I apologize for being a jerk and not updating in forever but I hope this isn't too dull for you guys! Thanks for sticking around! You are all fabulous with a capital F
The obstacle course was unlike anything Alex had seen before. Alex wasn't sure what he was expecting but it definitely wasn't this. The only things Alex could see from where he was standing was a lake, and a wall that looked like the kind americans used in training camps (or so he assumed. His only knowledge on the subject was movies and television). The others around him looked a little worried as well. This was new and improved and no one knew what to expect. The only person who looked calm was Layla. She was speaking to the drill sergeant calmly, like nothing was going on. Shortly, she walked back over to Alex
"Nervous?" she asked after one glance at him
Alex hated how he could never hide anything from her. She watched so much Sherlock, she pretty much became him "yeah a little. I mean, it looks pretty tough"
She shrugged "it can't be that bad. I mean, we've faced-"
Layla was cut off by the sound of the last voice she wanted to hear. Felicia was calling to Alex-which made everything worse-and walked over to them
"Hello Alex" she called brightly. She laid eyes on Layla and her smile dropped "Lola"
Layla tightened "my name is Layla"
"Whatever" Felicia dismissed her completely and turned to Alex "Are you excited for the obstacle course"
"Kinda but-"
Alex was cut off by the drill sergeant calling out to everyone "we are about to start the new obstacle course. We will be doing this in pairs so choose wisely. This person may as well be holding your life in their hands"
There was an unspoken agreement that Alex and Layla would be together. Everyone knew that and didn't even bother asking them to be their partners. Clearly, Felicia didn't get the message
"Alex I want you to be my partner!" she put her hand on his arm and Alex wanted to back up "I would put my life in your hands any day"
Before Alex had time to think of something to say, Layla took a threatening step forward and Felicia backed up, removing her hand from Alex's arm "oh no princess, you're not doing this obstacle course. You're here for basic training. This is for big kids"
Layla's tone was a mix of satisfaction and mockery. Felicia went to protest when the drill sergeant walked over to them "Ms. Roberts, what are you doing here? This is not apart of your training"
Layla was trying to hide her satisfaction but failing miserably "I was just telling her sir"
All Felicia could do was glare at Layla. She was SAS's secret weapon and if someone laid a hand on her, they wouldn't live to see the next day. The best part was, Felicia knew it.
"Sorry sir" she said bitterly "I was just leaving"
Layla grinned as Felicia walked away and the drill sergeant looked like he was close to a smile as well "don't enjoy it too much Mynx" he sounded like he was trying to warn her but he also sounded like he was enjoying it too much
"Sir" Layla said in a correcting tone "my code name is Sphynx" she paused "but you know, I think I like Mynx better"
This time the drill sergeant laughed "alright we'll change it later. Now get ready. This isn't going to be easy" he laid eyes on Alex and smirked "but I trust you two will do just fine"
He walked away and Layla smiled
"Good man" she said "too bad he can be such an ass sometimes"
Alex nodded in agreement and stared at the obstacle course. It was so intimidating! Alex wasn't sure how he should act.
"Don't be intimidated by it" she spoke as if she had read his mind "it's not that bad"
"Says you" he said, never meeting her eyes "you're not afraid of anything"
"Thats not true. I'm terrified of spiders"
He finally looked at her "spiders?!"
She nodded "yup" she mumbled under her breath "Creepy lil' buggers"
Alex laughed but there was still a sinking feeling in his stomach
"Still worried?" she broke his train of thought
"Yeah" he admitted
He could see her smug-yet-adorable little grin and she reached up and kissed him right by his ear and chills ran down his spine. He looked to the beautiful girl standing next to him and smiled
"Well now I'm just distracted"
She laughed and he put an arm around her. The drill sergeant went to the front of the crowd and started speaking again
"Does everyone have a partner?" when everyone nodded but said nothing, he continued "good. Now, everyone line up along the waters edge. We are about to begin"
Alex and Layla pushed through the crowd and made their way to the edge. Like most lakes in London, the water was-Alex assumed-was freezing.
"It's not going to be that bad" Layla told him one last time "we'll be fine as long as we play to our strengths"
Alex smirked at her before turning back to the water
"On your mark" the drill sergeant called "get set, GO!"
Alex and Layla were first to dive in. Alex was right about the water being freezing. He felt like he had just dived into the frigid waters of Antarctica. He swam-even though his muscles began to feel numb-and peaked his eyes open a little bit. He and Layla were in the lead and she was holding back just a little bit to keep up with him. She always said to him "we're a team, no matter what" and Alex guessed that she wasn't going to leave him behind, even now. A few more pairs were catching up and Alex kicked a little harder. Layla must have noticed because she gave one swift kick and was next to him. They reached the edge and Alex climbed up first. It was steep, rocky and muddy and it took a few moments for Alex to find his footing. When he reached the top he turned and instructed the best places for Layla to put her feet. They were just a bit ahead of everyone else so no one else heard him. Just as Layla got to the last step, she slipped and nearly fell but Alex acted fast. He grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her up. Her stomach hit the side with a thump but she quickly regained her footing and climbed up
"Thanks" she mumbled, breathing heavily from the swimming
Alex smiled and nodded and they ran off. First was a rope hanging over a large mud puddle. Layla was to go first because she was the best at deciphering measurements. She grabbed the rope and took a few steps back before running at the puddle. Just at the very edge she pushed off and brought herself up the rope. She landed on the other side with room to spare.
"Do what I did" she called "any other way and you'll fall in"
Alex nodded as she threw the rope back to him. He stepped back the same amount of steps as she did and copied her exact motions. He copied when she pushed off, how she held onto the rope and let go the same way she did. She was beaming when he landed next to her. They sprinted down a long path way and could hear the yelling of others who landed in the mud. Alex heard Layla and mumbled "imbeciles". Finally they reached a large wall. Now was really when their team work came in handy. Alex was a decent amount stronger than Layla (which she hated admitting) and he had much better core strength (which Layla said he wasn't aloud to mention anymore unless he wanted his ass whooped) so they had to work together
"Gimme a boost" she said
Alex knew what she was going to do so he nodded. He went to the wall and cupped his hands together by his hip. Layla backed up a few steps before breaking into a run. When she got close to Alex, he lowered himself just a little bit and she put her foot in his hand and he threw her up in the air. She put her hands on the top and swung her whole body over the wall. He heard her land softly and suddenly Alex heard running. He jumped as high as he could and slammed his hand down on the top. He pushed himself up and swung his body over the wall, like Layla. He landed with a thunk and they burst out into a run once more.
They reached some steps that led up to a long rope hanging over yet another puddle of muddy water. It was definitely not something Alex wanted to fall in. Layla jogged up the steps, leaned back a little and put her hands on the rope before kicking her legs up and wrapping them around the rope. She moved in a rhythmic motion. Hands forward, pull feet in, hands, feet, hands, feet and soon Alex felt like he was in a trance. Suddenly there was the sound of running and four pairs of people were approaching. Layla heard it too and moved quicker. Alex hopped on the rope the same way she did and moved in the same motion. It was crucial that he focused on the rope and not on the people. It was going to use up all the focus he had be he had to do it. Alex mumbled the words under his breath as he did the motions
"Hands…..feet…..hands…..feet"
It was getting harder and harder to move. Alex's shoulders were getting tired and his thighs started to burn. All his muscles ached and he just wanted to stop. Suddenly the rope shook and drooped and Alex's hands slipped. One of the pairs had gotten onto the rope and broke Alex's concentration. Now he was dangling over the mud with aching muscles with others fast approaching. Alex knew they would not hesitate to knock him off the rope. And was that such a bad thing? Alex was REALLY tired. Suddenly someone was calling his name
"Alex! Don't give up now! I know you're tired but you can do it!"
Layla had finished the course and was waiting for him. Alex tried to crawl along the rope again but his shoulders couldn't take it
"I can't" he whispered
"Yes you can!" she yelled out to him "you're closer than you think! Come on! You can do this!"
Alex didn't move and he could feel the person approaching him
Layla yelled out one last attempt "I believe in you!"
No one had told Alex that they believed in him in…..well Alex wasn't sure. Layla wanted this badly and Alex knew it. She believed in him and he wasn't about to let her down. He started crawling faster and faster, ignoring the screaming muscles. Finally he reached the end and hopped down. Layla was smiling like an idiot
"I'm proud of you" she mumbled
She grabbed his hand and they ran
"Theres one left" Layla called out to him "we can do this!"
She sounded excited and she even did a little jump. They reached a typical barb wire crawl space. The two of them slid down on their stomachs
"Yuck" Layla said as they crawled "I hate mud"
Alex laughed at her and continued to crawl. After about thirty seconds they reached the end. The only part of Layla that wasn't covered in mud, was her back and some parts of her face and hair. Otherwise, she looked like she took a bath in mud
"We're almost there!" she beamed
"We can do this" Alex said, repeating her previous words
She smiled and they ran off as they heard voices approaching. There was a skinny pathway going through a forest that Alex and Layla had to sprint down. Layla ran ahead because she was better at noticing little things that could mess them up. She would call out ever so often saying things like "patch of four roots up ahead, keep left" or "three foot mud puddle but it looks deep and its covered by grass, go right" and Alex would always listen. He followed her instructions and before he knew it, they were out of the forest and he could see the drill sergeant about fifty feet away. They were on a wide pathway with a steep hill to the left covered in dirt, mud, roots and other dangerous things that looked painful if you hit them. The drill sergeant must have created a path for himself or something to get to this side of the course because at the bottom of the hill was a thick forest. Alex and Layla ran side by side and the end approached faster and faster and Alex was sure they were going to win.
And that's when things got chaotic.
Out of nowhere a young man-he couldn't have been older than 25-that Alex didn't know, popped up behind Layla and ran in between the two of them. Alex stumbled but the young man hit Layla much harder. She was knocked off course and began to roll to the side
"Layla!" Alex yelled out
But it was too late. She was rolling uncontrollably and began to roll down the hill. She screamed as she rolled down the hill and Alex could feel his heart crumble. All the others stopped and watched. Except for the mysterious man. He was nowhere to be found. Alex ran to the edge and looked for Layla. She hit a large root but continued to roll. The others came up behind Alex and watched
"We have to help her!" one yelled
"Are you mad?!" another said "look at that hill!"
"We can't just leave her!"
The drill sergeant suddenly ran up to Alex. He looked beyond furious
"Who was that man?" he demanded
"I don't know sir" Alex said "he came out of nowhere. I've never seen him before"
"I've never seen him around!" one man yelled out "he wasn't even on the course with the rest of us. He came out of the forest at the same time as us. He knocked over Louis as well"
He motioned to a man limping over to them. He was favouring the left leg and Alex assumed that he had sprained the right ankle
"I was trying to catch the mysterious man" the man continued "but I wasn't fast enough. I tried calling out to them but they didn't hear me"
Suddenly the sound of someone rolling down the hill stopped. Layla had stopped rolling. Adrenaline rushed through Alex. He wanted to go help her badly
"Layla!" Alex was yelling at the top of his lungs "Layla! Can you hear me?!"
There was a haunting silence that followed. Alex took a step to go to her but he was pulled back by the drill sergeant
"It's too dangerous!" he snapped "if you go down there you'll get yourself killed"
"Yeah?" Alex asked as he yanked his arm away "well she's worth it"
Before the drill sergeant could do anything, Alex jumped. He was flying through the air and suddenly began to plummet to the steep hill very quickly. He just hoped he could get his footing right. Finally he landed hard on the side of the hill and stumbled a bit and Alex thought he was going to fall and roll. But instead he started sliding. It was like he was snowboarding. Except there was no snow. And he didn't have a board. Alex was avoiding all the objects that Layla most likely ran into. He couldn't help but feel very afraid for her safety. Was she conscious? Was she bleeding? Were any bones broken? Alex wasn't making himself feel any better so he tried to push the thoughts out of his head.
Finally, after nearly falling ten times and being splashed with mud, Alex reached the bottom of the hill. He took a couple deep breaths before looking around. Layla was nowhere in sight. Did he pass her on the hill? He was moving pretty fast. He began to look around and back up the hill. He could see the drill sergeant and he looked like he was talking into something. It was probably a radio. Alex hoped he was calling for help. He looked back to the forest. Alex was wondering if Layla rolled in there. He took a few steps in before he saw it. A few feet away was a shadow lying on the ground unmoving. He ran over and kneeled beside it. To his relief and horror, it was Layla. He was glad that she was there but when he got a glance at her condition, he was ready to sink into the earth. He picked her up and held her in his arms and he could feel her heart rate getting slower and slower
"Come on Layla" he whispered "don't leave me now".
So my ending was a little mean but I kinda love writing cliff hangers so that's why I wrote it like this. This chapter went in a completely different direction than completely planned and I sorta love what happened here. So you never know if Layla lives or not...
Hehehe now I know why Moffat likes breaking viewers hearts! It's sorta fun!
Please review and if you have any ideas for what could happen in the next chapter or so, let me know (god knows I need the help)
xoxoxo Lucie