Four more days. Four. Days.
My breath came in and out of my lungs as I stared up at the blank ceiling. Strangely, sleep came easy for me night before, but I only woke up in reality again.
By the time I dressed and met my friends across the hall they had breakfast fully prepared. I decided to come in later than usual to give the two their private time.
"How are you, Shakti?" Mira greeted.
I smiled back at her, "I'm well. How're you?"
Breakfast past by with our usual conversation. The days were beginning to be so repetitious. 'Wake up, go to breakfast, have training, rest, and then sleep.'
Agni twirled his fork, "We got a message that we'll be training with the others today. Veda wanted us to learn to receive orders from an officer and work together with fellow teens as a team."
Thirty minutes later I found myself in a huge gym that was almost exactly similiar to the one we were trained in by Veda. The difference was that there was an obstacle course on the farthest side. The other difference was that there were roughly thirty to forty teens in the gym. Obviously, this wasn't all the teens in the Baladeva compound. They were broken down into separate teams so they could be trained better.
Most of the teens stood talking quietly in groups. We were about to try joining a conversation when the officer, a tall yet well built man, called us to attention. We lined up without a second's hesitation.
"Alright, everyone. The day we're training for is four days away. Though I doubt you would forget such a thing." The officer had a deep intimidating voice that was loud and made him sound like he was on the verge of yelling.
He went on, "Today, we have three joining our team. Agni, Mira, and Shakti." The teens seemed to all give us quick looks and raised eyebrows, "We start with warm ups as usual. You will be called during warm ups to go through the obstacle course. Last night we added more of those things you guys love dodging. Now get at it."
I didn't know this man's warm-up routine, and I expected that it was up to us figure it out ourselves. The rest of the teens walked by us with stuck-up looks and quick glares towards the three of us. This was their training practice. They knew what to expect and by the looks on their faces they thought they were superior.
There's two halves here. Those who respect us and then the half who think that I'm not the real Striker but a pathetic weakling.
This fact didn't bother me. I had dealt with that already. My problem was that I had to gain these teens' trust or we wouldn't be cordinated together in a battle.
My feet picked up speed and I raced up to join the crowd that stayed at a steady run. I wanted to go faster and pass by the group, but that would only make me appear to be a show-off. Mira and Agni always kept up. The three of us watched to see what else was involved in the warm-up process the others went through.
During the daily exercises, names were called every minute or so. The person with that name would leave to go through the obstacle course on the far side of the gymnasium.
Every so often a person would make a mistake in their exercise or obstacle course run. Our officer, who I still did not know the name of, would make an example of the mistake. Usually it was to teach us and to harden the one who was being chastised harshly.
Agni was soon called forth to make an effort through the obstacle course. A few near me chuckled mockingly under their breath. They expected Agni to be green and completely unskilled.
They have no idea that Agni was a former Avinish soldier. Good thing they don't know.
To my expectations, my friend successfully finished the course with no problem. I silently cheared him on.
Ten minutes passed and then Mira was called. Unfortunately, she made a slight mistake towards the end. She was much better than some of those who went earlier though.
As she came to rejoin those of us who were target practicing, a familiar voice nearby asked me, "Want to spar?"
I turned to see Mohana standing there with two blunt edged sword. My total shock stayed behind a mask. It was best if no one knew that the two of us had already met and talked.
"I didn't see you here before." I replied letting a sliver of my confusion pass by.
Mohana shrugged, "Unfortunately, I couldn't come in sooner. Wish I could've seen the Striker herself go through that tough obstacle course. Would've liked to have seen the looks on everyone's face."
I dare to let the slightest smile show on my face, "Lucky for you, I haven't gone yet."
"Great. Meanwhile, you want to spar?"
I nodded curtly. He tossed one of the edgeless swords and I caught it. The sword felt familiar and like a friend in my grasp, yet the weight was heavier than what I was used to. That was no problem. I had the strength of a tiger to back me up.
My breathing became slower as the lessons given by the one who taught me swordmanship filled my mind.
Mohana and I stepped onto a huge mat placed there specifically for hand-on combat training.
As we turned towards each other, Mohana playfully swirled his sword in his right hand. My eyes watched how he took a left step before he did his right foot. I searched for how he carried his weight and the way he held the sword.
"Ready?" Mohana asked.
I nodded wordlessly. Tension built up around us.
My opponent took a swift step forward and brought his sword around. I stayed absolutely still, knowing this was only a trick to get me to come forth. He then stepped back just as quick. Mohana grinned at the realization that false moves wouldn't affect me. I knew that tricks like that were meant to spur you off then leave you defenseless.
This meant I couldn't pull a quick move like that without him catching it first.
Never make the first move. Let your opponent do so.
The two of us circled slowly. I stayed emotionless and held my sword limp by my side. Just the slightest thing could give away how exact I swung or how fast I would jab. My eyes watched him grip the handle of his sword. The blade swung just slightly in a u-shaped arch. That meant when he came at me he would try to do an underhanded swing at my torso. Only the most trained eye could guess that.
Then without warning he came towards me. This was a real move. The fight had begun.
His sword swung low and started towards my middle. Expecting the move, I blocked his blade and used the momentum of my sword to knocked his back. When his arm was slung away, I used the opening to step forward and pressed the edgeless sword against his neck. Victory.
Mohana chuckled, "You're pretty good. How did you know I would make that move?"
I smurked, "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. Swordfights never last long when I'm involved."
Taking the sword away from his neck, I stepped back and bowed slightly as a sign that our spar was done.
Our stance loosened and we walked off the mat. I caught many of the other teens quickly turning back to what they were doing. They had watched us clash.
"Shakti!" The harsh voice of the officer yelled out my name.
I glanced at Mohana, "I guess it's my turn to try out this obstacle course."
"Good luck." I heard him say as I walked off towards the officer.
The gruff officer kept his eyes on his clipboard as he barked, "Go through the course. Whatever mistakes you make will show you where you must improve."
I held a straight face and moved to the entrance of the obstacle course. This was the first time I got a good look at the training tool.
This wasn't a rag-tag obstacle course with cardboard cutouts jumping out at you. Just the slightest glance could tell you that.
Do what you have to do to get through. Remember Veda's advice? Sometimes the fastest way to move involves shifting.
A few steps later I entered the course. Passing through a wall of light and out the other side, my eyes took in everything around me. It was like a forty-foot wide hallway. In this hallway crates and other bulky objects served as cover. The floor was made of black glass.
A click came from ahead of me. I dove down without thinking twice. The popping of simulated bulletfiring resounded off the walls that surrounded me. I had escaped barely. Now I knew what to do.
Bring it on!
My skin tingled as fur spread across the entirety of my body. The muscles and bones inside me grew. The teeth inside my jaws lengthed sharply. Deadly claws extended from my huge, orange paws.
I peeked over my cover with a snarl. Five men walked among the debris as if sweeping for their enemy. Rifles were held in their grasps. They weren't real men though. They were holograms. My eyes narrowed.
One of the holograms came closer towards my position. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to take them out, but I would do my best.
Without needing to conjure the electricity within me, I shot forth a streak of lightning. The hologram disappeared and a real gun materialized upon the dark glass floor. I guess this represented the fact that you would take the weapon from your fallen enemy. Most of the trainees who went through the course before me likely used the gun to then fire upon the other remaining holograms.
Not my style.
Bunching up my back legs, I sprang over the crates blocking me. The holograms turned towards me, pointing their rifles. Bolts of lightning left my paws and struck the four remaining holograms one after another.
I landed with no more enemies in sight. Proceeding forward, I stayed alert then jumped behind a new pile of debris. The crates blocking me erupted into splinters as bullets hit them.
I doubted they were real bullets. Everything among the obstacle course must be coded to react as if real bullets were hitting them.
My eyes searched for the problem. A mounted gun was on the wall fifty feet ahead of me. More faux bullets hit my cover. With a swift motion, I surged with energy. My electricity shot out and fried the gun to a crisp.
I continued along and kept cover this time. A new hologram appeared. My paws crackled with volts of electricity, but I paused. My eyes narrowed in on the hologram. The emblem of a tiger was on the soldier's uniform. This was a new test. The solider was supposed to be Baladeva, a friendly.
I held my position. If I came out of cover the hologram, mimicking a person's actual reaction, would assume that I was an attacker. In real life I would call out letting the person know that I was an ally. Not going to work well in this case.
Finally, after a short wait the hologram disolved, proving that I had passed this test. Seconds later three wolves appeared. Their eyes were pure black, mimicking the ones who were poisoned with the black powter.
These were creatures of thd ground. They didn't have guns either.
I launched into the air and shifted into an eagle. The wolves whirled around towards me spitting and growling up at me like the real thing. Staying aloft, I shot at one and held the surge until he dropped to the floor. The other two wolves came at me. One jumped off a pile of rocks at me. I shot out at him. Blue light filled the area and he fell to the glass floors without another move. I swooped passed the other wolf. Surprisingly, the last hologram hid behind a mass of bricks in an attempt to block my shots. This one was purposely programmed to be smart.
Gliding down, I landed on a battered vehicle. My eyed closed and my ears focused in on the enemy animal. If he was the real thing, I could have scented him and heard his breathing. Instead I picked up the simulated sounds of his low pitched growl.
My eyes stayed focused on a separate pile of bricks where the wolf had been before it crept around where it was at the moment. I knew he was creeping up behind me. I just had to act like I didn't know this.
The wolf lept at me almost without warning. Within milliseconds I shifted and then did a backflip off the vehicle as the wolf pounced on the area I had been perched. My tiger stripes flashed past my eyes and my four feet landed evenly.
The wolf didn't hesitate. He came straight down at me. I shifted into a human and rolled away just in time. Whirling around, I surged and let loose a massive amount of energy upon the hologram. Electric blue bathed the whole area. Everything looked to be the same hue of blue. The wolf went limp to the floor then disappeared.
My senses stayed attuned, but then I breathed out a sigh when I saw that the exit was merely six feet away. I stayed alert for a surprise attack as I raced across the small expanse. Nothing happened. A moment later I passed through a wall of light and came out the other side. I was back in the Baladeva training area. The experience had felt too real.
I had accomplished the obstacle course. Well... more like a survival course.
Outside the exit I was confronted by Agni, Mira, and Mohana. The leading officer held his clipboard slack by his side and an awestruck look was plastered to his face. The rest of the teenagers stood around. Not a single sound emitted from them as they locked their wide eyed on me.
From my guess, they had watched the whole ordeal
The officer cleared his voice then became grouchy again, "Okay, that's all for today everyone. We meet the same time tomorrow."
Mohana gave me a pat on the back, "That was awesome. You should've been out here to see these other teens. You put them in their place."
Agni and Mira both gave me congradulations. I was dying to return to our own apartments so that I could ask how they got through the course themselves. They didn't have electric powers or shifting abilites.
Mira turned to Mohana and asked me, "Who's this?"
I replied, "This is Mohana. He stays down the hall from us. Is it fine if he has has supper with us?"
The question left my mouth before my mind could even approve of it.
Invite him to supper? Where did that idea come from? He probably doesn't even want-
Mira smiled, "Sure, that's no problem."
Mohana said in return, "Thank you very much. I would enjoy that."
Agni, who had been standing by, joined in, "Any friend of Shakti's is ours."
I knew that later after supper my two friends would be asking me how I met Mohana.
And truthfully, I wasn't ashamed at the thought of telling them how I met him.