Soul Mates

Chapter 8

Turning over her hands, Piper saw they were blistering, her skin being stripped away by the coarse fabric of the rope. Great. She looked down and saw she was forty feet up the net - only ten more to go. Alicia called up at her, "Go, Piper! You've almost broken the record!"

Piper sighed and scrambled up the rest of the way, her head gently bumping the ceiling when she reached the top. Alicia smiled at her and told her to come down and try the intelligence tests.

Her hands and feet were aching, but Piper climbed carefully down twenty feet and then jumped to the floor. She landed on her feet when most people would have broken their necks, but the impact still sent a shudder through her body.

It was only her first day, and already she was catching up to the other kids that had been working for years; some looked at her with an approving respect, but others glared at her and shoved past.

Sighing, she shook her head and jogged over to the wall of computers that Andrew stood at, his brow crinkled in concentration. A blue, hieroglyphic screen illuminated his face, showing a code. He referred back to the alphabet that related the hieroglyphics to the English alphabet and typed the correct code in. The program blinked and moved on to the next simulation.

Piper tilted her head to look at it, her ponytail falling over to one side. Andrew was doing well, but she knew she could figure it out faster. She stood at the computer next to him and it whirred into life.

Partially blinded by the sudden brightness, Piper squinted and saw the first code had appeared. Glancing over to the code breaker, she typed in a sequence of numbers: 62442. "CORRECT" the screen flashed at her. She grinned.

25 minutes later, she was the first person to finish the entire coding program of 60 questions in less than an hour. Flushed with her success, she watched Andrew complete the simulation: 49:27. He had broken the previous record too.

Suddenly a hush fell over the room. A girl was walking in, led by Mark. She was tall, with long black hair and full red lips. With her dark skin and lush body, she was very pretty.

While the training area returned to it's usual chatter, Andrew took one look at the girl and his eyes widened. He rushed over to her and asked, "Leah? What are you doing here?"

The girl smiled softly at him and replied, in a rich, smooth voice, "Mark here told me everything, about you and Piper being spies and training and stuff, and I figured that since you're my soulmate I would become a spy too. Apparently I have the fitness and the mental capability, though obviously not as good as yours."

Piper watched her and Andrew talk, gesturing excitedly and Mark standing by, looking bored. She knew how he felt. With her brother otherwise occupied, she had no one. Everyone either fawned over her ridiculously or hated her.

Having completed every intelligence test the compound had to offer, Piper decided to try her archery skills. Picking up an intricately carved bow, she tested the string and picked up a handsome arrow. Standing in front of the target, she squinted one eye, took aim, and released the arrow.

It embedded itself in the centre of the target, it's shaft quivering slightly. She smiled. If she disregarded the fact she had no friends, she could say her time at the Tajni Compound was going pretty well.

After an hour of practicing perfect shots with her bow, Piper thought it might be time to move on. Looking around, she saw that the only place she hadn't been was the sword-fighting area. She headed over to there now.

Gripping the leather handle of the sword tightly, Piper looked around for someone to spar with. She noticed that an instructor was present, assisting another girl her age with the sword. Piper frowned. The girl looked comfortable with the sword, while her own felt heavy and unbalanced. The instructor came over to her next.

"Alright," she said. "First what you're going to do is..."

Piper listened carefully to her words and adjusted herself accordingly. Even with all the right techniques, Piper still felt awkward. The instructor suggested, "Why don't you two girls try sparring off with one another?"

They nodded, Piper nervously. As soon as the other girl lunged forward, Piper knew she had lost. She dodged the first blow easily, though, as it didn't require using a sword.

The other girl gritted her teeth and maneuvered her sword in ways Piper didn't understand. As a result, her sword went crashing to the ground and her wrist now had a bloody scratch on it.

Smirking, the other girl said, "Ha! Klondike my eye. You don't have an ounce of natural talent."

Piper felt her anger rise to her mouth and come bubbling out. "Wanna practice some archery? I'll bet you I can beat you."

The other girl raised an eyebrow. "What are the stakes?"

Piper tapped her chin. "Whoever loses has to endure the humiliation?"

The other girl shrugged. "All right."

Together they headed over to the archery range, where Andrew and his girlfriend practiced their shots. She nudged him and whispered, "I made a bet. Could you clear out for about a half hour, just out of the archery range?"

He nodded, skeptically, and called, "Leah, do you wanna try the nets?" She nodded and then smiled at Piper, who tried to return the favour.

The archery range was clear. Piper prepared herself, but her opponent said, "Oh, I think I'd better go first." Piper nodded. She didn't much care.

The other girl was very good at archery, Piper granted, but she did miss a few. However, when she came back from the end of the range she seemed pleased with her performance.

Piper notched her own bow and shot with perfect accuracy, hitting every target in the centre. She looked over.

"I win."

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