Chapter 5 Chapter 5

Myla’s POV

Why did it have to be me again?

I felt the voice ringing through my ears, sending chills down my spin.

My insides reacted on the spot, like something in there had been pulled tight and suddenly snapped.

My foot hung mid-step with my breath dragging as I froze where I stood.

I didn’t need to turn cause I already knew.

But I did, and came face to face with a grimace I didn't long to see today.

Derek.

He was standing just a few steps away, exactly where I felt his voice coming from, yet somehow, he felt closer now the moment my eyes met his.

Like he was more present. Like the entire space had shrunk around him.

My chest tightened as his eyes didn't move from me. Just waiting, letting it sink in.

“Why are you late?” He asked, keeping his voice low, barely matching his expression.

But it didn’t need to, every word landed clearly, firmly—leaving no space to ignore it.

“I—” I started and immediately stumbled over my words. “I was just—I mean, I—”

The words seemed to get caught up in my throat as I struggled for any form of rhythm.

I swallowed, forcing myself to try again, feeling the weight of his gaze pressing harder the longer I stood there.

“I didn’t… I wasn’t sure where—”

I paused on my own again, feeling my own voice fade off cause even I knew how weak it sounded.

My fingers curled slightly at my sides.

Think. Say something. Anything.

But the more I tried, the worse it got.

Every second felt heavier than the last. Every second he just stood there, watching me, not interrupting, not helping me out of this.

Just waiting, and somehow, that made it harder.

My throat tightened as my thoughts scattered everywhere. Until finally—

I just stopped trying, I accepted and lowered my gaze slightly, unable to hold his anymore.

He didn't say a word though, just kept the silence between us.

“It’s your first day,” he said after a moment and it wasn’t a question.

I nodded still. “Yes.”

He kept another pause, longer this time.

“What group were you assigned to?” He asked and my mind went blank.

Group? We were assigned to groups?

My mind went back to something Kyle said earlier, something about groups. But I couldn't place anything reasonable.

“I…” I hesitated again with my eyes flickering around instinctively.

Nothing came to view that could help me. I didn’t even know where to look.

Then some movement to my far left caught my attention and from the corner of my eye, I spotted Kyle waving his hands in the air at me.

A smile nearly found its way to my lips as my eyes landed on him, but I shoved it away immediately.

He was standing somewhere within the small formation, raising his hand and waving it.

Then, he brought out his five fingers on one hand and one on the other.

What the hell does that mean?

Five one? Could he really be keeping scores now?

Derek coughed and my hands twitched slightly.

Come on, Myla.

Five one, five one, five one, six.

Group six.

A smile of relief hit me so quickly it almost made me dizzy.

“Six,” I said, a little too fast, but Derek didn’t react immediately.

He just stared at me, like he was taking something apart piece by piece.

I forced myself not to look away this time even though it felt like I should. Even though everything in me was telling me to.

His gaze lingered a second longer. Then—

“Get to your group then,” he muttered and turned away.

I didn’t wait for confirmation, I hurried off.

I moved quickly through the small crowd of people, slipping into place beside Kyle with my heart still beating harder than it should.

“Rough start,” he muttered under his breath.

“You think?” I whispered back, trying to steady my breathing. “Thanks a lot for that,” I added and he waved a hand at me.

But there wasn’t time to say more as a strong voice broke through it. “Positions.”

The command echoed across the field and everything around shifted as lines straightened and bodies tensed. Just like that—

Training began.

“We'll begin with a run,” the voice called out and people got into places. I joined in as we started running.

This was strange, no warm-up, just a run?

I pushed forward with the rest, trying to match their pace, but it didn’t take long before I realized I couldn’t.

At first, it felt as though I could just keep up as my steps kept pushing while I did everything to keep my breathing controlled.

But then the pace increased and suddenly, everything else fell apart.

My lungs tightened with each breath coming out painfully. My legs started feeling heavier with every step, like something was dragging them down on the way.

Around me, the others kept going like this was nothing, like it was easy.

“How are you already dying?” Kyle muttered beside me, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice.

“I’m not—” I tried to respond, only for my breath to hitch mid-sentence.

He laughed lightly. “Relax your shoulders. You’re tensing up.”

“I’m trying,” I said between breaths.

“Try harder.”

I shot him a look and he only smirked.

We went round the field once, then twice, and by the third time, my chest burned.

Every time I took a break in, it felt too small, simply not enough.

“Keep moving!” The voice called out somewhere ahead.

I gritted my teeth and pushed forward.

Don’t stop. Just don’t stop.

And I didn't till the running ended and I nearly collapsed forward.

But it didn’t get any easier.

“We’ll be going through the obstacle course next,” the same voice announced.

I barely had time to process that before people started moving again.

Climbing shit and jumping up and down like monkeys.

They kept balancing themselves in awkward positions.

The first obstacle was a low wall.

That should be simple enough.

I reached for the top, planted my hands, and pulled myself up. But I didn't have enough in me so I pulled harder, using my feet.

Then my foot slipped slightly as I tried to swing over, forcing me to adjust between it all before dropping down on the other side.

That was anything but smooth, not clean one bit.

I heard someone land beside me effortlessly and kept moving.

I didn’t look, didn’t want to anyway, let that just be.

The next course was a balance beam. It looked pretty narrow and fairly raised.

I stepped onto it carefully with my arms instinctively lifting for stability.

One step, then another. But the wood felt thinner than it should, making it harder for me to get a good footing.

Behind me, someone moved past me in a flash.

Cocky much.

I swallowed and kept going.

Don’t fall.

Don’t—

My foot wobbled and my heart jumped as I nearly fell.

But I caught myself just in time, stepping off with a sharp breath.

“Loosen up,” Kyle said as he landed beside me again. “You’re too stiff.”

“I’m trying not to fall,” I muttered.

“You won’t. Unless you keep thinking like that.”

That didn’t help much.

Pull-ups came next and I stared at the bar laying in front of me. Then at my hands, then back at the bar.

No way I'm doing this.

“You’ve done this before… right?” Kyle asked and I didn’t answer.

He sighed. “Jump up. I’ll count.”

I grabbed the bar, pulling myself up, or trying to at least.

My arms trembled almost immediately as I barely lifted an inch.

“Come on,” he encouraged. “Use your core.”

“I am—” I strained.

I wasn’t. Or at least… not as I should.

My grip slipped slightly before I dropped back down, landing harder than I meant to.

“That was… something,” Kyle said and I shot him a look.

He raised his hands defensively. “Hey, first day.”

I exhaled slowly, shaking out my arms as they already felt weak.

But the drills kept coming. Sprints, crawls, and more climbing. Each one harder than the last.

Each one exposing the same thing, I was behind, not just by a little margin, but a lot.

The others moved with a kind of natural rhythm I didn’t have.

Their bodies responded faster, stronger, more controlled.

And unfortunately, mine didn’t.

Everytime I tried to make any move, it felt more like a burden. Like I had to think about it before doing it.

And even then, I still got it wrong sometimes.

By the time we returned to running, my legs were shaking and I barely had any breath left in me.

My entire body felt like it was working twice as hard for half the result.

“Keep up,” Kyle said, though his voice had softened now.

“I’m trying,” I whispered.

But even I could hear it and didn't need to see it. I was falling behind.

Again and again, each step felt worse than the last.

Until, I stopped, but not by my will. I guess my body reached its breaking point and simply refused to move on.

I leaned over slightly, resting my hands on my thighs as I tried to pull in a proper breath.

Air. I needed loads of it.

But everything burned around me.

My chest.

My legs.

My arms.

All of it.

I straightened slowly, and that’s when I felt that presence getting closer.

Then his cologne filled my nostrils before I even saw him.

Derek.

He walked towards me with that same steady pace, slow with very step deliberate.

I forced myself upright, even though my body protested.

Then his gaze moved over me once, taking everything in.

And then—

He stopped in front of me, close enough to lean in and whisper.

“If you can’t keep up,” he said with his voice calm, cutting through the noise around us—

“Then you don’t belong here.”