The Survey

Prologue

The sunset trembled outside, waiting to drench it's consciousness into the bliss of the warm sea but the carnage at Riviera town was not really blissful. You probably don't know about the carnage at that town. So let's get to it

Chapter 1

A man had one, entered the immigration center of Riviera on October 11th,2019. Cashing his passport on the cashier's table, he exclaimed with a low voice, ''I need to practice my football, here!''. He estimated the height of the cashier to be 5''10,he was towering, even while sitting. Suddenly, his mouth stiffened and his brows composed an angry face. That was bad, he was the kind of person who can even kill a person when angry. ''How many days?'', he croaked out and his insult bored into his skull like a bullet. ''About 20 days sir.'', he replied, surprised by the humbleness of his voice. His gaze turned to the computer. 'That was good', he thought with a sigh. He typed some things and when he typed, it was like shooting bullets. Bullets into his mind. ''Ah'' ,he grunted as a pain forced his way through his body. He needed to go to the bathroom. It was bad too. The cashier was the type of man who wouldn't even waste a second. ''Any problem!'', he grunted coldly. The man sensed the stress of the 'r' in his voice, very well. ''Need to go to the bathroom.'', he replied.

''Go on''

''Yes sir, thank you''

''Don't waste my time. I can cancel your entrance to Riviera, hope you know that''

''Yes sir''

He ran to the bathroom and when he ran, the people around him, looked at him with great shock but he didn't care and supposed, he never would. Not when he was in such a hurry. He relaxed when he finally, found a vacant bathroom, it was like life had finally slowed down, waiting for him (Time and tide wait for no man). It was common feeling, he had (and probably everyone had) while visiting transition zones like these. He walked out of the bathroom, he can't run on it because he didn't want to fall on bathrooms. Let alone a public bathroom. He opened the door and the blaring sounds of the PA system grinded it's way through his ear, contrasting the silence of the bathroom. He ran back to the cashier's table, wishing that he wouldn't fall down because of his laces or some of the water caught under his shoe. For a good 25 seconds in the bathroom, he had forgotten about his new enemy. ''Hello sir, your passport has been approved''. His voice interrupted the flow of his thoughts. ''Take it back after the immigration process.'', he told. ''Yes sir'', he replied, suddenly getting bored of the conversation. He was glad, it ended

Chapter 2

The immigration room was near the bathroom and his leg itched to go into the bathroom as he neared. When he entered the immigration room, he found 2 bald men waiting for him. It wasn't a large room. Just cluster of wires connected to the wall and a chair connected to it. ''Come in, sir'', he told smiling. Probably, not all people in this place were bad. At least, seemingly. ''The test will take about 2 minutes'', he told. ''Will it pain?", he asked, feeling childish himself. ''Not at all'', the other man answered. He wore glasses, giving him a smart look. He sat on the chair and his head trembled with frightful anxiety. They taped a few wires on his head. The fear returned again but it wasn't scary enough for his face to reflect it. The bald men turned away from him and their gaze turned towards a built-in TV screen above the three of them. After what seemed to be an eternity. The men turned their gaze back but the smile on both their faces had worn down. ''Good, it's over'', they told. They came back and removed the taped wires and he sighed with relief. They were right. The process wasn't painful at all. Something that would even come close was the pain of removing the tapes as the glue on it peeled from his head. ''Good to go now !'', the man with the glasses told with a smile on his face. He got up and his back had accumulated a lot of stress when had sat down. He flushed with relief as he got up. He left the room through a door at the far side. As he left it, there was another room with a bearded man and a metal bed like those in the dentist rooms ,he had seen in one of the hospitals back in his hometown. ''When will this end.'', he grunted it to himself

Chapter 3

''This will not take more than few minutes, sir. The next 2 tests are the last.'', he told. ''2 tests?'', he asked, trying his best to hide his agitation. ''Yes sir, none of them would cause would cause any pain to you.'', the bearded man replied. He impulsively lay down on the metal bed, wanting to end this as soon as possible. ''Show all your teeth. We need to take a test.'', he flashed his teeth and it looked as if he was smiling. It won't pain, he told himself. He grabbed a pair of forceps and scratched it impulsively on his teeth. Even with the man's rash behavior, it seemed painless. ''Over sir!'', he exclaimed. He flushed with relief as things started to move fast.

Chapter 4

It was an another room to go. He suddenly, felt tired. Tired and pale. A dull pain started throb in his head. The tests made him very tired and the realization that he would have to go through the same thing angered him even more. The sudden anger of realization. The 3rd room had a chair and a man, just like the first room and as he thought of the first room. It started to feel like it was a year ago. ''If you are feeling tired, eat this chocolate or this test cannot be conducted properly.'', he told with a tired but firm look on his face. He grabbed the chocolate and ate it and he was right. His tongue and body had felt a lot more better after eating it. It sent some energy and fat to his pale face. The company wasn't a very well-known company. It's name was 'locolat' and he wasn't sure of why they had named it, so. ''Open your eyes for a few seconds'', the man told. He did. The result turned out to be 16 seconds. He was surprised with the result himself. He thought, it would be longer. ''The next room is the last. There are no people, just a Kiosk-e like those in those modern restaurants'', he told. ''Bye sir.'', he replied. He wasn't a very bad person. Out of all the people in the center, the cashier turned out to be the worst. Until now.

Chapter 5

It was the last room, he knew it. Thanks to the window outside. The window that let the warmth of the sun in. He smiled at the warmth. He hadn't gotten the sunlight since the last few minutes. It wasn't terribly long but long enough for him to appreciate the warm glow of the sun. The survey wasn't hard or long. It contained only 5 questions but at the end, the mechanical words flashed on the screen. It was written, ''Please wear the helmet below the kiosk-e. You will be warned by a siren to take it'', it was written. He kneeled down and wore the helmet. Suddenly, a drowsiness covered his senses like a blanket and then, it covered his eyes. Without knowing, he slept.

Chapter 6

''AAAAHHHH'', he screamed as the siren woke him up. He had slept with unpleasant dreams but luckily, like the other cases, he had forgotten all about it. The nightmare would have woken him up if the siren. ''All because of the test.'', he grunted to himself as he woke up. He tried to recollect his dream but it was impossible and supposed, he would try to remember later.

Chapter 7

There was a door to the far side of the room. He walked to it and 2 bald men stood there. ''Hello sir, we have to take a test'', he smiled as he told those words. Everything seemed familiar. Their smile, the room, their voice and the chair. They all seemed strangely familiar. All of them.

Epilogue/Chapter 8

The sunlight ends and my story does too. That man had forgotten all of it. Thanks to that helmet. I still do not know the reason of their doing. Conclusively, the town is not what it seems. I know it and I hope others do to as I see another man go to Riviera.