Rise of a Valkyrie

Part 33

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Kayla's plans to debate Rose further were forgotten as the class approached their fifteenth week. Thirty-two of the one hundred and eighty-seven recruits that started the course were still present. The instructors ramped up the intensity of the physical training as they entered the dreaded 'Stress Phase'. The moon was also moving into the winter cycle of its orbit around its host gas giant. The instructors bluntly admitted to the class that they would make full use of the cold weather to increase the pressure on them to quit.

They visited the assault course every week, and what had once been fun for Kayla now became part of the grind, as the instructors pushed them to finish in a shorter time. On the most difficult obstacles, Kayla felt like she was sprinting with her whole body, and she often found herself hanging over a dangerous drop by her fingertips, amazed that her grip hadn't given out. Fortunately, Rose was the best athlete in the class, and as she gained more confidence with heights, they were able to set the best times together.

Every day began with a surf run. Legs became lead weights as the water added more resistance to every step. Falling into the surf meant the misery of swallowing sea water, and even worse, the added discomfort of wet and sandy clothes. After the run, the instructors had them swim out to a buoy and come back through waves made violent by stronger winds.

This was followed by a PT session on the beach, and if any of the recruits failed the required number of repetitions, the entire class would have to repeat the routine. Kayla moved as best she could, though she was shivering in cotton shorts and a t-shirt made crusty by salt water and sand. Like the others, she developed painful rashes across her body, which never fully healed. A few girls were even hospitalized with infections, to be medically rolled back to the start of the course.

"Recruit Djallen," called an instructor one day, as the recruits lay on their backs and tried to do flutter kicks with trembling legs. "Don't you think you'd be more suited to a career as a professional dancer? Fame, adoration money—a luxury hotel every night?"

Kayla looked over to see Rose's face scrunched in pain.

"No, instructor Qadir," Rose said in a hoarse voice. "If I was a dancer, I would be bored out of my mind."

"Why's that recruit?"

"Where would I get the chance to get wet and sandy, and freezing cold, instructor?"

Kayla felt raw enthusiasm block out the cold. "You tell her, Rose!" she yelled, and the rest of the class cheered their agreement.

She felt like she existed in a state of permanent exhaustion. That morning, they had been woken at two a.m. to start a long march into the hills. When they got back to camp for breakfast, the day had continued like any other, but the instructors warned there would be a cleaning inspection. These were more frequent, and much harder to pass. Whenever the girls changed from PT gear into their more comfortable classroom clothes, sand and dirt got everywhere.

Kayla and her cabin mates had spent an hour struggling to stay awake as they tried to get every inch of the cabin spotlessly clean. The instructors tolerated nothing less than perfection. Fortunately, the whole class passed, and, as a reward, were taken out for more PT. Now, in the afternoon, they were getting covered in sand all over again.

Qadir ordered the recruits to flip over to do pushups. As they struggled through the new exercise, Kayla's arms went numb, and she struggled to lift herself.

Qadir approached her. "You can do better than this Barnes—I know you can. Your mind wants to quit, but your body will go on forever if you let it."

"Yes, instructor," Kayla gasped. The instructors could be as encouraging as they were cruel.