"Juliette," I gasped, "Juliette is that you?"
A shadow of nostalgia crossed her old withered face.
"Yes, yes, come in Gigi."
"Wha - what happened?" I stammered.
Juliette had been my best friend, with Helen. I hadn't seen her in years, since we were 14, in fact. But I was only 16 now, and Juliette, well, she looked 100. I rubbed my eyes a few times and pinched my arm painfully.
"That is what happens to those who fail," she enlightened me grimly, gesturing to herself.
"I am so sorry," I whispered.
"No, don't be, I have gotten used to it," she softened, "but I don't have much left to live, so we must hurry."
I hesitantly followed her inside, a hand stretched out behind her back in case she toppled over, and she closed the sliding rock doors behind us with difficulty. That is when I completely realized how fragile she was. She paused for a few seconds, wheezing loudly, avoiding my gaze as I stared at her with barely concealed concern and regret. She then took her time dressing me up in a rubber suit, not looking me in the eye for even a fraction of a second.
When she finally zipped up the back of the all-inclusive bodysuit, I lightly turned her around and tipped her chin up to get a better look at her, watching as a crimson blush crept across her cheeks. She suddenly withdrew herself from my gentle grasp, and I apologized.
"Juliette..." I started softly, "you don't have to feel ashamed, I still love you, even as an old lady. In fact, you could grow another head and nothing would change for me... Please... I need guidance and you're the only one that could help me." I finished even softer.
She quietly brushed away a stray tear and stood tall.
"I have to call the Colonel... to test your outfit," she explained without acknowledging further what I had just said to her, punching a complicated code into a hidden keypad angrily.
Then, she heaved a huge sigh which sent her into a worrying fit of coughing, choking on her own saliva. She sat on a marble bench and put her head in between her hands, gripping her hair to help stabilize her breathing.
I waited until she could breathe normally, uncomfortably shifting my weight until she motioned for me to sit next to her on the bench, which was hauntingly similar to the one I had woken up on on my second day here.
"Why did you call the Colonel?" I asked, puzzled. "He said he had no idea why he had to bring to bring me down here."
"Oh, but he doesn't have a clue. He didn't lie to you, Gigi. They're not all bad," she lit up as she talked. "In fact, the real bad guy here is-"
She was interrupted by the loud rattling of the door as it opened. I retained a string of curses, waiting for the Colonel.
"So, why in Feylee did you call me, Juliette?" he asked.
"We need you to test her travel outfit," she answered stoically, her voice devoid of emotion.
The Colonel's smile faltered, before falling completely. By then, I was scared again, and the black vines of toe-curling terror that I had managed to push away crept around my heart and lungs again.
"Okay," he started, lowering himself to my eye level, "this might hurt."
"What a great start," I mumbled to myself.
He chuckled, though the look of guilt never left his eyes, and continued. "If the suit works properly, then you'll be fine, don't worry. We just have to check that it DOES work before... I just thought you ought to be ready for the painful eventuality."
Then, without warning, he picked me up by the waist and hurled me towards the concrete wall. For a split second, I was too startled to react. Then, as the rough gray of the opposite wall zoomed closer to my wide open eyes, I heard a screeching yell, and covered my face with my clothed arms, bracing myself for the bone breaking shock that was to come.
It took me a second to realize that it was me screaming, and I quickly clamped my mouth shut to prevent that horrible sound from escaping it again. I shut my eyes tight when the collision became inevitable, and another loud screech escaped me against my will when, instead of shattering myself against the concrete as I had expected, the rubble suit I was encased in from head to toe absorbed the shock and I quietly slid to the ground.
I lay there stunned but unhurt, air coming to my paralyzed lungs in shallow, ragged breaths. I began laughing uncontrollably, sending the Colonel and Juliette into a fit of raging laughter as well.
When my hysteria finally died down, the Colonel patted my head awkwardly, encouragement twinkling in his dark eyes, and escaped quietly, sliding the doors shut behind him. 
I sat facing Juliette and started the conversation I had been burning to have with her ever since I saw her.
"I didn't know you had been 'chosen' as well," I stated carefully, in case she didn't want to talk about it.
"Yeah," her voice sounded deflated, far from the bubbly chatter that I had been used to hear from her. "I had to pass the test 2 years ago. I failed, as you can see."
"How does it work?"
I was longing for someone to explain exactly what would happen to me, and not knowing was killing me.
"You pass a battery of tests - in a limited amount of time. If you fail, you are confined in Jinposa and cursed with old age and solitude for the rest of your wretched life. If you succeed, you are allowed to leave this planet - but you inevitably die in the process."
"There is no escape from here?"
"Not that I know of. And first, you have to pass the test, which is not that easy."
"How did we get there then? If there's a way in then there's a way out," I reasoned, almost pleading with her.
"The Jins teleported us here."
"Well, can't they teleport us back?" I asked, desperate to find a way out of here.
"Why would they want to? It's energy consuming and extremely dangerous to them. I don't even know why they bother to bring us here in the first place," she sighed defeatedly.
After that it was obvious to me that she had lost hope, and I didn't push the subject any further. She helped me out of the clingy suit and into her apartment, where a fresh bed of moss awaited. It was actually quite confortable and I dozed off the the sound of my old friend's parched voice.

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A/N: Hi guys!! I'm sorry for having not updated for so long, and I hope none of you have given up on me. I'm actually writing another story at the same time which is extremely time consuming, so I have no idea when I'll update next.
If you can read French, I highly encourage you to read it, it's called «Elle a les yeux bleus...» and it's very dear to my heart...
PLEASE comment, vote, anything!! Or else I get bored... I hope you like the story!!