Page 4

I still don’t get my shower, and instead I’m forced to go to another class with a group of females. Though at least this one is outside and physical.

“Sena, come stand with us,” the blonde from the class calls out.

But I ignore her to head straight to the back of the group.

She rolls her eyes at me and turns to the brunette beside her with an irritated look directed towards me.

But I don’t know her. I’m not the Sena she may have known, and this Sena’s impression of her is that she is a little too judgmental for my liking.

I prefer to stick by myself anyway.

The thought only leaves my mind when the redhead walks over to me.

“You really don’t remember anything?” she asks, low enough that no one else can hear us.

I shake my head and glance at her, wondering where she’s going with this.

She tilts her head toward the two girls now starring daggers at us. “I’m Robin. I’d stay away from them if I were you. They’re nothing but trouble.”

I glance over at them and catch the calculating look in the blonde’s eyes. “You don’t have to tell me. I can spot that a mile away.” I turn to her. “Thanks for the heads up though. Anything else you think I should know?”

She looks at me for a moment, searching my face for something. She must find what she’s looking for because she nods her head and then tilts it to the spot across the long field where we stand.

There’s a tall, muscular male with short brown hair heading in our direction. And although he’s attractive, something about him just rubs me the wrong way.

“That’s Dane. Our instructor. He’s an absolute dick and will follow through with every threat he makes. He hates females for some reason and doesn’t hide it.” She sighs as he grows closer. “Keep your head down. Do everything he tells you. Within reason.”

She gives me a pointed look. “And get ready to hurt for the next couple of hours.”

Great…

The closer Instructor Dane gets, the more vicious he looks. As if the sight of us alone makes him angry.

The girls scramble around me and line up, keeping an arm’s distance between once another. Robin stays beside me and gives me a nod as if trying to reassure me, and something about it warms my cold little heart.

I glance ahead just as Dane steps in front of us.

“What the fuck are you all doing standing around? Get moving. Five laps. That’s if you can even make it,” he says with a snarl.

The front row gets moving with each row following behind. As Robin joins them, she quickly turns and rolls her eyes at me, making me smile.

I start running, pacing myself, and stay close to Robin, matching her speed. The first and second laps aren’t too bad. But by the third and fourth, I really start to feel it. By the fifth, I push this body and legs, promising them a rest if they hold out a little longer.

We stop beside Instructor Dane, but he doesn’t even look at us.

“One more,” he says and the girls all groan.

But one vicious look from him gets them all moving.

I frown at Robin but follow them too without vocalizing my pain.

Each breath feels like swallowing flames by the time I’m done, my legs trembling like Jell-O.

Dane is gracious enough to give us a minute to get a drink of water—Robin shares hers with me—and then stands in front of us with a big smile that makes me feel nervous.

“Now that we’re all nice and warmed up, let’s get down to some real work.”

Real work… I frown at Robin.

Dane turns, and we follow him past the field to what looks like a large obstacle course.

It’s a huge, long strip that coils back around with at least twenty obstacles. There’s a rope ladder, a double beam, trip wire nets, tunnels, stepping-stones, a sloping wall with rope, a two-meter-deep pit, a high wall, zigzag balance beams, crawling nets, and more…

I’m hurting just looking at it. Robin shares a look, commiserating with me.

“This is the assault course. You will be using it to train on until you can pass it in under ten minutes,” Instructor Dane says with glee in his voice.

My eyes widen. How the hell are we supposed to finish that in ten minutes?

“Get started,” he says. “There are small red arrows directing where you should go.”

When none of us moves, he glares at us all. “Get moving,” he shouts, spurring us into action.

We head straight for the start of the obstacle course, pairing in groups of two. Before the first girl starts, Dane calls out to us, and we all turn to him.

“Oh, and you can only leave if you each finish in twenty minutes. And until you do, you’ll redo it again and again.” He gives us all a savage smile, promising pain. And the look in his eyes makes my skin crawl.

“He’s a sadist,” someone whispers.

And I have to agree with her. This is going to be torture after exhausting ourselves running already. And that’s without having to pass it in twenty minutes.

Something that feels impossible in this moment.

We get moving through the obstacles, all of us sluggish and taking far longer than we should.

It’s safe to say that I don’t pass it the first or second time in under twenty minutes. It takes another three times before I’m able to scrape under the time to pass. And that’s by sheer luck and possibly a blessing from the gods.

My entire body trembles, my stomach cramping with hunger as I wave Robin off and head back toward that gray house on the other side of the forest, all while hoping the four dickheads haven’t locked the doors for the night. Again.

It takes me twice as long to get there with every ache and pain in my body making itself known.

I’m about a yard away from the house when I spot them walking from the forest behind the back of the house.

They freeze when they spot me, their expressions turning murderous as they veer in my direction and head straight for me.

“Where have you been?” Hazel Eyes demands.

Too exhausted to have a verbal spar with them, I answer him. “Class, then training.”

It’s not like they can’t smell the stench of me from here. I can, and I want to get away from me. I really need a shower and change of clothes.

“Where did you sleep?” Dimples asks with his fists clenched by his side.

But I don’t know why he’s angry. They’re the ones who locked me out. What did they expect me to do? Beg to be let in?

“We don’t give a shit.” Platinum Blonde cracks his neck and looks everywhere but me.

I nod, glad that at least one of us is on the same page. “Good. I’m going to bed.”

I start moving, but they span out in front of me, blocking my way past them, and Hazel Eyes steps directly in front of me.

“No. You’re going to train with us.”

A laugh bubbles up my throat, but there’s not an ounce of humor in it. “I just spent the last four hours training. Hard pass.” I move to step around them when Dimples swiftly steps to the side, blocking my path once more.

“You have to spend time with us each day,” he says with a scowl. “It’s in the rules whether you like it or not.”

I rear back and frown at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Like you don’t already know,” he grits out, narrowing his eyes at me.

“I don’t,” I tell him giving my best ‘fuck you’ look. “So, explain or move the hell out of my way.”

He grinds his jaw looking everywhere but me. “It helps… the madness.”

I look at them like they’re already there.

“You all locked me out, made me sleep in the cold, and yet you expect my help. Fuck. That.” I cross my arms feeling like a petulant child.

But really, I’ve just reached my limit. I’m tired, hungry, and still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I’m in someone else’s body with no way of getting back to my own.

“We didn’t think you’d run off,” Hazel Eyes growls.

“It doesn’t matter,” Dimples says. “Let’s just get going. My fucking skin is crawling. I need to run this off.”

They all look at me as if expecting I’ll just agree. “I’m hungry.”

“We’ll make you something when we’re done,” Hazel Eyes grits out as if it pains him to even talk to me.

I narrow my eyes on them, but they all lock down their emotions, and I can’t figure out if they’re lying or not.

Too exhausted to care, I nod, agreeing to their little trade. Even if I don’t get food, at least I’ll get to sleep in a warm bed tonight.

“A quick session. And I’ll mostly be watching,” I tell them, and they smile. A smile that looks eerily similar to the one Instructor Dane wore right before he introduced us to the assault course with a time limit.

It already makes me regret my decision.

“Deal,” Dimples says.

We get moving, and I hobble behind them, trying to keep up with their pace. They eventually realize I’m not moving as quickly as them and groan as they force themselves to slow down to my pace. Or closer to it at least.

“I can’t keep calling you by your physical features in my head. What’re your names?” I ask them.

They all freeze and turn to look at me.

“Are you serious?” Dimples asks.

I open my mouth to tell him, yes, I am damn serious, why else would I be asking. But I quickly shut it when I realize they don’t believe I have amnesia. Which is technically true. But this Sena doesn’t know them. Nor have I ever met them.

Fuck it. I’ll downgrade them to dickhead one through four instead. They don’t even deserve names at this point.

We make it through the forest to a large clearing. There’s another obstacle course in front of me, but it’s far more vicious with climbing walls that are double the size and have spikes and huge pits and balance beams with dug out trenches that are filled with jagged rocks.

I make my way over to a large tree trunk and wave them off. There’s not a hope in hell I’m even attempting this. Not after the day I’ve had.

The quiet one of the four, the pretty male with deep indigo eyes, glances at me. “Aren’t you going to?—”

“Nope,” I tell him, quickly realizing what he’s asking.

He frowns. “But?—”

“Nope.” I shake my head and lean back against the tree, closing my eyes.