Black was all around her.
A noise echoed. An object that fell to the ground. It slid towards her.
Fingers grasped the edges and she lifted it up to her face. A mask.
"Put it on."
She did. It fit perfectly.
"Don't ever take it off."
She nodded. It was to stay on at all times.
Her face was to be kept hidden.
•••••
"Do you understand?"
She nodded, looking down at the three stones in front of her.
Fire. Water. Thunder.
Evolutionary stones for fire, water, and electric pokemon.
And now she knew how to use them.
•••••
She was still in a dark room. Various objects were spread out before her, with just enough light on them for her to see what was what.
She could hear his voice, but he never revealed himself. He was always in the dark.
He was always kept hidden.
She bent over and grasped a Magnet, putting it with the pile of non-evolutionary items. There were now two neat stacks before her.
"Very good. You have now passed the second part of the test."
She sat back. Nodded slightly. There was one more part. Then her training would be complete.
•••••
She only knew his voice. So when he spoke, she recognized it well.
She got out from under her blanket, pressed an ear against the wall. His voice. It was coming from the other side.
"No good . . . Need you to fix this . . . Well I'm NOT READY!"
She jumped back. What was wrong?
•••••
It was light outside but she wouldn't know it.
She got out of bed, wandered over to the door, stepped out.
It was always dark. She had gotten used to it. She had learned to navigate down the halls.
Soon she was in the big room. There was the pitch of sunlight. But nothing was under it but the ground. She glanced around, though she knew she wouldn't be able to tell if he was here.
After a moment, she went over to the light, walked through it a few times. Nothing. But then what was the third part of the test?
She sat in the darkness. Waited. Nothing.
Perhaps this wasn't the right room?
She got up, went over to the door, out into the hall. In and out she went through several rooms, finding all bare. Then she came upon a locked one. She couldn't simply open it and walk in. She had to knock.
So she did.
A small scuffling could be heard in the distance.
It wasn't from behind the door.
She moved back quickly, nearly tripping over her feet. There were supposed to be others here. She only knew this by word. There was no sign of anyone ever here but her.
Perhaps he was in the room now.
She went back, stood before the closed door. Uneasiness filled her.
She reached out and grasped the handle, opened the door quietly. She left it open, in fear of making noise when it shut.
She stood there, just inside, and saw the light. Suddenly the darkness felt very wrong to her.
She walked over to the light quickly, her eyes moving around the room of which she couldn't see. Someone was there. Him?
No. It was a different presence. And more than one person. Was it the other children? She didn't think so.
She stepped into the light, put one foot in, and immediately felt a bit safer.
A split-second later, someone grabbed her from behind, thrust her forward. Another person covered her eyes with something. She was back in the darkness. The last pressed something against her mouth, a sound coming from it.
Then she was out like a light.