test 14

chapter three

I woke up with a stretch and a yawn. I checked my pile for any missing objects but everything was in place. I crawled out of my cave and my collar buzzed again. I was still in my testing clothes so I just waited for the guards near my den.
When the guards opened the door, there were two more guards than normal but I didn’t mind. I stood up and followed the guards into Mr. Archer’s office. Other children were staring at me but I didn’t mind. When we reached the office, the guards pushed me inside and slammed the door shut. Mr. Archer looked up from his pile of papers and smiled brightly, “14! I have a new training room ready for you!” I turned my head in the direction he pointed to and saw a green door with brown lines along the sides. Mr. Archer opened the door in front of me and I stepped inside. Tall pillars that resembled trees stood next to vine-like ropes, “This room is meant to look like a forest. We think we can figure out more about dark elves' reflexes and fighting styles by using your form as a base.” I nodded. “Well, where do we start?”

I jumped to the next tree with ease but I could see some wide gaps up ahead. “Alright 14! Let me know if you need help down or anything!” Shouted Mr. Archer from the bottom of the tree. I gave him a thumbs up and jumped the next two trees easily, “Alright! You're at the 35 foot mark! I want you to let instincts guide you after this! Your instincts will tell you when you can’t jump!” I gave him another thumbs up which he returned with a smile. I closed my eyes and let my tail, ears and claw move on their own. My legs began to morph to be more elf-like. Dark elves have long legs and they look similar to a cat. The staff used to give me books on animals and they wanted me to point out the ones Iliked or looked like me. My tail grew longer and my horns became long and thin. I hopped across the trees while Mr. Archer tried to keep up. I stopped after about 2 minutes of jumping so Mr. Archer could catch his breath, “Jesus Christ and his Father, you’re too damn fast!” Mr. Archer said in between big puffs of air. “Sorry Sir! I’ll slow down for you!” My ears flattened and I looked down at him with a scared smile. He looked up with a smile, “No need kid! I’ll wait here for you to call me or when you finish the course!” I nodded and sprinted around in the trees until I reached a huge gap in the trees. I step back and sniff the air. I could smell Mr. Archer and a few guards that were here a few days ago. I stepped closer and could faintly smell a metal wire. I smelt the air in cation. Silver wire was lined up with a few firecrackers aimed at the next tree. I snapped a twig off on a nearby branch and tossed it into the trap. A loud bang followed and I began to shake my head, trying to get rid of the ringing in my ears. After my ears calmed down from the blast, I jumped to the next tree. I looked around for more traps but it seems the area was clear for a few more trees. After jumping some more trees, I smelt that Mr. Archer’s scent was all over one of the trees in front of me. Immediately, I looked for Mr. Archer but he was still at the same tree that now was almost hard to see. I stayed still and began shutting down my other senses, just my smell was intact. I smelt the air and tried to locate the source of the smell. My eyes widened slightly when I saw the large net hidden in the branches, ready to trap me the minute weight was added to the trip wire. I crept closer to the wire when I heard a clicking sound, I whipped around and searched the area for the noise. A large training bot that was clearly modified to resemble a dark elf lunged at me. I leaped out of the way and bared my teeth in a warning at the bot. The bot tried to lunge again but I was ready this time, I whipped my tail around the bot and bit down on its neck. The bot spasmed and tried to run free but I bit down harder and dug my claws into its fake skin. The bot fell limp and I dropped it, spitting and hissing to shake the taste of metal and wires. It tasted horrible and I now regretted all of the times I bugged Mr. Archer about how I needed some metal to chew on because my teeth would hurt. I heard a noise and whipped around, preparing for another attack. I looked back and Mr. Archer wasn’t there. I got a small scent of his cologne but it was fresher than the traps smell, he had to have gotten closer when I wasn’t looking. My pupils dilated and I looked around the trees, searching for any sign of Mr. Archer. I heard a leaf crunch and I lunged at the noise, I barely missed him because I could hear his breath sharpen and him tip over slightly. I tried to open my eyes but Mr. Archer lunged at me and covered my eyes with a blind fold before quickly getting out of my reach. “This is exercise two 14, you can easily attack a bot and break it but can you just disarm me or knock me out? Will your nature kick in and you’ll kill me? I decided to make it fair for me, you will be blinded this whole time and I will use this to defend myself.” I heard the sound of a button going undone and I knew he had pulled out the knife or pepper spray he had to have on him at all times for his safety. I had to guess but I was blinded so I doubt it was the pepper spray. I hunched over slightly and got ready to attack him. I knew I could use my usual tactic of biting and snapping the neck so I decided to use my claws and tail. I heard him jump slightly and my tail swing around and I clearly got him by the quiet squeak and fumbling I heard. I lunged at him and he put up the knife to block my claws but I swiped at him with the other one hand, clearly drawing blood. He groaned slightly but quickly got up and got ready to attack. I got down lower on the ground as he swiped at where my neck was and I tackled his knees, scrambling up him and pinning him down. He was pretty strong but I wrapped my tail around him and he let go of me quickly, giving up. I was about to release him when the knife stabbed my arm, the blood seeping into my pale blue sweater. I hissed at the pain and tightened my grip on him. I heard a quiet snap in his arm but it was clearly painful because the scream that he let out that sounded so painful, my ears ran loudly. I undug my claws from his skin and covered my ears, my tail still held him down but he could move more than before. I whined and spat at the noise but Mr.Archer went limp. My ears flattened as I realize what I have done. I ran over to his body and immediately tried poking at him, trying to wake him but it was no use. I ran to the door and clawed at it while yowling and hissing, trying to see if any of the guards would hear me. I felt some odd liquid leak from my eyes, I wiped it with the back of my hand and looked at it curiously. Is this what it was like to be human?