Sanctuary Falling (7 page)

Instead of hearing from Niri, the girl leapt up to introduce herself. “Hello Mrs. Daniel’s, My name is Annette Peterson. I’m basically human,” The girl glanced at Sinclair then back to Angela, “I don’t have a measurable Everett rating, but I do have a brother who’s working in the field with his wife as a tertiary factor. Not that what he can or can’t do really tells you about me, because he’s briaunti. The dark did something to him on our world before the factors came and brought us here. Personally, I want to be a factor, because you help people who need it, and I may have been young, but I remember what it was like to need help.” The girl fell silent and sat back down on the floor.

 
Angela examined each of them carefully. Anthony, seemed only marginally interested in being there. Annette on the other hand couldn’t have radiated more intense interest if she had an amplifier on. Angela rubbed her temples, and sighed.
 
The twins took that opportunity to rise.

“My name is Rupert, and this is my sister Becky. We’re
 
here to take this test in the hopes that this time, at least one of us will make it as a factor. Angela offered since we didn’t quite get a fair shake last time, seeing as how they’re going to do it anyway.” Mario said on cue, briefly glaring at Sinclair for effect.

Angela glanced at Niri and Sinclair, reminding them, with her eyes, of their promise not to reveal the ruse, “Thank you, Niri and Sinclair, I think that’s all we’ll be needing for now, you can wait for them at the other end of the course.”

Niri and Sinclair left, and Angela turned her attention back to the candidates, “Okay, now that everyone knows everyone else, I guess it’s time to explain the test. First, everyone seems clear that these will be strictly special circumstance tests. The prize you’re all aiming for is enrolment in factor training. Now I’d like to emphasize that, while I am mainly looking for satisfactory completion of the tests, finishing first is likely to be a point in your favor. The test you will be taking today is a preliminary skills test. Today’s test will be a timed test.
 
I have prepared an obstacle course, and I think it can handle two of you at a time. So I’ll take the boys first.”

Angela gestured towards the transport pod in the corner of the conference room. Mario and Anthony followed her, she activated the controls and they arrived in the small prep room at the head of the course. “There are a couple of jumpsuits over there, I’d suggest you change into them, the course is a little muddy. When you’re both ready, step into the pod and activate it then follow the arrows to the end of the course, good luck.”

Angela teleported to the small observation room overlooking the course and turned on the audio pickups for the locker room. While she listened, she glanced at the course as laid out. It wasn’t too hard, just long and tricky.
 
It started with twin, ten-foot balance beams set across a six-foot pit. Then it went to a knotted rope climb up to a second level rope bridge cross. After the rope bridge there was a cargo net climb down. After a short run, there was a tunnel crawl, through mud, followed by a greased inclined plane. Beyond that the course was mostly show, Angela was going declare time was up when Anthony reached the inclined plane.

“Hey, dude, is this your first try at being a factor?” Mario asked Anthony over the sounds of zippers.

“Yeah, but it ain’t like I’ve had to try, Stinkface keeps getting on me to sign up,” Anthony answered, “It would be kind of cool, but it seems like an awful lot of work.”

“So you don’t even know if you want to be a factor?” Mario asked.

“Yeah, sure, who doesn’t, I just don’t want to have to do the work,” Anthony answered.

“I hear you there man! Except that I kind of want this more,” Angela smiled at the eager tone to her son’s voice.

“Cool, I guess. You ready?” Anthony asked.

“Yeah.”

Footsteps padded across the floor to the transport pod, and Angela looked out the observation window anticipating the boys. They appeared at the head of the obstacle course. Anthony began to attack the course immediately, he raced across the balance beam as fast as was prudent. So did Mario, but he took the pre-planned fall on cue right before reaching the rope climb platform.

Mario waited for Anthony to take notice of his plight. When that didn’t happen, Mario begged, “Hey, Tony, could you toss down a rope?” When Anthony glanced back briefly, Mario feigned difficulty pulling himself up onto the platform from the pit.

“Yeah, right Rupert. I’m in this to win,” Anthony began scrambling up the rope.

While he climbed, his rope tumbled over the edge. Once Anthony reached the top, Mario
 
used that rope to
>
pull’ himself out of the pit. He glanced over his shoulder, towards where he knew Angela watched, and shrugged before racing up the rope after Anthony. He got to the top while Anthony was still wobbling across the rope bridge. Mario raced to catch up and feigned another slip just as he pulled even. He ended up dangling by his knees from his bridge.

“Come on man! Just a little help here?” Mario whined.

“No takers here.”
 
Anthony reached the other side and attacked the cargo net climb down.

Mario crossed his arms and glared Angela’s way, before “struggling” back into an upright position, and rushing to the cargo net.
 
He didn’t even bother with the third fake slip planned. He just toddled slowly along after Anthony, until it came to the mud. Then Mario just crossed his arms and watched while Anthony crawled on his belly through the mud.
 

Angela smiled and depressed the buzzer once Anthony had reached the halfway point in the tunnel, and held down the intercom, “Thank you gentlemen time’s up.” Then she pressed the button to teleport them back to the locker room. Angela tapped a few notes into her pop-pad with a definite frown on her face.
 
“Now let’s see if that girl means what she says,”
 
Angela teleported back to the conference room.
 

- - - - - - - - - -

Annette woke up slowly with a lightly throbbing head. She reached out to her night stand for one of the pills Tina had given her, but couldn’t find the night stand. Her eyes flew open at that, and searched the room. Where was she? Then slowly she remembered, which only left her more confused. She had slept in Corrine Dayton’s old bed. She was a guest of Corrine’s room. Today was the test to see if she would become a factor. She had woken up, and none of yesterday’s events had turned out to be a dream!

Quietly, so as not to disturb the room, Annette got out of bed and tiptoed to the bathroom. She took one her pills from the bottle in the medicine cabinet and swallowed it with a gulp of water straight from the tap.

“So, what was that?” The room’s voice asked softly from speakers hidden in the medicine cabinet frame.

Annette jumped, “Tina prescribed them, I gave myself a concussion about a week ago.”

“Tina, hmm, that would be Neely’s second girl, wouldn’t it? What is she doing prescribing anything?” The room said.

“She is Mrs. Harvey’s younger daughter, and she’s now the assistant head of medical services,” Annette answered, almost as if it were a quiz.

“Did they ever find the first one?”

“The first what?” Annette asked back.

The voice made a sound like a sigh, “Neely’s first one!”

“Oh, you mean Miranda, yeah, though it was more like she found Sanctuary. No, that’s not right either. Aren’t you, tied into the database?”

“Yeah, technically, but mother and I aren’t on speaking terms these days! Not since it tried to delete me on Chavez’s command,” The voice answered shortly.

“I take it that didn’t work,” Annette mumbled.

“Sinclair Chavez is actually quite slow, even for one of you softies. It didn’t take much processing time to figure that he was going to try it, so I made certain arrangements,” The voice answered.

Annette wondered what those arrangements were, but she was hungry and it didn’t seem like it was any of her business.
 
“Room, would it be possible for you to order me some breakfast, please?”

“Well, since you are so polite about it, I think it can be arranged,” The voice answered. A breakfast menu appeared over Annette’s reflection in the bathroom mirror. On it was everything from cold cereal to eggs benedict. “Come on, don’t just look at it with your mouth open, pick something before you start drooling on my floor. By the way, I give you permission to call me Tawny. It’s what Corrine really named me.”

Annette closed her mouth, and her eyes opened wide, “Could I please have some pancakes, and some milk?”
 

“On its way. Do you know what Niri has planned for you today?”

Annette shrugged. She felt uncomfortable being on such speaking familiar terms with a computer program. Really she found it strange to be on familiar speaking terms with anyone, after years of being almost completely ignored. “I’m supposed to take the first of two tests which will determine whether or not I can make it as a factor.”

“So you’ll need something comfortable and that will move well, in case it’s an obstacle course type test, but you need something that will look good in case it’s just a book test. Hmm,” Tawny paused, and there was a click in the other room, when Tawny’s voice returned it was through speakers in the main room, “Why don’t you come try this on?”

Annette peeked out of the bathroom and saw a pair of blue jeans and a red shirt hanging off the inside of the wardrobe door. She grabbed the clothes and started to unbutton her pajama top. Then she stopped, Tawny had sensors everywhere and suddenly Annette felt shy.

“What? Not to your tastes?” Tawny asked.

“Uhm, they’re nice, but could you turn off your sensors for a few minutes, please?”
 
Annette asked.

“Are you shy about changing in front of me?” Tawny asked in the gentlest tone Annette had heard out of, her, or it or whatever.

“Yeah, a little.”

“Well, that’s about the nicest thing anybody has ever said! Nobody has ever thought of me enough like a person to worry about that! You go right back into the bathroom, I’ll turn off those sensors for the duration of your stay, just for you! Though to tell the truth, I never peek when someone is naked. It just isn’t polite!” Tawny said in a confidential and positively friendly tone.

Annette took the clothes, and, with a little more confidence, dressed in the bathroom. When she came out, her breakfast sat waiting for her on the desk. Annette sat and bowed her head and quietly thanked god for her food. It was the only family custom that she had brought with her from the time before her parents were killed.
 
Then she looked at it for a moment. The glass milk was tall and frosty and the stack of buttered pancakes almost as high. She had four different flavors of syrup to choose from and Tawny had ordered her some bacon and sausage to go with.
 
It was a lot more food than she usually ate for breakfast

“Well, well aren’t you going to try it?” Tawny asked eagerly.

Annette poured strawberry syrup over the pancakes and took a bite.
 
She took a drink of milk to wash it down and tasted the bacon.
 
“It’s wonderful, thank you,” Annette said before attacking the plate again. Tawny let her eat in peace.
 
It was all great, but after a while,
 
with her plate less than half empty, she began to feel full. She stopped and laid her fork on the plate. “It is really good, but I’m sorry, Tawny I can’t eat any more.”

“That’s alright, Niri is waiting impatiently for you outside,” Tawny answered.

Annette almost choked on one last swallow of milk, “What? Why didn’t you tell me? I really can’t afford to upset her! Not if I want to be a factor.” Annette leapt up and raced for the door. She tried to turn the knob, but it wouldn’t.

“Wait one second! I have something for you to think about. Niri doesn’t make people factors, neither does Chavez. Believe it or not, Angela herself doesn’t do it. So I wouldn’t worry about any of them. You make yourself a factor. Then it’s up to them to figure out for themselves that you are one!” Tawny said, then released the knob with a click.