Author's note: So much for getting this done before Brain Drain came on. And so much for Matthew not updating his stuff. Well, on to business.
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Chapter 3: The First Two Tests -
10:11 PM - WOOHP TRAINING AREA
Jerry led me into a room. It was pitch black. I turned on my watch's back-light function and attempted to use it as a flashlight.
"Just a moment, Leo," Jerry interjected. "This is your first test. When the lights go on, you'll have 45 seconds to find and defuse a bomb."
"A what?"
"A bomb. Don't worry, it's a fake. Just harmless smoke and pyrotechnics if it goes off. Do you understand?"
I nodded, and Jerry left the room. I heard him lock the door, and he promptly approached a keyboard. His voice rang out through a speaker: "Okay, Leo. Ready? Three! Two! One!"
The lights came on. It looked like someone's bedroom. I looked around frantically for a clue.
:42
The wallpaper (poor design, I must add) was kind of scratched just above the bed. I figured it had to be the clue I needed.
:38
I removed the sheets from the bed, one by one, until just the mattress remained. Nothing.
:33
I withdrew the mattress. There was the bomb.
:29
I studied the bomb, wondering how to defuse it.
:24
I saw an ON/OFF switch on the bomb. A bomb defuser if I ever saw one.
:20
Click! No more bomb. I turned around as Jerry unlocked the door. He was very pleased.
"Congratulations, Leo. You've passed the bomb test. It took you 25.16 seconds. Alex has never beaten that time, and Clover did it only once. Come on, let's go to your next test."
Since Jerry didn't mention Sam, I figured it was safe to assume that I hadn't done any better than her.
For the next test, an observation test, Jerry took me to a large monitor and told me to sit down in front of it. Then, he displayed a picture of an arrangement of red and blue marbles on the monitor.
"Tell me quick," he instructed. "Are there more red marbles, or blue ones?"
I took a quick look. The marbles were arranged in an 11-by-11 checkerboard pattern.
"Red," I said after a few seconds.
"Correct. Now for the next picture."
An image of a train set appeared.
"True or false," Jerry began. "If the train continues going, with all the tracks set as they are, it'll return to its starting point."
I hesitated a little, then answered. "False. It'll hit that dead-end"
"Correct. Just three more."
The next image featured a large crowd. This time I was to locate Sam, Clover, and Alex, and decide which two were closest together. I chose Clover and Alex, and got it right.
When the fourth picture showed up, I noticed a line of playing cards. I had to choose the next card in the sequence, and I chose (correctly) the 3 of spades.
My last visual challenge was a lot of tangled ropes, each which had a colored ring at one end. I had to find which color ring had a star at the other end. I chose the green one.
Jerry was overjoyed. "Correct! Excellent! Perfect! You've passed the observation challenge. Sam and Alex are both good at this, but Clover didn't do too well the last time she tried it."
Jerry informed me that there were a total of six parts to the training test. I had just completed the second part.
"For the third part," Jerry explained, "we'll need to go to the environmental simulator. Come on." He led me through a door.
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For Pete's sake, does anyone even know this story exists?
