The Creeping Hand Of Fate (2)

"Again," Jezabel demands.

Once again, we turn in the direction of the tree and start running. I get the feeling that this will go on for a while, so I slow my pace a little bit. The kids keep their original pace and beat me across the finish line this time.

"You slowed down." Jezabel accuses me as soon as I finish.

"I'm just pacing myself."

"Every single sprint should be full speed. Put these on." She hands me a pair of weighted straps and has me attach them to my ankles.

"Again."

We run to the tree and back.

"Again."

Run to the tree and back.

"Again."

To the tree and back.

"Again."

Tree and back.

"Again."

Tree... Back.

After the seventh lap, she points at the kids.

"You two are slowing down. Put these on." She hands Sakura and Josh their pair of weighted straps, and they put them on. I take this moment to try and catch my breath. Catching me in the act, she yells, "Who said you could take a break? Again!"

I get back up and run to the tree. I've only been running long-distance, so these sprints are killing me. The cool autumn air stabs into my lungs like a million tiny knives. My oxygen-starved muscles scream at me from the build-up of lactic acid. My mind drifts back to my past life when my brother used to torture me and claim it was training.

'Hurry up!'

'Aye, sir.'

'Get down on the ground!'

'Aye, sir.'

'Push!" Sweat runs down my face from the brutal summer heat. My brother bends down so he's right next to my face. 'I can't hear you!'

'Aye, sir.'

'If you aren't getting better, then you're getting worse. All of our enemies are waiting for an opportunity to kill us, and you're just going to give it to them?'

'No, sir.' I croak out an answer between ragged breaths.

'Every day, they're training to get better than you: trying to kill you. This, right now, is how you save your life. If you don't give everything you've got now, you'll regret it when your life is on the line.' His words seep into my ears as I do one push-up after another. My haggard breaths create harmony for his indoctrination. 'Say something!'

'Aye, sir.'

'Stand up!'

'Aye, sir.'

'Get down!'

'Aye, sir.'

'Stand the fuck back up!'

'Aye, sir.'

'Get the fuck back down!'

'Aye, sir.'

'I'm trying to help you, and you don't even care!'

'No, sir.'

'Oh, so now I'm a liar.'

"No, sir.'

'Well, one of us has to be a liar; is it me or you?'

I don't know how to respond, so I just keep my mouth shut.

'SAY SOMETHING!'

'AYE, SIR!'

'If you want to prove to me that you're not a liar, then you need to work twice as hard!"

'AYE, SIR!'

'Get down and PUSH!'

'AYE, SIR!' I dropped to the ground and busted out one push-up after another at a breakneck pace.

My mind drifts back to reality as I cross the finish line. The kids have already finished adding their straps and are making for the tree. I turn around and follow after them before Jezabel even has a chance to say anything.

"You better catch up to them, or else I'll add more weight!" Her words chase after me, pushing me even harder. My already exhausted body dredges up every last ounce of strength to try and reach them. When I trained with my brother, I noticed something funny happening. Once I was exhausted, once I used every last ounce of strength available to me, I would root around inside myself until I found anything else that I could use as fuel; what I found were emotions. I would take any emotions I had and throw them into the crucible to drive me forward. Was I mad at someone last week? Burn it. Was I upset about how something turned out? Burn it. Was I excited for something yet to come? Burn it. Burn it all. Take everything that I am, and torch it for the sake of taking just one more step.

I begin that process now. All the hate, grief, and fear built up over the last several weeks get chucked into the fire. I feel it light up inside me and push me even faster. I'm about to reach the tree just after the kids. I'm catching up when I hear her shout.

"If he catches up to you two, I'm going to add even more weight."

All the energy I've prepared gets sucked out of me. I catch the kids' tired and fear-filled eyes as they make the turn. I can almost hear them say, "I'm sorry." They burst off to the finish line, leaving me in the dust. They easily beat me to where Jezabel stands. I cross the finish line and keep moving until I reach the pile of weights. The next size up is laid out before me, so I take off the pair I'm wearing and put on the heavier set.

"Go!" Jezabel yells at me to get moving.

"Aye, sir." I take off with even more weight slowing me down. I run to the tree and back. When I cross the finish line, I don't even wait for her to yell at me before starting again.

Lap...

Lap...

Lap…

I lose track of time and just focus on running as fast as possible. I can barely even hear Jezabel talking anymore. After what feels like years, I feel someone grab my shoulder.

"Stop!" The Guild master says she holds me in place. I look around and see Sakura and Josh hunched over, trying to catch their breath. "You're done for today. Class starts in five minutes."

Jezabel walks back into the guild after explaining the situation to me. I put my hands on my knees to collect myself. My mind is blank, and I can't focus on anything. Thinking about what Inari told us, I sit down and close my eyes. My entire body screams in pain, but I concentrate on my breath. In and out. In and out. After a minute, my breathing comes back under control. Though exhausted, I feel good. We've been steadily raising the intensity of our workouts up until this point; still, we haven't pushed ourselves this hard before. Intense nausea rises in my stomach, and I open my eyes.

"How are you two doing?"

"I'm okay."

'Bleugh.'

Josh vomits all over the ground before he can respond.

"I'm fine," he says as he spits out the last of his breakfast.

"What did you think of the workout?"

"It sucked, but I got a lot out of it," Sakura stands up and stretches as she answers.

"It was good," Josh says with all fours on the ground.

"I agree. I didn't know the guild had this kind of equipment. I think we should alternate between doing laps around the palisade and working out here. What do you think?"

"That sounds good to me. I like working really hard." Sakura seems to recover the quickest out of the three of us. While clearly tired, I can tell she's mostly functional.

Josh just nods his head while on the ground.

"Then It's settled. We'll run some laps tomorrow and then workout here the day after that." I don't get any negative reactions, so I take that as an affirmation. Josh is still shattered, but we'll be late for class if we don't move quickly, so I help him up and throw one of his arms over my shoulder to support him.