The blaring alarm jolted me awake, its shrill noise drilling into my skull.
Groaning, I buried my head under the pillow, hoping to muffle the sound and steal a few more moments of sleep.
But it was relentless, refusing to let me go back to my peaceful oblivion.
Just as I felt myself drifting off again, a deafening metallic bang echoed through the room.
"What the hell!" I shot upright, heart pounding as if I'd been yanked out of a nightmare.
My ears rang, and before I could fully process what was happening, a voice bellowed from somewhere outside.
"ARE YOU ALL CRAZY? GET UP NOW!"
The voice was like a cannon, reverberating through the walls and straight into my already frazzled brain.
I scrambled to my feet, groggy and disoriented.
My eyes darted to the small alarm device on the table, its screen flashing a message in bold letters.
TRAINING TIME.
I stared at it, my dread settling like a lead weight in my stomach.
"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered.
So this was it...
The beginning of my suffering.
I threw on my standard-issue uniform, its dull gray fabric feeling like a physical manifestation of my impending doom.
Ori, safe in his spatial inventory, was thankfully spared from whatever nightmare awaited me.
Not that he'd be much help in a situation like this.
When I arrived at the training field, the sight before me did nothing to ease my nerves.
It was massive, a sprawling space filled with obstacle courses, uneven terrain, and rows of soldiers already running laps like their lives depended on it.
Sergeant Thomas stood in the center, his presence like a storm cloud ready to unleash chaos.
"Move it!" he barked, his voice sharp enough to cut steel.
"FALL IN!" roared Sergeant Thomas, his voice carrying the weight of authority and the promise of a brutal morning.
The privates scrambled, boots clattering against the hard-packed ground as they formed a ragged line.
I shuffled into position with the other privates, my feet dragging just enough to avoid outright rebellion.
Sun beating down mercilessly. All privates stand at attention in their fatigues, their expressions weren't nice.
Some were still adjusting their uniforms, others fumbling with their gear.
Thomas strode in front of them, his hands clasped behind his back.
His gaze swept over the group like a searchlight, pausing on each soldier just long enough to make them squirm.
Thomas's gaze swept over us, and I felt his eyes linger on me a second too long.
"You," he snapped, pointing directly at me. "You look like you've just crawled out of bed. Which, knowing you, is probably true. Stand up straight, Sky, unless you want me to personally make your life miserable."
I stiffened, my jaw tightening as I forced myself not to respond.
He didn't need to know he was already succeeding in making my life hell.
"Pathetic," he growled, stepping in front of private Harris, who had a faint smirk on his face. "Is there something funny, private Harris? Care to share the joke?"
"Uh, No, sir!" Harris snapped, his smirk disappearing.
"Good. Because the only humor you'll find today is in my imagination, and trust me, you won't like it. Drop and give me twenty. The rest of you, watch and learn what happens when you don't take this seriously."
Harris hit the ground, his arms shaking as he began the push-ups.
"Now, listen up!" Thomas's voice rose again, cutting through the morning stillness. "You are soldiers. Not some bunch of civilians playing dress-up.?"
"Yes, sir!" the group shouted.
"LOUDER!"
"YES, SIR!"
"Alright, listen up!" Thomas began, pacing back and forth like a drill sergeant straight out of a war movie. "Today's training is going to separate the weak from the strong or, in some cases, the pathetic from the barely tolerable. Now, let's start with a warm-up. Ten laps around the field. Double time. MOVE!"
A half-hearted chorus of "Yes, sir!" rose from the group.
"Pathetic," Thomas sneered. "Is that how soldiers respond? I said, GOT IT?"
"YES, SIR!" we shouted back, louder this time.
"That's more like it. Now, run!"
The privates groaned but began to run, their boots kicking up dust as they circled the field.
The first lap was manageable, but by the third, my legs felt like they were made of lead.
Sweat dripped down my face, and my breathing grew ragged.
I wasn't alone others were struggling too, but Thomas had a special knack for singling me out.
"Sky!" he bellowed as I stumbled slightly. "Are you running or trying to audition for a zombie role? Pick up the pace!"
I gritted my teeth and pushed harder, forcing myself to keep going.
By the fifth lap, the group was already showing signs of wear.
Private Carson was lagging behind, his face beet-red and his breaths coming in labored gasps.
"Carson!" Thomas barked, stepping into his path. "What's wrong? Did someone replace your lungs with paper bags?"
"No... sir," Carson wheezed, struggling to keep pace.
"Then move your ass! The battlefield doesn't care if you're tired. It doesn't care if you're weak. The only thing it cares about is whether you're alive at the end of the day. Now RUN!"
Carson gritted his teeth and pushed forward, his legs burning with every step.
When the tenth lap was finally done, the group collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.
My legs were trembling, and I could barely stand.
"Get up!" Thomas shouted. "You think the enemy's going to give you a break? Think again! On your feet, all of you!"
But there was no time to rest.
"Obstacle course! Move it!" Thomas ordered, his voice relentless
The privates groaned but obeyed, dragging themselves upright.
Thomas led them to the obstacle course, a sprawling maze of walls, ropes, and muddy trenches.
The course was a nightmare.
Climbing walls, crawling under barbed wire, swinging across muddy pits, it was like something out of a boot camp from hell.
I slipped more times than I'd like to admit, earning a constant stream of sarcastic comments from Thomas.
"Sky, that's not a wall, it's a ladder. Try using your hands for once!"
"Are you seriously stuck in the mud? You've got to be kidding me!"
By the time I finished, I was covered in dirt and humiliation.
But the day wasn't over yet.
"This," he said, gesturing grandly, "is where we separate the wheat from the chaff. This isn't just about your physical strength. It's about your brains, your guts, and your ability to work as a team. Private Torres, you're up first. Show us what you've got."
Torres stepped forward, her face pale but determined.
She approached the first obstacle, a high wall, and hesitated for a moment before leaping up to grab the top.
Her fingers slipped, and she fell back into the dirt.
"Get up!" Thomas barked. "You think the enemy's going to wait for you to figure it out? Again!"
Torres tried again, this time managing to haul herself over the wall.
And by the time she finished, she was covered in mud and breathing hard.
"Not bad," Thomas said grudgingly. "Next!"
One by one, the privates tackled the course.
Some excelled, others faltered, but all of them ended up dirty and exhausted.
Thomas gathered the group in front of a mock battlefield.
The mock rescue mission involved carrying a weighted dummy through a series of obstacles while avoiding simulated attacks. It was grueling, and every step felt like a battle against my own exhaustion.
"Sky, if that dummy were a real person, they'd have died of old age by now!" Thomas shouted as I struggled to lift the weight.
Somehow, I made it to the end.
But it still wasn't over.
"Here's another scenario," he said, pointing to a mannequin lying in the dirt. "This is your comrade. They're injured, and it's up to you to get them to safety. You'll work in pairs. One of you will carry, the other will cover. Private Harris and Private Lee, you're up first."
Harris and Lee exchanged nervous glances before stepping forward. Harris bent down to pick up the mannequin while Lee raised his mock rifle, scanning the area for imaginary threats.
"Move!" Thomas shouted.
The pair stumbled forward, Harris struggling under the weight of the mannequin while Lee awkwardly shuffled behind him, his rifle swinging wildly.
"Stop!" Thomas shouted. "Harris, if you drop that mannequin one more time, I'm going to make you carry Lee instead. And Lee, if you don't learn how to hold that rifle properly, you'll be the one who needs rescuing. Again!"
The pair reset and tried again, their movements slightly more coordinated this time.
"Such poor performance," he muttered to himself. "very poor."
"You've made it through the day," he said, his tone firm and strong. "Barely. Tomorrow will be harder, and the day after will be more harder, everyday of your life in this military will be miserably harder. Now Dismissed."
The privates staggered away, their bodies aching but their spirits oddly lifted.
As they disappeared into the barracks, I sat there for a while, staring up at the sky.
My body ached, my pride was in tatters.
Tears threatened to burst out of my eyes.
The tears of both joy and pain.
Anyone who saw me right now will think I have lost my mind, but...
The accomplishment was too great I could not keep it to myself.
In the first military training of my life.
"I survived"