Cardinal

Chapter 24

This was hell. We were on a track in the back of the building with a field in the middle of it. 

We were on mile two on the WARMUP run and I was already dying. I wasn't the last person on the run, thank god. There was another male trainee and a few other girls who were trailing behind me but, not by far. I tripped maybe two times already and already had several scratches on my knees and on my palms. Alaina was surprisingly very fast and lithe and was one of the first ones in the group during the warm-up. She was way ahead of me. 

This warm-up sucked. The whole purpose of a warm-up is to limber you up, not maim you forever. 

We finally finish the last mile, grateful I wasn't the last one. As long as I wasn't last, I guess there was something to improve on. 

I drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes at the end of the third mile. Almost all trainees except for a few select ones were on the ground, breathing hard. 

I already knew this day was going to be horrible.

With the scratches on my hand, doing the other movements were more painful. My muscles were burning and I was threatening to throw up every sit-up and every jolt of my body. 

While Alaina was fast during the warm-up run, she may have exerted herself too much since she was struggling with the movements alongside me. 

"Fuck this." I hear her say. We look at each other's tortured expressions and trudged on. 

"Let's proceed over to the obstacle course. Quickly, please." I gave him a side-eye. 

Kyle was a monster. I decided he wasn't attractive at all. No, this man didn't even blink when one of us fell or tripped. He just had a look of disappointment or boredom and looked like he would rather be anywhere else but doing this right now. 

The obstacle course was surprisingly very straightforward. Only five obstacles really, which was easier said than done. There were a few bars that were maybe about waist level which comprised the first obstacle. They were hurdles and I think we're supposed to jump over them. The second obstacle was interesting. There was a wooden ladder on one side of the obstacle with a rope on the way to the exit of the obstacle. If you were to climb the ladder there was no way for you to get to the other side unless you jumped on the other wooden beam that was opposite of the ladder. Interesting. The third obstacle was a little less daunting and had barbed wire close to the ground with only about maybe 2 feet of clearance which meant the only thing you could do was crawl to the other side. The fourth obstacle was hanging steps, except instead of a flat step, it was a circular step. The last obstacle was a wall which was about maybe 10 feet.   

Even if I was able to use my ability outright, I still wouldn't be able to make it since this required physical endurance. 

"Fuck this," I whisper to Alaina who was still trying to catch her breath from the exercises we were doing. 

"I'm not going to be able to clear like half of these obstacles. Look at my size." She looks at the obstacle course with trepidation, which of course mirrors mine. 

Between her and me, we'd be lucky if we get past the first one. 

"Quickly," Kyle yells out at all of us as we trudge through the short distance to the obstacle course. 

"Whoever wants to go first, please do. We have other things to take care of," his tone monotonous, almost bored. 

"All of you. Watch and learn." A male trainee steps up and volunteers, his posture upright and cocky. He winks at a girl next to him and she blushes. I roll my eyes at him and he smirks at me.