In which a source of inspiration is found
Instead of being led through her usual paces, Evangeline found herself walking alongside Sloane towards a room on the other side of the mill in the ungodly hours of the morning. As she struggled to keep up with the man, she found herself wondering where he would be taking her. Oddly, she wasn't afraid. Call it Stockholm Syndrome, but after nearly two weeks of staying with the Fraternity, an unspoken level of trust had been attained between Evangeline and her "captors." She no longer questioned he motives of Sloane, reminding herself that nothing here was done without reason.
When they finally reached the door at the end of the hall, Sloane gripped the handles of the door and pushed them inwards to reveal a huge room, containing a loom. Thousands upon thousands of gossamer threads wound themselves in complex patterns, eventually converging at the center of the room, where the massive machine was clicking away weaving a perfectly ordinary piece of cotton cloth.
"Now, Evangeline, this is the first and last time you will be seeing this, understood? I'll explain it once, but then you never set foot in this room again." Evangeline nodded silently. "This" he said gesturing grandly, "is the Loom of Fate."
Minutes later, the door to the forbidden room opened once more and a weary Evangeline was ushered out. Though they had only been in the room a short span of time, the information imparted to her was enough to make her feel like she had aged considerably from the child who had been led in like a lamb to slaughter. The gravity of their task had just now begun to hit the girl. Once wary of even killing a fly, she had to learn to exterminate humans. Not ordinary humans, however, only those that needed to be purged from the human race.
The Repairman waited outside, binding his fists with measured accuracy. Somehow, Evangeline guessed that her day was far from over. Despite the exhaustion that pulled at her mind, she plodded forward next to Sloane. Hand to hand combat. It seemed the only logical assumption of today's itinerary. Unfortunately for her, the Fraternity's idea of "hand to hand combat" involved a chair and a good deal of rope.
"She ok?' the Repairman quirked an eyebrow at the girl. "Looks like she's about to puke."
Evangeline shook her head. "I'm fine." It wasn't convincing.
"Yeah? Ok, from your lips to my ears." Sharing a mysterious smile to Sloane, he motioned to a chair. "Have a seat." She planted herself on the acetic wooden structure set up in the middle of the room, mentally preparing herself for what she thought was going to be her task of defending against attacks. It wasn't until the Repairman returned and started circling her like a shark that she noticed he held about a yard of rope in his hands.
Before she could protest, her arms were bound behind her, and as gentle as he had been tying her arms, she couldn't help but think that things were going to get a whole lot more violent. Sloane surveyed the entire scene with his usual cool gaze.
"Now since it's your first day with me, I'm gonna give you a break. We'll take it easy, hm?" Before Evangeline could ask anything else, a fist came flying out of nowhere, hitting her straight across the jaw. She groaned and felt blood spreading from her lip. Giving a few coughs that emitted a spray of blood on the ground. Pulling her head back to look at her assailant, she shot a dark glare at the man, thinking the entire time, there's a method to his madness, there's a method to his madness. The logic that Evangeline wanted to see in the situation prevented her panic attack from kicking in.
Indeed the entire setup was a test of sorts. Before Sloane would even think of continuing to spend time and energy preparing the girl, he had to be sure of her temperament; how she reacted to pain, how quick she was to anger. If the thresholds for both were high, the work would continue until the next test: loyalty. The beating went on.
Again and again, the Repairman would throw a punch. "Had enough yet, kid?" he growled. His fists were starting to smart, and he was wondering how much more he would have to do.
Evangeline spat out another glob of blood. Vehemently she aimed for his shoes. "Why? Getting tired?" She would play their game. If they wanted to test her, they would get a hell of a lot of data. Her mother had always blamed her stubborn nature on her father. The blond hair seemed to quiver with anger. He looked down at the leather shoes, smattered with red.
"Not even close." Sloane was pleased. This girl was turning out to be like the others had been. Stubborn as Fox had been; gutsy as Mr. X; and full of "spunk" as Cross. This all would work in her favor. He was roused from his thoughts by the sound of wood cracking against cement. The last punch that the Repairman had come at Evangeline with never found its mark. Before he could get at her jaw, she had shot her legs out by a piston and pushed herself back, falling to the ground. The frail structure flew apart, the ropes wrapped around her body fell slack. The circulation started pumping back into her extremities, but it nothing to abate her burning muscles and aching face.
The Repairman, a bit winded, but none worse for the wear regained his stance over her body as she struggled to right herself. Evangeline's entire body quaked with exertion before her mind just gave up and everything flew into black.
Sloane approached. "Not bad for her first day."
"Yea. Not bad at all," the Repairman sighed. He rubbed his knuckles, slowly unwinding the cloth, now stained pink with blood and sweat.
The doors burst open, revealing Cross and Mr. X themselves walking into the room. Both Sloane and the Repairman turned to face them.
"Whoa, what do we have here?" Cross opened with a smile. Mr. X just let out a low whistle. "How many did she take?"
Instead of verbally answering the Repairman held up his hands.
Sloane cut in with a smile. "You've underestimated her, Cross. I think you owe her an apology when she wakes up, but in the meantime, you and Mr. X could make yourselves useful and take her to the Recovery Room."
The two men looked at each other before moving to untangle Evangeline from the rubble. Mr. X scooped her up with ease before walking out. Cross followed and bowed out with a short salute to Sloane. "You got it, boss."