He could tell he was standing, his eyes were closed but it was so bright, even with closed eyes,  that it burned.

He could feel his heart racing, and his throat closing,  his heart was pounding in his head.

Thump.

Bang.

Bang.

Somehow his ears were picking up another sounds, a beeping sound that was accelerating and slowing at random intervals.

Now he heard voices,  slow and distorted,  like he was under water.

"Clear your mind." A voice said, female and in pristine British English.

He could feel his body convulsing, and he could no longer tell if he was standing or laying down.

"Clear your mind." She said again.

Underwater.  "He's going into shock.  His heart rate is failing.

"Clear your mind."

He could feel his heart stop, but the voice kept repeating,

"Clear your mind."

He was dead. He knew he was dead. His heart had stopped. But her voice was still in his head.

His head jerked forward,  his eyes feeling like they were going to be knocked out of his skull.  The room was a hazy blue color, like you would see on an old '70s film.  

That was a long time ago.  He thought.

The room was perfectly square, and it looked blue partly because of the off white blueish painted wall,  and partly from the eclectic lights that flickered off and on.

The room was empty,  he could see that, and he was sitting in it, in a cushioned orange chair.  

He looked down at his toes and feet and legs, he noticed the hospital gown he wore, he felt the sweat running down his forehead and he knew he wasn't quite alone in the room.

"You are right." Said a voice he recognized. The voice of a young girl, British and polished.

"In a way you are not alone, for I can see you."

He frowned, glancing around the room for a speaker of some sort, but found none.

"My name is Clover, and I will be your hostess. Please give us your name.''

His mouth didn't seem to work right at first, but he managed to choke out,

"Askel."

"Very good.  You're doing well." She, Clover, sounded very pleased with him.

"Like I said, I am your hostess. I will be your mitigator between the boss and yourself.  I will also be conducting your testing."

"Testing?  The boss? What are you-" Askel gave a sharp cry of pain. Memories flooded into his brain with the intensity of a tsunami.

"What you're experiencing is a normal side effect of the download, do not worry. It will pass, and eventually you will learn to control them. For the present though, let the memories go on their course.''

Askel held his head in his hands,  rocking back and forth. The memories scorched his brain, he could not think of them even if he wanted to, he could only let them burn away. Meanwhile Clover was still talking, apparently unaware of the pain he was in.

"You have now been entered into Conway and Phillgaree Testing Cooperation.  Started in the year 3040 A.D. by Lucius Conway and Luka Phillgaree. In 2999 after the summer of famine,  Conway and Phillgaree decided to start an institute for the lowering of overpopulation.  This institute would test children from the ages of 8-13,  those who were smart and brave enough lived,  the others were terminated."

Askel looked up startled,  "Terminated? As in... killed?"

"Of course,  only those who will attribute to society should be allowed to live here. Anyone else deserves to die."

"How did I get here?  Where am I? Please," Askel whimpered, "Take me home please. "

Clover laughed,  "You can go home if your win, so you'd better win."

Askel wiped his hands on his gown, "I don't appear to have a choice."

"Correct."

"Then...let's hurry please."

"Very good. Proceed to the second test."

He waited for something to change, for a door to appear, for a hole in the ground tp sucl him in. Nothing happened. He sat on the chair, clutching the bottom of the seat with his clenched hands.

Nothing happened.

Askel curled his toes,  they were cold,  he would like a pair of socks.

Socks. The word played vibrato in his mind.  

Christmas Eve, last year.  He had a pair of fuzzy red socks with green bells on the toes.

A searing pain slashed through his brain, and Clover's voice said,

"Points will be docked for memories."

Askel frowned, letting go of the chair bottom, "Why?"

"Points will be docked for memories."

"Yeah, I heard the first time. I'm asking why."

"Points will be docked for memories."

"I heard.  You're really not helping you know."

She stopped and Askel waited for her to say something else, but she was silent and the room was still the same.

Slowly, gingerly, he slid off the chair and walked around the room.  There was no difference that he could see  in any of the walls. No exit in them. Askel rubbed his head, he was getting a headache, and the blinking lights were not helping.

He sat down against the wall, wondering where he was, and what he was doing here.

This whole thing is stupid. Not allowing memories. Not letting me out."

His thoughts complained, trailing after another, leading into one another, till his got droopy and closed. And he was asleep.

When he woke up he was hearing Clover's voice say over and over again,

"Sleeping is prohibited!  Sleeping is prohibited! The challenge will now rise! The challenge will now rise!"

Askel rubbed his eyes confused about what she meant. Then he saw a small red circle forming under his chair in the middle of the room. He crawled over to it, it smelled like an empty pan that's left on a stove burner that's on full blast. Askel reacted before he thought about what he was doing, he touched the circle.

With a scream he threw himself back from the circle, which had now doubled in size, encompassing the chair. He rocked back and forth holding his burned finger. Breathing heavily he realized the circle was going to continue to grow till he got out, or was burned to death.

Askel stood up, watching the circle slowly spread bigger, the chair was now steaming, the room was filling up with the smell and smoke.  Askel ran his hands  around the wall, as high as he could reach, and down to the floor. He was starting to choke on the smoke but still he could not find a way out.  

He ran to the next wall,  and the next,  the burning circle growing after him.  

The fourth wall awaited and he had to carefully skirt away from the heat, which now covered most of the room, only the corners remained.

Choking and sobbing not only from fear, the smoke stung at his eyes and his throat and nostrils,  he ran his hands up and down and over the wall. Nothing.  

He pressed his body to the wall, his feet could feel the burning heat getting closer. He screamed and hit the wall, he pounded and battered it.  When suddenly he felt an indent in the wall, he pressed it and heard a door slid open. He swung around to his what he feared,  the door was on the other wall. He ran to the edge of the remaining  corner, he was going to have to jump, he backed up and leaped, barely making it into the other corner. One more. His corner quickly growing hot under his feet. He took a step back again, he wasn't going to make it. With a scream he threw himself forward, landing on the burning floor,  scorching his feet but not stopping, he fell thru the open doorway.

Clover's voice following him.

"Congratulations.  You have passed the second test."