The Ranch Story Institution, Chapter 1: now available Options

[Rebecca]

{Chapter 1: The Test}

I was faced with two problems. The first, it was really, really dark, and the only way I could see is if I dared to open my eyes to the blinding light shining down right in my eyes. Second, my background was being checked, by a moustachioed man in a taco suit with tights to match.
“Your personal history doesn't indicate anything about playing Harvest Moon at all. Who did you say suggested you to come here?” he asked, with his eyes and his moustache staring me down.
“She said that her codename was Twilight Wanderer, and that she goes, more often, as Twi.”
The walking taco pulled out a large file, flipping to a page that was blank. He donned a pair of red glasses, and said, “What is the Code of Knowing for Twilight Wanderer?” He gave me the “annoyed librarian” look, where you tilt your head down and glare above the glasses.
“Gimme a break, gimme a break, break me a piece of that Kit Kat bar.”
“So, you do know her code. But, before you can get accepted, you must first pass The Test. Before you take it, though, do you have any unnatural abilities that normal humans wouldn't have?” I could swear that this is the strangest question I've ever been asked, possibly because I was being asked by a moustachioed taco.
“Um... I do have this one weird ability, where I can move my fingers and hands to make the sounds of musical instruments playing, without the instruments being there.” As soon as I had said, “weird ability,” the taco man took a metal circle out of a drawer, and slapped it on my wrist. It shrunk to fit snugly around my arm.
“That bracelet will nullify your power. Even though it will be of no use, rules are rules. Wait here while I go get Professor Saffy.” He left the room, and I heard a click, confirming that he locked the door from the outside. I passed the time by whistling. Moments later, the door opened, and I was greeted by a man in a wheelchair, wearing a wolf costume with a crown.
“Sorry about the wheelchair, if it's a bother. I broke my foot the other day. I am Professor Saffy. The person who I assume never told you his name was Oscar. H thinks that his moustache makes it obvious who he is, even to non-members.” Professor Saffy calmly wheeled over to the desk and picked up my file, and opened it to the page he wanted on the first try. “Your history says that you took Tae Kwon Do for a number of years, but have been out of practice for a while. How good do you think your fighting skills would be, currently?”
“I'd say that they'd be decent. Not quite as sharp as they used to be, but still enough to get me out of harm's way in a pinch.”
“You don't say?” Suddenly, Professor Saffy vanished. He didn't even fade out or teleport, like in the movies. He was just gone. As soon as I realized that, the floor beneath my chair fell open, and I fell into an arena of some sort.
“You say you retained enough skill to get out of harm's way?” I turned and saw Professor Saffy, staring down at me from an observation platform. “If you can last one minute on this field, I'll let you in. If not, I'll either have to erase your memory, or bury what remains of you after The Test.” He said all of that with a straight face.
That minute felt like my entire life. There were blades swinging, bullets flying, and pit traps with spikes coming out of nowhere. I was diving, dodging, and frankly to say, fearing for my life. When there were ten seconds left on the clock, a huge axe with a wooden handle just flew out of nowhere, and I caught it, by the handle, thankfully and destroyed everything that flew at me.
A deafening loud timer buzzed, and I dropped the axe, because at that moment, my muscles remembered how heavy that axe was. I had enough strength in my legs to walk up the stairs to the observation deck with my arms hanging like limp noodles.
“Congratulations,” Professor Saffy said, “Welcome to the Ranch Story Institution. What will your codename be?”
“I'm too tired to come up with a clever name with a deep meaning. Just call me Rebecca.”
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