Rogue Nation

Graduation Day

Pain was in every part of my body. I was pushing myself past anything I had ever done, and sweat poured down from my black hair to my face like a waterfall. I moved mud and sweat out of my eyes and kept inching forward.

The drill instructor screamed from the top of the obstacle course. "COME ON, MAGGOTS, DO YOU WANT TO GRADUATE?!" I ground my teeth and moved just a little faster.

I wanted to finish, I wanted to be done with this. But then I saw one of my squad mates fall into the mud. I pushed myself over to him, grabbed his arm, and threw it over my shoulder.
"Wha...what are you doing..?" He was so exhausted, he could barely get out the words.
"No man gets... left behind." I stood up, and started to pull him and myself through the mud.

We hadn't even made it thirty feet when another squad mate fell and had given up. I moved over to her, picked up her arm, threw it over my other shoulder, and started to move again.

Their weight slowed me down substantially, but I wasn't going to give up yet.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, CADET?! PUT THOSE LOSERS DOWN AND FINISH THE COURSE!" The drill instructor screamed. I ignored him and kept moving.

We had many different tests over the months to decide who could move on from the classroom to the shooting range. Finally, this course was designed to pick out the best of the best. The original one hundred people who had moved on from the first tests were to be narrowed down to a group of twelve battle hardened graduates.

The finish line was so close, I could taste it. "You can... put us... down if you want," the girl tried to say. The guy agreed. "Yes... you should graduate... we gave up..." I ignored them both and kept pushing.

My legs were on fire, and my lungs felt like they were going to collapse. My eyes stung and I felt tears forming. My arms were like jelly, but I wasn't done yet.
"If you want to give up, give up at the finish line!" I yelled through the pain. They listened, and we supported one another, beginning to pick up speed.

These last months we bled, we cried, we sweat, and we fought together. We would pass this finish line together, too.

"We're so close!" The girl yelled. Her knuckles were bleeding into my shirt.
"Come on!" The guy yelled. They both found new strength to move on. I didn't. My knees buckled and my vision started to fade to black.
"Go on..." I started to say.
"No. You're finishing, too," The guy said.

Together we stumbled across the finish line. We felt so much relief as we collapsed into the mud.

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The big twelve stood in line for graduation. The twelve strongest boys and girls stood at ease as the division commander took the stage.

"All of you showed great strength and determination over the past few months. You came to us as nobodies, you will leave as somebody. You all showed your will, your intelligence, and your efforts to help your comrades..."
The commander turned to look at the three cadets on the end. The guy, girl, and me beamed with pride.
"You all will be the first to now be joining the 'Strategic Homeland Division' as the third wave. You all will be given code names and your division watches."
The drill instructor walked down the line and handed glowing orange watches to the graduating twelve from an open briefcase. When he finally reached me, he handed my watch over and looked me in the eyes.
"You did good, kid, looking out for your squad mates. You're a true division agent."
My mouth almost fell in surprise, but I just smiled and thanked him.

The commander started again after everyone received their watch.
"Thank you all for fighting so hard. I am proud to be your commander." He saluted up, and we saluted back.

The drill instructor took the stands.
"Alright everyone, you will now be activated as sleeper agents for the US Government. And I pray that there will never be a day where we have to resort to activating the third wave. May God watch over you all..."

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