A shriek woke Cass, and she struggled to stay in the armchair. She had fallen asleep on the couch… again. A vampire on the television chased after a woman before Cass hit the power button with a sigh. She stretched and walked towards her room. Her arm still felt odd even though she didn't need the cast, and she stretched it one more time. Glancing back to the front door, she briefly wondered if she should just camp out on the couch for the night. Her roommate Joy had left to visit family, but she was supposed to be home by now. She had called Cass to let her know that she'd be there in a couple of hours… about four hours ago according to the living room clock.
A knot of anxiety settled in Cass' stomach as she stared at the clock. Maybe Joy had gotten a flat tire. Maybe she'd pulled over to get some rest. Due to the road closures around the Arklay Mountains, it had been quite a trip. Maybe she had just gotten tired from the long drive. Sounds coming from the front door caught Cass' attention. As someone fumbled with the knob outside, Cass slowly walked over to peek through the nearby window. Joy was fumbling with her keys. With a breath of relief, Cass walked over and opened the door.
Joy smiled in relief as Cass held the door open. She entered the apartment and explained tiredly, "Sorry, I'm so late… Some weird business happened at a gas station on the way here. I'll tell you about it in the morning."
Cass nodded and closed the door behind Joy. Noting the tiredness in Joy's voice, Cass decided not to press the issue. After making sure the door was locked, Cass walked to her room and told Joy good night. Collapsing into her bed, Cass grasped her covers before once again falling into an uneasy slumber. The sound of metal banging around in the kitchen woke her. Sunlight now streamed inside from the window.
Rubbing her eyes, Cass stood up and lazily left her room. Joy looking incredibly frustrated as Cass approached the kitchen.
"What's wrong?" Cass asked with a yawn.
"There's nothing to eat! Weren't you supposed to go shopping?!"
"We talked about this yesterday," Cass said, giving Joy a confused look. "You said that you wanted me to wait, so we could have a dinner plan for this week. Remember?"
Joy stared at her for a moment before she calmed down and replied, "Yeah… sorry. I remember. I'm just so hungry… I'm going out to get something. I'll be back in an hour."
Before Cass' groggy brain could think of something to say, Joy grabbed her keys and walked out the door. Clearly, last night had been stressful for Joy, and Cass knew that she would hear all about it later. For now, she would just let Joy's outburst go. Cass got into the shower and let the warm water calm her mind. More alert now, she got out of the shower and got dressed.
The sound of the phone ringing beckoned her to the living room. Hesitating slightly, she picked up the phone and answered it, "Hello?"
"Miss Walker, how are you doing?"
"Ah, Captain, I'm doing much better… Is something wrong? Do you need me to come back to work early?"
The captain chuckled and replied, "No, Miss Walker. Everything is going well. I was wondering if you would like to meet at the shooting range for part of your evaluation. That is… if you're feeling up to it."
"Oh, of course!" Cass said and quickly grabbed a piece of paper to write a note for Joy. "When do you need me to meet you?"
"Can you be there in an hour?"
"Yes, sir! I'll see you then," Cass replied as she wrote down where she was going.
"Good. I'll see you then," the captain replied and disconnected the call.
Cass quickly brushed her hair as she searched for her shoes. After finding them underneath the couch, she grabbed her keys and gun case and drove to the shooting range. Looking at her watch, she groaned as she realized how early she was. The captain probably wouldn't be there for another thirty minutes. She went to grab her gun case but stopped before she even touched it. The last time she'd used it had been the day Jack had been attacked. Gingerly, she opened the case. It was just a gun. No memories bubbled to the surface, and her heart slowed back to a normal rhythm.
Closing the case, she unbuckled her seatbelt and debated going to the nearby café, but seeing a familiar face made her forget about the café. She got out of her car with the case and waved to Chris. His eyes widened in shock, but then he smiled and walked over.
"Aren't you supposed to be resting?" Chris asked jokingly.
"Captain's orders," Cass replied with a laugh. "Captain Wesker asked me to meet him here. For my evaluation."
Chris looked uncomfortable, and Cass asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Uh… well, I was just thinking… doesn't this all seem a bit rushed? Don't get me wrong! I think it'll be awesome to have you on the team… it just seems to be moving really fast. You just got hurt… I don't want you to get hurt again because you pushed yourself too far too fast," Chris said as he avoided her eyes and looked down sheepishly.
"It's just an eval, Chris," Cass replied and put a hand on his arm. "It's likely I won't even pass this one and maybe not even the next one. Maybe I'll never be good enough, but I owe it to myself to try. Besides, even if, by some miracle, I do pass, it'll probably take at least a few weeks just to process the paperwork, and then there's training and drills. By the time I make it through all of that, I'll be fighting ready."
Chris sighed then gave her a relieved smile. "You're right… I'm just overreacting."
"How's that any different from normal though?" Cass asked teasingly, and Chris messed up her hair in retaliation. "Hey! Jerk." Cass tried to sound irritated, but her laugh ruined it.
Gunshots in the distance caught their attention, and Cass grabbed her case out of the car before following Chris to the field. Captain Wesker was already watching someone fire at a target. Kevin fired at targets in the distance. The captain noticed Chris and Cass and waved them over, and Chris threw Cass an uncertain look before they walked toward the captain. Kevin finished shooting and turned to see them walking towards him. His face brightened with a smile. Cass gave him a wave as he bounded towards them.
Captain Wesker looked at Kevin with disapproval as Kevin said excitedly, "Hey, Cass, I thought you were taking a break."
"I am. I'm just here to start the evaluations."
"I figured," Kevin said with an irritated look toward the captain. "He said that I have to qualify… again. We all know it's not my abilities that fail me."
"No," Wesker said with a look down at the paperwork. "That would be your personality."
Chris let out a chuckle, and Kevin glared at him in return. Cass met the captain's eyes. He gave her a small grin which she returned.
"Okay, Officer Ryman. That concludes your testing for today. You may leave for now. I'll contact you for the next round of testing."
Kevin smirked and said with a wink, "See you later, Cass."
Chris put his hand on Cass' shoulder and said, "Good luck. I'll be here when you get done, okay?"
"Okay," Cass responded and watched nervously as Chris walked away.
"Punctual," the captain said with an approving look. "I like that. Shall we get started?"
Cass nodded and quickly put together her gun. Captain Wesker set up more targets, and Cass got to work. At first she was nervous, but after the first few shots, the gun once again felt familiar in her hands. She finished feeling good about her work, and by the look the captain gave her, she could tell that she had done a good job. She took out one of her earplugs to listen to his thoughts.
"Well done," the captain said before looking at her thoughtfully. "However… you won't be using that gun in the field."
Cass looked at him confused as he pulled out his gun. He held it out to her for her to take. Hesitantly, she took it from his hands after turning on her gun's safety and setting it on the table. After listening to his careful instruction, she put her earplug back in her ear and shot the gun. The recoil was much stronger than her gun, but she'd grown up with a police instructor for a dad and knew how to handle it. The bullet tore through the target, and even at her current distance she could tell that it had taken off more of the target than her own pistol.
The captain smiled in approval as she handed him back his gun. Cass quickly took apart her gun and put it back into the case. As she stood up, she noticed a small pressure on her shoulder. The captain had placed one of his hands on her shoulder and said, "Atta girl. I'll see you when you come back to work."
Cass nodded her head, and the captain gave her a gentle smile before he walked away. She turned to find Chris, gently touching where the captain's hand had been.