78 / 195
17
The alien lunged toward him, but he saw it coming, swiftly weaving
underneath him, and then he landed a blow of his own. Being small has its
advantages. His opponent ferociously swung back around, charged again, this
time striking Will in the head. The blow propelled him to the ground and he
remained down for several seconds. He pushed through the pain, knowing he
only had to outlast 30 more seconds of the assault. Will managed to withstand
the remaining attacks through dodging and weaving, and the bell rang out.
He’d done it, he’d completed the physical assessment. It was only months ago
he was getting beaten to a pulp by his peers, and was failing to complete the
basic preparatory trials. But only because of Lyra’s help he comfortably
cleared the physical assessment
Though he had cleared the physical test, there was still the target shooting
simulation to go. Will recalled that Lyra said that thise simulation would be
like a game she used to play as a kid, Space Invaders he thought it was called.
He entered the dome on the east wing of the space station. The door shot open
and a single word was uttered over the PA system:
“Begin.”
A blue blaster laid in the centre of the glass room. The bright stars shone into
the room serving as a magnificent backdrop. William could just see Earth, a
tiny speck in the distance. It would serve as a reminder of what he was doing
this for, his family. He lifted the blaster, gripping the trigger, ready to begin. A
red alien like figure then flicked across the room but William’s reactions were
too quick, his blue laser stricking it to the ground. He repeated this process
with ease, striking down each and every alien, until only one wave remained,
the finale. A series of red aliens shot toward him in every direction, but Will
shot down each and every one in a flurry of fire. The room descended into
darkness, the bright stars glistening in the black expanse, with the distinct
sound of William’s laser echoing throughout the room. It was clear that his
laser skills were of astronaut worthy status.
After his triumph in the ring and the target simulation room, all that was left
was for William to complete was the theoretical test and the spaceship
simulation to finally graduate as an astronaut. Throughout his preparation for
the series of tests, the theorem component was his strong suit, and he was
confident he would walk out of the examination room one step closer to
becoming an astronaut. A single word echoed out from the PA system:
“Begin.”