The camera slowly rotated on it's pedestal. The cardboard wall seemed
unchanged, no one was there yet. It rotated again, to see something small
and dark rush towards he screen like there was no tomorrow. Then the camera
exploded in a rush of metal and small bits, and it saw no more.
Cora crept around the corner, her eyes darting feverishly to see any sensors. She didn't see any, great. She figured she was about half way through the course, and she hadn't messed up once yet. Hopefully, her good luck would continue.
With a leap that would have done any ninja proud, Cora managed to seize on over a knocked over garbage can that was supposed to be an obstacle and seize onto a bar propped between two of the thin walls.
It was then, before she was about to drop down, that she noticed the censor right beneath her feet. It was quite a clever trap, and Cora's hands were getting sore. There was nothing that she could silently use her feet to get a boost and land away from the censor on.
In short, she was in danger of failing this test. Cora stared at the censor and wriggled her hands in an attempt to smooth away the pain. Then it struck her- the bar wasn't being held down by anything. Cora felt herself grin. Maybe there was a way out of this trap, after all. With a jolt that went through her entire body, she managed to pull the pole along side the wall. Now, the other side. With her efforts, she was now a couple of feet away from the sensor. Her arms hurt too much to go any further. She would just have to hope that she wasn't too close to alert the damn thing.
With a soft thud, Cora landed on the ground. The light remained green. Cora was in the clear. She rolled to avoid a camera, dove to avoid two more sensors, and then that was it. She was out in the clear. She exhaled.
"Three minutes and fifteen seconds." Scythe said, as he lounged on the outside of the course. "I'm impressed."
"Yeah, well, you should be." Cora said. Breaking the record and not having a single flaw was enough to make her a little cocky, so what? She deserved it. Some of her moves out there had been positively brilliant.
"Of course, there's always room for improvement." Scythe said. Cora felt her jaw drop open.
"Excuse me?!" she said.
"It means that you're sloppy in places. Your style needs work in others. But you're on the team. Congratulations."
"Oh." Cora was slightly steaming. Her style was excellent, thank you very much. Scythe looked vaguely amused at the look on Cora's face.
"Anyway, the team is going out for a dinner. All expenses paid for by Umbrella. One of those 'oh hi, nice to meet you' type of things. Can you make it?"
"I don't know." Cora drawled. "I mean, I might be having dinner with some of my scientist buddies, or perhaps with my family. I mean, I have some very pressing demands on my time." She paused. "I can check my schedule for you?"
"Think of it as your first command, Merandez." Scythe said. Cora scowled.
"Time and place?"
"Eh, just meet the rest of the team at the front doors at seven, sharp. Oh, and if you can, order the most expensive thing on the menu. We might as well take advantage of not having to pay for it all.
"Yeah, sure." Cora shrugged. She supposed that if she was in a fancy restaurant she'd have to dress up. She wondered if she ever owned a dress. Her father had bought her a dress or seven on his escapades in America. Maybe one of those would still fit.
Cora headed back to her room after a few more minutes of small talk, and examined her closet critically. Christ, she had bought at least a dozen pairs of cargoes and t-shirts since she had gotten here. She should have thought about getting a new dress.
In the end (feeling like a complete idiot girly girl as she did it) she laid out all her dresses on the bed, and discarded the pink ones. She was left with a dark blue one that showed a bit too much cleavage and a tad too much leg for Cora's taste, and a black skirt that looked like the type you'd find on a piano teacher.
Cora ended up opting for the skirt, wearing a black tank top with it. She just pulled her hair back simply, still feeling like a complete moron. Stepping outside her room, she checked her watch. She still had some time to kill.
"Merandez!" a familar voice called. Cora sighed and turned around. It was Salven. "Man, you are smoking tonight."
"And you're an idiot tonight. Same as usual, I see."
"No name tag or anything." Salven sounded impressed. "I see you have a date?"
"No, I don't. Bugger off, Salven."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Does your mother know that you have such a filthy mouth?" Salven said.
"You keep my mother out of this!" Cora's eyes flashed and her voice rose a litte. Salven laughed.
"Your buttons are so easy to push, you know that?" Salven said. "What next? Oh right. Your sister is an idiot and your father is a rotting heap of bones."
Cora was ignoring Salven. She was instead watching a young man, who was in turn watching her.
James Anthony Hulio Umbrella Inc Pilot
He was a tall man, with longish brown hair that brushed the end of his earlobes, and intense green eyes. Cora broke her gaze to look at her watch, which now read 7:06
"Oh bugger!" she yelped. "I'm late!" and with that, she sped off.
Cora crept around the corner, her eyes darting feverishly to see any sensors. She didn't see any, great. She figured she was about half way through the course, and she hadn't messed up once yet. Hopefully, her good luck would continue.
With a leap that would have done any ninja proud, Cora managed to seize on over a knocked over garbage can that was supposed to be an obstacle and seize onto a bar propped between two of the thin walls.
It was then, before she was about to drop down, that she noticed the censor right beneath her feet. It was quite a clever trap, and Cora's hands were getting sore. There was nothing that she could silently use her feet to get a boost and land away from the censor on.
In short, she was in danger of failing this test. Cora stared at the censor and wriggled her hands in an attempt to smooth away the pain. Then it struck her- the bar wasn't being held down by anything. Cora felt herself grin. Maybe there was a way out of this trap, after all. With a jolt that went through her entire body, she managed to pull the pole along side the wall. Now, the other side. With her efforts, she was now a couple of feet away from the sensor. Her arms hurt too much to go any further. She would just have to hope that she wasn't too close to alert the damn thing.
With a soft thud, Cora landed on the ground. The light remained green. Cora was in the clear. She rolled to avoid a camera, dove to avoid two more sensors, and then that was it. She was out in the clear. She exhaled.
"Three minutes and fifteen seconds." Scythe said, as he lounged on the outside of the course. "I'm impressed."
"Yeah, well, you should be." Cora said. Breaking the record and not having a single flaw was enough to make her a little cocky, so what? She deserved it. Some of her moves out there had been positively brilliant.
"Of course, there's always room for improvement." Scythe said. Cora felt her jaw drop open.
"Excuse me?!" she said.
"It means that you're sloppy in places. Your style needs work in others. But you're on the team. Congratulations."
"Oh." Cora was slightly steaming. Her style was excellent, thank you very much. Scythe looked vaguely amused at the look on Cora's face.
"Anyway, the team is going out for a dinner. All expenses paid for by Umbrella. One of those 'oh hi, nice to meet you' type of things. Can you make it?"
"I don't know." Cora drawled. "I mean, I might be having dinner with some of my scientist buddies, or perhaps with my family. I mean, I have some very pressing demands on my time." She paused. "I can check my schedule for you?"
"Think of it as your first command, Merandez." Scythe said. Cora scowled.
"Time and place?"
"Eh, just meet the rest of the team at the front doors at seven, sharp. Oh, and if you can, order the most expensive thing on the menu. We might as well take advantage of not having to pay for it all.
"Yeah, sure." Cora shrugged. She supposed that if she was in a fancy restaurant she'd have to dress up. She wondered if she ever owned a dress. Her father had bought her a dress or seven on his escapades in America. Maybe one of those would still fit.
Cora headed back to her room after a few more minutes of small talk, and examined her closet critically. Christ, she had bought at least a dozen pairs of cargoes and t-shirts since she had gotten here. She should have thought about getting a new dress.
In the end (feeling like a complete idiot girly girl as she did it) she laid out all her dresses on the bed, and discarded the pink ones. She was left with a dark blue one that showed a bit too much cleavage and a tad too much leg for Cora's taste, and a black skirt that looked like the type you'd find on a piano teacher.
Cora ended up opting for the skirt, wearing a black tank top with it. She just pulled her hair back simply, still feeling like a complete moron. Stepping outside her room, she checked her watch. She still had some time to kill.
"Merandez!" a familar voice called. Cora sighed and turned around. It was Salven. "Man, you are smoking tonight."
"And you're an idiot tonight. Same as usual, I see."
"No name tag or anything." Salven sounded impressed. "I see you have a date?"
"No, I don't. Bugger off, Salven."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Does your mother know that you have such a filthy mouth?" Salven said.
"You keep my mother out of this!" Cora's eyes flashed and her voice rose a litte. Salven laughed.
"Your buttons are so easy to push, you know that?" Salven said. "What next? Oh right. Your sister is an idiot and your father is a rotting heap of bones."
Cora was ignoring Salven. She was instead watching a young man, who was in turn watching her.
James Anthony Hulio Umbrella Inc Pilot
He was a tall man, with longish brown hair that brushed the end of his earlobes, and intense green eyes. Cora broke her gaze to look at her watch, which now read 7:06
"Oh bugger!" she yelped. "I'm late!" and with that, she sped off.
