Author's Note:
This is my first attempt at a story like this. Please read and review with ANY tips/suggestions/criticism. And at the end, the mountain's name is pronounce demise, I just felt like spelling it different.
"Miss Cobalt, wake up!" Mr. Holt, my Hyperspacial Physics professor yelled as I sat up straight in my chair. "I will not tolerate you sleeping in my class again, is that clear?!"
"Of course, Mr. Holt. Won't happen again." I replied checking my mouth for drool. Truth be told, I despised this class. Physics wasn't my thing, but it was required for my profession. I was training to be an interstellar engineer, but there were some classes required for graduation. Hyperspacial Physics was one of many. Mr. Holt continued his lecture and I put my head back down. Right before I fell back asleep, something tapped my back. I shook my head awake and looked behind me. It was the new kid, Jim…Hawkins, I think it was. I mouthed my thanks and made a conscious effort to stay awake. Twenty minutes later, the bell sounded and we exited class. I rushed out to my Applied Virtual Reality class, running into Jim.
"Whoa!!" we both called falling over. My books went everywhere, as did his.
"Sorry!" I stated gathering our things. I handed him his books, noticing his next class was the same as mine, but he was going in the opposite direction. "You and I have the next class together. It's this way." I waved him in the right direction. "I'm Karin Cobalt, by the way.
"Thanks. I'm Jim. Jim Hawkins." He said following me.
"Is this your first day?" I asked as we walked.
"Is it that obvious?"
I laughed. "You just seemed a little lost, that's all." I shook my head, ruffling my hair and my black, canine ears. I caught Jim staring. "I'm an Evomancer from Alcyone Ten."
"Really? That's cool." We had arrived at the classroom.
"I'm glad you think so. Most of our features are human-like, so I try to pass it off as so." I said. I was wearing black pants that flared at the knee, a tight fitting blue tank-top and a hooded grey cloak. My silver hair was pulled back with a strip of leather. The cloak fell gracefully on my shoulders and waved down covering my tail.
We entered the class room and Jim looked really confused. I laughed and pulled him by his shirt into a corner. "Over here, newbie." Right as he moved, the boring class room changed into an Amazon-like rainforest. "Oh great. The day we get a new student is the day we get Survival 101 as our pop quiz." I muttered to my self. Behind me, all of the other kids were paired up and grapping gear from a wall that had hanging backpacks of gear. "Jim, follow my lead. Grab a bag and get ready to run. Hang up you jacket too; you won't need it in here and it'll slow us down!" I ordered.
"Us?" He asked obeying my orders. I had already donned a backpack and was pulling on hiking boots.
"Boots, Jim!" I called throwing some at him. I sighed as he fumbled with one as I deftly laced both of mine up. "Hurry." He finished and I began to run. I had to run slower than usual as Jim couldn't keep up with my usual wolf-paced run. "Here's the deal: once a week, Dr. Howitz gives us a pop quiz. Since this is a virtual reality class, the quizzes incorporate various landscapes and tasks. Last week was a scavenger hunt. This week is Survival 101. When this comes up," I stated jumping over a fallen tree, "we pair up and have to survive the class period." I spotted a small rocky area and headed for it. We quickly reached a small alcove that would serve as a hideout. I sat with Jim opposite me. "One of the devices you put on is your life. Too many 'hits' and you'll 'die', understand? You die, you fail. You stay in one area too long, you fail. You attack a classmate without proper weaponry, you fail. No hand-to-hand combat is allowed between classmates. Semester's over tomorrow so this must be the final test he was talking about. You don't need to worry since today you're just getting used to class, but if I fail, I can't take any Genetic Engineering classes. If you cause me to fail Jim so help me…" I growled deep in my throat. I saw Jim flinch back and I closed my eyes, forcing myself to calm down. "I'm sorry. I want to be an engineer and my family doesn't think I can or should. I'm trying to prove them wrong."
"Don't worry about me." Jim said adjusting his pack. "I'm good at running."
I smiled; I was beginning to like this kid. "Good. First we need to find a form of transportation. There should be jeeps around here somewhere…" I pulled a GPS out of a pack pocket and began walking. "Come on, Jim. Once we find the Jeeps, we can get moving." I found our heading and broke into a dead sprint, Jim at my heels. We kept a steady pace until we reached a clearing.
"Congratulations Karin, Jim. You are the first ones here. You know what that means, right Karin?" Dr. Howitz' voice was heard over a loud speaker. "You get the best Jeep. It's blue, black and white, has the most armor and, of course, the best weapon. Enjoy. Oh, and Jim, I hope you're having a good first day. You're with the best in the class; don't let her tell you otherwise."
"Come on, Jim." I pulled him to the specified Jeep. "Can you work a gun?" I asked him.
"Yeah. I worked a gun on a space ship, plus several hand-guns." He replied.
"Good. Get in back, sit, and push the orange button. The controls are simple: blue to shoot, red for rapid fire, yellow for reload, and use your feet to move the gun. You'll see." I smiled and climbed into the driver's seat. I pressed the intercom button, "Ready, Jim?"
"Ready, Karin."
"Good. You see any other jeeps, shoot them. You see any animals, shoot them. Fellow class mates, shoot with the purple button preferably, but if you can't remember that's fine."
"I got it, Karin, just drive!"
I released the intercom button. "I'm really starting to like this kid." I said gunning the gas, peeling out, and plunging us deep into the forest. "Mount Demize is our next stop!" I laughed turning sharply into the forest.
Author's Note:
So now what will they do? When the time comes, can Jim really attack his classmates? You've read, now please review!!