"You should totally join us." Payton tells me. I'm sitting at Luke's table in the cafeteria. This morning was a special pancake breakfast. Payton and Madison are trying to persuade me to join the evil side. I smile at Payton. "I'm thinking about it." I tell her. She rolls her eyes. I finish my pancakes and dump my tray. I sit at the table and wait for the others to finish.

Once everyone finishes, we go to our rooms. I walk downstairs and unlock my door. As I open it, I realize the handle is stuck. I twist the handle harder, but it doesn't budge. I try inserting the key again, but the door is already unlocked. I look around. No one is nearby. I walk down the hallway to go upstairs. As I start trudging up the stairs, I hear a giggle. I whip around, and I see a boy. The same boy who I first encountered in the hallway before my Ranking. He is with a taller girl with wavy red hair. Her face is littered with freckles. She is wearing a short white dress. She has a bright smile on her face, but her cyan eyes are mischievous. She is holding a screwdriver.  

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The boy asks. I raise an eyebrow. The girl giggles again. "We rigged your door handle, so now you can't get in!" She says as if it is the funniest thing on Earth. I walk over to them. "Why'd you do that?" I ask. The boy smirks. "Oh, well, I don't know, I just seemed... fun." He snickered.

I raise an eyebrow. The boy points to the red head girl. "Plus, Jenny here loves mechanics." The red head girl, who I assumed is Jenny, walked towards me. "I made something that I want to show you. It might help you choose your Rank." She tells me. "Come with us."

I end up following them up the stairs, down the good side hallway, and into a room filled with machines. I look around in aw, and it's completely silent. "Peter will demonstrate." Says Jenny. The boy, who I'm guessing is Peter, walks over to a big machine in the middle of the room. It's about the size of a minivan. It is covered in buttons and lights, but two things stand out the most. There is a semicircle divided in half, one half green, one half red, and in the middle is an arrow. On the side closest to the chart is a few wires with clips hanging off the ends. I walk over to it and stare at it in amazement.

   I look at Jenny. "You made this?" I ask her. She nods proudly. I circle the mechanism curiously. "How does it work?" I ask her.

"Like this." She grabs a stool sitting in a corner and sets it next to the wires. the she grabs Peter's hand and half drags, half leads him over to the machine. She tells him to get on the stool, and he obliges. She grabs the wires and attaches the little clips on the end on to Peter's skin. His face twists in pain, but he doesn't make a noise. Jenny walks over to all the buttons and controls on the opposite side of the machine and starts pressing them. The machine instantly comes to life, lights flash, and gears turn. The little chart lights up, and the arrow starts twitching.

   Peter smiles as the arrow starts to turn to the green side. "The machine is depicting if Peter is good, or bad." Jenny explains. The machine suddenly starts beeping, and Jenny pulls a lever. The machine dies down and the arrow turns back to the middle. Jenny helps Peter get unhooked from the wires and they strut over to me, looking hopeful.

   "So, wanna try it out?" Asks Peter. I look around. I want to make the decision for myself, so I shake my head no. Jenny looks taken aback, and Peter frowns. I turn towards the door, but something grabs my arm. I whip around to see a dark smoke blowing off of Peter. The room smells like fire. I try to scream, but no sound comes out. Peter's frown turns into an evil grin, and he laughs crazily. Jenny grabs his shoulder and screams, "PETER! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Peter shakes her off and tightens his grip on my arm. I try to shake him off like he did to Jenny, but his grip is too strong, like an eagle's talons.

   My mind is whirling, and I try to think of an escape route. I look at Jenny, who is now curled up on the floor crying. I look at the door, which is wide open, only a few feet away. I stare at Peter. His eyes are full of hatred. This reminds me of, of...... my dream!  The dream I had when I was in a coma! I curl my fingers into a fist, and I jerk my arm up, hitting Peter right in the jaw. His face screws up in pain, and he falls to the ground.

   I run over to Jenny, grab her hand, and lead her out the door, down the hallway, and to my room. Once we get there, I point to my door. "Fix it." I tell her. She pulls something out of her pocket and messes with the door nob. Eventually, she stands up and swings the door open. I thank her and invite her in, but she declines. She walks back down the hallway and up the stairs until I she's out of sight.

END OF CHAPTER 8

Hello! So, once again, it's been a while. (WHY CAN'T I EVER KEEP UP WITH WRITING?!) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please vote!