The House Project *currently editing*

Chapter 2: Pairing Ceremony

We made our way to the house through the woods. They were always dark even at the brightest points of the day. The only people who were allowed to attend the pairing ceremony were the people that would be tested, and the leader of the colony. The woods were quiet, they were the borders between each colony. 

"How much longer?" Otto asked. We needed to walk, it was about a mile from the colony to the house. I noticed something in the distance. There weren't any trees. Instead there was a giant stone wall with a doorway. I looked down the path both ways, all I could see was the wall. 

"We will wait here for the bell." our leader said. I've heard of the bells from the colony. The elder told us that they would ring out twice when we would need to enter the area. Then they would ring out again once the project has begun. 

"Do you know when that will be?" Otto asked the old man. 

"No one knows" he answered. Right after he finished his statement the bells rang out like clockwork. We follow the leader through the doorway to these five seats that were marked off for my colony. There were eight sections, one for each colony. In front of it all was a podium on a stage and beside it was a table with a briefcase on it. We all sat down, Maxton was sitting to my left and Kinsley to my right as we waited for the ceremony to start. 

"What do you think is in that case?" Maxton leaned over and asked. 

"I don't know", I answered. He also noticed a door to a room behind the stage. 

"What about that?" Maxton asked pointing to it. 

"Don't know", I responded. 

Maxton looked up at me and asked, "Are you okay? You look sick?" 

"I'm fine". 

"Oh come on, I know you aren't," he answered. Maxton has known me for my whole life and he has always been able to tell when I'm lying. He has always told me that I was a horrible liar. 

"Well, I'm a little scared," I told him. 

"It's okay, I feel the same" He admitted. I didn't understand. 

"But you are never scared," I said glancing back up at him. He cracked a smile and then said, "We are facing the unknown, and what could be scarier than that?" He made a very good point, no one knew what was going to happen once we entered the house.

"Hello everyone!" I heard a voice yell through the speakers. I turned to the stage to see one of Clyde Brown's great-grandsons. He was standing at the podium starting the ceremony. The man went on welcoming the 8 colonies to the house project. He told us about the rules and how important they were to follow:

you can not communicate with any other pairs while inside the house.

you can not team up with any other pairs, even if you have lost yours.

you can not help other pairs

you can not give the other pairs any used keys

you must go through each room to pass the test

you can only complete a room challenge once

you must try to leave as fast as you can

If your partner fails or dies you can go on without them, but you must be alone

He also told us that if you were to break any of these rules there would be consequences. I heard that one of the consequences were that you could be turned into a drone. That means you would use your ring, and without your ring you will turn back into the horrifying monster that everyone hid internally. No one has ever seen one or has been allowed to talk about them. I didn't know what to expect, I didn't want to become one.