*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*
Bundled up in her sheets, a young woman groans as she pokes her arm out and reaches over to her nightstand.
*BEEP* *BEEP* *SLAM*
She smacks her phone screen as she slowly peeks her head out from the covers, revealing a beautiful young woman with a short, dark black bob cut. She gazes out of the window next to her bed and sees the faint glow of the sunrise creeping over the desert mountains. As she admires the sunrise through her window, she is interrupted by a large, grotesque creature that smashes into her window. The girl jolts back as the creature slams its long, sharp claws against the glass. The creature continues to bang on the glass for a moment before being distracted by a loud siren in the distance. It looks around for the source of the noise as it lets go of the window and runs toward the siren.
The girl takes a moment to collect herself and watches the creature scramble away. Once the creature is out of view, she sinks back into her bed before glancing at a digital clock on the wall above her door.
"Oh fuck..." she mutters to herself as she reads "7:03 AM".
Realizing she forgot to change her alarm, she jumps out of bed and throws on the first clothes she can find before rushing out of her room. She only makes it halfway through the door before doubling back to grab her phone from the charger and dashing back into the hallway. She attempts to unlock her phone with Face ID as she sprints down a long white hallway with countless other doors.
"4 Messages from Jasper," she reads on her phone as she struggles to unlock it. After a few failed attempts at scanning her face, she groans and types her passcode in manually before opening the messages from Jasper.
"hey just woke up gonna meet the others for breakfast, see u there?" Sent 6:05 am
"hey we are about to finish breakfast, u comin?" Sent 6:28 am
"we just got to the workshop, gearing up now, HURRY UP!" Sent 6:36 am
"we are all ready to go and briefing starts in 5 min... where u at Delaney we need u", Sent 6:45 am
Delaney finishes reading the messages as she reaches a large, intricate door that scans her from head to toe before sliding open. She walks through the door and enters a massive warehouse full of various strange-looking tools and machines. Once inside the warehouse, she makes her way into a locker room where she quickly strips down before squeezing into a shimmering, white iridescent bodysuit. She puts on a pair of similarly colored boots and grabs a high-tech collar-like object from her locker before running back into the warehouse. Delaney makes her way over to a rack full of unique weapons. She takes a moment to rummage through the various weapons before pulling out two high-tech pistols with long blades attached to the bottoms that run along her forearms. As she prepares the pistols, the siren from before rings out again, only this time it is much louder as it floods into the warehouse from a large open gate that leads outside. After equipping all of her gear, she runs over to a large crowd of people standing within the open gateway leading outside. She tries her best to quietly blend in with the crowd as everyone focuses on a large, bald man yelling in the center.
As Delaney works her way into the crowd, a nasally voice interrupts the man in the center, "Well well well, who would of guessed that little Ms. Perfect would show up late for the final exam of all things?"
"Oh Fuck off." Delaney replies before the man in the center yells, "Both of you shut up and listen!"
He takes a moment to ensure everyone is listening before continuing with his explanation, "Now, as I was saying. While this is technically your final exam, it is not something that you will be graded on. Instead, think of this as a sort of audition. Waypoint Chiefs from around the continent have been given your portfolios, and they'll be watching your performance today. After the exam, the Chiefs will decide which of you they wish to recruit. Those who get recruited will graduate from the academy and begin service at the waypoint they have been recruited to. Those who don't make the cut will have to try again next year. Now, without wasting any more time, get your asses out there so we can begin the test," the stern voice finishes talking as the crowd disperses outside.
A hand grabs Delaney by the shoulder as a voice behind her asks, "Where the hell were you?!"
Delaney turns around to see Jasper, a handsome young man with slicked-back dark brown hair, visibly concerned and slightly annoyed. With a half smile, she replies, "I forgot to change my alarm, sorry."
Jasper sighs, "Again?" he asks as he slings a strange-looking rifle over his shoulder and turns around to walk outside.
Delaney rolls her eyes and flips him off behind his back before jogging to catch up with him. "Can you just fill me in, please?" she asks as she walks beside him.
The two walk out into a massive arena full of various unique structures and terrains as the massive metal gates leading into the warehouse begin closing behind them, and Jasper says, "Well, you heard the sergeant, seems like we just got to put on a show for the Chiefs, stand out, give them a reason to recruit us."
"Yea, I got that, but how are we supposed to do that exactly? There isn't anything out here." Delaney questions as the gates finish closing behind them and the siren blares again. As the siren sounds, another massive gate on the opposite side of the arena slowly begins opening.
The two of them watch the top of the gate open as people around the arena begin to scream and mutter to themselves, "What the hell!", "No way...", "This can't be safe, right?".
Speakers overhead crackle as a voice says, "The 2095 Final Agent Exam starts... Now!". The speakers cut out as an array of horrific noises erupts from the opening gate.
"I get it now..." Delaney says as she puts on the collar from before. She taps a button on the side of the collar, causing it to expand and transform into a helmet around her head. She double-checks her pistols and powers up her boots as they begin to quietly hum before slowly lifting her into the air.
"Come on Jasper, you don't want to be stuck here another year, do you?" Delaney yells as she leans forward and flies off toward the noise.
"Ugh, whatever", Jasper sighs as he reluctantly puts his helmet on and flies after Delaney.
As the two get closer to the gate, the sources of noise slowly come into view. Delaney and Jasper take a second to take in their surroundings as dozens of horrific and unique-looking creatures flood into the arena, attacking everything in their path. As Delaney and Jasper hover and observe the situation, two more individuals, a woman with long dark red hair tied into a bun holding a long staff, and a large, burly man with a blonde buzz cut with two large diamond-shaped gauntlets, fly up and join them.
"Holy shit, they really opened the gate," the woman says with a shaky voice, still in a state of disbelief.
"Yeah, guess they want to see how we perform in a real scenario, not just some organized exercise," Jasper explains as more and more creatures flood into the arena.
"We don't have time to chat guys, the test already started!" Delaney yells as she dives toward the swarm of horrors below.
"She's right, we gotta remember who's watching," the large man states before diving after Delaney.
Jasper looks over to a large glass window positioned high above the closed warehouse doors.
"Well, um, I'm no good in a fight, so I'm gonna look for wounded and try to help, you should give Brick and Laney some backup," the woman says as she dives toward the center of the arena.
Jasper looks away from the window as he hovers in place and begins adjusting his rifle. After a few moments, he aims down the scope and sees Delaney and Brick fighting below. He watches as the two fight in tandem, effortlessly dispatching any creatures that come their way. After a few moments, Jasper snaps his sights onto a creature in Delaney's blind spot and fires his rifle, obliterating the threat before it reaches her.
"Thanks!" Delaney yells over the radio as she continues fighting, fluidly transitioning between mid and close range, spinning around with a precise barrage of bullets and slashes.
Brick stands his ground and creates space for Delaney, using his large diamond-shaped gauntlets with superheated edges as shields. While Jasper provides support from above, picking off anything that manages to get past Brick and Delaney.
Various other groups scattered around the arena work together to fend off the horde while simultaneously tending to the injured.
"Very Nice", "They have potential", "Eh, I've seen better", a room of people mutter amongst themselves as they sit and watch an array of holographic displays showcasing different angles of the arena. One man stares intently at the screen showcasing Delaney and her group. He watches the group fight for a while before a slight grin appears on his face, and he stands to leave the room while the rest of the people continue watching the exam.