A random piece of writing I had floating around so... why not post it? Feedback appreciated!
I strode down the florescent-lit hallway, two stone-faced guards rigidly following me. Even without looking back I could feel their eyes on me, narrowed and hawk-like. I jerked my chin up further in the air. With disdainful, half-lidded eyes, I meticulously took in my surroundings.
The faint scent of spearmint. That meant Susan was the security officer on duty. She'd been trying to kick smoking since I first arrived at the Institute three years ago, and the gum helped subdue her cravings. Good for her lungs, but ultimately a bad choice to chew during her shift. A elbow to the diaphragm or a punch to the throat could make her choke on her gum, temporarily distracting her. The overpowering odor the gum produced could mask lethal narcotics or gas inhalation. The crinkling of the foil as she popped another into her mouth could serve as a signal to attack her whilst preoccupied. Even the gun hanging from her holster or the concealed switchblade hidden in her right combat boot would not be enough to overcome me if I had the inkling.
Approximate time to overpower: 4 seconds. To annihilate the threat it would take 7 seconds, tops.
Susan nodded to me and my armed entourage. I smiled politely back.
Welcome to the start of senior year.
Class started relatively the same way it had ever since I arrived as a freshman, lightly sedated and blindfolded. One by one the students where taken into the classroom. A classroom, which until the last student arrived, was kept in complete darkness. Handlers with night vision goggles sat the students down at new chairs every day, which were assigned by the Headmaster at random. Only once the lights were flickered on and the professor started his lecture did we see where our peers were. It was for our own good, I suppose. The less we knew of each other, the better off all of us would be.
I didn't even flinch as Dana and Joseph, my two stoic handlers, took me roughly by the elbows and dragged me into the waiting darkness. Both of them were none too gentle as they manhandled me into my steel chair. Though to be fair, I most definitely deserved it. Though it was strictly forbidden to practice any of the skills we learned while within the confines of our Institute, I sometimes found ways to use the dispassionate wardens as my personal lab rats. The results had been a series of second-degree burns, welts as large as apricots, the temporary loss of the sense of smell, and a lifetime of mutual hatred.
I stared blankly into the darkness as Dana pulled out the handcuffs. Another safety precaution, this one put in place after Andrew Collins figured out how to identify specific classmates in the dark by their breathing alone.
Half of the sophomore class was gone before the lights had been turned on.
Joseph's fingers dug into my shoulder as Dana secured the handcuff. The metal bit into my small wrist. There was more clanking, and I listened as their footsteps retreated without so much as a farewell. I closed my eyes and turned my thoughts inwards, taking these few precious moments to let my guard at ease. I let the hard lines of my features smooth, and the tension sank from my shoulders. Not even during the night had I quite this much privacy. I allowed myself to show weakness, tenderly rubbing the nasty bruise on my thigh, given to me by Nancy Gallagher during Sniping 101. I was a senior now. One more year of conditioning, then I would be operative. I was top of my class, maybe even top at the Institute. I was beginning to attract special attention. In the shadows, the placement agents were turning their gaze on me. I would be assigned my first mission soon. A shiver ran like electricity through my nervous system. It felt a little bit like excitement, but left a metallic taste in my mouth.
"Good morning, my brilliant enigmas!"
The lights turned on without warning, blindingly bright and causing tears to well up in my eyes. At the front of the classroom stood an old, scrawny woman, grinning widely so her gold-plated tooth shone. A surgical mask worn on top of her head barely restrained her wild and unkempt hair.
"Welcome to your senior year!" She crooned, lifting her withered hands to her face in delight. Her long sleeves fell about her elbows, exposing the purple tattoos that engulfed her arms in intricate alchemic symbols. "I know I speak for the entire staff when I say just how proud we are of all of you. To come as far as you all have is no small task. This semester, we will focus on honing in on your various talents. Espionage will be replaced by Ciphers & Cryptology, Basic Infiltration by Misinformation, and Intelligence 1304 by our very own beginners Toxins class. Or as I like to call it, cooking class!" The professor let out a pealing laugh. It reverberated off the colorless walls like a dying wail. The students stared ahead, unamused.
That's it, just testing my writing abilities! Did you like it?