Elena stopped walking. “It was neither. The correct answer was ‘report to the alternate command post because the primary was compromised.’ Question 41.”
Elena’s stomach tightened. She’d taken the American Language Course Placement Test three times before. But “UPD” meant updated . And updated meant the rumors were true: new listening prompts, faster speech, trickier grammar traps. Alcpt Form 54 UPD
Question 14 came next. A long pause, then a woman’s voice, quick and muffled, as if speaking through a radio handset: Elena stopped walking