A/N: I know a lot of people have wrote about this topic: Alex's classmates being sent to Brecon Beacons, but this one is going to have a little... twist. Second Alex Rider fanfiction.

Light. That was all I was looking for. Blood was dripping down my arm and onto the floor, but I knew I had to get out of here. I couldn't believe what happened in the last twenty-four hours. Now, here I was in another deadly game and gamble. Feathered Serpant 2. After all I had been through with Damain Cray and now some other millionaire had to invent a sequel. Too bad this millionaire is a cold-blooded killer like Cray. My head started to spin and I rested my back against a wall. Exhaustion flowed through every limb and I slid down the wall in a sitting position. I put my head in my hands and thought about how I came to be in this mess.

"Alex Rider, please report to the office." The secretary announced over the intercom. I stood up and felt everybody's eyes on me as I walked through the door. Nobody knew what I had been through, but they thought I was a druggie along with many other names. I didn't know how long this was going to last, but I actually wanted them to quit staring. My thoughts focused on why I was being called to the office. I walked further down the hallway, nearing the office with each step I took. My hand touched the doorknob and it turned gently in my hand; I stepped inside.

Now I remembered. I lifted my head and looked around me. There were torches hanging on the walls along with many torture devices. Bloodstains covered the floors and walls from past victims. I took in a raspy breath before getting back on my feet. My head was still spinning, but I didn't dare lean against the wall because of the torture devices. Even though I was suffering from blood loss, I knew I couldn't give up. Not yet. I started walking through the hallway again to a challenge I knew was coming. When I turned around another corner, I was met with another hallway. I started walking, but I heard something buzz. I stopped and looked around, trying to pinpoint the sound. Then, spikes started coming out of the walls. The walls itself weren't moving, just the spikes. Each one was at least eight feet long and it only took me a moment to process this before I started to run.

When I returned to my class after being summoned to the office, everybody could tell I was pissed. I sat down in my seat for a little longer before the secretary told everyone to go the auditorium. A lot of people were wondering what was going on, but I knew. Tom looked at me, but got up and followed the others a few seconds later with me right behind him. When we sat down in the auditorium seats, people started wondering what was going on. I knew, but nobody asked... not that I would tell them anyway. I closed my eyes for a moment and I heard everybody grow quiet.

The principal stood on the stage with a microphone in his hands, "Let me introduce you to our special guest; the sergeant of SAS." This got a lot of people talking. What was a SAS man doing here?

I opened my eyes and saw the sergeant standing there on stage looking at the crowd of teenagers before him. Tom looked at me and he finally figured out why I was so pissed earlier. He shook his head in disgust, but paid attention to see what the sergeant had to say.

"I'm not here to give you a lecture on behavior." The sergeant said, "I came here to show you what is expected in the SAS. I have a few names on a list that I'm going to call out and I want those people to get up here." He pulled a paper out of his pocket. "Charles Burmingham, Daniel Cliffe, Samuel Corr, Alex Rider, and Tom Harris."

Tom and I stood up along with the other boys called and walked up on the stage. Whispers broke out among the students when they saw me on stage with the others. I didn't look at them, but I felt their eyes on me. I put my hands in my pockets and clenched my hands into fists.

"These lucky boys are going to be taken to Brecon Beacons where they will discover what it's like to be in the SAS. It's not going to be a walk in the park, it's going to be Hell to most of these boys up here on this stage. Just to prove it to you, there will be a video camera recording their progress while training." He gave us the rules which I had heard before, then dismissed us. We were leaving tomorrow at six thirty in the morning and had until then to get packed for our two week stay.

I was still running down that spike-filled hallway when I thought back to that moment. We had arrived in Brecon Beacons and were one unit; me, Tom, Charles, Daniel, and Samuel. However, our unit didn't have a name. We were just known as the pesky, spoiled pests. I was still running with the spikes closing in with each passing second. My heart raced like a V8 engine. Thumpthumpthumpthump- I was close to the end of the hallway now and the spikes were scraping against my skin.

"I want you over that course right now!" The sargeant yelled at us as we went over the obstacle course once more. I wasn't very tired, but I had to hide the fact that I had been here before. I made it to the end in twenty five minutes and the sargeant wasn't happy at all even though I was the first one over the course. When the others returned, the sargeant yelled at us again, "You think you're real men? Real men can make it across that in ten minutes!" I couldn't believe that somebody could make it through that in just ten minutes. I could have made it it at least fifteen, but I didn't want to show off. The sargeant looked at me, "You. Stay behind. You're going to go over the course again since you fell too many times. If that had been a war, you'd be dead." He looked at the others, "Dismissed."

I watched the others leave before throwing a questioning glance at the sargeant. When he looked at me, he smiled. "Cub, I was given orders by the higher ups to improve your skills. I want to see how quickly you can really get through that course. Now go, you have to get below seventeen minutes." I nodded and ran to the starting point. When the sargeant told me the time was going, I took off running as fast as I could. Since I already memorized the course, I knew how to get through all the obstacles faster. The last obstacle was what was hard. There were two walls and you had to climb up them to get a small platform on one of the walls. I jumped at the left wall, then bounced off it to the right one. I continued this action until I reached the platform and dropped down to the ground. When I returned to the sergeant, he smiled. "You've grown faster since the last time you were here; thirteen minutes. That's good for somebody your age."

"Thank you, sir." I turned around and started to walk back to the unit's hut.

I was almost through the hallway, just a few more feet and I would be free. However, I was afriad I wasn't going to make it, because I felt the spikes ripping and digging into my skin. When I thought I wasn't going to make it, I jumped forward. Just before the spikes met, I realized I was out. I sighed and caught my breath for a minute. Then, I got to my feet and walked to my next challenge and I wondered if I was going to survive it.