Chapter 5 : Mad Dogs

I thought that behind Gerard's serious personality, he had at least a little bit of humor. He didn't. He meant what he said.

This is where I stand now. Along with the other candidates in the middle of a field that was different from the previous one, wearing some kind of protection on my head, arms, and legs. The field for this first test was similar to a horse race, only longer.

I had no problem with the shape of the arena, which was certainly narrower than I had imagined. But as for the armor we were wearing, that could be a serious thing. Oh come on, how could something as thin as twenty-five sheets of paper protect us from the bites of those crazy dogs.

All the candidates felt anxious behind their protective helmets. There were even some who immediately withdrew and some who insisted on staying even though their legs were already shaking. It didn't really matter to me, because I was already very confident in my own running ability. What I had a problem with was this protective gear that hampered our movement. Because it was really uncomfortable to wear.

"I know all of you must be nervous and feel uncomfortable wearing protection, because I've felt it too. But trust me, it's better that way than no protection at all. You don't want to end up like our favorite, Edd, do you?" Gerard said on the podium where the examiners, top brass, and other soldiers sat watching.

"Who's Edd?", I asked the person next to me. He looked very nervous because he was sweating profusely. His clothes were soaked with sweat.

"I don't know. But I'm sure nothing good has happened to Edd." , he said trying to be calm.

The sound of a dog barking caught our attention. When we turned around, about ten meters away from where we were standing, five Dobermann-type dogs were frustrated with the chain around their necks. Their mouths were open, showing off their long rows of teeth. At the corners of the dogs' lips there seemed to be foam from saliva gathered. Just by looking at their appearance, I realized that the dogs were not in a good condition.

Some of us moved backwards until we crossed the boundary line and made the warning siren sound. The noise made the dogs go even crazier with their barking. The candidates couldn't stop panicking because of the dogs, and the dogs couldn't stop worrying because of the siren noise. And I might go crazy like the dogs if this situation doesn't improve in ten minutes.

I had reached my limit and it was time to do something about it. Before I could accomplish my intention, someone walked up to the person sitting on the other side of the line and pulled him or rather dragged him back. The sirens stopped sounding and the dogs began to calm down.

"Shit! You better back off! You already made a mess like this earlier. Hurry up and leave or I'll throw you to those dogs!"

All of us, the candidates on the field, were stunned to see that woman. I, myself was mesmerized. From her strength when dragging that loser guy and also when she was angry. It looked quite cool in my eyes. From now on, I'm going to pay more attention to her, so I can be cool like her too.

Gerard's voice took over again and we were all directed to stand behind the line. The loser guy completely backed off and left the field. I stood at the very back of the line as everyone scrambled to get to the front.

The first shot rang out and that was the signal for us to run immediately, widening the distance between us and the dogs. There was a ten-second break before the dogs were finally released and we had to survive for three minutes without being bitten.

I'm not sure how long we ran. There was no timer. All I did was run, ignoring the other candidates who had been bitten behind me. I just focused on running forward and watching my step.

I saw the woman I'd admired earlier not too far ahead of me. I was determined to say hello to her after this, whatever the result would be. Unexpectedly, she suddenly fell down because she didn't pay attention to her footsteps. I was startled and stopped a few meters in front of her. I saw that one of the five dogs was running towards her and his eyes had locked onto her as a target.

This time I had no intention of being selfish. But just as I was about to help her, she caught the leg of one of the passing candidates and knocked him down, then pulled him up and made him bait for the chasing dogs so he could get up and run away. The poor guy was a bread thief who had thrown dirt at me.

I was stunned and silent in the midst of this riot. Why does the universe always have its own way of disappointing me in so many ways?

In a split second I felt happy that the thief was getting his comeuppance but on the other hand my conscience felt very bad for him. Without thinking, I went straight to him intending to help. Revenge was a later matter.

"Get up quickly! Move your feet!", I urged as I lifted his arm while my eyes continued to stare at the approaching dog.

Shit! Too late!

Before the bread thief guy could stand up, the dog was already two meters in front of us. With one tug I removed my arm protector and restrained the dog from biting me. Apparently I had underestimated the strength of this military dog. He not only bit but also tore my arm protector into two pieces.

I was finished.

In shock, I froze as if accepting that this dog was about to bite and tear me apart like he did that useless arm protector.

My thought was wrong. The bread thief guy also did the same to protect me.

"Hurry up and leave! Run!" he urged me.

Once again I was in a quandary. Making a decision is not an easy thing. Especially when you have to make a decision in just three seconds.

In the end, I chose not to obey him. After all, there was little chance I could escape these dogs.

I quickly removed the rest of my armor and pulled it to make it thinner and longer. Then tied the mouth of the dog that was trying to tear off the armor of the bread thief guy.

"It worked! Successfully tied!", I said happily.

The bread thief turned to me with his face still pale from panic. He looked doubtful about what I was doing.

"It's safe! Let go of your hand!", I said and he complied. The dog's mouth was completely shut.

The only thing missing was the dog's legs and torso that could still move. It squirmed, rebelled, and struggled trying to free its mouth. I fought even harder to keep holding the bonds on its mouth so it wouldn't break free. This was a battle of life and death!

Seeing that I was overwhelmed, the bread thief guy suddenly stood up and removed his other arm protector. I thought he intended to do the same with me. But my assumption was wrong. He didn't stop there. He was trying to take off his shirt.

His clothes!

Without saying anything, he wrapped his shirt around the dog's mouth and tied it tightly. He was pulling the ties so hard. I could even see the veins protruding along his arms as he did so.

"It's safe. Let go of your hands." , he said and I obeyed.

The dog that was chasing us was now helpless. I smiled happily at him and so did the bread thief. I quickly resumed my steps, along with the bread thief who was now shirtless. But our goal now was not to run away from the dogs, but to tell the others how to conquer the mad dogs.

"Don't run away! Tie his mouth with your shirt! We need to work together!" I shouted to each person I overtook.

"What do you mean?!"

"Look at this!", said the bread thief guy, showing the mad dog that had his mouth tied.

Yes, he was running while carrying it. He said people wouldn't believe him if there was no proof. And his words proved to be true.

Just by showing the dog we conquered, the other candidates immediately understood and started forming groups to jointly conquer the other 4 remaining mad dogs.

It didn't take long time before the remaining forty-three people had conquered all the dogs and didn't have to run anymore. Not long after, the time-out siren sounded and we all cheered. This happiness was greater than surviving alone.

The bread thief and I did a high five and clasped each other's hands tightly, feeling proud and happy to have made it through this phase. Until a few seconds later, our smiles became awkward remembering what had happened between us at the beginning of our first meeting.

From behind, someone suddenly nudged my shoulder as they passed me. Apparently it was the woman from earlier. The one who sacrificed others for her safety. She stopped and turned to me with an unhappy expression on her face.

"You shouldn't have done that, you know?" she said and walked away.

The confused me turned to the bread thief guy and asked him what he meant by that and he was just as confused as me.

A moment later we were ordered to gather and form a line. This time Gerard wasn't alone. He was with a man who had a long slash scar across his face. I could see that both Gerard and the man beside him looked unhappy. His eyes looked at us one by one.

"You, shirtless man. And you, silver dagger girl. Step forward." , he said firmly, sounding very cold.

Me and the bread thief guy exchanged glances with each other before finally stepping forward. For a moment I felt happy that Gerard still remembered me and my silver dagger.

Gerard looked at us one by one for a few moments. Then suddenly the man with the facial scar clapped his hands loudly but his jaw looked hardened. We were reluctant to clap with him, while the candidates behind us all clapped along with him.

"Congratulations! You all managed to survive from the dogs and I see there are many participants who are still surviving." , he said and then turned to us who were called to come forward, "Who has any ideas?"

From his tone, he looked unhappy. We were silent, no one answered.

"I've noticed that you two, huh," , he said, deliberately pausing, "Very compatible and romantic."

He stood tall again and puffed out his chest, "Please announce."

At that Gerard took a step forward, "You're all successful and eligible to move on to the next test."

The people behind me could be heard cheering. I couldn't hide my excitement even though I only showed it through a faint smile because I didn't want to lower my respect to the top brass in front of me.

"But!", Gerard continued loudly, "The two people standing in front of you will be disqualified."