Chapter Two
Two hours into the mission, the squad of Cuttek, Keegan, Antonach, and Tarkus had barely begun to breathe hard. They were presently in the lead, but another squad of particularly annoying troops were not far behind them.
"Guys, let's pick up the pace," said Cuttek, who glanced behind them trying to catch sight of the second place team. "I really want to be the first squad to be evaluated." The group started into a sprint, but they all knew that they would slow down in a while to pace themselves in order to stay safely in the lead. After a while, they slowed to a halt for a brief rest. They still had about 7 miles to go, and 3 miles before they had to turn around and head back to the finish. The squad had a good supply of food and water, and their opponents seemed to have vanished. So the team continued on, and there was only a mile left until things started to go wrong.
"Well, I think we lost them for good," said Keegan, right before he was shoved from behind by another boy from a different squad, who passed them, running full speed toward the finish, which was less than a mile away. It was their rival squad, who they thought they had left far behind.
"Go, go, go!" yelled Antonach. As Tarkus heaved Keegan off of the ground, the team set off at a sprint, pursuing the squad ahead. It was going to be a close race: the finish line was drawing nearer with every stride the boys took. Each of the teams in the test was in excellent physical condition, so they would not tire easily. This was a race of speed, not endurance.
The group ran through the forest, leaping over roots and dodging in between trees as they went. They were slowly gaining on the team ahead, but the finish line was just within reach. They weren't going to win.
We're not going to make it, thought Keegan. When I fell, I slowed us all down. But then Keegan felt a sudden surge of anger. He wasn't about to be beaten when they had come so far. He glanced at his teammates, who were looking anxious as they ran, trying to catch up with the winning squad. This was his fault. He couldn't let his team down. So with renewed energy, Keegan burst toward the front of the group, and poured on the afterburners. His squad copied him, and within seconds, they were almost neck in neck with their rivals. The two groups could see the end of the forest in sight. They were almost there. The end of the trees, the light, the training facility lay just ahead, and then they crossed the finish line, and then-
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Brothers in Arms
AçãoA talented army squad is graduating from training camp, and they are looking forward to serving their country in the army. However, the squad doesn't know what awaits them in Iraq. What they find out is enough to make most people snap, but this team...
