Chapter 2
The final exercise was called the Devil Crawl.
Fifty yards of freezing mud under barbed wire, with smoke, sirens, shouting instructors, and every soldier fighting to reach the red marker at the end.
The ground was slick.
The air smelled like wet clay and gun oil.
A gray dawn hung over the training field.
Ava lowered herself into the mud with the rest of the squad.
Her elbows sank first.
Then her knees.
Then her chest.
“Move!” Sergeant Major Hayes shouted from the side of the course. “Keep your heads down and crawl!”
Ava moved fast.
Not flashy.
Not desperate.
Just steady.
Every inch was controlled.
Mud splashed across her cheek.
Rain ran down her neck.
Her fingers dug into the ground like claws.
Derek crawled to her right, breathing hard, his jaw clenched.
He had started ahead of her.
Now she was passing him.
And everybody saw it.
Ava was almost at the finish line.
Three more feet.
Two more.
Her hand stretched toward the red marker.
That was when Derek twisted his body sideways and drove his boot hard into her shoulder.
The kick slammed Ava down into the mud.
Her face hit the ground.
The soldiers behind her gasped.
For one second, the whole lane froze.
Derek leaned close, his mouth inches from her ear.
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“Stay down there, weakling.”
Read Part 3 to see what Ava said after Derek thought he had finally broken her.
