My shoes scuffed the floors as we were dragged down the corridor. The officers held Celina and me by our arms, that way we swung helplessly behind them.

"You can't do this. We didn't do anything. We are innocent." I shouted, wildly flailing. They did not even bat an eye at my screams. I looked over at Celina for help. She looked at me like I had woken her from a nap.

"Shut up. You aren't making things any better. Plus, they can't hear you. Earplugs." She said, nodding to the guard's face. Sure enough, bright orange ear plugs blocked my words from reaching them. I sighed and returned

Suddenly, we were both thrown forward. I landed on my back and Celina crashed on to of me. She pushed up and dusted off her gray jumpsuit.

"Ow." I groaned. She rolled her eyes as I stood. We were in a white room, but a portion of the walls was stained gray and....peeling. The lower parts of the wall were so dark that they were black.

The ceiling was falling apart. One of the lights was hanging by the wires. It looked like it would fall any second.

"Hey," Celina called. She pointed to a wall that was totally black. A darkened mirror. She pressed her finger nail against the mirror. The reflection seemed to touch. It was a two-way mirror.

"Someone is watching us," I whispered. She nodded. I looked around the room again. I spotted something, a mike. I tugged Celina's sleeve.

"What?" She asked. I pointed silently to the black spot on the wall. She nodded.

"Someone is watching and recording us. Why?" I asked. She looked at the wall and the mike.

"We are about to be interrogated. " She said gravely. Rumor has it that no one has gotten out of interrogation alive. If you own up to what you did, you die, after the trial. If you don't own up or are innocent, you die. It is rarely used so they can pass with the "A mistake that will be fixed" scheme. Nobody knows what interrogation is like.

"Correct." Said a raspy voice over the speakers. "So you know what is about to happen, or you can assume a portion." They cackled. I felt disgusted. He was joking with our lives. "own up to what you did or die." The mike clicked off.

"What do we do?" I asked. Celina was silent. She stared at the floor. I grabbed her shoulders.

"Now is not the time to phase out,"  I shouted. She straightened up.

"Yes, yes. I know. " She responded.

"Celina, I know you can't control it, but I need you to stay with me until we get out of here. Then you can faint as much as you want." I said jokingly.

"I know, I know." She smiled. An odd feeling interrupted this bitter-sweet moment. My feet were stuck to the floor by a thin layer of black sludge.

"What is going on!" Celina shouted. A click sounded.

"We will slowly fill the room with this goo until you admit to your crime. Or you can drown." It clicked off. Now the sludge was at my ankles. I looked to Celina. Her right eye was drooping.

"Hang on Celina. We have to find the source of the...... stuff." I said. She nodded and trudged towards the wall. 

After we both finished searching every seam, dent, or corner of the room we had still found nothing. Celina's whole right ace seemed droopy and the sludge was at our waist. I was at a loss of ideas, and Celina's condition wasn't helping.

I turned to the mirror. "Maybe we could try to-" SPLASH. I turned. Celina wasn't there. Just a ripple in the sludge I trudged to where she had just been standing.

"Celina!" I shouted as I ran my hands through the sludge. My hand caught some cloth. I pulled her out of the thick, black, liquid. She had blacked out. I draped her arm over my shoulder and held her up.

"Please let us out. She is unconscious. She can't move." I shouted to anything.

"Not until you admit to your crimes." The speaker said.

"But we are innocent," I responded.

"Then you better drown her before she wakes up." The Mike clicked off. I looked at the sludge, then at Celina. Would it be merciful to let her die? She wouldn't even know she had gone. And if I had to swim, she would die anyway. 

No, I won't kill her. I shrugged her higher on my shoulder and glared at the mike. It clicked on.

"I'll offer you a deal, to sway your opinion. If you let her drown in the goop I'll let you out, scot free. No charges will be pressed against you and your record will be wiped clean. What do you say?" I didn't even have to think.

"No deal," I responded. The sludge was up to my armpits.

"She won't even know. She is already half dead." He countered.

"I said no." I retorted. I could hear him sigh through the mike.

"Fine be all humble and heroic. New deal, revised and edited. You admit to what you did, and we let her out, no charges." I thought for a second.

"And you will wipe her record," I said. There was silence. Would he deny it? Surely it's not too much.

"Yes, and I will wipe her record." He said reluctantly. I paused. I am condemning myself to death. Maybe I will be able to escape, but not likely. She would be able to leave this city, what she always wanted. Would I let her die here? No.

"I'll do-" My sentence was cut short by someone's hand over my mouth. I turned to Celina. She moved her hand and grinned.

"No, you won't." She looked into my eyes. The sludge on her face looked like freckles. Time seemed to slow. My heart raced. I wondered if she could see how red my face was. She leaned forward and time stopped. I never understood that phrase, that a kiss stops time, but it really does.

She was so beautiful. And we were about to die. And the author does not know how to write a kiss scene, which makes this super awkward. How many people have drowned in this room? None the way we do.

"Let's keep this professional, kids." The mike said as Celina pulled away. Her face was slightly tinged red. I probably looked like a tomato. The sludge had risen past our shoulders.

"I've never been professional." Celina smiled. Her hair was plastered to her face. I gently wiped it away.

"Me neither." I grinned. The sludge was up to my chin. A tear ran down her face.

"Don't cry. We will be fine. This stuff tastes like Coca-Cola anyways." I responded as tears sprung up in my eyes. She laughed and shook her head.

"Why didn't I tell you sooner." She laughed as tears streaked down her face. I wiped her tears away, but more took their place.

"What?" I asked. She put her hand on my face.

"I love you." She smiled. Tears streamed down her face. She sobbed once, before pulling me into another kiss. Her hand tangled in my hair as the sludge rose. She pulled away.

"I know." I laughed. The sludge rose. I pushed up on my toes. Celina grabbed my shoulder.

"Hey, is the mike on?" I shouted. It clicked in response.  

"What are you doing? Josh, stop." She pushed off my shoulder and slipped into the sludge.

"I'll take the deal,"  I shouted. Celina grabbed my shoulder and pulled herself up.

"No, no, no Josh. Stop. I did it. Please, no. It was me. I did it. Please let him go." She pleaded.

"I'll take the deal," I repeated. The sludge stopped.

"No, no, no. Josh stop, please. It wasn't him. I did it. Please let him go. Josh, say no. No deal. No." She thrashed as the sludge went down. I wrapped my arms around her. She buried her face in my shoulder. I could feel where the hot tears seeped through the fabric.

"Please. Don't do this to me." She begged. Her eyes shone with tears. The sludge was at our waist.

"What else can I do?" I hugged her tighter. She sobbed.

"Funny how the tables turn. You don't want to die, then you don't want to live." The mike chirped. The sludge was at my knee. She cupped my face in her hands and kissed me. One last time.

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