The Endurance Training Begins
1814 Words
There is a crowd of students around the announcement board, and I can't get close enough to see if my name is on that list of passers. Philip and I just waited at the back of the crowd, while Sander volunteered himself to find our names for us. The whole place was very loud and busy. It makes me feel the thrill in finding out if my name is there. Anytime now, Sander may return with a smile while saying that we all passed, or he may return with a serious face and say that someone's name isn't on the list.
"Dude, I feel nervous," I said to Philip.
"Well, me too." He looked far through the crowd, and I also noticed that Sander coming out.
He is smiling in joy, and I knew that we all passed. He put a thumbs up, and that's it. I survived the first step!
"Thank the gods!" I said.
"Yeah," said Sander. "This calls for a celebration!"
"Wait," said Philip. "It's too early to celebrate. We still have a physical endurance test that we have to worry about."
"Oh, right," we said.
"I guess we have to train harder than before," he said. "Now that the written exams are over, we can focus on the endurance test."
"So let's go," I said, then went to our dorm.
I changed into my training clothes, and so did the two. We grabbed our needed things and went out, while I wondered where they are taking me.
"So, where are we going?" I asked.
"To the training grounds," said Sander. "Our new instructor is there."
"Oh..." I said. "That fast? Can't they wait for tomorrow?"
"I know, but that's what they said."
The training grounds are beyond the school field where we assembled on the first day, so we crossed it then there was a path between two unmeeting fences. There are trees behind them, concealing it from my sight. I don't know what the training grounds look like yet, but I think it will be neat, just like the rest of the place here in this Demigod District. This wide forest of trees stopped at the distance where I can see a glimpse of what the training grounds looked like.
We are now at the end of the forest, and I can see the whole ground very clearly. It was very wide with a series of obstacles that I think that we must overcome. It is very long. A very very long series. This is not a training ground designed for humans, so a normal human may not even make it on the first obstacle, which is an artificial cliff that is very high in the sky. It looks unreal, but it is there.
"I might die here," said Sander.
"Now, don't be silly," said Philip. "Everything will be fine."
We formed a line with our other batchmates that are already here, and some man with a deep, scary, aggressive voice shouted: "LISTEN UP HERE YOU BRATS!"
It's the terrifying instructor back at the assembly! I looked at Philip who is at my right. He has this face of, "Forget what I said earlier." A chill ran down my spine. Suddenly most of us didn't dare to move.
"I am Heracles, your instructor for endurance training." He began to walk around like a trainer for a military school. "I don't care who you are or how much your pathetic bodies can take. IF YOU CAN'T, YOU FAIL! It's that simple. There will be no excuses during this time that you will be under me. I am the rule here! Understood?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" we said simultaneously. Fear has taken over us and it is weird that we were suddenly able to do that.
"Unless you wanna have your necks broken, and I will report that you had an accident during the training!"
"What?" I asked Philip.
"Silence!" My adrenaline pumped up as he walked towards me. "You have something to say, boy?" He looked at me in the eyes, but I looked down. I shook my head nervously. "Come on, it's fine. Speak your mind." Suddenly his tone became calm and kind. He even had this smile.
He said it is fine so I said, "Uhh..."
"SILENCE!!!" he screamed at my face. "You are not allowed to speak your minds! Here in this camp, you will speak your strength. I was clearly joking about you, or any of you that dare to speak their mind!"
He is definitely crazy! I don't know if I can pass the training without my mind getting broken.
He took us to the starting point of the obstacle series. The first obstacles were all about climbing. There are climbing nets, ropes, and even the cliff. Can I do this?
"Listen up!" said Mr. Heracles. "You will carry your own weight. Whoever tries to help others will be automatically failed! And don't even try to cheat the obstacle course by avoiding it. There are people here that will help me find those who do otherwise!"
I looked around and I saw a few people assigned at each of the obstacles as to supervise. Man, this is gonna be hard, and with no shortcuts. But I am aiming to become the King of Olympus. I will never do such a thing! I have pride in being a man! This is not the time to be chickening out, but it is time to become hyped! Let's do this!
"Alright! For you to pass, you will have to finish all of the obstacles in thirty minutes!"
"Thirty minutes?" said other guys.
"That's impossible!"
"Yeah!"
"Silence! No complaining! If you don't like it, then go home with your cowardly butts! This is not a drill, and you will not be able to continue for the next tests if
you fail this one. As well as the other tests that I will be giving you, tadpoles for the rest of the three months that you are under me! So now, START!"
All of us started running towards the high cliff - which is the first obstacle that we have to overcome. The cliff has a rocky surface with enough bumps and rocks to grip onto. This cliff is ten times as high as our house - which is a two storey building. It looks intimidating, but I am different now. I didn't spend my hours training to only be intimidated by it. I tried to climb at the side where no one is climbing at. I wondered why they don't climb here. It is on the far left side of the cliff, so I started to climb there. I was not able to see Philip and Sander in where they could be, because there are many other people in the cliff.
-
*
Heracles is looking at the boy who is alone climbing at the left side of the cliff.
"Sir!" said a man who aids in supervising. "A child climbed the hazardous side of the cliff. Should we stop him, sir?"
"No," he said with his arms folded. "Let him continue, this is also part of the test. Being able to push through anything even when the odds are against you."
"Very well, sir."
*
-
Man, I'm so tired! I am already halfway of the cliff, and I noticed that there is vertical a fence between me and the rest of the batch. I tried to look down and I realized that it started right at the bottom, but there is a tree and other humps that covered it from me. I saw Sander at the distance.
"Leo!" he shouted. "Why are you there?"
"There are no other people climbing here, so I think it will be safer."
"No, you i***t! That's the hazard zone of the cliff! Didn't you see the sign?"
"What? I-" I looked down, and just now, I saw the sign.
It says, "Warning! Area closed due to loose rocks."
"Oh no!" I shouted in fear.
"Can you go back down?" he asked.
"I guess, but it will cost me a lot of time, and I don't know if I can retrace my steps!"
"Oh my gods," he said. "Then can you try to cross the fence?"
I climbed near the fence, and I checked it if it can take my weight, but then I saw the bolt all rusty and rickety.
"This is bad!"
"So what are you gonna do?"
"Help! I am in the hazard zone!" No one answered. "Help!" I am sure Sir Heracles heard me, and I even see him looking at us.
"You are on your own!" he shouted.
"Yikes!" I said.
"Oh, dude...," said Sander.
"I'm just gonna have to reach the top,"
"Are you crazy? You may step onto a loose anchor and fall down! Go back now!"
"No, going up is the same as going down. There is a chance that I will step onto a loose anchor while going back too. Besides, I am halfway the cliff, and we don't have much time. Go, I will be fine."
He hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay, good luck, and be careful."
"I will." Then he left me by climbing up.
Okay, easy does it, I just have to check every rock I touch before putting my weight under it. I went like this for a minute or so when I noticed that most of the other kids already made it to the top in less than five minutes. It pressured me to try even faster, but I still have the loose anchor problem.
The rock gave up as I put my right foot on it that I thought was safe because I am sure I checked it. I checked other rocks and I found a sturdy one.
"Phew!" I sighed nervously. This is very terrifying, and I am very tired. There is still 1/4 of the cliff between me and the top. I can do this, but argh! My arms are giving up! This is bad, I will never make it at this point! I wish I had an Olympian strength!
"Need my help?" said someone.
I looked around, but no one is there. The voice is very cold, almost not a voice of a human. What's strange about it, is that I heard it clearly like it didn't come from the outside, but from inside my head. I waited for a moment if it's gonna talk again, but it didn't. That minute of rest gave me enough time to recover from my fatigue, so I finally reached the top after a minute. I was the last one to arrive. I saw rappelling hooks and ropes that extended all the way to the bottom. From up here, I can see clearly the whole obstacle course. Each of them is very hard to pass. Even so, I will not give up!
- Writer
