Little Secrets

Ember: Bull Slapping Is a Bad Idea

I was sweating like mad. Cassie and I were in our Battlefield Training class. For this particular class, we were sorted into pairs and had to run through an incredibly hard and complicated obstacle course that looked like a post-apocalypses city, with broken glass, falling buildings, and creepy crawlies. It also involved gas attacks, crazy traps that sprung when you stepped on a certain tile, and flame-throwers that singed off your eyebrows if you got too close. And what was worse, each time you set off a trap, it would just become harder to pass for the next person. Each pair had to get to the end-zone (preferably alive) before all the other teams, and with the traps' automatic updates, that made it especially hard.

"Agent Hathews is insane," I panted to Cassie as we dodged a rain of bullets by leaping behind on of the many odd structures in the course. Agent Hathews was the instructor of this class. When I first found out that interesting little tidbit, I thought I would have the class down and wouldn't have to do much of anything. Hathews seemed like a pretty laid-back guy. But boy was I wrong.

"Don't talk," Cassie advised through her heavy breath. "It only wears you out more." I nodded as I took a raspy breath. She peered around the corner of the metal structure and drew her head swiftly back, barely saving her eyebrows from a flame-thrower that fired at her. "But," she said, "I have to agree with you." She smiled at me with gleaming white teeth and I smiled back.

Cassie and I had become fast friends. If I had to describe her in two words, they would be sassy and loving. Cassie had an acute wit, but she was one of the kindest people around. She would call a kid a "worthless little tapeworm" in class, and then slip them her extra large, buttery roll at lunch. Sometimes, late at night when neither of us could sleep, she would tell me stories of fights her wicked tongue had gotten her into.

I followed Cassie's lead as she tucked and rolled, somersaulting to a large sheet of metal for more cover. When I joined her, Cassie pointed to a bright green glow in the distance. "That's the end-zone there," she panted. "Keep an eye out and keep on your toes. The closer you get to the end the harder it gets."

"How can this get any harder?" I wondered.

She smiled. "We might have more luck if we split up. We can chart each others' progress by the explosions," she added, reading the question on my lips.

"You sure that's the best tactic?" I asked her. Cassie had done this a lot more than I had and a lot longer. If she thought I could do well on my own, I was willing to believe her, even if there was a chance my face might become a campfire.

She nodded. "If we split up, the more traps we'll spring, which will make it harder for anyone behind us."

I nodded. "Alright. What should we do if one of us gets in trouble?"

She reached down and pulled a small black pistol from the straps she wore on her legs. "Just fire this baby three times."

"With so many explosions, how are we going to know the difference between a gun shot and a trap springing?"

Cassie smiled. "You're learning. Listen to this." She raised her gun to the air and shot rapidly three times in a row. Bang! Bang! Bang! "And now, listen to this." Cassie picked up a piece of broken plastic and threw it out from out cover point. There was a loud BOOM and I felt the ground shiver as the scrap set off another trap.

"Hear the difference?"she asked, and I nodded. "Alright. If one of us fires, the other will answer with two shots. That'll be the signal that we need to meet up again, whether because we're in danger or we're close to the end-zone.

I nodded. "Alright. Three shots to call, two to reply. Got it."

"I'll go left, you go right. We'll wait for the other at the end-zone so we can cross together and hold off anyone trying to steal first place. Hopefully we don't run into any civilians."