Try not to make this a habit

The next morning, I found myself regretting every life choice that had led me to this moment. The sun was barely up, and the cold forest air slapped me awake as Alicia and I jogged through the dense undergrowth.

Leora, the tyrant herself, was perched on a low-hanging tree branch like some kind of smug gargoyle, barking orders and making everything worse.

"Keep moving, everyone!" she yelled, her voice carrying through the trees. "Yesterday was just a warm-up. Today, I expect effort! If I don't see you sweating like demons in a sauna, we're starting over!"

I muttered under my breath, dodging a particularly gnarly root. "Who even sweats like that? Demons don't sweat, we smolder."

Alicia, jogging beside me, barely held back a laugh. "You're going to get us killed if she hears you."

"She already tried to kill us yesterday," I said. "At this point, I think she's just experimenting to see how far we can be pushed before we keel over."