Cracked Glass chapter 6

So for those of you who may have forgotten the POV thing, it's back to Double D for this chapter!

Benny: So what, just because nobody's decided to tell you about your "next big thing", you're going to go ahead and update all of your old stories?

Of course not, Benny. Just the ones that people might show interest in and that I'm interested in writing.

Benny: *rolls his eyes* Oh brother. What a way to end the year, doing this junk.

Enjoy the chapter, guys!

After physical training, where we had somehow managed to win the competition against all odds, there was the next step of our training: the mental component of it. I felt nervous but Ed seemed like how Ed normally was and Eddy was confident to the point where it was almost cocky or smug, even.

Eddy said "Don't worry about it, Double D. This will be a piece of cake. After all, what are these goth jerks going to make us do?"

I replied "Eddy, based on what occurred during our physical training, I would be very hesitant to judge this Demon Anarchy. I'm surprised you're not taking this more seriously. After all, you got knocked unconscious last time."

Eddy responded with "Yeah, for five seconds. I was a bit groggy after that but I was fine. It was worth it, anyway. What are they gonna make us do, Double D? Take a math test?"

Ed said "But I don't like tests, Eddy. I always do terrible on them. I have to bring them home and Sarah tells Mom and Mom tells Dad and I get no TV for a week."

I responded with "Ed, we'll have to wait and see what's going on with this part of training. Look, here comes Ryder and Conrad."

Ryder walked towards us with his usual cockiness, a slumped Conrad behind him. He wore a purple sweatshirt with a blue flannel shirt over it, a pair of jeans and blue Vans while Conrad wore a forest green hoodie, a pair of black sweatpants and black Converse high tops. Ryder had on a Philadelphia Phillies baseball cap and Conrad put on a pair of glasses.

Eddy asked "What are you two losers going to have us do now? Write a ten-page essay or somewhat?"

Ryder answered "No, the DA wants you to test the three of you. It's going to be individual and split into two parts. The first part will be a general test of your typical subjects-math, history, science, the boring basic stuff."

Conrad said "The second part will be based on your individual specialties. That way, we can test both your mental strengths and weaknesses. You'll have an hour to complete the first part and thirty minutes to complete the second part. Do you three think you can handle that?"

Eddy pointed his thumb towards himself and answered "Gingersnap, do I look like a pushover? I could take anything you freaks throw at me."

Ryder and Conrad looked at each other and Ryder said "We'll see about that. Time for you three to take part one." before he motioned for us to follow him. We did so, walking quickly and nervously.

Eddy still looked as confident as he did before, Ed had a look of resolve but also worry and I must have looked nervous and panicked. Would we be able to do well on the first part of mental training? Even if we did, would we be well able to handle the second part?

Ryder and Conrad took us to the Demon Anarchy headquarters and from there, we were placed in separate rooms. I sat down on a chair in front of a desk in an otherwise empty room. Conrad came in and he carried a thin, stapled stack of papers with him. He put the papers and a ballpoint pen down on the desk.

Conrad checked his phone and said "You have 60 minutes. Begin."

I turned the first page of the booklet and noticed that it was a mathematics section. It had to do with basic mathematics at first, then it evolved into what I was doing at school before it became slightly more complex. When I finished the mathematics section, I then reached an English section. It consisted of short passages with several multiple choice questions and one or two short-answer questions. I finished them quickly but also efficiently.

Conrad said "You have thirty minutes, Eddward."

I then turned to the history section which contained questions about historical figures, dates and events. I answered these questions to the best of my ability before I reached general knowledge. I struggled slightly with that section but I didn't have the time to check over my answers. I moved onto science. I did as much work as I could and moved onto the foreign language section. I exhaled in relief as I realized that it was Spanish which I knew. I completed the section and turned the stack of papers over.

Conrad asked "Are you done, Eddward?"

I nodded my head and answered "Yes, Conrad, I am."

Conrad pressed something on his phone and said "Completed with 20 minutes left to spare. Impressive. Since the second part has to do with your individual specialties, you won't discover what will be until you enter the facility in which you're taking it in. Now, we just have to wait for Ed and Eddy to complete their parts so that they could be assessed."

Forty minutes later, Ryder opened the door and motioned to Conrad. He whispered in Conrad's ear and Conrad nodded at him.

Ryder then walked down the hallway and Conrad said "Follow me, Double D."

I dutifully followed him down the hallway where Ryder stood at the end of the hallway with Ed and Eddy. The two then stood next to each other and looked at the three of us as they held our booklets in their hands.

Conrad said "You all managed to complete the test in time. Double D did it with twenty minutes left, Ed with ten and Eddy with only five. You all did satisfactory in general knowledge, although Double D scored slightly below average in that section. In contrast, he did excellent in science while Ed, you did great in history and Eddy, you did your best on the English section. However, that isn't saying much since you scored around average on that section. Double D did well in Spanish while Eddy, you struggled with French and Ed did average with French."

Eddy asked "Why did Double D get a different language than we did?"

Ryder answered "Chill out, shortstop. The foreign language was random for all grunts. Some got Spanish, others got French, a few even got Italian or German. It was just luck of the draw, OK?"

Eddy gritted his teeth and responded angrily with "Don't call me shortstop, you Marilyn Manson wannabe!"

Ryder scoffed, raised an eyebrow and replied "I'm stunned that you even know who that is. Been watching MTV lately or are you just projecting?"

Conrad sighed and said "Ryder, stop pushing him. Captains are already being watched carefully and us even more so because of our reputation."

Ryder replied "I'm pretty sure our resident scammer could handle a little ribbing, can't he? Anyway, time for part 2. Scammer, since you like making money so much, I hope you packed a briefcase because you'll be dealing with business and theft."

Conrad said "Ed, your part will involve fighting and camouflage. Double D, you'll be dealing with technology. Eddy, you'll follow Ryder. Double D, you'll be coming with me and we'll drop off Ed on the way."

Ryder then took Eddy towards a different part of the headquarters while Ed and I followed Conrad outside. We stopped by a small field with several people dressed in sand and green-colored jump suits.

Conrad said "Ed, this is your trial. You will have thirty minutes to disguise yourself in a suit, defend yourself and disarm and defeat your attackers. To complete this part, you must make it to the other end of the field without being knocked unconscious. Do you understand?"

Ed nodded in reply and began to put on a sand-colored jump suit while Conrad kept walking. I followed him, looking around at my surroundings. So far, everything seemed to be ordinary and perhaps even picturesque. However, maybe everything wasn't what it seemed. After all, Ed's trial had people hiding in camouflage in a field. All I knew was that mine involved technology but I didn't know exactly what I was entailed to do yet. We stopped in front of a small office building and went inside. We went up a flight of stairs and through a door into a long hallway. Conrad took me into a room with three laptop computers plugged into a power strip that was plugged into an outlet. These computers had various looks. The first looked polished and brand-new while the second looked slightly worn and only one or two years old and the third looked horrendous and was certainly an older laptop computer than the others. I put on a pair of gloves and a black hoodie before I put the hood up over my head.

Conrad stated "Double D, this is your trial. As you can see, there are three laptops in front of you. You will have thirty minutes to hack into each computer and retrieve a certain piece of information which you will then write down on a notepad. To complete this part, you must gain all three pieces and write them down before time runs out. Do you understand?"

I responded nervously with "Y-Yes, Conrad, I do."

Conrad then left the room and closed the door behind him. I opened up the first computer and began to type in commands. None of the folders appeared abnormal at first glance but then I noticed a folder called "Ruby". When I went to open the folder, I saw that it was password-protected. I looked around the computer and noticed a common theme: a small child in a picture who appeared to be 3 or 4. I typed in the password "Joseph514" and gained access to the folder. From there, I opened a sole file and wrote down the information on it. I went on quickly to the second computer. I found two files called "Coffee shop info" and "M.S. 71" respectively. They were both password-protected and I only found the first password by guessing. I then used the basis of the first password along with the unlocked information I found on the computer to guess the second password. I wrote down the information and moved on to the final computer. I had to type in more commands and look at several files. I wasn't aware of which ones were worthwhile and which ones were useless to me. So I attempted to open them up using a sole function. It didn't work so I had to guess several passwords which I narrowly achieved. I determined by process of elimination which pieces of information I needed and wrote them down. I then shut all of the computers down and took off my gloves.

Conrad came into the room and said "Two minutes left. Not bad for a beginner but you'll need to work on your computer skills under a set time limit in the future if you want to be able to not get caught by police or worse people."

Ten minutes later, I was brought back to Ed and Eddy. Ed smiled as he took off the jumpsuit and Eddy had his typical smug grin on his face as he took off a suit and tie. Ryder and Conrad looked at the three of us with curiosity and attentiveness.

Ryder said "Eddy, you passed your trial with six hundred dollars, passing your three hundred dollar goal in twenty minutes. Ed, you completed yours as you took down all of your enemies in fifteen minutes. Double D, you finished your trial, having taken information from all three computers in twenty-eight minutes. Overall, a decent effort from the three of you. Nice job on not embarrassing us and yourselves."

Conrad replied "Ryder's right. You three have only one part left which is psychological training."

My heart sank into my stomach. Psychological training? That could entail blindfolding, hypnosis, torture or anything else. Calm down, Eddward. Maybe it's simply a personality test.

That's chapter 6 of Cracked Glass!

Benny: *yawns* Boring, if you ask me.

Well, I think differently, Benny and so do the readers, obviously. Anyways, if you want to say anything, just leave a review!