Mary and Tristan both shook their heads. As soon as Matt was out of sight, Mary turned to Tristan, hissing.

Mary: "What the hell, Tristan? Like we have time to fill out a freaking mall survey? You thought this was hell before, just wait until they ask you an hour worth of questions about which breakfast cereal prize you find most fascinating."
Tristan: "Trust me, this is perfect. We've been approached by an outside force, and they want to ask us questions. As long as you answer truthfully, I think we can proceed to the next level."

Mary: "Is this a test of some sort?"
Tristan: "Hopefully."
Mary: "Hopefully?! What if we don't pass?"
Tristan: "Well of course we'll pass. Why shouldn't we?"

Mary: "I guess that depends on what this test is about."
Tristan: "Our virtue, I should think."
Mary: "Fan-freaking-tastic. Me and a vampire, being judged on virtue. This should go well."

Tristan: "I'm sure we'll be fine. Just remember we're here for honourable reasons."
Mary: "Right... to defy the natural order of things and go all Prison Break on a girl who came here willingly."
Tristan: "No!"
Mary: "I know that, and you know that, but I think if they knew that, Emily wouldn't even be here, and neither would we."

Tristan turned away from Mary as he heard footsteps approaching. Matt stood over them, smiling and holding out two pencils.

Matt: "We're ready for you."

Mary looked at Tristan skeptically before they both rose and took the pencils from Matt. He lead them a few yards away and seated them in adjoining cubicles, then placed a small packet of neatly stapled paper and one scan-tron answer sheet in front of each of them.

Matt: "Please take your time, there's no limit. Not strictly, anyway, though we do close at five o'clock. I'm sure you'll be finished by then. Make sure to answer as honestly as you can, and if there are any questions you're unsure about, leave them blank. Are you sure I can't bring you anything to drink? Tea, perhaps?"
Mary: "No thanks, I'm fine, really."

Tristan watched Matt walk away before sitting down to answer his survey questions. Mary watched his head disappear behind the partition that separated them. She flipped through the small packet in front of her. It was a series of questions, all true or false. She scanned down to the very last question, number forty-two. It read, I have never broken the law.

She chewed the eraser on her pencil, starting to believe that Tristan has been on to something. She couldn't recall breaking the law, exactly. There was the time that she broke into Andrew Stone's office, but was that really breaking and entering? She did have the security codes, after all.

She left the last question blank and flipped back to the first page, reading question number one: I have never killed anyone, nor bid anyone kill. She slowly filled in the "true" bubble, hoping that only being close to killing or having someone else kill Stone didn't really count.

Question number two made her cringe. I have never cheated on someone or committed rape. Chris had seemed willing enough. After he'd realize she wasn't going to turn him to dust, anyway. The prospect of having to think about what had gone on that night made her nauseous. She skipped the question, intending to come back to later when she felt more sure of herself.

The remaining questions, however, only served to make her feel more uncertain. Had she ever inflicted misery on another person? Had she ever caused terror, or burned with rage? Had she ever used words with the intent to hurt or stir up strife? Had she ever eavesdropped, or had she ever assaulted anyone?

Mary: "Psst! Tristan! What did you get for number six?"
Tristan: "I would say I don't think we should be cheating, but I don't suppose it really matters. I put down 'the hologram'. Way cooler than the stickers."
Mary: "Um, great. Thanks."

Mary turned back to her own list of questions, wondering if she was reading them wrong. She chewed on her eraser some more, resolving to get through the test as best she could.

She confidently answered "false" to about one-third of the questions, answered "true" to another third, and left a final third unanswered because she was unwilling to make a mistake when the test had called for honesty.

Matt: "How's it going?"
Mary: "I think I'm finished."
Matt: "Excellent! Your friend finished about an hour ago. You can go ahead and wait with him while we get the results on your survey."
Mary: "Swell. Thanks."

Mary handed Matt her test and her pencil. Matt grimaced at the chewed up pencil and gestured that she could keep it. Mary shrugged and put it in her pants pocket, then joined Tristan in the waiting area.

Tristan: "Go ahead and yell at me, I was wrong. This was a total bust."
Mary: "No shit. I feel like utter crap now."
Tristan: "Don't tell me you liked the stickers better..."
Mary: "What the hell are you talking about?"
Tristan: "The survey. You were right, it was about breakfast cereal prizes. All I got was a stupid twenty-dollar gift certificate to Payless. I was hoping we'd get our tickets to... that place."

Mary’s stomach fluttered.

Mary: "My survey sure as hell wasn't about cereal."

Tristan sat up straight in his chair. The worried look on his face was a reflection of Mary's own sudden uneasiness.

Matt: "Mary, I'm afraid you left so many blanks on your survey that we need some more information before we can proceed."

Mary jumped and turned to Matt, who had approached the two of them unheard.

Matt: "If you could follow me?"

Mary turned back to Tristan, who stood up and put a hand protectively on her shoulder.

Matt: "Your companion may join you, of course."