Alien Romance: Fall for a Cyborg (Sci-Fi Futuristic Alien Abduction Fantasy Space Warrior Romance) (Science Fiction Mystery Paranormal Urban Short Stories) Read Free

number every minute. But in the end, she gave a fairly good fight, garnering 11 points as opposed to 12 demerits.
    “That was amazing!” Lyca had shouted encouragingly once the lights in the dome had gone back.
    Many of Carrie’s classmates seemed impressed. But then their instructor, the famous space fighting champion, actually launched into a litany of all the wrong things she’d done. Not once did he cite anything positive, which made Carrie’s blood boil. Instead, he had ended the short lecture by saying, “This should serve as a lesson to all of you. Just because you did well in your other classes doesn’t mean you can excel in an actual space battle, much less perform well. There will be a lot of times when you’ll encounter unexpected enemies, pick up unfamiliar weapons, and need to improvise as you go along. Hence, the bottom line is— practice, practice, practice. You can never be too confident.”
    Carrie opened her mouth to defend herself, but her mind had gone blank, overpowered by the fury yearning to burst out. Hot tears threatened to fall down her cheeks as the humiliation settled. But she held them back and stood her ground even after he dismissed the class. He even had the nerve to pat her on the shoulder and say, “Better luck next time, Cox.”
    “Aaaahhh!” Carrie screamed, throwing her book across the room as the memory incited her anger again. She stood up, changed into her navy blue sweats and rubber shoes, and then headed to the gym.

CHAPTER 4
     
    After warming up and lifting some weights, Carrie went over to one corner of the colossal gym where a series of metal rings in decreasing sizes from right to left were hanging from a high ceiling. The ceiling was perpendicular to a tall, plain wall with rubber covering.
    Carrie put on a pair of the springing shoes available along with the padded clothing necessary for the exercise. The special shoes were utilized to help the wearer run faster and jump higher. The material on the soles enabled the wearer actually to climb up the vertical rubber wall and try to leap high toward the metal rings while facing the ceiling and moving parallel to it. The challenge was to move swiftly through the rings and reach the smallest one at the end before touching the opposite wall and dropping back to the ground. In the past, Carrie had always been able to reach just the second ring.
    She untied her ponytail, shook her black hair loose and then pulled up all the strands together into a tight bun. She put on a modern see-through helmet then crouched low to gather some momentum before springing forward toward the rubber wall. “I can do this,” she whispered to herself in full concentration and with intense determination.
    In a flash, she was off to the wall, her legs moving swiftly and gracefully. As soon as she reached the top of the wall, she bent her knees quickly to speed up her horizontal jump and allow her to zoom past the metal rings with her arms folded like an ‘X’ across her chest. She felt herself slowing down after the third ring so she shifted her arms forward and pushed against the ceiling to bring herself downward. As she did, her horizontal position changed into a standing position and she efficiently landed on her two feet on the ground.
    Somebody clapped, the sound echoing around the room. The gym was often quite empty on Saturday nights so she was surprised to find that someone had actually even taken the time to watch her.
    When Carrie turned around, she found herself face-to-face with none other than the person she despised the most at that time. He stood a few feet away with an arrogant expression.
    “That was…” the gorgeous legendary space fighter seemed to be groping for words. Then in a haughty tone, he finished, “… quite acceptable for someone who claims she’s a top student here.”
    Carrie’s eyes narrowed, despite the remark that was obviously the closest to a compliment she’d ever received from him. “I did not