"Ding_Dong"
A loud, resonant bell echoed throughout the dorm, jolting everyone awake. In the girls' dorm, the first room's table lamp flickered on, illuminating Rein as she sat up in bed, staring blankly at the wall, too lazy to stand.
In the next room, Holly remained in bed, briefly glancing at the table lamp, which had turned on by itself, before closing her eyes again.
Unlike Rein and Holly, Yunlin was already up, intently studying the tablet provided to them, trying to familiarize herself with the electronics. "This is ridiculous," she chuckled. "Expecting everyone to rise at five in the morning? Good luck with that."
Claire, in her room, sat cross-legged on the floor, practicing controlled breathing, a technique she had seen in a show on the tablet the previous night. The air around her seemed surreal.
In the last occupied room in the female row, Sonia didn't flinch at the alarm from the grandfather clock in the hallway. She wasn't the only one; most of the males remained asleep, except for Ryan, known for his tantrums. Ryan sat in his room's chair, staring at a book titled "Rules of Greatness."
The hallway remained silent, with no one preparing for the day, until an hour and a half later, when the giant clock rang violently, causing vibrations throughout the building. Everyone leapt out of bed, dashing out of their rooms in alarm, only to find the clock had stopped ringing.
The sound of a screeching microphone echoed through the hidden speakers in the hallway.
"Get yourselves out on the field!" a voice boomed. "You have fifteen minutes to freshen up. Failure to show up within the allotted time will result in a penalty and invasion of your privacy. Your time has already started."
Recognizing the voice as a signal that this was not a drill, everyone rushed back into their rooms, emerging with toothbrushes and towels in hand. They exchanged surprised glances, having unintentionally synchronized their exit.
Without a word, they all sprinted upstairs to the bathroom. Upon entering, they found the bathrooms divided into five sections, saving them from the misery of being cramped, given their time constraint.
Time was running out, and everyone was rushing. Like pebbles falling from a string, they all dashed out of the bathrooms, into their rooms, and then sprinted towards the field. Ryan was the first to arrive, nearly dressed with ruffled hair. The others arrived a few seconds late, resulting in a punishment of eighty squats on the spot.
"This can't be real," Skara grunted, his breathing already heavy, and he wasn't even near halfway through the squats. The others shared the same thoughts, wondering how Ryan, known for being a lawbreaker and sloppy with preparations, had managed to be early.
"Come on, what's the big deal about me being early? We all differ in our preparation times," Ryan scoffed. He went on to recap his preparations for the day, from laying out the provided training clothes to timing each step from the room to the bathroom and back. Everyone was surprised, even Julius looked at him in a new light.
"Well, I suppose the first lesson has been learned. There's no need for me to emphasize the importance of punctuality and preparation," Julius said, his hands behind his back.
"Yes, sir!" they chorused loudly.
Julius nodded, seemingly pleased with the lesson learned. "Alright, now that we've established the importance of punctuality, let's move on to our stamina training session."
The group groaned, still recovering from their squats punishment. Ryan, however, looked eager, his ruffled hair now smoothed out.
"Today, we'll be doing a 5K run around the training grounds," Julius announced, his eyes scanning the group. "I expect each and every one of you to push yourselves to the limit is what you all think I will say"he paused the continued after looking at their faces "finish the run if you know what's best for you "
Skara groaned, his heavy breathing now replaced with a look of dread. "How much worse can it get?"
Julius's expression turned stern. "You think the world is going to be easy on our kind just because no harm was done? Or do you think the enemy is going to wait for you to catch your breath before he considers raining bullets on you?"
The group shook their heads, knowing better than to argue with Julius.
"Alright, let's move out!" Julius barked, leading the group towards the training grounds.
As they began their 5K run, Claire took the lead, her long strides eating up the distance with rein and Ryan not falling behind her. Skara and the others struggled to keep up, their legs burning and lungs heaving.
Julius watched from the sidelines, his eyes narrowed in observation. "This is just the beginning," he muttered to himself. "We'll see who's left standing by the end of this training session. But those siblings are on a different scope"
The group continued their run, each step pushing them closer to exhaustion. But they refused to give up, driven by their determination to succeed and make it through Julius's grueling training program.
As they ran, the sun beat down on them, draining their energy. Sweat dripped from their brows, and their muscles screamed in protest. Ryan, however, seemed to be in his element, one which is far from his usual self, his pace steady and strong.
Vincent and Oscar were also beginning to catch up with the siblings in lead, but Sonia and yunlin on the other hand, were struggling. Their legs felt like lead, and their lungs burned. They could feel his energy dwindling, but he refused to give up. He thought back to Julius's words: "The is far different from the previous training sessions we did last time." The two girls knew they had to push through the pain if they wanted to make it through the training program just like they've always done.
As they approached the 3K mark,skara was already out laying on the ground devoid of strength, holly was also beginning to slow down being second to the last. Her eyes were already going dull only to be awoken by Julius who shouted out encouragement, his voice carrying across the training grounds. "You're halfway there! Keep pushing!"
Ryan picked up speed, pulling ahead of the group but was out run by Rein placing home third in line. They muscles in his body were already beginning to get tired and strained, Skara was already out and the others struggled to keep up, their bodies screaming in protest. But they dug deep, finding hidden reserves of energy.
As they approached the finish line, Julius in his tractor yelled out,"Sprint to the finish! Give it everything you've got!"
The group surged forward, their legs pumping furiously. Claire with swiftness dashed forward like a lightening bolt and crossed the finish line first, followed closely by rein, then Vincent and Oscar and Ryan fifth with the others behind him. They collapsed onto the grass, exhausted, but exhilarated.
Julius stood over them, a hint of a smile on his face. "Well done, recruits. You've taken the first step towards becoming true warriors. But don't think this is the end. We're just getting started."