Chapter 3: Lilith is divided, Mr. Logic gives a task and answers

Lilith kept her stride through the door into the next room. She saw a new black construct that spanned the width of the chamber. It was a wall at waist height with a clear glass cover on top. She noticed a button on top of each end of the wall, both under the glass.

~[PLEASE WALK TO THE BUTTON ON YOUR LEFT, THEN WE CAN BEGIN.]~

The deja vu returned, racing through her mind. It was just as potent as before. Lilith froze to let the initial shock pass.

("Okay, Lily. Keep it together. You've got this...whatever this is.")

She walked over to the left button and saw there was a gap in the glass covering big enough for her to be able to reach in and push it. She moved her left hand forward only an inch before another vision crossed her mind.

She was screaming. Her right hand was gripping her left wrist tight enough to cut off circulation. Her left hand was gone. Anything else was drowned out in white light that was too bright. She looked up for a moment; saw her severed hand on the button, like an artifact on a pedestal; and screamed again.

The vision flashed by in less than a second. Her deja vu passed the moment it ended.

~[PLEASE PRESS THE BUTTON.]~

("What did that drink do to me? The flexibility, the crazy visions, feeling like I have done these things before...am I seeing my possible future?")

Lilith brought an unsteady hand to the button.

("Am I seeing...")

She pressed her hand on the button. In one instant, she was standing there, complete. The next instant, the class cover over the wall was complete. Her hand was resting on the button on the inside. Her left wrist was pressed against the new glass on the outside.

Lilith lifted her left arm. Her hand stayed behind. She felt dizzy. She rested her right arm on the glass cover, staring at her empty wrist.

("...why does it feel like...")

She looked at her severed hand and tried to make a fist. To her surprise, her left hand did. Her mouth dropped open. She forgot her general fear of her situation long enough to yell a question out to the room.

"What the fuck is happening?"

~[I AM CALCULATING THE RESULTS OF THE BEVERAGE. YOU ARE PRESSING THE OTHER BUTTON BEFORE YOUR TIME RUNS OUT. YOUR PERFORMANCE WILL AFFECT YOUR RESULTS.]~

Lilith looked to the other end of the black wall. She took a step towards it, glancing back at her hand. She made it open and strummed her fingers.

("I can't believe I'm just leaving it behind...")

She continued walking to the other side. Her left stump was resting gently in her right hand.

("Will I have to put my other hand in for the other button? I don't know if I can do it. Both of them? Just...gone?")

Lilith reached the right button. It looked like it belonged in an elevator. There was no opening anywhere in the glass around it. She looked back at her hand, still alive, about 15 feet from the rest of her.

("I don't remember there being any other glass in the way...")

She started to walk back to be able to see what she was doing. She made certain that the glass cover was a tunnel from one button to the other.

Lilith stood over her left hand, trying to prop it up on her fingertips. She got it to stay balanced. Her fingers moved one at a time, slowly walking her hand forward. She made it three steps before her hand fell. The short piece of wrist was still on the button. Lilith looked at the timer to see 3:45, counting down quickly.

("I don't want to know what happens if I don't make it.")

Her left hand shifted. She tried dragging her hand with her fingertips. Each attempt brought her hand just a bit further. She made some progress, but looked at the timer. 2:29 left.

("Shit, this isn't going to get me there.")

Lilith shifted her hand again. Her fingers were straight, spread out in a fan pointing to the far button. Her thumb went under her palm. Her hand wobbled a bit, then raised up in a cone shape, all five fingers pointing downwards. She moved her four fingers forward, spreading her hand. Her thumb came forward, closing her hand. She got into a rhythm that moved her hand faster. The timer read 1:03.

("You can do it, Lily. You can do this. You can get there.")

Her left arm was hovering in the air with the stump slanted downwards, as though her hand was still connected. Her fingers gained speed with confident movement. She was three feet away with 26 seconds to go.

("Almost there! Almost-")

She brought her thumb too far forward. It slid under her hand, causing it to fall.

Lilith screamed, "NO! GET UP!"

Her hand wobbled back to the upright stance and started forward again. She was still two feet away when the timer hit zero.

("Oh God what happens now what happens now God please what happens now")

~[YOUR TIME IS UP. YOU HAVE FAILED THIS CLASS. PLEASE RETRIEVE YOUR BODY PARTS.]~

The glass cover was there one moment, gone the next. The black wall started to descend into the floor, leaving a square pillar where her hand rested.

~[YOUR PENALTY FOR FAILING THIS CLASS IS THE CONTINUED SEVERANCE OF YOUR HAND. PARTS MAY ONLY BE REATTACHED IF THE CLASS THAT SEVERS THE PART IS PASSED.]~

Lilith picked up her hand, both of them gripping each other. She brought her left stump against her hand. Nothing happened. She remained in two pieces. She took a slow, deep breath in.

("I don't want to be here anymore. I don't want to do this. How much more could I possibly handle? Why me? Why this?")

A tear streaked down Lilith's cheek. She brought her stump up to her face and wiped the tear away.

~[PLEASE ENTER THE NEXT CLASSROOM. THEN WE CAN BEGIN.]~

The number appeared over the new door. It said 496.

"What does that number mean?" Lilith asked. She was upset, confused, scared, and angry. What surprised her was the genuine curiosity she felt as well.

~[THE NUMBER IS A REFLECTION OF YOUR RESULTS. PLEASE ENTER THE NEXT CLASSROOM, THEN WE CAN BEGIN.]~

Lilith looked down and cried. Her arms hung at her side. Her fingers intertwined. Her hands clung together. She looked at her shortened arm again. Two tears fell onto her shirt. She shook her head, stuck out her chest, and breathed in once, fast and deep. She let it out with a short gust.

("I just want to know what's going on.")

Lilith walked hand in hand to the next room.