I didn't know how long I slept for, all I did know was that there was a loud beeping sound and it was starting to get on my nerves. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and looking for the sound. I looked to the table and noticed my blackbox vibrating slightly. I picked it up and flipped it open. There was an alarm screen, so I assumed it was time for me to get up. I stood up, the blood rushing to my feet, and I walked to the bathroom. I turned the tap on and held my hands under it, and then I splashed the cool water over my face. I felt good, and it helped to wake me up slightly. I turned the tap off, and then looked around for a towel. I found one and I wiped my face dry. I walked back through the sleeping area and noticed the wardrobe door ajar. It had a note attached to it, so I went over to it and read it. It said,
"Lena, this is your body armour, tailored especially to fit you. Please put it on before you come to training." I rolled the note into a ball and threw it in the bin, then pulled the leather body armour on. It was comfy. There were a pair of boots too so I assumed I was to put them on. When I was done, I called H.I.V. and asked him for the directions to Room 17. I memorized them and then flipped it shut, heading to Room 17. I arrived there about 5 minutes early, and I tried to open the door. It was locked. I leant against a wall in the shadows and I waited. Raven appeared with about 30 seconds to spare and she led me inside. I didn't know what we were doing, so I was shocked when she suddenly aimed a punch to my jaw. I saw it coming at the last second, and I ducked, and then swung a quick kick at her shins in self-defence. It was a pointless attempt, she had already stepped back and by the time I stood up, she was attacking again. I could do nothing but block her attacks with my arms, they were coming at me with blinding speed. She swung again at my jaw and I blocked it, then I aimed another kick, at her stomach this time. I missed again, now unable to regain my balance in time, and Raven aimed a sharp kick to my ribs. I ended up sprawled on the floor, panting. I saw Raven swing her foot down to kick me in the ribs again, so I rolled and stood up in one movement, then prepared myself to fight. At that moment though, she stepped back, and called out.
"Nice job Lena. Is that the first actual fight you've been in?" I nodded. I was just too tired to speak. She walked over to me.
"To start with, we need to work on your balance, and your fitness." I just nodded again. She walked to the door and gestured that I follow. I quickly walked over to the door and closed it behind me. Raven led me through long corridors until we reached a lone room. From the distance from last door, I figured that it was pretty big. Raven scanned her palm, and the door slid open. Inside was a training centre. There was a running track, and lots of other exercise-y looking things. She led me in.
"OK, Lena, how far can you run?" I shrugged.
"I'm not really sure." She smiled evilly.
"Lets find out then shall we?" I nodded.
"This track is 100 metres long, I want you to run as many as you can. When you stop, then you can have a two minute break then do it again." I nodded again. "But, if you stop before you have done 10 laps, there'll be a punishment." I nodded. "GO!" she barked. I set off, not running fast, but keeping my breathing steady. I did about 5 laps easily, then I started to get tired. I took a few deep breaths, and kept my rhythm steady. Right, left, breathe in, right, left, breathe out. I passed another few laps like this, not actually knowing how many laps I had done. When I was well and truly exhausted, I forced myself to run one more lap and then I finally stopped, panting. Raven just nodded.
"Keep walking or you'll get stiff. You ran 17 laps, not bad. You've now got a minute and a half until you aim to get 18 laps." I nodded and continued walking around slowly and taking deep breaths. After a minute, Raven called out. "Actually, I changed my mind. I want you to sprint as many laps as you can." Again I nodded heading towards the start line.
"GO!"
I set off, swinging my arms hard and pushing off with each leg hard. I got a good start and picked up a good speed, but still I focused on my rhythm. Right, left, right, left, breathe in, right, left, right, left, breathe out. I continued this rhythm, not losing track of it, and I kept running. I was tired though, so my breathing got heavy and I had to keep reminding myself to take deep breaths, not short ones. In through the nose, out through the mouth. I had no idea how many laps I had done, but I doubted I had done less then ten. I quickly checked my watch, I had been sprinting for 6 minutes and I averaged 100 metres in 15 seconds. With that calculation, I had done a few more then twenty laps, so I sprinted one more, surprised at how easy it was. I was going to stop, but I decided to keep going. I ended up running another few laps before finally stopping. I fell to the floor, absolutely exhausted. Raven called out that I stand up, and so I walked around in circles, tired and lacking oxygen. Raven didn't say anything else; she just waited for me to recover. When I was able to breathe easier, she started talking.
"Very well done Lena. You sprinted 29 laps which is very good." I nodded and smiled.
"Thanks."
"But just remember, sometimes after you have been running for a long time, you need to fight straight after." I nodded and she continued. "But you still did amazingly well." I smiled again, and Raven headed out of the room. I followed, and we ended up back in our quarters. I didn't realise that it was 6:30 and so when Raven sat on her bed and closed her eyes briefly; I was confused. I looked down at my watch and saw the time, and then I realised that I was actually really tired as well. I sunk onto my bed, taking my boots off, then I realised that I had to actually get up to put them away. I walked over to the wardrobe and put them away, and then I went straight back to my bed. I relaxed onto the pillow and started to fall asleep. I had been still for quite a few minutes when I was disturbed by the door sliding open. I kept my eyes shut, pretending to be asleep. I heard Raven and another person having a muted argument in the far corner of the room, and then it stopped. In pretending to be asleep, I let my arm slide off the edge of the bed. I heard footsteps, and someone gently put my arm back onto the bed. I squirmed a little, hoping I looked asleep. The footsteps sounded again, and then the argument followed. As hard as I tried, I couldn't hear what they were saying though, so I gave up, and I tried to get to sleep. I must have dropped off easily because I don't remember the other person leaving the room. Either way, I woke up and stretched, then checked the time. I had got a solid 10 hours of sleep, so I was feeling refreshed. Raven was already gone, and I sighed. I began wondering what kind of beating was going to be in store for training that day.