Madeline Beaufort and the Moon Thief

This was just like the batting cages her moms used to take Madeline to when she thought she might try out for softball. Only the projectiles would hit harder if she missed the pitch and it was also combined with a gymnastic aspect, moving up the platforms. Still, Madeline was confident in this plan. She ran out towards the first platform, keeping her eye on the turret machine as it tracked her movement. It fired.

Madeline swung hard and made contact. It hurt her hands but it was better than getting knocked down. The projectile deflected and flew high into the air. Foul ball! She joked in her head.

She plotted her trek up the course a few steps in advance, as she approached the next turret. This time she was ready and when another projectile was sent flying her way and she smacked it away.

“Impressive.” Said Thompson “This course is difficult even for trained agents. Still we’re not getting the results we wanted. We’re turning up the difficulty.”

The robotic voice spoke again Maneuverability Exercise: Difficulty 7. The course shifted ever so slightly, raising the platform Madeline was on a few feet along with the others. More turrets were revealed as panels slid into the wall creating more outcroppings. Madeline continued forward.

She made good headway for a bit continuing to return the projectiles where she could, and dodge others when she had to. Ultimately it began to prove too much for her as she reached the next platform a projectile barely caught her leg, causing Madeline a slight limp. About 20 feet off the floor and in pain, the pressure was on.

Madeline moved to a more calculated tactic, moving forward at a slower pace to deflect each individual projectile. This stratagem seemed to work expertly, especially if she timed the jumps to the next platform between rounds. Platform after platform was cleared as she made her way to the top. About to succeed, Madeline glanced up at Rex and the others to see what they thought of her performance.

A projectile hit her straight in the gut knocking her to the edge of the platform. Another round hit her back and she slid off the side. Madeline grabbed the lip of the platform and hung on, hoping that the exercise might halt now. She hurt all over, knowing that she would likely get quite a few bruises from the previous events and her body was almost completely exhausted.

“Madeline.” said Rex over the speaker “Don’t give up now. Will yourself victorious.”

He put special emphasis on the word will, and she couldn’t place why. She had plenty of coaches over the years of her parents forcing Madeline into social activities, and something was off about Rex’s verbal push. That didn’t seem like words of encouragement, thought Madeline. It seemed more like a hint. But Madeline couldn’t figure out what he could possibly be hinting at.

She heard the firing of a projectile from behind her, a sharp pain in her back, and then suddenly she was falling.