Sam collided with the person standing in front of his and both of them tripped. He was now on top of the person he was afraid of a minute ago. All his fear vanished when he saw the person under him. The chestnut hair peeking from under the hat, the wheatish face with the most perfect jawline he had ever seen, those pretty pastel purple eyes, these things were too good to be true.
"Those eyes are really pretty," Sam muttered as he stared into its depths.
"Thank you." He spoke in his original voice for the first time. It was smooth as silk.
"Oh damn! I'm really sorry." Sam apologised as he realised what was going on. He got up and straightened his uniform, which had become wrinkled. "I'll go back to my dorm. Sorry for the trouble caused." He muttered.
"Wait, my dear. Where are you heading off to?" Haruko him back by his collar.
"I am going back. Is something wrong?" Sam turned around and asked.
"Yeah. Since you have entered the restricted area, you will be punished as per the rules."
"Punished?" Sam was confused.
"Yeah, like how the Earth follows its orbit and everything goes wild when it falters once, everything that breaks the equilibrium needs to be brought back to its original form."
"Bro, I did not understand a word you said." Sam was even more confused.
"Wait for a few minutes. You will understand everything."
Right at that moment, The SEC door opened and Bond entered the pavilion. He seemed as confused as Sam and walked about without any knowledge. He saw Sam and walked over to Haruko's room.
"Haruko, why have you called me here?" Bond questioned him.
"There are some things that need to be cleared." He answered.
"Like what?"
"You will know it soon." He walked over to a small room and gestured them to enter.
The door was open and Sam could see the faint light coming from inside. Inside the room, there was a chair made of metal with machines attached on all sides. The scenario was no less than one from a sci-fi movie. There were wires around the mechanism and a heart-rate monitor connected to it.
"Sam and Bond, please head to the room," Haruko instructed.
They both followed the instructions and entered the room. Haruko went along and closed the door behind them.
"Sam, please sit on the chair." Haruko directed him.
Sam sat on the chair and Haruko wrapped a wire around his wrist, pasting a paper patch on his nerve. For some clear reason, there was unrest growing in his mind.
"Welcome to your training!" Haruko exclaimed. "Since it is an unofficial training, I will be the one giving the instructions."
'What training?'
"So, as per this task, we will check your knowledge about each other. Since Sam was the person who broke the rules, he will be the one doing the task. The task is very simple. I will ask you about the other's preferences in various fields and you have to give the correct answer. If the answer is wrong, then you will be electrocuted. If correct, then the light will flash. You have three questions to answer."
"I don't want to perform this task." Sam got up and removed the patch from his wrist.
"You can't go anywhere. You have to perform the task!" Haruko pushed him back towards the chair.
"What the hell, dude?" Sam tried to get up but he was clasped back onto the chair.
"Bond, please stand in this square." Haruko pointed towards a white painted square.
Bond stood on the square and Haruko walked towards him with a bunch of wires. He wrapped around a wire around his hand and pasted a patch on his wrist. Also, he stuck a patch on his chest and the heart-rate monitor switched on. The display screen showed the condition of his mind. It was havoc. Random lines emerging from the screen were evidence to his fear.
"Calm down. Nothing will happen to you." Haruko whispered.
"Ok..." Bond gave an uncertain reply.
The clock struck and the task began. Haruko asked the first question:
"What is this person's favourite colour?" Haruko pointed towards Bond, who was now trembling.
Sam took an intent look at Bond and scrutinised him in detail. He was wearing a black hoodie with black sweatpants and even his favourite pairs of headphones were black. Without giving it a thought, Sam yelled the answer: "He loves black!"
Haruko looked at Bond and turned back at Sam.
"I'm sorry but your answer is wrong."
At that moment, Sam felt a tingling sensation inside his body. It was as if experiencing pins and needles but the needles had been replaced by sharp knives stabbing him from all sides. A peculiar pain began to rise inside his vessels and they could burst at any moment. Countless painful pangs continued growing and he gritted his teeth. They could break at any point.
"Just a little more." He told to himself.