The Recruit

25. Jelly

Going 188 kilometres in thirty-six hours works out at slightly over five kilometres an hour. That's about normal walking pace, but you had to stop to eat and drink, to check you weren't veering off an overgrown footpath in the middle of the night, and when the pain got so bad that you couldn't take another step. It wasn't just Ash's and Serena's legs that hurt from the walking, their whole bodies ached with tiredness.

Precautions went out of the window. Sweaty and covered in insect bites, there wasn't time to put on dry clothes or insect repellent. Their canteens were empty. They didn't have time to stop and collect rainwater, so they had to drink water trapped on giant palms and leaves. Ash and Serena dumped most stuff and carried one light pack between them, with nothing in it but a torch, compass and maps.

They reached the final checkpoint less than half an hour before the deadline. As they staggered towards a wooden building, Shauna and Clemont ran out and gave them fresh water.

"We were getting worried about you two," Clemont said. "You cut it pretty close."

The building was locked, but there was a tap on the outside. Serena filled a rusty bucket, threw half at Ash and poured the rest over her head.

The trainees were too tired to do anything but crash out on the shady side of the building, waiting for the instructors to turn up.

"I hope we don't get malaria," Ash said, scratching the bites on his neck.

"It's not a malaria zone," Shauna said, matter-of-factly.

"What makes you say that?" Serena asked.

"I knew we were going to the jungle and they didn't give us malaria tablets before we left," Shauna said. "That made me think. The night we were in the hotel I sweet-talked the guy behind the front desk and he let me use the Internet. No malaria in this part of Malaysia."

"Smart thinking," Serena said. "You could have told us."

"I told Ash in the helicopter before the drop," Shauna said. "Same time I told Clemont."

"You didn't," Ash said defensively.

"She told both of us. I saw you nod," Clemont said.

"Oh," Ash said. "It was noisy. I thought you were saying good luck, so I nodded." Serena punched Ash on the arm.

"Dumbo," Serena said. "You know how much time we could have saved not changing clothes so often? And I was worried to death we were going to get sick."

"I'm sorry," Ash said. "There's no need to start hitting me."

"Idiot," Serena laughed. "I can't wait to get you in that dojo."

"What?" Ash asked.

"Remember our deal after you stomped on my hand? The day after training stops I get to fight you in the dojo."

"I thought you were joking," Ash said. Serena shook her head. The others were all laughing.

"She'll mash you," Brendan said. "Can we watch?"

"Who says you're both gonna make it through training?" Dustin asked. "It's a four-day course and it's only the morning of the fourth day. I bet the instructors will have something else up their sleeves."

The instructors led them inside. The trainees each had a chair with two buckets in front of it. Marshal covered their eyes with a mask. Brawly tied their ankles to the frame of the chair.

"Welcome to the ultimate test," Surge said. "Before we can make you six tired little bunnies into operatives, we need to be sure you can cope with the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Number eight, what do you think is the worst thing that can happen on a mission?"