Love of a Shifter: A Paranormal Romance Bundle

Chapter 2-2

The locker room was nicer than anything she had ever seen before. It was startling to be in a locker room that was more attractive than any building that she had seen in her hometown. In Idaho there was hardly anything that looked similar to this and it was just another moment where she realized how little she had seen the world and how insignificant she was in this race.

It was hard for her to swallow, but as she started to dress down, feeling the cool air kissing her body, she didn’t waste time looking at the décor or the other contestants. In fact, all she looked at were the clothes in front of her. They were all given the same thing to work with. She was given a sports bra, panty shorts, yoga pants, a white shirt, socks, shoes that fit perfectly, and a band to tie her hair back with. She dressed as quickly as she could and made sure that her clothes were folded and placed inside of a locker that was more advanced than anything she had ever seen.

There was a list of comprehensive instructions waiting for her to work with. She walked through them step by step, pressing her thumb on the bio-scanner and when it took the reading, it could only be opened with her thumbprint. With all her jewelry and clothes safely inside the locker, she shut the door and adjusted herself, not bothering to look at her reflection. It wasn’t like this was going to be a beauty workout.

Everyone else in the locker room wasn’t under the same impression as she was. They were primping and fixing everything that they could so that they were the most beautiful athletes in the history of the gym. She didn’t waste her time with them and Tamara was the first one ready, waiting at the door where there was a woman standing in an entire set of white scrubs. She smiled at Tamara and had her hands folded behind her back as she watched her.

“All ready?” She asked with a soft, polite voice.

“Ready to do this,” Tamara smiled back and nodded to her.

“Well, when the others are ready, we’ll get you set up,” the woman said and Tamara was left with the unfortunate and unbearable burden of waiting for a dozen women to decide that they looked pretty enough to go work out in a room with the same twelve women.

The gym turned out to be something that was rather simple and when they reached their first position in the gym, there were twelve treadmills set up for them to start the running portion of the examination. Tamara saw a black sign with red letters that had her named spelled out for her, beckoning her to the treadmill that would be hers for the portion of the exam. She stepped onto it and looked at the control panel, only to find that there were no buttons, no meters, and nothing to tell her what was happening or how to control the treadmill.

“For the first portion of this exam,” a thoroughly electronic voice spoke to them over a speaker, “you will be given a test of cardio-endurance to measure your fitness level. Should you feel that the examination is beyond your capabilities, please, step to the side and your machine will stop. Do not exert yourself in fear that surrender will determine disqualification. Your safety and health are our top priorities, so please, only go as far as you feel you can.”

Somehow, Tamara doubted that this was the case. When the machines started up and she began to walk, the speed slowly began to pick up and soon she was jogging and then running. There was nothing about this that seemed difficult to Tamara and she immediately employed the skills that she had developed from an early age when she started running. She loved running, to be honest, the way that only runners truly could. She enjoyed the peace and the calm of it. She enjoyed being able to regulate her breathing and to control how she felt through the entire process. She enjoyed the ability to really get into the mindset that would enable her to be the best that she could be.

Closing her eyes, she let her body take over, jogging and running, depending upon the speeds that they changed up to try and give them a rest from straight sprinting. She could handle it and she was grateful for this being part of the test. She wasn’t sure how long they were going to be running and jogging, but she didn’t think it really mattered if she knew how long they would be. It wasn’t like she could track the passage of time.

Paying no attention to her fellow competitors, she continued to run and jog until she heard a soft bell and the machine began to slow down and they were given the opportunity to take a cool down lap. Now, opening her eyes and sweating, she glanced around her at the other competitors. She saw that two of their competitors had stopped running and were standing around with their arms crossed, clearly ashamed or embarrassed that they weren’t able to keep up with the rest of them. She thought that it was kind of sad that they couldn’t do it.

This was one of the things that they were supposed to be able to do in the original application process. What exactly had they expected this whole thing to be? She took a deep breath and tried to get her heartbeat under control and calm her body down, letting the cool down take over.

“Please proceed to the next room,” the soothing, electronic voice requested of them.

Stepping off her treadmill, Tamara followed the others and entered the next room where they were each shown an area that was blocked off from the others by a glass wall that had been frosted. At best, all you could see were blurry silhouettes. Like the treadmill, there were signs in front of each of the stations, calling each of them to their spots to work out. As she approached her area, she looked at it and felt excited for what was to come. On the white wall, there was a list of exercises that she was to perform with the free weights. Depending on her results, she was certain that she would be graded.

The racked weights were ready for her and she looked at the bar with eager anticipation. This was where she thrived. “Proceed through the workout at the weight increment that you are most comfortable with. Feel free to max your weight if you are comfortable. If not, do not feel pressured. Your weight will not affect the results of your success or termination.”

When the soft bell rang one more time, Tamara approached the weights that were racked and she began with the first exercise. She had to do four sets of squats with fifteen reps each. When she lifted the weight and loaded it onto the bar, she started doing her workout, the exact same workout that she had done last time she was at the gym. Confident in her strength, she lifted her max and didn’t waste time pushing herself. When she was done, she moved to the next workout and then kept going until she was done. Every time she removed a weight from the racks, she watched the totals registering on the wall next to the listed work out, keeping track of exactly what it was that she was doing. It felt like the wall was magical and it actually made Tamara smile. She would kill for this wall at her gym.

Again and again, she finished her workout until she was completely done, sweating and her chest heaving as she clamped her hands on her hips and paced back and forth, trying her hardest not to peek at the others. She could hear them working out, grunting, and pushing themselves to the limits of their capabilities as they continued on their workouts. Soon, they were completely finished and the soft bell rang out.

Sweating and exhausted, she looked around for an attendant like there had been at the last room and in the locker room, but after a moment, she could hear the thick click of expensive shoes and she could see Mr. Garrett and a few attendants with him walking the length of the room, checking each of the competitors briefly before turning and walking back to the center of the room where he turned and faced the rest of the group.

“Congratulations,” he said with a very clear and professional voice. “You have completed the first phase of the examination. Before the second phase of the examination, you’ll be given the opportunity to shower, dress, and cool off before you meet for the next part. Please, step through the next doorway, and follow the hallway to the door that is marked with your name. Your thumbprint will unlock the door and give you access to the room. Congratulations and thank you for your hard work.”

Tamara took a deep breath and wondered which of them would be going home. She was betting that there was a card or an attendant in the room of whoever ended up going home, waiting on the other side of their door. Suddenly, she felt like her nerves were standing on edge. She wasn’t ready to go home and she wondered if the other women had lifted more than she had or done better than she did in the endurance portion of the examination. There were some muttering and quiet conversations as they headed to the door on the far right side of the room and the frosted glass door slid open, letting them walk down the hallway.

Finding the door with her name on it, she could feel butterflies gliding through her stomach. It felt like there were bombers actually, circling inside of her stomach, looking to drop their fiery payload and unload on her. She wanted to puke, to pass out, or to cry when she found the door waiting for her. She held up her thumb to the scanner and pressed it gently, listening to the beep and the sound of the lock unlatching.

Pushing open the door, she stepped into the room, Chopin softly playing over invisible speakers. There was no card waiting or her, just a clean lounge and wardrobe waiting for her, with a bathroom. There was no attendant waiting to take her home.

She had made it.

Sighing in relief, she started to undress.