Chapter 2: Adoption

In response to Elli's declaration, the yellow rabbit Bunzo banged his cymbals together before being raised by the rope up into the ceiling. A male voice told Elli to match the colors displayed onscreen with the buttons on the circular platform. Though with each wrong answer, Bunzo would be lowered until he was right on top of her which would end the test. She kept this mind and used her bare hands to push the buttons that matched the colors displayed onscreen in rapid succession. Yet each time Elli got a sequence right, Bunzo shouted "NO" before being pulled back up.

Eventually, symbols and letters got included with the colors which tripped Elli up. With that, the sequences got longer and more difficult while Bunzo's banging cymbals grew louder. She then felt Bunzo fall on top of her as the screens in the chamber became dim.

"Nice try, Elli," said a voice from Elli's right.

It came from a factory worker in a hazmat suit that was standing behind a glass window in a booth above the chamber. A clipboard was held in his hand, which he was writing notes on.

"You may go now," said the worker without looking directly at Elli. "Send in the next kid!"

Nodding obediently, Elli walked out of the circular chamber back up to the Game Station. Rez and Nathan were waiting for her.

"How did it go?" Rez asked.

"Not good," Elli said, clenching her fists. "Bunzo got me again!"

"I wouldn't take it personally," Rez suggested. "Everyone gets jumped by him."

"But Nathan beat the game once," Elli pointed out. "So why can't I?"

"That's because I memorized the patterns in Musical Memory after playing it so many times," Nathan answered. "But when the workers caught onto what I did, they changed the patterns. So now I'm back to square one."

After all the other kids played the Musical Memory game, Mommy pulled the second lever on the control panel. Stella's voice came over the speakers again and she instructed the kids to go to a set of stairs across from Musical Memory for another game called Wack-a-Wuggy. Mommy then told the kids to line up in alphabetical order.

When their name was called, they descended the stairs into a long hallway and were given a small GrabPack which consisted of a harness and two mechanical arms attached to extendable wires. Next, they entered a room with a sand-covered floor and multiple holes. Small toys of a fuzzy creature called Huggy Wuggy emerged from these holes and the kids had to hit them using the GrabPack's hands before they got too close to them. Above this room was a booth similar to the one in Musical Memory, where another factory worker observed the kids' reactionary time while taking notes on a clipboard.

Much to Elli's dismay, she didn't do very well at this game as a Huggy toy with red fur managed to tackle her to the ground. But just as it opened its mouth, the toy was pulled back into its hole by a thin piece of string that was visible for a brief moment. Once she sulked back up the stairs, Elli waited for her friends to finish up.

"I did it!" Rez cheered after he ascended the stairs.

"Did what?" Elli said, though she already guessed what the answer was.

"Made it to the end of the game without being touched by a single Huggy Wuggy toy!" Rez jumped for joy. "Never thought I'd finally beat it."

"Well, good for you," Elli said. "I still can't beat that game no matter how quickly I move."

"It's all about reflexes. You just need to spot them before they spot you."

"Easy for you to say," Nathan remarked. "Even when I know which holes they're coming from, those toys are too fast to react to."

As Elli's eyes wandered, she noticed a girl with sand-blonde hair was sitting by herself on a jungle-gym in the Game Station looking both happy and sad.

"Kayla hasn't been hanging out with us today," Elli said, pointing to the girl with the sand-blonde hair.

"Yeah, now that you mention it," Rez realized.

"Maybe she just wants to be by herself," Nathan guessed.

"But why?" Elli demanded. "She's never hung out by herself before."

Just then, Mommy pulled a third lever and Stella's voice told the kids to go to a third set of stairs beneath the control panel for a final game called Statues. Elli was happy when she heard this, while Rez and Nathan groaned in annoyance. Once they descended the stairs, they came into a large obstacle course where a large caterpillar-like toy with the face of a pug panted excitedly nearby. They were instructed to only move through the obstacle course when the lights when out, but then to stand perfectly still when the lights came back on.

"If PJ reaches you, your test is over," said a voice from a TV near the entrance to the obstacle course. "That's all. Good luck!"

"I know I can beat this game," Elli said confidently. "Ready when you are, PJ!"

The caterpillar-like pug ruffed in response.

As the lights turned off, Elli took off through the obstacle course. She heard the pitter-patter of PJ's caterpillar feet close behind her, but chose to ignore it as she stopped when the light turned on. Looking around, she didn't see PJ so she figured she was ahead of him. This continued for the rest of the obstacle course until she reached the end without being reached by PJ.

"Congratulations," said a factory worker from a booth above the obstacle course. "You beat Statues. Now leave."

While Elli was disappointed in the flatness of the worker's response, she relished in her victory after returning to the Game Station's main area. Then after Kayla finished Statues, Elli approached her.

"Hi, Kayla," Elli said, startling the girl.

"Oh, hi, Elli," Kayla said quietly.

"Why aren't you hanging out with me and the boys? Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm…actually really happy."

"About what?"

Kayla paused. "Well, I was going to tell you later. But I guess you should know."

"Don't leave me in the dark! Just tell me what it is!"

"I'm…getting adopted."

To be continued…