Kingsman: When Hearts Collide COMPLETED

~22~

*flash forward about a month later*

Well...today is the day! I start doing the last bits of training which are the most dangerous and difficult. I've been training for a couple weeks and Taron has been there to coach me through it. Over the years they've changed the courses a little bit, thankfully. They stopped doing the "pick a dog, form a bond with them, and then shoot them" tactic and moved onto something more easier. Well...If you count rare snakes as easy.

The first task is to make your way through a room full of potentially venomous snakes with only a torch to light the way. The room is dark and you have to walk across a balance beam to the other end and then press the button by the door to signal you've finished.
I've never had to deal with many snakes, but they still scare me.

I started pacing around my room while Taron was on the phone with Merlin. I couldn't eat this morning because I was so nervous.

"Hey love you ready to go?" He asked after his convo ended.

"Y-yes" I said shakily as I made my way out of my room.

"Babe you look sick...are okay?" He asked a worried look on his face.

"I'm okay. Just nervous." I said taking a deep breath.

He came over to me then and hugged me, rubbing little circles on my back with his hand and holding me tight against his chest.
"You're going to be fine love. I'll be there so if you need any reassurance just look for me. It will be dark but the room we'll be in will be lit up so you'll see Harry, Merlin, and I okay?" He asked pulling back and taking my face in his hands.

I was a bit more calm now, but my nerves were still wreaking havoc.

"Okay..." I said, and then he pulled me in close to kiss me before we headed out to the training area.

It was in a different part of Kingsman that I haven't been in before, and everyone had completed it except for me and two other people.

There were 5 of us left due to other mishaps and difficulties with the other potential Kingsmen. My friend Jackie made it through and so did our other friend Charlotte then it was down to George and Nate whom I'd only met briefly, and I.

Taron kissed the top of my head before he left to go into the observation room and I saw Jackie and Charlotte smile. Like I said, everyone must have found out about us, so there was no hiding it. They've been really supportive though, and I'm thankful for that.

I watched the two guys fearlessly make it through, not getting bit at all. I tried to observe how they did it. They set the snakes on fire with their torches as soon as one would come up to them. The only problem was that by the end they had almost no light left. I had to think of another strategy...

"Ms. Cauldwell, you may begin." Harry said.

My heart was racing but I started thinking out my plan in my head:

Step 1: light torch
Step 2: use the flame to distract them and walk across quickly
Step 3: do it fast so you can get the hell out of there

I started by getting a match, striking it, and lighting my torch. Then I made sure I had good footing on the balance beam as I had done in training with Taron. I took two steps across and then I heard about 4 snakes hissing around me. I slowly moved my torch to see where they were and then took a deep breath. I moved my torch in a series of ways to try and distract them, and luckily it worked to my advantage. I made them gather a bit and slither in one way as I quickly stepped halfway across the beam. I had good balance luckily. So the only part was just to not get bit by these shits. The other end of the snake filled room wasn't as easy though. They I assumed were more venomous than the ones in the beginning as I could see the red, black, and white rings along their scaly bodies. I had to be calm and move steadily and quietly to not attract attention. I stepped quickly but then one of them leapt forward, fangs dripping. I moved my torch just in time to kill it by setting its head ablaze and as I did I looked ahead to see the onslaught that was coming for me. My heart rate sped up and I started panicking but I tried to keep cool. I had my eyes peeled for any of them trying to jump out at me as I gently walked across. I tried leading them with the torch again but they were a bit more stubborn. It worked just enough so that I could get almost to the end, but then two of them came at me at once. I stepped back and caught one on fire and then narrowly escaped a bite from the other. As I tried walking past it I made sure my torch was almost hitting its face, in hopes to keep it away from me. As I did this, I saw Taron, he was sitting down with Merlin and Harry. He was tense and gave me a reassuring nod but I could see he was just as nervous as I was. I wiped the sweat from my forehead and went on, stepping carefully and hitting a couple more of them until I saw the beloved button on the door. I moved my torch again to lead the snakes away and pushed the button hard. The snakes then cleared and I leapt into the room off the beam. I didn't realize how much I was holding my breath until I found myself gasping for air. I sat down on the cold tile floor, as inside the snake room was around 70 degrees and muggy. Not to mention the added heat from the torch. I had left the torch in there and Merlin retrieved it and extinguished the flame. He handed it to me as I sat there catching my breath.