Pushing Past Limits

"Argghh!" Arianna pushed herself off the ground and spat out a mouthful of dirt. She only patted her uniform twice before dashing back towards the starting line. She dropped the assault rifle she had picked up along the way and sprinted towards the starting line.

Marco shook his head with a little smile on his face. He wrote a few things down on his clip board and then looked over to the other recruits. Everyone was immersed in the training.

The sun was up early and it was getting a bit hot, thus making the recruits sweat like they had moved huge boulders up a mountain. The training had started three hours ago.

Marco raised his hand and motioned to one of the recruit. "Step out of line! You missed target number 13."

It was hard to keep track of all the recruits to make sure that they never missed the targets or made a mistake in their routine. Thankfully, he had the other soldiers to check for him. The recruit nodded and rushed towards the starting line, dropped his gun and sprinted towards the end.

Marco's eyes travelled towards the area where a few people were being punished. Some were swinging around the 'swing' like crazy while others hung upside down on the wall. He nodded and retracted his gaze.

Arianna shot past him in another attempt and swooped down and grabbed the gun then quickly cocked it without breaking stride. She leaped over the obstacles and rolled under the few that were too high to jump over.

The moment she landed, she aimed the gun at the swinging targets and fired. She hit one, two, and three but missed the fourth target. She grunted and got up. She jumped over the small barricade and rushed towards the starting line.

Marco only shook his head. She was being particularly…cooperative today. She didn't even wait to be told that she had missed a target or had failed to clear a path before starting all over.

Marco glanced at Edwin who was now going for his third turn. He rushed up the platform and jumped down then rolled under the obstacle and stood up with an awkward pose that broke his stride.

He picked his gun and rushed forward then jumped down and aimed at the moving obstacles. The obstacles were swinging faster than before. He shot a barrage of bullets at the targets and hit all the targets with extreme precision.

Marco was a bit stunned but he collected himself and wrote down a few things as well. The other recruits also jumped down and aimed but most of them missed and were returned to the starting line.

Edwin threw the gun away and rushed past the first wave of targets and soon arrived at the human shaped targets. He picked a hand gun and aimed it and released one bullet after another. The bullets sank into the head or the chest of the sculpted figures. He then rushed towards the hill-like platform and began to push the huge 'ball' upward. This part of the task was the most difficult. He ultimately failed to push it up and had to return to the starting line for his fourth attempt.

Marco was pleased. He noted that Edwin seemed to have a sort of unfathomable affinity with the gun and could make precise aims. So far, he was doing better than the other recruits in that aspect.

Arianna jumped over the obstacle again but this time she lost her footing and fell butt first to the ground. She slapped the ground and cursed before jumping up again. The next try was much worse. She picked the gun but somehow tripped on her foot and fell on the butt of the gun.

She winced and coughed dryly while trying to steady her breathing. She stood up slowly and made her way back to the starting platform while wiping her forehead.

Marco shook his head and walked up to her. "Hey, short stuff!" he called out and Arianna shot him a glare but he didn't mind. "Get over here!"

She went over hesitantly. "Yes, sir?"

"You're pushing yourself too hard," he said with a little smile. "Just take it easy, the world is not at stake here."

She nodded. "I get that, sir but I still have to give my best."

Marco wanted to say something but he shut his mouth. He waved her off and she sprinted to the starting line again. She rushed forward again and this time she managed to reach the moving targets. She aimed and got eight precise hits but missed the ninth.

She cursed herself and rushed back. This time, she failed to clear her jump and hit her head before spiralling to the ground and hitting her back hard. She groaned due to the pain and lay still for a while. Marco raised an eyebrow at the sight but waited for a while before attempting to check on her. She raised her head and stood up slowly then limped towards the starting line. She rushed forward again like a speeding bullet but this time, Marco was quick on his feet.

He quickly jumped at her and with a diving spear-head, pinned her to the ground. The impact wasn't that much but it was still enough to make Arianna writhe in pain. Her body was sore and her back—which had been continuously slammed—felt like it would fall off. Her breathing became quick and she tried to fight her way out of Marco's grip but he was stronger and more so because she had expended most of her energy. Marco was on top of her and in this position it was useless to struggle.

"I told you," he began. "To not push yourself too hard. This test is an endurance test combined with shooting practice; you don't need to clear the entire field!"

"Let me go!" she half yelled. "It's my body and I know my limits."

"Clearly not, bean pole." He shook his head. "You're exhausted."

He stood up and freed her but the moment she caught her breath, she spun around and grabbed a light beam by the side and swung it at Marco. The latter had no problems dodging it. Her movements were slow and uncoordinated.

He grabbed the beam with his left hand—which was mostly healed now—and tripped her down. He threw the beam away with a shake of his head. "You are too stubborn, short stuff and it might actually kill you in the battle field. To the swing and give me 100."

Everyone who heard him gasped. No one had ever attempted a swing that went past 50. Arianna defiantly went to the swing and began to work on it. Needless to say, after five minutes, she fell unconscious on the floor.

Marco shook his head. "Get her to the medic and let her sit out training for the rest of the week."