels. I landed on the Channel 2 news, it was 8:24 pm so this was when they had their social debate. It's when they bring on Equal Rights Activists and challenge their ideas and reasoning. It's always entertaining to watch the guests struggle to make their points valid.

"Debra, there is no wage gap, all evidence you've brought to light doesn't suggest a wage gap", the man argued

"Except for the fact that a woman is paid 75 cents to the man being paid a dollar", the woman named Debra claimed. She began to get flustered and began stammering

"It's a complete myth, come on, you must have more intelligence than that to understand", he chuckled. "Statistically speaking, a man is more likely to work overtime, ask for raises. Not to mention the fact that your so called gap is not comparing the same job in the same field by the same employer, so how about you stop complaining and ---", the man was cut off by a emergency broadcast. After a few seconds the news cut back on.

"A new game is going viral, well more like virus, as it was sent as a link to phones parents and children alike, everyone is trying to pass the test and enter safe Haven. You only get one chance to pass the test and the questions are controversial to say the least. Ranging from questions such as women's rights to the color of someone's skin" the Anchor lady spoke, my phone began to ring, it was Zoe, I picked up eagerly.

"Hey, babe, what's up?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to hear your voice before I went to sleep", I smiled, she always did something cute like this.

"Did you here on the news? Apparently some virus is going around in the form of a text message and it's some sort of test"

"Oh yeah I took it, I passed I guess, then some kind of countdown began, it's still going for another 3 days, did you take it yet?"

"Not yet, I was about to before you called me, it sounds interesting, people are going nuts over it"

"Okay, well I think I'm gonna hit the hay, good luck on that test babe, make sure you pass with flying colors" she teased, she knows I'm not very good at tests. She then hung up and my home screen popped up. I tapped the message icon, and went to the new message.

"Pass this test and you shall be saved from this world's corrupt society. Fail, and you shall feel the wrath of the gods that no human could withstand. Remember, equality for everyone", the text read, followed by a link to a website. A little extra in my opinion, especially for some joke virus. I tapped the link, my phone went to a blank website with nothing but words.

"You will be asked a number of questions, you must answer these questions with the multiple choices​ given. If you fail this test there is no retake. Failure to complete the test within​ the given time limit shall result in a fail. The inability to answer the questions correctly shall result in a fail. Your answers may not be changed once submitted. Your life hangs in the balance of your better judgement. You may choose to not take this test, however any chance of survival disappears. Make sure your phone is charged. Continue?". This guy is really shooting for the whole life or death situation, I thought. I tapped the screen, and more words popped up.

       "Excellent, wise choice to save yourself, Reggie", wait what, "the test contains 2 parts, multiple choice, and a special question to be given at the end. Are you ready, Reggie?"

"How does it know my name", I whispered to myself. I froze. "There's no way... how did it know my name?". I dropped my phone down and went to the kitchen to pour a glass of water. I down it quickly and race back to my room. I closed the website and turned on my music and plugged in my headphones. "I Do This", by Abstract, started to play. I returned to the website and clicked "Ready". My phone dinged, then a pop up came up.

"Battery on 10%, please charge"

"F**k", I whispered. I looked around for my charger. Usually it's plugged into the wall, but it wasn't there. I ran into the living room. Unfortunately it was plugged into my father's phone on the other side of the room. I crept around very slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. I made it to the other side of the room safely, and grabbed my charger.

"Drunken b*****d didn't even plug it into the wall", I mumbled. Then the drunk on the couch moved, groggily and stared at me for a few moments until he finally spoke out.

"Reginald, what are you doing with my f*****g phone", he began to stand up.

"Nothing, why?"

"Little b*****d you're standing there with it in your hand, wanna tell me why or do I have to beat it out of you", he drunkenly walked towards me, wobbling back and forth try to keep balance.

"I was just grabbing my charger, no need to get your panties in a bunch", I shouted. I tried to walk away back to my room, but he stood in the way.

“Oh no you don't, you're not going anywhere until you fix your attitude. I deserve respect from you, and that w***e”, he grunted through his clenched teeth. Now he stood in full view in the light. A burly man of about 6’4 with a potbelly and a body odor worse than the locker rooms after football practice. He was wearing a white tank top along with grey sweatpants. His breath reeked of alcohol, his eyes were baggy, and there were a few potato chip crumbs in his beard. He hasn't worked in over 3 weeks and it's starting to take a toll on my mom, this only increases my hatred for him.

“Don't you speak of my mother like that, not after how useless a father you are”, I spat at him, “One day you'll pay for all the s**t you put us through, and then you'll sit here alone and rot away in this trailer with the rest of the Abyss”, I pushed past him and walked to my room. I slammed it shut and locked it. I jumped on my bed and rolled around looking for the outlet in the corner where my bed was.

I grabbed my phone and checked the battery again, 2%, “Just in time”, I thought. I rushed to plug it in as my TV created background noise. Suddenly, a loud banging began to start, followed by voices shouting and then glass shattering. I ran to my door and unlocked it and opened it to see my mother on the ground crying as my father stood shouting at her. I tackled him to the ground and wrestled him. Then I started to punch him, over, and over, and over, and over again.

“NO, REGGIE STOP”, my mother shouted, but I didn't I just kept hitting him. I was tired of the abuse and tired of putting up with his s**t. Then he stopped fighting back, so I loosened my grip and his body went limp.

“Reggie, no, baby what did you do?”, My mother whispered. She crouched down to the corpse of a pummeled man, who groaned in agony.

“Okay, sweetie, he's still alive. Help me put him outside”, she asked. I helped her get him up and walked him to the door. Then I threw him out the door into a pile of leaves. My hand stung, I looked down and there was bruises on my knuckles. Not just that, they were shaking, and

“Mom, are you okay?”, I questioned. She had a mark on her face, and scratches on her hands. Blood was dripping down the side of her mouth and her hair wasn't like it's usual straightened self, it was frizzy and only getting more wild. Her mascara was running down her face and her clothes were filthy.

“Yeah baby, don't worry about me”, she mumbled, some blood dripped out as she talked. I couldn't help but worry, but how much longer could we put up with my father until something worse happens. I slipped into the kitchen, grabbed the broom and dustpan, and cleaned up the broken plates.

“Reggie, you didn't have to do that, you should go back to your room”, I ignored her and walked her to the bathroom to clean her up. I opened the drawers and found the med kit.

“I can handle it from here now”, she reached and grabbed the make up kit from the cabinet and got a pad to remove her makeup. I let her be and walked back to my room. I closed and locked the door then went over to my closet to get changed into my night clothes. My body was energized and was not going to bed anytime soon. I decided to text Zoe, “Hey”, to see if she was up. I knew she wasn't but just thinking about her makes me calm. I scrolled through my home screen and clicked on the message icon.

“Saved from this world's corrupt society’ huh? Okay stupid test, let's see if you hold up your end”, I whispered softly. I opened the link and clicked the “Ready” button.