Carrie didn't know how long she had been in the cold metal chair. The room was windowless and she had no sense of time; Mr. Nolan and Mr. Snell could have left her a day ago or a week ago; she didn't know. She'd fallen asleep soon after they'd left, and though she'd slept an entire day away before, this felt different. She felt drowsy beyond belief, as if she'd slept for days. She figured the emotional stress had done a huge number.
Carrie flinched as the door opened and the blinding white light streamed in once again. It didn't hurt as badly this time.
"Rise and shine, Miss White!" Mr. Nolan's voice was falsely cheery. "It's time to begin your testing. Are you excited?"
Carrie glowered at the man, refusing to utter a single word.
"You should be," Mr. Nolan continued matter-of-factly. "You're going to be the first telekinetic to be recorded for legal purposes. Or at all, really. That really should be exciting, don't you think?" He continued after another period of silence from Carrie. "Ah, well. We can't please everyone. Nonetheless, you must take the tests. No avoiding those.
"Here, now." Mr. Nolan approached Carrie and, to her surprise, withdrew a key and used it to undo the tungsten clasps holding her in place. She twisted her wrists and took a deep breath, glad that her limbs were finally loose after being stuck in one position for so long.
Mr. Nolan took a pair of handcuffs out of his pocket and looked at Carrie expectantly. She could run. Carrie could make a break for it; there was nothing holding her back. With her power, she could assure she wouldn't be followed.
But Carrie obediently remained still, willingly holding her wrists out to be cuffed.
"No struggle, huh?" Mr. Nolan inquired. "I figured as much. It makes my job a lot easier, anyway. I'm sure that after that grave you were buried in, this place is like a palace."
It was true that Carrie would not put up a struggle, but not for the reasons the man had listed.
I deserve this. I deserve this and I can't hurt anybody else. I've hurt enough people.
Carrie wanted to spit in his face for being so rude, but she couldn't bring herself to do something so defiant. He had broken her from the very beginning, and much like a wild mustang who had been broken, she would not fight back.
She allowed him to kick her into motion, steering her by the arm. She had never seen anything outside the isolated room before, and she wondered where it was that she was actually being held. She couldn't imagine there were many options, considering the probability of all of this being legal. Then again, Mr. Nolan had said she was being tested for "legal purposes". The government must have approved it, as vile as it was.
That means I'm stuck here no matter what, Carrie thought, then sighed and shook her head to herself. I deserve it.
Outside the room was a long corridor, bathed completely in glossy white paint that reflected the powerful light everywhere. They followed the main hallway, passing more side-routes than Carrie could keep track of, before turning into one themselves. It sloped downward at a steep angle and led to a single giant metal door.
Carrie could only stand and watch as Mr. Nolan typed a passcode into a pad on the wall and the door began to fold open, allowing a huge berth. It reminded Carrie of a larger version of a garage door.
The room behind the door was huge. It stretched on for what looked like two football fields in one direction, with a width of maybe fifty yards. An array of objects were lined against one wall, and directly across from the on the opposite wall were targets.
Carrie followed Mr. Nolan soundlessly to the station closest to the door, consisting only of a thumbtack on a table.
"So," Mr. Nolan said loudly. "You are to use your telekinesis to pick up this tack and hit the target with it. You will do the same process for each of the items along this wall. They will increase in weight and surface area. This is to test the limits of your power."
It sounded easy enough to Carrie, but with the amount of objects lined at the side of the room, it would take much longer than she would hope. Wanting to get it over with quickly, she promptly hurled the thumbtack at the opposite wall, easily sticking it to the dead center of the target.
The next object was a pencil, then a stone. Carrie tore through the first fifty or so items in about an hour without breaking a sweat, Mr. Nolan present all the while to record results. After that, though, it began to get difficult.
The car was the first thing she struggled with. It had been easier on the night of prom, when she had been fueled on by anger. Now, though, she was tired, tired of everything. It took several seconds to lift all four wheels off of the floor, and the push that was required to send it across the room left her winded. The car hit the target on the wall and bent the front in, but did not even crack the windshield.
Carrie let Mr. Nolan guide her to the next station, then gave herself a minute to catch her breath before turning all of her attention to the object in front of her. It was a bundle of very thick, solid concrete columns. The bundle was as tall as her and three times as wide, and she did not even want to try, but she began anyway.
Carrie tried to lift the concrete, but it wouldn't budge. It put a strain on her mind to be concentrating so intensely with no payout. She took a deep breath, then pushed harder. She felt the bundle move slightly, but it was nowhere near enough to get it across the room to the target.
After a couple of minutes, Carrie broke off from her attempts, breathing heavily with fatigue. Her head felt as if it were about to split in half. "I-I can't do it," she breathed. Mr. Nolan only shook his head and pointed his pen at the concrete.
"You have to do it," he said. "You have no choice. I know you can do it if you try."
Carrie clutched her head with one hand. She wanted to break down and cry, but with a heavy heart, she straightened herself and started again. I deserve it, she thought.
Carrie clenched her eyes closed and forced herself to put all of her energy into lifting the bundle of concrete. She felt one end of it lift slightly under her power, but no more than an inch. She took another deep breath and pushed harder than she had ever managed before. The blast of power was accompanied by Carrie's desperation, the only reason she was able to lift the weights at all.
Grunting and letting the beginnings of tears fall down her cheek, she used all of the strength she had to lift it an entire foot and fling it at the wall.
The concrete never hit the wall, but Carrie did not even see it land hard on the floor. Her head was pounding so hard that it began to go numb, and her vision was blurry. In less than a second, she had fallen to the floor, unconscious.
A/N: Yes, sorry for the plot twist! Not really, though. I didn't think it was even really a plot twist until you all started being optimistic about it xD Anywho, enjoy! Reviews are alllllways welcome!
