The Facility

Katelyn scratches her head at the question but thinks about the first phone call. The robotic voice said "The Facility" multiple times. She looks down the hall at the door where she entered wondering how she'd get out of this hallway of she gets it wrong. Katelyn types "T-H-E-_-F-A-C-I-L-I-T-Y." There's a loud buzzing sound and the screen flashes. A robotic voice says "The Facility welcomes you" and the door slides into the wall.

Katelyn steps forward into a room that is empty except for a chair. Three of the walls are bright white while the one in front of her, where the chair is facing, is a giant mirror. It's a little disorientating. The door slides shut behind her. When she looks back it's nearly impossible to discern the door from the wall. Katelyn's heart continues to race.

The chair in the middle of the room is robust. It reminds her of a spaceship Captain's chair combined with a dental chair. The bottom portion appears solid with the exception of a number of small panels along the sides. As Katelyn takes a seat she notes the material of the chair is hard, but her butt sinks in a little bit. The headrest is wide and has a divot that perfectly fits the back of her skull.

Nearly in unison, Katelyn hears three distinct voices say "welcome" from speakers high up on the mirrored wall.

"Your compliance was expected," a smooth female voice says. "Did you follow the instructions?"

Katelyn squints at the mirror but only sees herself. She's certain it's a one-way mirror and the game runners must be on the other side. "Yes," she says holding up her phone "I only brought my phone."

A deep male voice responds, "that is not accurate, subject. You brought more than your phone."

Katelyn realizes her car keys are in her pocket. "Oh, of course, I have my car keys, but I didn't want to leave them behind in the car."

"And," the female voice says again.

"A-and?" Katelyn asks in confusion. "this is it, my phone and my car keys. I swear, I didn't bring anything else." She stands up and turns out the pockets in her blazer. "See?"

"Think" is all the deep male says. "What else did you bring with you?"

The red-haired girl huffs. She can't figure out of this is some sort of wordplay puzzle. Pushing her pockets back into her blazer she looks down at her clothes. "Oh, uh, well surely you don't mean my clothes?"

"What were the instructions?" A second higher pitched male voice asks.

Katelyn looks down at the note with scribbles on it. "Don't bring anything except my phone," she had written. As she looks at it she realizes and feels relief, "oh, this note! I'm sorry but the passcode to the first door was so long. I had to write it down."

"The phone, the keys, the piece of paper, and the multiple items of clothing," the woman lists out.

The second male voice replies, "this one does not follow instructions well. That is concerning."

"Yes," the deeper male voice says, "but the data suggests she is high value."

Her clothes? Katelyn thinks. Did they really expect her to arrive naked? She looks over her shoulder at the wall where the entry door used to be and wonders if she can still back out.

"We will continue," the second male says. A compartment opens in the mirrored wall and a drawer slides out. "Please place every object you've brought into the building into the compartment. Count out each item as you do so."

"You want me to strip?" Katelyn asks.

The woman repeats the instruction of the second male "please place every object you've brought into the building into the compartment. Count out each item as you do so. Do not delay."

Katelyn swallows, "but what am I doing here? What do you want with me? Is Ms. Stanley here?"

"This is not the time for questions, subject," the deep male voice says. "Everything you want to know will be revealed in time. Follow the instructions. Please place every object you've brought into the building into the compartment. Count out each item as you do so."

Katelyn shakes her head. They really do expect her to turn over her keys, phone, and all of her clothes. She thinks that if this is a game, it's incredibly messed up.