The heat of the sun blasted Kayla’s face as she crested the hill, gasping for air. There could be no doubt that she had been transported to hell. Most of her body ached with pain, her lungs burned and her heart pounded like it was going to explode out of her chest. She couldn’t remember the last time she hadn’t felt exhausted.

“Lord, when does it end?” Thandi complained next to her.

“When you can’t stand up,” Kayla gasped. She willed her burning thighs to take another step, though the pain was pushing tears into her eyes.

Their small group had been hiking for hours, each recruit taking turns to read the map and set the path. Occasionally, an instructor would emerge from the trees, check on them, then move on. When they weren’t hiking in the hills, they were doing PT in camp, only gaining respite from the workouts during the classroom sessions, where they studied first-aid, navigation, or military history. Each week, Kayla noticed the morning assembly on the parade ground was smaller and smaller.

The instructors had started by taking the recruits on four-hour hikes, carrying packs filled with food, water, and clothes. When they were able to finish those marches, the time was increased to six hours, and at least once a week, ten hours. The instructors took them into the hills far from the coastline, so they could learn how to take bearings, identify landmarks, and guide themselves. Once the recruits had demonstrated their ability to navigate, their packs were filled with rocks. Kayla forced herself to accept each new layer of stress without complaint. The purpose of the training was clear; they would never be comfortable.

On this hike, she was confident she would make it to the end, though she struggled to stay focused. Ahead, Kayla saw Aaliyah stumble over a loose stone. She looked like she was falling asleep, and had been dragging her feet, careless of the rough terrain. Kayla wondered if she should grab the recruit and try to wake her up, but moving her own trembling legs was demanding enough.

Their group, led by Christie, was climbing up a steep mountain slope on a deteriorating rock-strewn path. When they came to a stream, Kayla watched anxiously while Aaliyah stepped on the glistening wet slabs. Her foot slipped and her body smacked into the rock. Then she was sliding, losing control as gravity dragged her down the steep hillside towards the top of a waterfall.

Pain forgotten, Kayla dropped her pack and vaulted over the stream, scrambling through the dirt and trees on the other side. Looking over, she saw the terrified girl had come to a stop, clutching onto thin branches as she hung over a thirty-foot drop. Kayla peered over the cliff, spotted a rocky ledge below, and began to climb down.

She lowered herself, but had trouble finding the ledge with her outstretched foot. Her arms reached full extension and Kayla offered a silent prayer. When her toes met resistance, she breathed a sigh of relief.

Shuffling across the cliff face, she came to the struggling Aaliyah, who was trying to haul herself up as others gasped and yelled fruitless advice from above.

Kayla evaluated the scene and thought quickly. First, she had to get her attention. “Hey—it’s Aaliyah, right?” she asked.

The girl’s head snapped around, eyes wide with panic. “Help! I’m slipping!” she cried desperately.

Kayla found a solid hold with her right hand, then, steadying herself, leaned across the sickening drop. “See that hole in the rock across from you? Look where I’m pointing!”

Aaliyah’s eyes focused on the weathered limestone as her muscles strained.

“If you grab my arm,” Kayla continued, “you can put your left hand there and you’ll swing onto this ledge.”

Aaliyah looked sick as she contemplated the acrobatic maneuver.

“Don’t hesitate,” Kayla continued. “Just do it. Grab my arm. Come on!” she yelled as a feeble branch began to rip itself away.

Aaliyah moved like lightning, and Kayla winced as her fingernails drew blood from her arm. The desperate recruit found the handhold, and Kayla pulled hard as her legs swung onto the ledge. She held firmly onto the shaking girl, reassuring her that she wasn’t about to let her fall off the mountain.

Christie’s head appeared above them. “My God, are you okay?”

“Yeah, we’re good, right, Aaliyah?” Kayla flashed her a smile. “She just decided to do some exploring.”

Both girls stared at her with shocked expressions, so she switched gears. “Aaliyah, I’m going to put my boot on this foothold here, and you’re going to step up on my leg. Don’t worry, Chris will grab your arms, right Chris?”

“I’ve got you, Aaliyah,” Christie said.

The girl whimpered as she stepped up, then clambered frantically as Christie caught her outstretched hand. Kayla swore as Aaliyah’s muddy boot stepped on her shoulder, then kicked her in the face on the way up. Outstretched arms grabbed the terrified young woman as recruits pulled her the rest of the way. They soothed her fright as she burst into tears. Once Kayla had climbed back over the edge, she turned back to admire the perilous drop.

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“Nice one,” she laughed and wiped dirt off her cheek. “We’re really going for the scenic route on this hike.”

“We haven’t reached the checkpoint yet,” Christie said with a frown. “But she clearly needs a break.”

Kayla looked at the sopping wet girl. “Well, we can’t stop here, or the instructors will yell at us. Tell you what, Aaliyah, hold on to my backpack strap and I’ll keep an eye on you.”

Aaliyah, still trembling, shook her head. “I don’t think I can.”

Kayla reminded herself to be patient with the girl. She had just survived a near death experience. “Don’t think about it, just do it, and you’ll feel better in no time,” she tried, as sensitively as she could manage.

Kiki Marinos kicked a fallen branch. “This is ridiculous. Somebody’s going to get hurt, and what is the point of it?”

Kayla sighed and ran her hand through her hair. “So go find an instructor.”

The red-faced Kiki waved her off. “We mastered hiking two weeks ago and now they pull this crap, sticking rocks in our backpacks. Maybe they want to make us quit through injury to make themselves look tougher. I’ve seen it before in the sports world.”

Kayla wanted to snap. Kiki was another fool that ought to have quit long ago and threatened to often enough. But they were supposed to be learning to be teammates, so Kayla tried to check her anger. “We are getting stronger, Kiki,” she pointed out. “We’re hiking further with more weight.”

“I was already fit enough when I joined, and this abuse isn’t helping me develop in any way. It’s just pointless,” Kiki said bitterly.

“It isn’t pointless,” Christie said. “They want us to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”

Kayla shook her head, confused by Kiki’s attitude. Did she not understand that they had signed up to suffer? Hadn’t she paid attention to everything they had been told in the first day’s presentation? If they were going to face death, why wouldn’t they want to push to their limit every day, to get better, stronger, and faster with every second of time available? Aaliyah’s fall had been a sharp reminder that there weren’t always going to be instructors around to protect them from their own mistakes.

Kayla was about to argue this point when she caught sight of movement in the trees. “Okay, there’s an instructor headed this way. Christie, lead on. Aaliyah with me. Kiki, panic.”

“Kayla—” Aaliyah began, her mud-stained face a mask of doubt and pain.

“I tell you what,” Kayla said, “why don’t you just get through this, and you can quit tomorrow? How about that?” She held out her hand.

Aaliyah sighed, wiped away a tear, and struggled to stand up. Kayla grabbed her arm and felt it tremble in her grip as she hauled the recruit to her feet.

Half an hour later, Christie stopped to peer intently at the map. “I believe this is the checkpoint. So, a rest stop is in order.”

They flopped to the ground in silence, pulled out canteens, and gulped down water. To Kayla, the cool liquid was the sweetest, most delicious thing she’d ever tasted. Leaves rustled in the trees, and her body began to feel like a lead weight. Soft, rhythmic pain coursed through her nerves, which promised warmth and happiness if she would rest. The world blurred as her eyes unfocused.

Christie shuffled over to her, and she sighed as she pulled herself back from the reverie.

“Are you okay?” Christie asked. “It got a bit hairy earlier.”

Kayla shook her head. “I should have stopped Aaliyah before she fell. I knew she was going to trip again, but I let myself get tired, like an idiot.”

“But you reacted quickly,” Christie said. “Didn’t the thirty-foot fall didn’t concern you at all?”

Kayla shrugged again before swallowing more water. “We made it back up, no problem.” The memory had faded, and like the others, had already taken on the nature of a dream, or something she had seen happen to someone else. When she thought back to the moment, a shock of electricity burned in her chest, but it was only pain, and she had learned to ignore that long ago.

“Aaliyah said that you were seconds away from going over yourself.”

“She’s exaggerating; it was fine. What’s your point?”

“That you are a mentally deranged individual that cannot even be entrusted with protecting your own life.” Christie punched her in the arm.

“Cheer up girls,” Thandi said, as she sat up on her rucksack. “Pain makes you stronger. You know, you cannot cross a river without getting wet. That’s a Zulu saying.”

Christie smirked. “Wasn’t there a story about Shaka Zulu? That he ordered his best soldiers to march off a cliff, just to prove how loyal they were?”

Thandi flopped her hand in a half-hearted gesture. “That story is a lie, invented by European colonizers. Shaka was a military genius who transformed the Zulu kingdom.”

“By ruthlessly destroying any tribe that stood against him?” Christie said.

Thandi took a breath and raised her eyebrows. “The British conquest of Zululand was also an act of naked, unprovoked aggression.”

Kayla rolled her eyes. Were these two serious, arguing about history when everyone was exhausted?

Christie sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow. “Well, actually, I would argue that if Queen Victoria had known the true intentions of the colonial governor, she would have put a stop to the whole thing.”

“Irrelevant. The British aristocratic class was institutionally motivated—”

“How in the name of whatever freaking deity,” Kayla said, “do you two have the energy for this kind of debate?”

“History matters,” Thandi said. “You can’t confront the future if you don’t learn from the past.”

“I didn’t realize we had a scholar among us,” Christie said.

Thandi gave her a cold smile. “Threatening your expertise, Helvet?”

“Stop calling me that,” Christie snapped. “Don’t make me tell you again.”

Thandi looked away.

“You two are cute together,” Kayla said.

“And you enjoy causing trouble, don’t you?” Christie said.

“A little bit,” Kayla admitted, too tired to pretend otherwise.

“You are childish, and you lack respect,” Thandi said. “In a ring, I would beat you easily.”

“We aren’t training to get in a ring,” Kayla said. “And I don’t think something that wants to kill you is going to show a lot of respect.”

Thandi said nothing.

Chisom sat up. “Why are you girls friends? All you do is argue.”

Thandi was about to reply, but stopped, staring off down the hill. “Trouble at seven o’clock,” she muttered.