They stood there and stared at it, looking for some sort of trick, gimmick or trap. A coffee bar in front of them with paper cups each numbered with each of their numbers and hot steaming coffee poured in each, with more pots behind the cups for refills. The numbered cups were those of only the people who were currently in the room so they felt this wasn't something where they had to consume 100 cups of coffee between the group though some of them felt they could.
The monitor eventually came on and Cipher assured them that the coffee was for them, that they needed it because the events that were going to take part that day would keep them up for most of the night and they should start their coffee early. Scott was the first to step forward and drink a cup, he made some stupid comment on how he usually likes a little sugar with his coffee and winked awkwardly at some of the women. Cipher did say that the coffee would only be served black and that everyone should have a cup, even those who do not like coffee, but it wasn't however mandatory that they drink.
Cipher then told them the process of letting someone leave wasn't going to take place as the number 42 was one of the tags that Bonny had kept to herself and not shared with the group. He asked them for a moment while he prepared some items for the day, and let them know it would be a bit. The late start would cause them to run their 'experiment' into the night, hence the coffee.
They sat and drank the warm beverage and it brought a sense of normalcy to them. A sense of home, the hot drink warmed them inside in a way they had not had in so long. They finished their drinks and some of the group acted as servers, giving a warm up or topping off the cup of Joe that was so good that not one of them only had one cup.
Two cups stayed on the shelf, one marked 100 the other marked 60, everyone obviously knew that the 100 was Daniel, but no one had a clue who 60 was. Time dragged, hours passed, and the group started to become antsy and agitated, several of them crumpled their cups and threw them to the ground in anger when they found out the coffee was all gone and they had to be kept waiting longer. They would soon regret their anticipation as the monitor came on and Cipher began to explain the events of the day.
"Along all four walls you will see there are cables three feet in length hanging out, they look like rope but it is in fact the same type of steel cables used for elevators. Everyone is to grab one of those cables now, you'll be hanging on to that cable for the next 12 hours. If you let go you will be shot, repeatedly. Your only saving grace for the day that will keep you unharmed is that cable, i cannot stress enough to not let go. You may switch hands but you must always have the cable in your hands at all time. Any questions?"
"Where's Daniel!" Ross shouts out.
"He's in the infirmary. Any more?" Cipher responds
"Who's number 60?" Anne calls out.
"Oliver." Cipher responds and the room mumbles, does his cup being there mean Oliver is alive?
"Where's Oliver?" Anne calls out again.
"He's also in the infirmary, I'm not an animal people, he needed help, he was delusional and in that state I knew he would never survive this test in particular so he's been sedated for a bit."
"All we have to do is hold the cable?" Liz asks.
"Yes. But...." he pauses.
"But what?" Liz and the others wait for him to finish.
"Well you all drank a lot of my coffee."
"So like we're going to pee our pants and thats the big deal? Hell I think I've peed in my pants at least 3 times here already." Ross attempts to lighten the mood.
"Well while you're comfortable wetting yourself Ross, some of the others are not, but the urination factor is the smallest of your concerns."
"What's the biggest of our concerns?" Jim asks.
"5150 Juice." Cipher responds.
"What is 5150 Juice?" Jim asks to his answer.
"5150 is concentrated liquid caffeine, one ounce of it contains 500mg of caffeine, each cup that you drank probably had two ounces of it in it. So you all consumed at least 1000 to 1500mg of caffeine just now. Plus the coffee wasn't black, it was actually sweetened with fenfluramine/phentermine."
"Phen Fen?!" Ross, eyes wide, spits out.
"Isn't that a weight loss drug?" Liz looks at him.
"Yeah, its also like speed! That combined with 1500 to more likely 2000mg of caffeine?!" he starts to panic as he says the words and he can feel his heart trying to beat right through his sternum. "OhMyGod OhMyGod OhMyGod OhMyGod OhMyGod."
"Ross calm down!" Anne shouts over to him.
"Oh I'm afraid a lot of you are going to have a hard time doing that today Anne; calming down will be next to impossible. All that caffeine and speed running through your system, I don't think it will kill you but you're definitely going to give the ticker a run for its money. Makes you wonder how easy is it going to be to hang on to a three foot steel cable standing in one spot for 12 hours all hopped up on that stuff. I'd have to guess that you're going to feel as though your being driven insane. Your thoughts will be scattered, panicked, heart racing, you won't be able to focus and having just that small area for you to stand is going to push you to the edge. Not to mention, I'll be checking in throughout the day, see how you're doing, give you some motivational speeches little encouragement to get you through it all. I'll see you all in a bit."
The monitor shuts off.
Day 43 began hours ago.
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