Chapter 21: A Fighter's Elegance [PART 1]
That night I had the strangest dream. I was dressed up into a ballgown and was spinning across a dance floor. I was dancing. Faces around me were blurred out, and I was only aware of the people spinning around me, and the intricate and graceful movements of my feet as I weaved around the dancefloor full of people with ease. Of course, I wasn't dancing alone. But my partner was way too blurred out for me to be able to recognize him.
As I was twirled out, I could feel the cool metal of a sheath of a dagger pressed up against my thigh. I must have been hiding a weapon under the dress. I frowned. What was I doing with a weapon at an event like this? I supposed it was because I felt safer with a weapon around me.
I felt a slight tug on my arm as I was retracted from my outward twirl and found myself back in the arms of my partner. My focus shifted to him. I noticed how his hand held mine in a tight grip, while his other was placed at my hip. His warmth passed through the clothing and warmed me up as well. Everything else faded out as I tried to bring his face into focus. Half of his face was blocked by a half-face mask but bright hazel eyes stared back at me.
Where have I seen eyes like that before?
His appearance became clearer. But I still couldn't put a name to the face. It was at the tip of my tongue but I just couldn't seem to remember it.
He opened his mouth to speak.
"Am-"
I awoke with a sudden jolt. I snapped my eyes open and pushed myself up into a sitting position. Another buzz came from my tablet. I squinted my eyes as I tapped on the screen, the brightness blinding me. I lowered the brightness of the screen and rubbed my eyes. Leaning against the headboard, I looked at the message that was just sent to me.
It was a message from the Syndicate Management Team. I frowned and checked the time. It was 5 am, and the sun was just beginning to rise. I tapped on the message and something that looked like an invite popped onto the screen.
Amelia Walker
You have been given permission to attend private training sessions at the Syndicate Management Building. Please report to Kimberly Miller at 0900 today.
I stared at the screen as the words sank into my mind. I shut off the tablet, placed it on the table by my bed and snuggled back into my blanket. I was on morning patrol today so I can go during then.
I was planning on keeping this a secret. If I told anyone in the syndicate, they would have assumed that I'm doing this out of guilt and they would tell me to stop. They were right about the guilt, which was exactly why I didn't want to tell them. They have all already been through so much. I want to become stronger so that they don't have to be hurt again. That was definitely hard, being in a syndicate and all. But I am still going to try to protect them the best I can. I fell back into a dreamless sleep, resting as much as I could before I began my new training sessions.
Two hours later, I walked out of my shared room with Vanessa in the suite that the Syndicate was staying in. Vanessa was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, sipping a cup of coffee while flipping through channels on the TV. She saw me walk out and greeted me good morning before turning her attention back to the TV.
I walked to the fridge and dug out some fruits. I washed them quickly and chucked them into a blender, making a quick smoothie before joining Vanessa in watching the news on TV. At 8, I left the hotel for my patrol, but headed in the direction of the Syndicate Management Building.
When I got there, the staff immediately directed me towards Mrs. Miller. "Good morning, Amelia." She greeted as she saw me approach her. "Take a seat first, we have to go through some paperwork before we begin the training."
I nodded and sat myself in one of the sofa chairs on the other side of her desk. Mrs. Miller pushed a few pieces of paper stacked on top of each other towards me. "This is a contract." Mrs. Miller explained. "Basically, by signing this contract, you agree that the syndicate management team has control over your health, and that you allow us to run regular medical checks on you, among other things."
I nodded along to her explanations and accepted the pen from her. I frowned. I didn't really have any signature, it never really occurred to me that I would need one. Mrs. Miller seemed to notice my realization and smiled, "You can just write your name down."
I nodded and did as she said so, not bothering to read through the rest of the contract. "When can I start?" I asked as I returned the pen back to her. Mrs. Miller took the pen and collected the papers with a satisfied look on her face.
"Today." She replied with a large smile and stood up, motioning for me to follow her out. At the one word, adrenaline began to pulse through my body as my heart sped up in anticipation.
"We're going to split today's training into two parts." Mrs. Miller said as we went further back into the building, a place that I've never been to before. "The first part will be from now until noon. We will run a quick scan on you to check your health, then we'll start with virtual training."
She paused slightly as we stepped into an elevator at the back of the building. I noticed one extra button amongst the floor buttons. It was black, bold against the silver and gold of the elevator. There were no numbers, or letters on it, and it sat right beside the emergency button. Mrs. Miller pressed that button as the door closed shut behind us. Nothing happened for a moment.
"You'll come back here at around 5 PM for the second half." Mrs. Miller continued from where she left off as the elevator finally began to move downwards. "You will be fighting against an opponent. After, we will do another scan on you."
I nodded in confirmation. The elevator slowed to a stop and a ding sounded as the door opened. A long glass hallway, lit with bright blue lights, stretched out in front of us. Mrs. Miller stepped out and I followed right behind her. As we walked, I took in the surroundings. There were rooms spanning out at both sides, most of which were bustling with people in lab coats. A loud crash came from one of the rooms we passed by. The sound startled a jump from me and I whipped my head to the direction the sound came from and I stopped walking to see what had happened.
A piece of metal had flown through the glass wall between two rooms, but no one else seemed bothered, as if it was a daily occurrence. One person stepped through the hole in the wall to retrieve the metal object before returning to his original room. He placed the object onto a table and walked back to the wall with a tablet. I watched with intrigue as he tapped on the tablet and the wall began to fix itself until the wall was void of any signs of destruction.
"Amelia." Mrs. Miller called out.
I snapped out of my amazement and realized that I had pressed my hands and forehead against the glass wall of the room I was looking in at. I stepped backwards and speed walked to catch up to Mrs. Miller. At that side of the hallway, it was a little darker and the walls were opaque. Once I had reached her, she walked to the side towards the wall to the right and placed a hand on it. A bright light outlined the shape of her hand which shone green a few seconds later. A piece of the wall slid open, forming a door into the room.
Mrs. Miller made a motion telling me to follow her and we both entered the room. There were a few people in lab coats in the room. Mrs. Miller lead me to one side of the room before making her way towards the people in lab coats by herself. Exchanging a few words with them, some of them left the room until only three were left. Mrs. Miller walked back towards me.
"We're going to lead you to the other room and perform the quick scan. We're going to need you to take your clothes off. You can wear your undergarments but everything else needs to come off. Don't worry, everyone here is a female." Mrs. Miller instructed as we walked into the room that was just opened by one of the lab coats.
There was a machine in the center of the room that was in the shape of a capsule. It was translucent and there were a circle of control panels surrounding it. Mrs. Miller handed me a basket to put my clothes in and I began to strip quickly.
One of the lab coats took the basket and lead me to the capsule. She placed the basket by the control panels and opened the capsule. I stepped into the capsule and she closed it. It was compact inside the capsule and my arms were pressed up against my sides. A quiet whirring came from the capsule as it began to tilt backwards until I was fully horizontal. The whirring noise increased as a cold mist passed over my body. Goosebumps prickled my skin. The mist filled up the capsule for a few more seconds before it receded and the capsule returned to its vertical position.
The capsule opened again and I walked down to the control panels. "You can put your clothes back on." Mrs. Miller said, "These ladies will look through the results and we'll get you started on the virtual training."
I nodded and began putting my clothes back on. My clothes felt warm on my skin which was still frosty from the mist in the capsule. Once I finished dressing, we left the room with the machine and entered a different one that was much smaller. It had a reclined seat and several machines by its side.
"We're going to connect several sensors to different points on your head and neck." Mrs. Miller explained as we approached the seat. One of the lab coats brought a tray with a cup in it. The cup was filled with a pink liquid. "You will need to drink this liquid. It'll stimulate a scene in your mind. It will all seem real to you and you will be acting mainly on impulses and instincts. This is basically a chance to train your instincts."
I nodded and took the cup and held it with both hands. Two other people in lab coats began sticking wires around my head and placed a metal piece around the back of my neck before telling me to down the liquid and lie down.
"Just relax. Close your eyes, it'll be like you're having a very vivid dream." One of the ladies said. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
Next thing I knew, I was free-falling.
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