Okay, I am still working on my catch up and this is the prompt that should have gone out for Friday. After this I will post the upcoming prompts for this week and get to work on Monday’s. So if you are writing along and not already ahead of me, set those timers and let’s see what we come up with. Otherwise feel free to read along and compare to what your brain gave you when you first saw the prompt.
Catch up post from Friday, August 5th: It is time for you to move to the next level.
“It is time for you to move to the next level,” the voice was mechanical and insistent. Sweat dripped down her face and her muscles were beginning to feel the strain. She fought the urge to flip off the camera embedded in the wall knowing it would do no good. The technicians who monitored the feed would pay no attentions. It was the computer that set the parameters. It had decided that she was ready for the next level so she would be sent to the next level.
She took a deep breath, trying to slow her heart rate back down to normal. She used her shirt tail to wipe the sweat from her face.
“It is time for you to move to the next level,” the computerized voice reminded her. Even though it was exactly the same voice as before, the message fixed, Alice was certain that the computer sounded annoyed with her for not moving faster.
“Yeah, yeah,” she said. “I’m moving.”
The computer took her comment for ascent and the door leading to the next level blinked green and then slid open. The platform on which she was standing began to retract and she had no option but to continue forward. She took the few steps needed to enter the door and felt more than heard it swish shut behind her. She heard it click and knew it would be locked. She would only be allowed out if she passed this level or if she failed. Either way, she would not be let out until she at least tried something.
She felt movement to her left and ducked automatically. The padded post that would have knocked into her sailed over head harmlessly. Remembering the last sequence, she rolled forward out of the way as she heard rumbling beneath her feet. A spike jutted out of the floor where she had been standing seconds earlier. If it caught her, she would have spent weeks in the infirmary recovering.
Alice pushed all of her fears aside and concentrated only on getting through this level with a minimum of damage. She had no illusions about passing it. It took her several weeks of repetitive training to pass the last level. Her goal here was to keep the damage to a minimum while memorizing the obstacles so that the next time she was called in and ordered to run the gauntlet she would have a better shot at making it further. The further she made it with each attempt, the fewer times she would be sent into the program.
‘But there is always another program after,’ she thought.
The thought was not helpful so she let it go. She watched the sequence of moving obstacles in front of her, trying to time them. When she thought she had the sequence down she moved forward. She passed them, but was almost taken out by an unexpected trap door. She dodged, barely in time and leaned too close to a spinning blade. She felt it tear her shirt sleeve and graze her arm but ignored the stinging pain as she pushed forward.
She lost track of time as she tried to concentrate on memorizing the pitfalls while keeping the damage done. She reached a platform and looked for the next obstacle. She saw none.
“Congratulations, you have passed the final level.”
Ten til Midnight 