Chapter Eleven: Training Part Two

You kiss Max on his forehead before quietly leaving the room. You head back to your seat and indulge yourself in the leftover snacks. Some were quite good while others were a bit bland.

It's been a few days since you got here. You've had some time to yourself and got some shut-eye which never felt this good. Unfortunately, that wouldn't last long. A wave of horrendous cold washes over you, forcing you right out of bed. The bitter cold seeps into your skin forcing the hairs on your limbs to stand. In an attempt to flee from the now growing cold, you roll off the bed and land with a thud. The sudden decrease in temperature makes it much easier to pry your eyes wide open.

"What the hell?!" You groggily look around and see Emilien holding an empty bucket with the last remaining drops of water dripping out.

"It appears I misjudged your capabilities." He mutters.

"I can hear you." You tell him with sarcasm.

"Oh, your hearing has gotten better." He comments.

"Emilien," you collect your bearings and look at him, "what in the actual hell is this?" you gesture to your now wet bed.

"Training." He simply says before walking out.

"Wha…" You start but hold your tongue.

You wash up and pick out the clothes designated by Atlas. The reason is that they were durable for the upcoming events occurring later today. This greatly concerned you but you pushed down the instinctual feeling of dread. You head to the bathroom to freshen up and get rid of the feeling of being drenched in ice-cold water so early in the morning.

You step out and make your way to the cafeteria to get something to eat. The cafeteria itself is one of beauty with its paintings of surprising yet soothing imagery. Your favorite is the painting of a golden field with the sun rising over the horizon. At the far end sits a large table where Max currently is. Andre and Quincy are at what seems to be a receptionist desk where they're discussing something with a highly advanced robot. Along the walls behind the desk are hexagonal-shaped windows which allow one to look directly into a room in which you can't make out what is in there.

In front of Max sits a plate practically overflowing with an assortment of food. He takes a moment to wave at you before clasping his hands together as though he was about to pray before beginning his onslaught. Andre and Quincy walk over to Max and nod when they see you. You nod back.

'Get something light.' Atlas informs you through telepathy.

'Why?' You ask in return.

'The training regiment designed for you today will push you to your limits. I would advise taking something light to help make things easier.' It explains.

You consider this new information and decide to go along with it. Upon reaching the desk, the robot which had been inactive powers up and trains its single mechanical eye onto you.

"Greetings Administrator, I am Theta 17. How may I be of service?" It says in a monotone voice.

"I'll have something light." You say.

"Understood," sleek black tendrils shoot out from its back and begin making your order. A few seconds later and it serves up a tray of what seemed to be orange juice and a slice of bread.

"Your order Administrator, a light meal." It says before powering down.

"I should have known," you mentally chastise yourself as you make your way toward the group.

"Hey mom," Max greets with an upbeat tone.

"So you're starting your training today," Andre says before you can reply.

"God be with you, ma'am." Quincy chimes in before downing a glass of coffee.

"Thanks?" You give him a quizzical look.

He gestures to Andre who sighs before finishing his food.

"Ma'am," he looks at you. "I'll be honest, your training will be torturous and long. Emilien will push you to limits you didn't know you even had. You will feel pain, unlike anything until that point."

"I'm not worried." Max declares.

"Mom's got this," he looks at you with determination in his eyes.

You give him a nod of appreciation and he nods back.

'Administrator,' Atlas speaks, 'Emilien requests your presence at the training room on level 3.'

'Understood.'

"I'll be taking my leave then," you announce as you finish your meal.

"Coming?" You look at Max.

"I'm good. I'll stay here with Mr. Andre and Mr. Quincy but I'll come by soon." He replies.

"Okay."

You head out and follow Atlas's direction and come to an elevator. Across the doors is a gigantic sigil that splits into two perfect halves upon the doors opening. You step in and the doors close with a soft thud. Smooth jazz plays while the elevator ascends to its intended destination. As the elevator ascends a section opens to reveal a large glass plane that shows a completely different side of the facility. A lush forest sitting in the middle of a valley. Large flocks of birds from the clear blue sky of the valley.

"What is this place?"

"A sanctuary designed by master Arno. In it are creatures classified to be extinct by multiple environmental groups since the beginning of the century. There are creatures, which under normal circumstances cannot be found in the wild. Some are quite the sight to behold.

Master Arno created these creatures by combining two or more traits of the others in an isolated space. Even the vegetation itself is a hybrid of other previously thought-extinct species of plant life. All this requires a massive amount of power which is taken care of by the three black hole generators." Atlas explains.

"The generators emit Hawking Radiation." You mutter absentmindedly.

"How do I know this?!" You ask, surprised and amazed that you know what that is.

"An encyclopedia was downloaded into your neural network. It appears-"

"How exactly does that even work? Downloading stuff into my mind." You suddenly question.

"The human brain works on a series of electrical impulses. The encyclopedia is a collection of electrical impulses which were added to your brain, upon which your brain interpreted quite quickly."

"Hm," you hum as you process this information. A ding draws you back to reality. The doors slide open to reveal a hallway with a door at the end. Your footsteps echo louder than you had expected. Upon reaching the door you find out there's no handle. Suddenly the door opens on its own and a mist pours out. You instinctively jump back.

"Enter," You hear Emilien from the other side.

With hesitation, you step through and are temporarily blinded. After a brief moment, your eyes adjust to the brightness. "Good," you feel something crash into your gut. With the wind forced out of you, you skid back until you hit something. You drop to your knees, trying to catch your breath.

"Emilien, what the hell?!" You say in between gulps of air.

"Training. Get up." He commands.

"And here I thought it would be a simple affair," you think as you rise to your feet. "Alright, come at me."

The next few minutes consisted of you being manhandled by Emilien. You were able to get a few hits in but to call them ineffective would be an understatement. By the time he decides to take a break, you're sure that every bone in your body is either broken or is very close to being broken.

"Here," he slides a bottle filled with a glowing orange liquid, "it will help with the pain and bring you back to full health." He takes a seat on a conveniently placed box.

"What the hell is all this?" You groan as you reach out for the bottle.

"I plan on testing your durability. In the next two minutes, we begin. All that was simply a warm-up." He states.

"What is wrong with you?!" You snap.

"From trying to fucking freeze me to trying to break every damn bone in my body!" You rise, rage boiling within you.

With a roar, you charge at him. He evades your first strike but you follow it up with a kick toward his legs. He swiftly evades that and leaps back. He beckons you with a gesture and you are more than happy to comply.

"I'll enjoy destroying you." You growl with sinister intent and charge at him once again.

You throw a quick combo consisting of a punch and a jab. He evades the first and blocks the second. There's an audible boom and a gust of wind emanates from where your fist made contact with his arm. He shoves you back and delivers a roundhouse kick, which by some stroke of luck you manage to block. But it knocks the wind out of you once again. You quickly grab his still upraised leg and hurl away.

"Impressive," He states but you cut him off by quickly removing your shoe and hurling it at him.

He sidesteps it but that's exactly what you were aiming for. You rush at him from the other side. This slightly catches him off guard and you take advantage of that. You slide and spin, targeting his shins. He anticipates it but was a moment too late as you hit his left shin with enough force to bring him down.

He stumbles but you give him no reprieve and continue your attack by grabbing his legs forcing him to topple over. But he didn't go down easily as you hoped. He reaches down and grabs you by the hair and lifts you with relative ease. You try to pry his hand off but his grip is otherworldly.

A loud ringing is all you can hear and your vision begins to darken. You grit your teeth and claw at his vice-like grip, trying to pry off even a single finger yet it only worsens it. You feel his nails dig in into your scalp and your vision continues to worsen but you refuse to succumb.

"You've shattered my expectations ma'am and for that I commend you," you hear his voice,ce in your mind, "alas this must come to an end." As soon as he finishes darkness consumes you.