CHAPTER 58: The Test
I woke up at around six forty-five in the morning. The window was dark, so all I did was pace back and forth. How would I be able to even start? Sure, we got a stepping stone, but after that . . . it was foggy. Plus, how would the initiation go? Would I have to stand in a burning chamber? Will I have to lift any heavy weights? Will I be facing off against dogs with hereditary mutations, or mutts as we plants like to call them?
CRASH!
I stopped pacing, and gasped as I saw that my window was slightly broken, a black tin lying on the floor in its wake.
"Holy shit!" I screamed as I shot a pea at the window and jumped right out.
"Mustard gas! Carbon monoxide!" I shrieked as I looked up at the window. But I saw nothing.
"Elyssia! What in the name of God just happened? I'm in my bed, enjoying a good night's sleep, when I hear you smashing the glass and screaming! And then I see you jumping out the window! And at 6 in the morning!" Peater yelled from above me.
"Uh . . . ehehehehe . . . safety concerns . . ." I giggled nervously, before I started scaling the wall using the eaves troughs and tall vines.
Shortly after climbing through the window, I picked up the black tin.
"Experience with the zombies taught me that these kinds of black tins usually have a heinous gas like carbon monoxide, or chlorine." I explained to a flustered Peater.
"But since there's nothing dangerous . . ." I trailed off and opened the tin with my teeth.
"Ooooh, a note!" I squealed as I fumbled with the paper to unfold it. The note read:
Dear Elyssia,
We have asked Eric for three representatives for the TEA (Toronto Enforcement Association), and he chose you, PReeater and Elias. You, your team, and your base leader are to come to Union Station no later than 7:30 AM. From there, you will come to Ottawa, where you will be evaluated. If you pass this test, then your TEA bases will be recruited into our war effort. A train will pick you up at Union Station at the Via Platform.
Be prepared.
"So who're you taking to Ottawa?" Peater asked.
"You and your father. You're the only plants that I can get along with. I mean, if we're gonna be fighting, we need to be able to get along." I answered.
I then grabbed Peater's leaf and dragged him down the stairs and into the canteen, where Eric and Elias were waiting.
"Well, hurry up!" he ordered as he dragged all three of us into those secret passageways.
"Follow me!" he hissed.
Elias, Peater and I looked at each other and shrugged before we stumbled in the dark, dank passageways, almost getting hit by subway trains at least three times. Finally, after half an hour of this, we arrived at a set of stairs.
"Up!" Eric raised his arms to urge us up the steps.
I turned the knob on the door, and we were greeted by a window that let us see all of the criss crossing tracks of Union Station.
"Whoa!" Peater exclaimed, pointing at the tracks.
Eric, meanwhile, was looking up at a clock.
"It's already 7:15!"
He then dragged us all down a steep set of stairs, where we found a platform that looked as if it were fancy once upon a time.
"Well . . . now we wait." Elias muttered.
The next few hours passed in a blur. A train finally pulled into the platform at 7:30 on the dot. It looked like it came from a city that wasn't post apocalyptic.
"Well, here we are. A train, fresh from Ottawa." Eric mumbled, although you could tell he was pleased.
The ride lasted five hours, and it was an awesome ride too. You could hardly feel the bumps and jolts that a regular train would have, and the food was excellent. From fertilizer chips to compost soup, I couldn't stop eating. After all, I might as well pile on a few pounds, so that I could pass the evaluation . . . whatever it was. I finally stopped stuffing my face when Peater nastily scolded me about how I wasn't going to Ottawa to eat fancy food, but I was going there to prove something. That alone was enough to make me feel nauseous. Nothing interesting happened after that, unless you counted the fact that Eric got drunk, and had to be tackled by Elias and Peater. After around five hours of riding the train, we arrived in Ottawa.
The CPR main base was the East Block of Parliament Hill. We approached the doors, and we were greeted by a female voice.
"Who is this?" she demanded.
"I'm Elyssia Antonia, and I am here with the leader of TEA." I replied.
"Oh . . . sorry, we thought you were . . . someone else. Come on in!" the voice apologized.
The big, wooden doors swung open, and we were swept into a curious world of screens with maps, numbers, and words. Plants were dashing back and forth, and the place was just . . . downright noisy. On the ceiling, there was a stained glass window with what I thought was the CPR emblem: on the center of a flower, the letters C, P and R were intertwined fancily, and on the petals of the flower, the motto Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet* was beautifully handwritten onto the white petals. Not long after, we were approached by a Cabbage-Pult, who led us into an outdoor arena with statues, boxes and junk.
"The name's Charlie. Ten waves of zombies to tackle. If you three pass this, then you and your bases will be inducted into the war effort." the Cabbage-Pult said bluntly, before he retreated into a small box to the side.
"Spread out!" Elias hissed.
I nodded, and looked at the first wave of zombies that were slowly making their way towards us. They were completely unprotected, so killing them was easy. It was the same story for the next three waves, until a Gargantuar came crashing in. I sent a rippling wave of ice over to him, which blasted him into smithereens. Meanwhile, seven more waves of at least fifty zombies were making their way into the arena. On top of a pile of boxes, Elias and Peater were taking care of Bucketheads, Coneheads, Football Zombies, and Zombonis like they've been doing it since they were born. To lend a leaf, I swept my right leaf in a circle and created an icy sphere that appeared to bubble on the inside. I sent it flying over to the zombie wave . . .
BANG!
CRASH!
BLAM!
The zombies were blown up with several resounding explosions. Eric and Charlie clapped, and high-leafed each other.
"Never seen such a performance in my whole history of working here, and believe me, I've been here for twenty years!" Charlie whooped.
"You and your bases have officially been recruited into the CPR!"
Elias jumped up and down, squealing like a hyper sprout.
"Yes! Yes!" he giggled, hugging Peater and I.
"Elyssia, if we didn't have you, we'd be dead!" Peater exclaimed as he hugged me.
I blushed, and grinned to myself.
Together, Zomboss could be driven out of Ontario, and maybe, one of these days, Canada.