The sky was ashen, the wind icy and murderous, thunder clapped overhead drowning the sound of all else. Raindrops felt like needles penetrating through your skin; sharp and prickly. The colors of dusk were replaced by the somber tones of the thunderstorm. Melancholy loomed over the city, incessant and horrendous, yet Sabrina smiled, rather largely for when someone is being pelted with buckets of rain.

The long awaited letter had arrived, it was neither from a lover nor from her familybut surely was venerated. Sabrina sprinted towards her house, one hand gripping the lapels of her trench coat, the other holding the priceless letter with ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ written boldly over it. Hopping and dancing every once in a while, the ambitious woman reached home. She couldn’t wait to tear open the letter that contained all her dreams, aspirations and desires, all in a mere few words.

Sabrina wasn’t a customarily twenty year old. She never cared about the clothes she wore, the brands she owned or the way she was perceived.Though she did care about being the college valedictorian, throwing the strongest punches, perfecting her double-roundhouse kick and knowing how to work every single piece of ammunition with each hand. All of the diligence for piercing the bull’s-eye of only one target-‘Rubrum Sanctus’.  An elite spy organization built from the ground by women and women alone. Sabrina wanted to be the organization’s ‘Regina’ one day, the highest authority of the institution.

Ripping the envelope and hurriedly opening the letter, Sabrina’s body filled with triumph and delectation. She had been accepted into the agency! The sessions were to commence two days later, not in the familiar streets of New York City but in the sandy ones of Giza.

Always keen on travelling and exploring the wonder which is this world, Sabrina felt no remorse on leaving America. It would be her first time visiting Africa, so Sabrina was blue-eyed and bushy tailed throughout the journey.

“Finally! I am outside of NYC again. That place does get dull after a while.” remarked Sabrina, to no one in particular.

She had set foot on Egypt after a long flight. As per the letter, she was to come to sphinx at 11pm wearing a red blazer and black lipstick. Checking her watch, she picked up her pace, only half an hour was left and she didn’t want to be found as unpunctual on her first day.

The gravity of the affair had not struck Sabrina until she arrived at the celebrated monument which was completely desolated.

“HELLOOOO, IS ANYBODY HERE?” she interrogated, drawing out her dagger when she suddenly heard movement from behind the Sphinx.

Following the noise, she found a block a bricks and stones moving towards the left, almost as if opening a door.

“Enter inside, Miss Garcia” instructed a robotic voice.

Doing as told, Sabrina went inside the statue. Amazed to find a lavish glassy interior with red and black accents, Sabrina wondered what the institute would look like.

“Please stand on the red dot and look straight” said the same voice, when Sabrina reached the end of the corridor.

After a full body and retina scan, the computerized voice spoke again, “Miss Garcia, if you choose to step inside the hallways of ‘Rubrum Sanctus’ you will no longer have any identity or relations with the outside world. Do you accept the terms and conditions?”

Sabrina never had any profound connections with anybody, not even her family. It had always been herself, from the start to the end, she was enough.

“Yes I do”

“Miss Garcia, you will be now only known as Red Crambell, inside and outside the institution, unless sanctioned for a mission. Do you understand?”

“Yes I do” responded Sabrina, entering through the metallic doors into an abyss of unknown.

“Come with me” ordered an ‘I-only-talk-business’ looking Mexican woman.

Knowing better than to argue or question, Sabrina followed quietly, analyzing the state of the art technologically sophisticated hall, buzzing with females adorning red blazers, who she was sure were highly trained with combat and analytical skills.

The woman took her to what the new spy guessed was her room. Her room followed the same theme as the rest of the establishment-red and black. It had everything one needed to live exuberantly but the best part Sabrina thought was the well-maintained book shelf, that had every single case file including some as old as the medieval times.

Feeling exhausted she went to bed, promising to read the case file that lay on her glass study table the very next morning.

Sabrina always had an inclination towards solving mysteries, specifically those which were eerie and uncanny. So when she was through with her first case file and had crammed each word of the instructions manual, she headed to the approbation centre of the foundation. There she sent an issue to get the red card for the approval of the mission which was quite easy for her to get because of her field of expertise.

As per the requirements of the association, rookies were to be assigned with an animal or a supervisor on their first assignment. Concluding that an animal would be a better option than an uptight superior, Sabrina asked for one, but to her utter shock and dismay she was allotted with a rat!

According to the report, bizarre and unconventional occurrences were happening in the nearby pyramid of Giza. Men would go in and never come back again. It was a highly risky errand, but that was all this was about.

“To conquering fears, of the grave and till the grave” muttered Sabrina, downing her glass of wine, before exiting the institute.

She had packed along with her an automatic pistol, a shotgun and her trusted dagger which was embellished with rubies and strapped to her thigh holster.  Of course along with her was her ally, the organization rat.

Arriving shortly at the crime scene, Sabrina met with an obstacle; there was no way to enter the pyramid. So she sent inside the rat through a hole, guessing as it was a pet of the institute it would be highly trained. This proved to be right when she felt a buzzing in her pocket; it was the red card which now played a live feed of everything going on inside. She instructed the mouse to go towards the nearest opening through the keys on the card. Following the orders the creature went to a crack in one of the walls allowing Sabrina to enter the pyramid.

Silent as grave Sabrina tiptoed to where she heard commotion, the rat sitting wide-eyed on her backpack.  Thunderstruck and dumbfounded by the sight before her, she let out a squeak. Corpses of animals and human beings were high and low throughout the place. It smelled foul and disgusting. She had worked for a few years at a hospital so the view did not repulse her. Composing and securing herself with the pistol she carried on with her work.

“Well, this is boring” Sabrina grunted jumping over another corpse.

“Won’t be so boring when we are done with you,” before she knew a knife was gracing her neck and she was down on the ground. Not getting a chance to see the other person’s face or act in defense, the butt of the sword that was previously on her throat was smashed into her skull.

“Wakeywakey red riding hood” said a gruff male voice, pouring on Sabrina a bucket of water. Shuddering whilst coughing out water, Sabrina reached for her bag but all she got were the bars of the cage she was now in.

“Looking for this huh Merida?” questioned the same hideous man, wiggling in the air her leather bag. Loud rumbles and roars of laughter followed the statement. Sabrina analyzed the settings and determined that men weren’t going missing but were rather taking part in a flourishing business of illegal mining inside of the pyramids. She estimated around fifteen men to be in the room

“Now this is what I am talking about” she laughed, smirking slightly, when the door of her cage slapped open and her dagger stood proudly on the lock.

“Let the party begin boys” she cheered, winking at the man who had brought her there.

Bellows and cries of ‘attack’ and ‘charge’ resonated through the pyramid.

Sabrina had trained all her life to become a spy and if this was what it took then so be it. With the kind of potential she had and the training she did, overpowering those criminals would be a cake walk, even easier if she could lay her hands on the shotgun.

Dodging two knives at once, Sabrina back flipped, missing a bullet by an inch whilst landing on a table where lay blazing pieces of coal. A burly brawny man stormed towards her, both hands clasped around the sheath of a sword, running almost animatedly, making the situation a lot more amusing for the spy.  He attempted to jam the sword through her but Sabrina slid to the side nonchalantly, his hand settling on a burning piece of coal, she mocked him by doing a little dance and jumping down the table, perching perfectly in her red stilettos.

A short scrawny man grabbed the corners of her blazer, getting awarded with a jab of her elbow straight to the nose, blood gushing down his chin.

“Hey! I know we are in a fight but no need to ruin my clothes. This is expensive stuff guys!” Sabrina shouted, shaking her head feigning disappointment.

“Too bad, I am angry now- this won’t end well for you guys” she tsked, sprinting towards her bag, the remaining limited people chasing after her. Just as she was about to wrap her hands around the strap, fingers wrapped around her ankle aggressively pulling her to the ground, men piled over her, suffocating and crushing her, the smile that graced her lips seconds ago long forgotten.

Suddenly, yelps and shrieks were heard throughout the pyramid, everyone running frantically, rats chasing them. It was Gray (the institute mouse) and his friends.

“My savior!” claimed Sabrina, getting hold of her shotgun. “Let us get this over with” muttered the agent, firing bullets all over the map, gasps and wheezes sounding everywhere.

She laughed maniacally, dragging one half-dead man out of the pyramid for further investigation, Gray sitting comfortably in her pocket, enjoying a slice of cheddar cheese. She had requested a vehicle shortly after she had secured the crime scene and just as expected a red BMW 640i stood accompanied with a driver at the front of the pyramid.

The fingers of sunlight left everything ablaze in its trail, wind hot as fumes rippled in the air setting everything on fire but to Agent Crambell this was the most pleasant weather. The sun shone upon her happiness and content, the wind felt like success, dignity and gratification.

“You are officially welcome to ‘Rubrum Sanctus’ Agent Crambell. Congratulations on the triumph on your first operation. You will make a fine member of the agency,” pronounced the Regina, satisfaction gleaming in both the leaders and Sabrina’s eyes.

***

PROMPTS

Name-Spy

Place-Giza

Animal-Rat