Chapter 3

Mr.Burkis was examining the documents and the gun on a heavily lit table. His face was very serious and at last he began to laugh.
“Good job rookie. I’m surprised you got out without getting caught.”, he laughed. Ellis looked away nervously and he tilted his head.
“You didn’t get caught, right?”, he asked with a serious tone in his voice. Ellis shook her head slowly as she was prepared for a scolding.
“Who caught you?”, he asked. Ellis couldn’t respond and clenched her fist.
“Who caught you, Ellis?”, he repeated. Ellis swallowed hard and looked up, bracing herself for the worst.
“Ms.Kolton. She caught me in a rope trap. For some reason though, she handed me the items and let me go. She’s really nice and I even met two new friends.”, Ellis replied with a few cracks in her voice. Mr.Burkis suddenly clenched his fist really tight and gritted his teeth.
“Whatever you do, try your best to avoid her. For your sake, please.”, he said in a hush tone. Ellis nodded and saluted.
“Yes sir! So, are you mad at me sir?", Ellis asked quietly. Mr.Burkis shook his head.
"No. It was your first mission. I know you tried your best to not get caught so, there's nothing you can do about it.", he said with a sigh. He then patted Ellis' head gently.
"Come on. I'd like you to meet some people.", he said to break the silence. Ellis perked up and followed Mr.Burkis as he began walking.
The two arrive to a group of twelve students who look to be about the same grade as Ellis. She tilts her head and turns to her teacher.
"These are the Freshmen Unit. They just started. Go on...say hi.", he explained with a smile. Ellis stepped forward shyly and smiled.
"Nice to meet you guys. I'm Ellis Noosen!", she said as she held out her hand. The group of students glared at her as she stood in the same position for a few moments. She began to get nervous and her hand slowly went down.
"Oh come on guys. Be nice to her.", Mr.Burkis sighed. The group shrugged and one boy stood up.
"If she can hit a bull’s-eye on the target, then we can accept her." , one boy said with a serious tone. Ellis jumped a bit and gulped hard as Mr.Burkis handed her the gun. She closed her eyes and turned away as she began to shiver in fear.
“Oh and by the way, you only have three tries so, make them count.”, the boy added with a slight chuckle. Ellis’ hands were shaking as she held the pistol. The target paper flew down and Ellis tried to control her shaking body.
“Ready…set….GO!”
At that moment, Ellis stood still. She couldn’t even bare to pull the trigger, even if she had her protective gear on. She inhaled a few times as her eyes were closed. She kept saying it was alright in her mind. She opened her eyes and fired the 3 shots. She pant in fear and looks up to see how she did. The freshmen unit looked at the paper and only sighed.
“You didn’t get a bulls-eye, Ellis. Good luck next time!”, the boy said with a sound of sarcasm in his voice. Ellis gritted her teeth and clenched her fist, knowing that she won’t be accepted in the freshmen unit. She then punched a wall to let out all of her frustration. Ellis took her hand away and looked at the blood on her knuckles.
“Ellis! What’s wrong with you?!”, Mr.Burkis exclaimed. One boy from the freshmen unit sighed. He walked over to Ellis and looked at her with a glare.
“Are you that upset that you won’t join us?”, he asked. Ellis finally had enough and punched the boy in the face with her bloody knuckles. He fell back a few steps as a smirk emerged on his face.
“Fine. See if I care! If I had the chance to kill you, I would!”, he screamed. Ellis walked out of the room while murmuring under her breath. Mr.Burkis walked after her out of the room. He saw her slumped down in the hallway.
“You okay, kiddo?” , he asked. Ellis shook her head. Mr.Burkis sat down next to her and rubbed her back.
“It’s alright rookie. You looked like you were going to throw up or something back there.”, he said, laughing a little. Ellis buried her head within her knees.
“I’m….scared of guns Sir.”, she said as her nails dug deep into her arms. Mr.Burkis sighed and got up. He took Ellis’ hand and pulled her up.

“Go back in there and try again! One thing we never do here is quit!”, he shouted. Ellis looked at Mr.Burkis and gave him a smile.
“Yes..sir!”, she replied back as she saluted him. Mr.Burkis laughed and gave her a hand gesture to go in. Ellis walked back inside and headed over to the boy.
“What’s your name?”
“The name’s Luran. And yours?”
“Ellis.”
“Are you going to try my challenge again, Ellis?”, Luran asked. She nodded and got the gun from Mr.Burkis. The target paper flew down and Mr.Burkis gave the signal for Ellis to shoot. At the signal, Ellis took a deep breath and shot 3 rounds in the center, aiming for the bulls-eye. Mr.Burkis examined the paper for a few minutes. He then looked up with a smile.
“She got a bulls-eye out of the three shots!”, he exclaimed. The group ran over to Ellis with such excitement. Ellis let out a sigh of relief and walked over to Luran.
“Sorry about punching you earlier.”
“Sorry about what I said earlier.”, he said as he looked back. He then balled up his fist and put it out in front of Ellis. She then understood what he was trying to do and she bumped fists with him. A person in a wheelchair rolled over to Ellis. She backed up a few steps, shocked that a small girl in the wheelchair. The girl held out her hand with a slight smile.
“It’s nice to meet you Ellis. I’m Jolesce.”, she said with a serious tone. Elis gave her a cheerful smile and shook her hand.
“Hi Jolesce! I’m Ellis!”, she said with a cheerful tone. Everyone then smiled and laughed. Mr.Burkis walked over to Ellis and handed her the gun she used.
“Here. It’s a reward for your hard work. Get used to it and I’m sure you’ll grow to love it.”, he said as he handed her the M1911 she used. Ellis took it with a smile and put it in her bag.
It was the end of the day and Ellis was getting her bag together. She put her jacket on and she was ready to go home.
“See ya tomorrow Mr.Burkis.” , she said as she walked out of the room. A few minutes later, she was out of the building and suddenly she heard a loud explosion. She ran around the back to see where it came from and she saw smoke coming from the IT department. She ran over to the massive hole in the wall of her department. There she saw Ms.Kolton and Mr.Burkis. He was bloody and beaten badly. Ms.Kolton had him by the collar and was ready to punch him again.
“Stop! Don’t hurt him!”, Ellis screamed as she ran over to Mr.Burkis. Ms.Kolton gave her a refreshing smile and walked over to Ellis.
“Ellis! It’s very nice to see you again. How are you?”, she asked as she hugged her. Ellis was struck with fear that she couldn’t move at all. She felt a strong sense of evil behind Ms.Kolton’s nice words.
“What…did you do to Mr.Burkis?”, she asked as she began to shiver in fear. Ms.Kolton pulled back from the hug with an evil smile on her face.
“I’m just paying my old friend a visit, Ellis. Nothing more nothing less.”, she replied. Ellis pulled out her gun from her bag and stepped back from Ms.Kolton. Ms.Kolton began to chuckle as she walked over to Ellis.
“Were you really going to shoot me, you foolish girl?”, she whispered. She then kicked Ellis’ gun out of her hand and took a handful of her hair. She pulled back on it hard with such power.
“Remeber this: I am stronger than you. Don’t forget that I can kill you if I wanted. Don't dare you interfere with any of my plans or I will kill you, you worthless IT mutt!”, she whispered. Ms.Kolton then kicked Ellis in her gut, making her pass out next to Mr.Burkis as it began to rain.
"Am I...a worthless..mutt of..IT?"

End