"Sergeant Lori Parker?"
I snap forward in my seat. The voice is the first sound I've heard while sitting alone in the waiting room.
Fidgeting with a sealed folder in my hands, I look up at the nurse standing over me. She's an older woman with graying hair and a sour demeanor. I can practically feel her gaze burning holes into my skull - she's scrutinizing me from the top of from my ear-length black hair, all the way down to my combat boots.
"Yes ma'am," I respond, not sure what to expect.
"Stand up when you talk to me!" the nurse snaps.
"Y-yes ma'am!" I stutter, leaping out of my chair clumsily, almost dropping the folder.
She snatches the folder out of my hands and glares at me for a moment before speaking again.
"Follow me."
She leads me out the door into a dark, seemingly endless hallway. The place looks deserted, probably because it's a Saturday - just makes everything that much creepier. I follow her into another room filled with people. I see some technicians setting up machines around an examination table. I recognize one of them - Samantha cross, a pretty woman in her mid-twenties. I look at her, but she doesn't look back.
I wonder why Sam didn't acknowledge me. She's always been kind to me. Even when we first met - I had been taking some night classes at the state university, and it was some pretty grueling shit. I could barely even keep my eyes open - maybe that's why one evening I walked straight into Dr. Sam, knocking her papers everywhere . I stooped down on a knee to help her pick them up, begging for her forgiveness. But she said not to worry about it and introduced herself. She always remembered me after that.
Did she have something to do with me being selected for this test today? When I insisted that I be chosen for this assignment instead of that other female soldier in my unit - was Sam the one who backed me up?
An older woman in a lab coat smiles and extends her hand to me.
"Hello Lori, I'm Dr. Manyard," she says to me. "How are you feeling?"
"Uh, I'm doing okay," I answer, feeling my nervousness subside a little at her warm greeting.
"Do you know what is happening today?" the doctor asks.
"Yes... I think so," I nod. I had been briefed before I came here, but still feel confused and uncertain. The nurse hands the doctor my folder.
"We are testing a new interrogation technique that I devised from my research here," Dr. Manyard explains. "Completely humane, no torture, but 100% effective. I'm hoping that I have found a method for the military to gather information from prisoners without any ethical dilemma or chance of error."
I nod anxiously.
"Do you remember the pin code you were given?" Dr. Manyard asks.
"Yes ma'am," I answer.
"Alright, the goal of the interrogation will be to get you to surrender the pin code," the doctor says. "We have no way of knowing what the correct answer is until the exercise is over and we believe we have the truth."
I look at her, dread rising up in me.
"If you successfully withhold the code or fool us with a false code, you win," she continues. "If we get the correct code... we win."
I gulp.
"Also remember, as I'm sure your commanding officer told you - there is no backing out. You've signed the consent forms and the nondisclosure agreement. You have to go through with this up until I say its over."
Dr. Manyard sees me trembling, and puts her hand on my arm reassuringly.
"Are you nervous?" she asks.
"Yes ma'am," I stutter.
"Don't worry, you're not being graded," she says. "Just use your training, and act like you would if you were really taken prisoner."
I remember being offered this assignment. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise, really. I have always been the best soldier and the best squad leader in my platoon - I always knew the others are jealous of me, especially the girls. One of the junior soldiers in my squad, Corporal Tasha Lewis, never could get over the fact that I was put in charge of her. But I am the most squared away female troop out of the whole lot of them, especially Lewis. That dumb bitch got a DUI while on leave - and she has the nerve to complain I got promoted before her?
It all started when I began taking classes at the state college. Normally its pretty hard to take classes and work in the Army, but the company commander, Capt. Williams, gave me some leeway with my work hours so I would be able to get to class on time. I'm sure that made the others jealous. Lewis always scowled when she had to work late mopping the building while I got to change out of my uniform and go to class.
A few weeks later Lewis let slip that she had been chosen for an assignment as a testee in a new interrogation program. She said it was similar to the Survive, Evade, Resist, Escape (SERE) course, only even more prestigious, and a guaranteed career move.
I couldn't let her have this victory over me. I decided right there that I would be chosen for this, not her. I went straight to Capt. Williams and told him I was a much stronger candidate than Lewis - I made extra sure to remind him of her DUI record. He seemed hesitant, but told me Samantha Cross was a representative for the group conducting the interrogation program.
I found Sam at school and asked her about the program. She told me that the doctor was gunning for a contract for the military, and needed volunteers - dedicated volunteers. Of course I was interested, and Sam promised she would mention me to her boss, and suggest to Capt. Williams that Lewis be replaced with me.
Just a few days later the captain called me into his office and told me I had been accepted.
Capt. Williams had warned me that once I had been chosen, there was no turning back. My participation to the end of the program was absolutely mandatory, and if I tried to get out I would face disciplinary action. He asked me to rethink the wisdom of volunteering.
Despite the warning, I remember how confidence I was when I volunteered. I remember how bold and brave I knew I was going to be when I went into this.
The best part of getting this assignment was seeing Lewis turn red with frustration when she found out I replaced her. God, that was such a glorious moment!
I feel better now, and ready for the challenge ahead of me. Whatever they throw at me, I can handle it!
"Now, are you ready to begin?" Dr. Manyard asks.
"Yes ma'am," I answer.
"Good," she says. "You have been captured, and are unable to escape or fight back. All you can do is stand firm and not crack under our procedure."
The door opens and several more people walk in. My heart skips a beat - they're soldiers - my commanding officer Capt. Williams, a gray haired full-bird colonel I don't recognize... behind him, a dark-skinned girl with piercing eyes walks in.
It's Lewis!
Got to keep my cool... I wasn't expecting them to be watching me, but that doesn't change anything. Though I cannot for the life of me understand why that bitch Lewis has to be here too - I was chosen for this! Not her!
The nurse approaches me, I step back reflexively - I can't help but be scared of her.
"The test begins... now!" Dr. Manyard says.
A timer perched on the counter beeps as the doctor activates it, and walks back towards her equipment. Out of the corner of my eye I see two of the technicians setting up a camera on a tripod.
The shit is about to hit the fan, so to speak. I'm ready for it.
"Approach the table!" the nurse commands me.
Two male technicians come up behind me, but its not them I'm afraid of. I timidly step toward the nurse, stopping about a foot from the metal examination table. I shudder - it looks so cold and clinical.
"Undress!"
Its okay, I knew they would probably do embarrassing stuff to me. At least they're not sugar-coating things. God knows terrorists aren't polite and sensitive to their captives!
