As we waited in our lines, Lieutenant Zenzele walked in after us and said through gritted teeth, “What are all of you doing? I told you yesterday, start running.”

And we did. This time, I was far in the back, breathing hard. The bruises weren't so bad now, for some reason, and I stared at the angry yellow one on my arm. It seemed smaller than it did yesterday. Guess healing fast is the best part of being blessed.

Finally, after what felt like an hour, as I was trying to remember how to breathe, the Lieutenant called us to stop, giving me a raised eyebrow, clearly asking where yesterday’s performance had gone. I just panted in response, waving my hands in a "no" gesture before standing back to attention with the others.

We moved on to the rest of the exercises. I came stone last in all of them—from push-ups, squats, pull-ups, sit-ups—it didn’t matter. Every single set we did, I was on my face panting by the end, unable to do a single repetition more.

The Lieutenant stood over me as we finished our sit-ups, the rest standing at attention. She said, “Congratulations. You have finished one set. You have four more today. If one of you”—she stared directly at me—“doesn’t do half of what I tell you, you will do ten sets. Am I understood?”

I understood two things: one, any thought of you being nice is clearly insane. Two, your face is ugly. But no, I still didn’t understand why we were doing these god-awful exercises.

I managed to keep up until the third set, but then I really thought I was going to die, stopping halfway through the push-ups. The Lieutenant encouraged me in her own little way. “The fuck you doing on the floor? Can’t do a little bit of push-ups, Boris? I thought you were The General’s son? Or did I mishear?”

Well, fuck. I really thought no one important had heard that, even as people’s mouths opened and they all looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and rage. The Lieutenant came to stand in front of me, squatting down, grinning widely.

“I heard you chatting with the lower ranks. I was going to let it be until I heard your funny little joke. Tell me, Boris, is it still funny now?” she said sarcastically, clearly enjoying herself.

“If I was honest, no, I do not think so,” I responded, panting through the words as I stood on my hands and knees.

“Well, I don't think so either. All of you, ten more sets, since I'm feeling generous today. And if you’re wondering whose fault it is, ask the man who can’t even do thirty push-ups,” she said while walking away, waving her hand dismissively.

I wanted to throw a chair at her, but I settled for just breathing for now. I clenched my fists after I got some of my breath back, accepting the glares, and got on with it.

And we did it. Even through my exhausted state, I looked up and saw Sofia watching us, but she seemed to be studying an intense subject, with a clipboard in hand, writing down notes every few moments. I thought it was weird, but we just kept running. Poor Marnus, even though I was suffering, he clearly wasn’t built for the physical pursuits in life, panting frantically. Then the darndest thing happened. Richard pushed him by the back and said, “Come on. You got this.”

I was so confused by the comment I almost tripped, but we just kept running, finishing that god-awful marathon, then that nightmarish set. And then the next. Finally, we were done, everyone immediately laying on their backs at the end. One guy I hadn't met yet muttered sarcastically, “Oh, that was easy. Do you guys want to do a few more?”

Every single B-rank groaned at once—except Lieutenant Zenzele, who was suddenly standing over us. “Zach, wow. You read my mind! Do three more sets, then we can begin today’s individual training.” All she got in response was more groaning.

I was so tired at the end I could barely do one pull-up. Kate, the monster, was still somehow doing ten, screaming on the last one like it had killed her baby, but she did it. Everyone would have probably clapped if we weren’t all crawling to do the squats, our legs too sore to move properly.

“You are blessed, and you can't even do a few basic exercises,” the Lieutenant said, shaking her head.

Fish piped up, “Think they’re being bogged down by the runts. That’s why.”

That, for some reason, was funny to the rest of the Lieutenants, some of them even exhaling through their noses. I saw Marnus look down with such shame I felt my heart hurt a bit.

I shot back before I could close my big mouth, “You lot couldn’t even do ten push-ups last night, fish lips. Or were you being bogged down too much by Colonel Walker?” I said, sarcastically, loudly, grinning at them from ear to ear.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Right then and there, I would have paid all the money on earth to have a picture of their faces as it went from all smiles to hideous rage, the vein on Lapdog’s face popping out. Before he could say a word, I felt my eyes rolling into the back of my head, as Lieutenant Zenzele quickly said, “Do not worry, Lieutenant Daniel. He shall be given an extra punishment for speaking without permission.”

She said this with her hand raised towards him, eyes filled with worry. I'd never seen that look before, but I knew it well. It was probably how I looked in front of Sofia, not even four days ago. But I had made a promise with God: to never give in. I sat back up, the dice already spinning, when I felt my brain turn off. Again.

Lapdog clearly enjoyed this, as he sat back, placated. I was going to scream at him again before she shouted, “The rest of you! Carry him to the back.”

No one moved, so she looked at us more forcefully. “Right. Now.”

Everyone hurried then, Kate and Richard each hauling me by my arm as I started struggling, feeling my brain turn off again as I was shoved through the door to the passageway beyond the warehouse.

As we got to the back, everyone else filed in, and I spun around to Lieutenant Zenzele, feeling angry with her, even though she didn't deserve it. “Why didn’t you let me teach them some manners? Why did you stop me?”

She looked at me like I was an idiot. “How well did it go for you last time? No, Boris. You must choose your fights. Take it, just this once. Please? Then it won’t matter, and we can move on.”

I seethed as her eyes turned toward Marnus, her eyes softening as she placed her hand on his shoulder. “Marnus, you aren’t a runt. You will be, at worst, a powerful Lieutenant many will look up to. And at best, you will wear the black cloak and can make them wish they had never spoken to you. Am I understood?”

I realized Marnus had tears in his eyes as he looked away and nodded. Richard looked down too, for some reason, like he was jealous. I felt my rage flicker, replaced by something I couldn't place. Why would he care? Did he want someone telling him he’d be great too? Did he need it? But then she was speaking to the rest of us, “All of you. To your rooms. I want to see you practicing what I showed you yesterday when I come by later.”

As we started, I saw Sofia slipping in, stopping midway through the door as she saw me staring at her. She straightened a little, before closing the door behind her and striding in like she owned the place. Before I could say a word, the Lieutenant looked at me with a stare that could kill lions, and I immediately went to the safety of my training room.

I was practicing what I was taught yesterday, the one-two on the boxing bag, before I stepped back and tried to remember how I’d strangled that fink at the gate. I was so tired though, so utterly exhausted, I sat on the ground to do so. I might have also just closed my eyes when I heard the door open. I groaned internally, looking up at the Lieutenant with her arms crossed in front of her.

“First, you are barely running half the distance you did yesterday. Then you insult a Lieutenant, who beat you literally days ago. And lastly, you try to fall asleep when I have given you an order. Boris, I thought we were coming to an understanding. What is going on with you?” she asked, sounding genuinely disappointed in me, like she thought I was just being difficult for the sake of it.

“Uh. Couldn't sleep. Just messed me up a bit today, I guess,” I said, looking away out of shame. I didn’t like her tone of voice.

“Is it because you were spying on the Lieutenants? Is that why you ‘couldn't sleep’?” she said, the air quotes she added somehow menacing.

I looked at her with wide eyes, wondering how the hell she knew, before she just said, “You literally admitted it a moment ago. Remember what you said to the Lieutenants?” she said with a huff.

I sighed, ready to tell her everything—then I remembered. She was a fink. Too good at acting human, like she actually cared. “I was hungry. Snuck out to the bins to get some food. Heard something, checked it out, saw what was happening, watched for a while.”

I glanced back at her. “That’s why I ‘couldn’t sleep,’” I said, mimicking her air quotes as I stood up and stretched.

She glanced down, looking like Yelena before she was going to ask something she didn’t want to, before she looked up and said, “Uhm. What, exactly, did you see last night? You mentioned Colonel Walker?”

I raised my eyebrow at her, and she blushed. She looked like she was caught doing something she shouldn’t have, so she waved her hand, probably to dismiss her own question, as I said, “Colonel Walker was up with them, probably a few hours. Only saw them before I ate and afterwards. He was yelling at them and making them run. It was actually quite a good sight. Wish he'd done a bit more for us. He mentioned you, seemed to be the sore point and the reason he was punishing them.”

She just stared before asking, “Before we discuss that—you ate from the bins? Are we not feeding you enough?” Her voice was laced with utter disbelief.

I just raised my shirt to the exposed rib cage I'd seen this morning.

She didn’t say anything at first—just stared. Then, a sharp exhale. “Ok, fair enough. Still, if you're really that hungry, I'll see if I can't get you a meal from the higher ranks. Got more nutrition in it, so don’t go eating from there anymore, Ok?”

I just nodded in response, before she asked something very interesting. “Now, tell me again. Step by step. What happened with the Colonel?” she asked, like she already knew the answer and didn’t like it.

And so, I told her again. I saw annoyance, and then anger creep onto her face the more I spoke. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, that idiot,” she spat. Then, she stormed out, her footsteps sharp with purpose.

While she was gone, I guess a little shut-eye wouldn't hurt.