I woke up to that same ceiling again. I lay there for a moment, in that beautiful cloud they called a bed. I realized what I needed to do when I left tonight after everyone else went to sleep. I decided I had laid in bed enough and sat up.

I felt my whole body complain, from what felt like week-old injuries. My ribs were on fire if I leaned the wrong way. One of my legs felt like an iron rod, molten hot, as I put my feet on the floor. But it felt older, distant—like Anna's special healing had taken off the worst part, and I was on the mend now.

The others were still sleeping, so I got up and went to the mirror. It was pitch black, but luckily, there was a small night light next to it. I turned it on and looked at the man standing in the mirror.

I had never seen him fully before—naked, exposed. I wasn’t sure if I liked what I saw. His ribs were jutting out, his legs looking like twigs attached to his pronounced hip bones. Bruises covered him all over, but I just missed the scars he had before the blessing. One huge, angry purple bruise went across the right side of his ribs.

His face looked aggressive, blonde hair hanging over his fierce, sunken eyes. I rubbed the beard threatening to appear, and he did the same, with an animal-like quality. Guess it was the effect of the blessing.

Now, you might think it a bit self-centered that I was admiring myself in the mirror, but I'd never seen what I looked like before. It was interesting, though I think I could eat a little more.

I got dressed as quietly as I could before the Lieutenant walked in as I was halfway through, still tugging the pants over my hips.

I felt her eyes on my back as I turned around. Her face almost looked ashamed, like a failure was biting her as she examined each and every bruise on me.

I just raised an eyebrow at her, covering my chest with my hands like Maria used to when I saw her changing. She smiled a little at that, rolling her eyes, before she started banging on the bed frame like she did yesterday, shouting, “Wake up! The lot of you, get out of bed right now! I want you dressed, your bed made, and you looking presentable in the next ten minutes!”

And so, we obeyed—or well, the rest did, as I was a bit ahead of everyone already. I made the bed like Marnus showed me yesterday. It was perfect, as long as you looked at it from a distance.

I decided I was presentable enough, so I walked outside and got in that line outside the door.

After about five minutes, the rest frantically lined up next to me, the girls not a second behind them, as we all lined up, staring at each other, waiting for the Lieutenant's orders.

“You have twenty minutes for breakfast. Then all of you will line up before Sector B. Am I understood?” she said loudly for everyone to hear.

“Yes, Lieutenant!” we all said. I even chimed in this time.

We went to breakfast—boring this time—making small talk with the people sitting next to me. I saw Marnus eyeing Kate out of the corner of his eye, his face still hidden behind his tray, as she spoke to one of the other boys and laughed a little.

I just shook my head. Lust is a sin. He must learn that quickly, or I will have to teach it to him. I was surprised, however, that some people even had a few bites of their meals now, as I finished up my first tray of the morning. Anna was sitting across from me, and she silently pushed her tray towards me.

I just said, "Thank you," offering her what was left of my juice—the only thing people seemed to tolerate on the tray.

She accepted it with a nod, still looking at me like I was going to vomit on her at any second. It was a bit rude, but the breakfast helped me get over it.

We all lined up outside as I watched the same fink come by and tend to the leftovers. We waited in line for about ten minutes before the Lieutenant walked up, clipboard in hand, as she scanned each of us.

“Only eighteen of you have been deemed suitable for the ascension tournament. When I call your name, enter Sector B,” she said, gazing at each of us now, like the names she would call were being given a lottery ticket.

“Before we do that... Anna! Come here!” she called, looking for her now. Anna rushed to the front, saluting her even as she seemed quite confused.

“Yes, Lieutenant!” she said, though she phrased it more as a question than an affirmation.

“Can you apply your ability to yourself? If so, you are allowed to join the competition.”

At the Lieutenant's words, Anna's eyes widened with surprise, like she'd just been given the greatest burger known to man.

She tapped her arm, the tattoo glowing, as she pointed at herself with both arms, her face straining with the effort. A little bit of the same aura that had surrounded me yesterday covered her for maybe five seconds before it fell away. She looked down at the floor, panting. She looked up at the Lieutenant, a glimmer of hope in her face, but the Lieutenant just shook her head from side to side, her face a mask of grief for the girl.

Anna's face crumpled as she looked down in defeat, before walking back to the line. The Lieutenant didn't even chastise her for leaving without being dismissed.

Then she started reading out names.

“Richard, Marnus...” She looked up as they just stood there. Her brow creased angrily.

“What did I say? Get into the warehouse now! And start doing laps! You may stop when I tell you you may stop!” she screeched.

And with that, Marnus and Richard raced into the warehouse, like they were scared of being there for a second longer.

“Diana, Nina, Boris,” she continued.

I didn’t hear the rest as I raced inside after the two ladies who had just been called, joining the rest as they ran around the warehouse. A few of the others I had seen around joined us a moment later, along with Kate, of all people.

Guess her power wasn’t so unimpressive after all, hey Richard? I thought to myself as I saw him glance at her before an angry expression appeared on his face as we kept running.

As we ran, I felt the cracked rib from that beating yesterday. While Anna’s healing took some of the edge off, I still felt it in each step, a sharp nail branding me every time I put my foot down. I just gritted my teeth, ignoring the pain even as it threatened to make me whimper. I would not be weak in front of finks again, even if they were supposedly on my side.

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I saw Marnus glance at Kate, and a deep frown formed on his face, like he wouldn't know what to do if he fought her. He'll just have to get over it.

For now, we ran as long as we could. Marnus seemed to start dying first, struggling to keep up with us. The rest of them followed suit, as I slowly pulled ahead. The food threatened to come up at multiple points, but I knew how to keep myself from throwing up as I just kept running, looking back at them as they struggled to keep pace with me.

After about an hour, the others were basically walking now, the Lieutenant had walked in after us and just sat down where those bastards had been sitting yesterday. After watching everyone for a while, she walked to the center of the building and shouted, “All of you! Get into lines!” she shouted over all the panting.

We did as we were told. When I got into my place in the line I put my hands on my knees, panting, while the rest sounded like they had never known how to breathe before.

“You are blessed. You are three times physically better than the average person, and you can’t even do a few laps. How the hell do you think you're going to win the ascension tournament? Hm?” she asked us, like we were the worst disappointments she had ever seen. Where was the woman who forgot her clipboard? This was way too different.

“All of you, get on your face and do push ups till I no longer hate looking at you,” she said, going back to her chair and leaning on it, just watching us.

I was the first to fall with the pushups, doing far more than I thought I would ever do. That being ninety of the absolute worst things that had ever happened to me. The rest kept going, Richard smirking back at me as he did perfect form push ups like they were nothing. Marnus fell a bit after me, and slowly the rest joined us, struggling and grunting, trying to lift our faces off the floor.

Richard proved to be the best, the last of us to have his arms shake and fall face-first onto the floor.

“You can barely do some pushups. How are you going to win the ascension tournament if you can’t even lift yourself off the floor?” I decided that I hated her again, even though she helped me. I just lay on my back, feeling like my arms were useless, panting towards the same ceiling I had prayed to yesterday.

“Get back into your lines,” she said impatiently.

“You will now all go through the double doors behind me to a room of your own. There, you will learn the extent of your abilities and devise what weapons and equipment you will take with you into the tournament. You are lucky to join the ascension tournament, so to make sure you don't get too big for your boots you are only allowed two meals a day, breakfast and dinner. The rest of the time, you will be training. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Lieutenant,” we all grumbled, joined together in our newfound hatred for the Lieutenant.

She looked down at the clipboard, her eyes scanning over something, and then I saw the Lieutenant pause. Oh, there she was, the same woman who had forgotten her clipboard.

“Uhm. Before you begin ability training, all of you, go to those pullup bars on your right and do as many as you can.” I heard someone groan behind me as we all shuffled like prisoners walking to our deaths as we got to the pullup bars.

There were only five of them, so some of us got a better break than others. I was only able to do ten of them. I got the least in the class. Somehow, Kate got the most, able to do forty nine in a row without stopping, her brow creasing towards the end in fierce effort.

We were all counting for her as she approached the end, cheering as she dropped down, before the Lieutenant made us shut up and get back into our lines.

As she was about to divvy us up to go into the building where we could practice with our powers, Colonel Walker and Sofia walked in. I did not understand why she could just walk around wherever she wanted, but I guess the general's daughter has certain privileges the rest of us don’t.

He walked past us, every eye meeting his flinching away as he seemed to be staring directly into our souls. The Lieutenant was saluting him, as were most of the people, except for me, just looking at Sofia, trying to figure out what her game was this time. She ignored me, looking at the rest like her very presence was a gift they did not deserve.

He walked up to the Lieutenant, his eyes still on us. A small smile formed on his lips as he turned to the Lieutenant, but it turned into something cold as soon as he saw the bruises. He grabbed her by the hand she was saluting with and dragged her away, whispering quietly. He seemed to point at me to begin with, before she shook her head from side to side and looked down, before glancing back at me. She raised her chin to look at him before she spoke, gesturing to me after a moment.

Sofia had a slight frown, her arms crossed, like she wasn’t expecting this. Her eyes flicked between the Colonel and Lieutenant Zenzele, calculating. When the Colonel raised his voice, her frown deepened—but she said nothing. I was in front of the line, so I simply stepped out of it and walked up to her.

“Oi. You know what's going on?” she just glanced at me, and I saw a hint of annoyance.

“Steve. You are not meant to speak to a high ranker without being asked. You have been told this already.” Her eyes drifted back to the Lieutenant and the Colonel.

“Cool. Anyway, you know what's going on? Why does the Colonel look so annoyed?” I said, as I tried to read their lips.

She turned to me full on now. “Steve. You have been told twice. This continued insubordination will result in you being punished severely. Do not make me repeat myself again.”

I turned to her fully now, still hating that she was my height. “And here I thought you wanted to start off anew, get over the wrong foot we started on. Or does the mighty Sofia everyone preaches about not keep her word?” I said back to her mockingly.

Real annoyance flashed across her face. “Are you insulting your superior officer?” she said sternly, like I was a chess piece not obeying her every command.

“Well. Yes. I am also insulting the general's daughter, and one of those future fink in black that thinks she’s so high and mighty she can’t even speak to someone.” I retorted, my annoyance matching hers.

Before she could reply, Colonel Walker called, “Boris! Come here right now!”

I realized that both the Colonel and the Lieutenant were looking at me, the Lieutenant had a mixture of disappointment and annoyance on her face, the Colonel had barely contained fury behind a frown.

I walked over to them, saluting the Lieutenant like a good boy. “Yes, Lieutenant,” I asked, confused as to why I was here.

The Colonel just looked from me to Sofia, but ignored my little insubordination. “Boy, what happened yesterday? Did Lieutenant Daniel and his squadron beat you? Did they beat Lieutenant Zenzele in front of the rest of the sleeveless?” He tried to ask it calmly, but his voice was a whisper, barely controlled rage when he spoke of the Lieutenant.

“Uhm, yes. Beat me for a while, dragged the Lieutenant by her hair and threw her outside the warehouse too. I assume by your face this is not normal?” I asked, mentioning the hair part just to see if it would make him angrier. Got to tell you, worked like a charm.

He whispered through his teeth, “They did what?”

“Like I said, beat me for a while. I have no idea who Lieutenant Daniel is, but one guy with black hair and a scar on the right side of his neck slapped her twice, in front of us.” I said, pointing back towards the sleeveless.

“Shouted at her, beat her into unconsciousness, then a guy that looks like a fish dragged her by her hair across Sector B and threw her outside, like a ragdoll.” I said it like it hadn't enraged me endlessly when it happened. But, I thought with the look on the Colonel’s face, the consequences would go quite nicely in her favor.

He whirled on her, grabbing her by her shoulders. “Why didn't you report this to me? Why did you not come straight to me?” he shouted, looking between us even as he basically throttled the poor Lieutenant, her eyes wide like she'd never seen this behaviour from him before.

Pretty sure everyone in the whole room heard him roar those questions, as he grabbed me by my arm. “The rest of you! Your training will continue! I will call you throughout the day! You will drop everything and come straight to my office! Am I understood?” he shouted at them as he dragged me past.

“Yes, Colonel!” they all shouted in unison, looking like the words had slapped them.

Sofia followed us as he let go after I fell into step beside him. “Lieutenant! Make sure that they are not one second late! Not one second!”

And with that last command, we walked out of the warehouse, towards the main building.