When Ellen woke up to the alarm, she felt horrible. Her muscles burned and while she wasn't sure how much she had slept, it was definitely not enough. Casey mumbled from a bed across the room, asking if Ida had the mercy to smother her with her pillow.

"Good morning, ladies," Gunnery Chief Grayson called across the hall. "I'll be awaiting all of you in front of your rooms, ready to go, in ten minutes."

Groaning, Ellen sat up and swung her legs off the bed. Ida dangled her feet next to Ellen's head for a moment, then slid to the floor with a thud. Meanwhile, Casey had pressed her pillow to her face by herself.

Ellen got up, stretched her weary limbs and picked up the essentials for the morning toilet.

"Give it up, Casey," Ida said with a grin as she left the room with Ellen.

Only when she was standing in front of her room in her training uniform with Ida and Casey did Ellen remember what she had heard last night. Was Lauren still part of the recruits? But the concern was unfounded, because she found Lauren three doors down, tying her red hair into a bun and chatting with one of her roommates.

A perky Olivia stepped up to Ellen and trilled, "Morning, Ellen."

"Not too much good mood in the morning, she can't take that yet," Norah called over teasingly. Ellen gave her a grim look.

"Attention!" shouted Gunnery Chief Grayson, who had suddenly stepped out into the hallway, and they lined up neatly. He paced the hallway, checking to make sure they were dressed properly.

"Another wonderful day is coming. You now have twenty minutes for breakfast and after that please come to the obstacle course, some of you already know where it is. I wouldn't recommend being late." He turned on his heel and took one of the two flights up, his heavy boots clattering on the steps.

Tired, the group shuffled to the canteen, where a not so appetizing-looking porridge and some fruit awaited them. When Ellen was seated with her portion, her friends took the other seats.

"How bad was yesterday, Lauren?" Norah asked while peeling a banana.

Lauren shrugged. "Exhausting, but after half an hour we were allowed to go."

"I couldn't have held out any longer!" Alex threw in impressed.

The men also came into the canteen and spread out on the free tables, whereupon Alex craned her neck curiously. Ellen couldn't help but laugh because it was always the same with Alex. Whenever they had started a new class, she had her sights set on a new Prince Charming - much to the dismay of her mother, who had always demanded that she'd focus more on her studies.

"Alex, no! We're not in high school anymore!" Norah said, following her gaze as well. But Alex ignored her, emptied her tray and walked over to the men who were just getting their breakfast.

Ellen replied, "Let her have some fun, the day will be exhausting enough."

Little did she know that she'd be damn right about that.

The obstacle course pushed them all to their limits. After each recruit had been given a shirt with a number - Ellen's number was 13 - they were to start their first round straight away.

First they had to climb over several transverse wooden beams and reach a hill from which they were supposed to jump two meters down into a sandpit. This wasn't a problem for Ellen, but the eight-foot-tall wooden wall that awaited her afterwards was. She just managed, with a lot of momentum and trembling arms, to pull herself up and drop on the other side.

"Faster, recruit!" yelled one of the instructors right next to her. Ellen tried to step it up a notch, but lost her balance on the next log she had to balance on and had to start all over again. On the third try she finally made it. After a short sprint, she threw herself into a sandbox and tried to somehow crawl under the taut wires. In front, beside, and behind her were other recruits, also crawling and panting through the sand. After that, several deep trenches awaited her, into which she had to jump and climb out of them on the other side. Ellen's knees trembled as she pulled it off, and she took a moment to take a deep breath, which one of the instructors noticed. Out of nowhere he came up behind her and yelled "Move!"

Like a startled rabbit, Ellen ran towards the next station, a field of tripwires. Her task was to cover the ten meter stretch without getting caught, which she almost succeeded in doing, but she fell in the last few meters. However, she didn't let that deter her, because she only had one final station ahead of her, which consisted of several thick tree trunks that she had to climb over. After she had mastered that, too, she ran across the finish line. Gunnery Chief Grayson recorded the time on a datapad.

"Ho... ly... shit," said a panting Alex next to Ellen.

"El, you're bleeding," Lauren called over to them. Astonished, Ellen wiped her face and noticed a scratch on her right cheek. That must have happened when she fell on the tripwire. "Oh," she said in surprise, looking at the blood on her fingers. One of the instructors approached her and took a quick look at the injury. "It doesn't need stitches, you can carry on."

Ellen nodded and wiped the blood off her hand with some sand.

By now everyone had completed the course and Chief Grayson stood in front of the group.

"We checked all your times and found that you are even slower than expected. We will now repeat the course a few more times and if you can't do it in less than 10 minutes by then, you can pack your things."

"Are we getting our times from the first lap, sir?" asked a recruit.

"No, none of you passed anyway. Look for the fastest runner and try to be better, then you shouldn't have any problems."

Ellen knew what that meant. There would be an incredible jostle and shove - this was the unofficial start of the fierce competition among recruits. The group shuffled back to the starting point and at the signal they all started running again.

After her third round, Ellen somehow had made it. Norah and Alex were already waiting for her, but nobody said anything. With anxious eyes they saw the next recruits arrive. Olivia was among them.

"You just made it, everyone else after you only has one try."

Shortly thereafter, Lauren trotted through the finish line and hung her head. Norah went to her and tried to talk to her encouragingly. "You can make it. You were just a few seconds to slow."

"I don't think I can," Lauren murmured, shuffling back to the starting point with ten other recruits. Ellen thought about how to help her for a moment, then ran after her.

"Ellen, where are you going?" Alex called after her, but Ellen just waved her off. When Ellen shook off her tiredness and caught up with her friend, Lauren gave her a confused look.

"I'll run with you and push you a bit," she explained. Lauren smiled gratefully and nodded.

They got back to the starting line and started sprinting as soon as the whistle blew. After the first stations, Ellen had the feeling that they were right on time. However, just before the end of the sandbox they had to crawl through, a recruit kicked out backwards and hit Lauren hard in the head. Ignoring her, he kept walking while she dragged herself out of the box, holding her head. Ellen was startled to see how a strong bulge appeared within a very short time.

"Oh," Lauren said, staggering slightly in place. Ellen looked to the instructor who was closest and was watching them, but he didn't show any reaction, which probably meant they should keep running anyway.

"Come on, Lauren, we have to move on," Ellen said, pulling her towards the next obstacle. It was difficult to maneuver her through the last stations because she was in a trance most of the time, but somehow Ellen managed. However, she was sure that they were no longer on time, because everyone else had already overtaken them and finished the course.

"El, I can't take it anymore," Lauren mumbled, sagging.

"NO," Ellen exclaimed. They only had one more tree trunk to climb before they would reach their destination. She couldn't and wouldn't let Lauren get kicked out that easily. It was her dream to go to medical school and she wouldn't be able to do it any other way. Ellen half-threw her over the last log, wrapped one of Lauren's arms around her own shoulders, and walked her across the finish line as fast as she could. There she carefully lowered Lauren to the ground and looked at the Gunnery Chief. He gave her an inscrutable look that Ellen held. All the other recruits watched her intently.

"Number 13, you had already passed," Grayson said, examining his datapad.

"Yes, sir."

"Then why did you start again?"

"A good marine doesn't let her comrades down, sir."

The Gunnery Chief nodded and seemed satisfied with the answer. "Number 23 passed in 9 minutes and 59 seconds," he said.

"Excuse me?!" yelled a chubby male recruit and angrily stepped towards the chief. "She arrived at least half a minute after me and you told me to pack my things. Why does SHE pass and I don't?!"

"Because I chose it that way," Grayson replied, standing in front of him to his full height and making the recruit seem to shrink. "Recruit number 23 would have been on time if you hadn't kicked her in the head. Our instructor at the station noticed that you could almost be accused of doing it on purpose. Besides, you didn't care that she was hurt because of her and you left her behind. A good Marine does not let her comrades down."

Ellen had to bite back a fat grin.

"What's going on?" Lauren asked lazily. Ellen patted her shoulder.

"You passed."

"Nice," Lauren replied. Grayson approached her.

"A doctor is already on the way. Number 23, you stay here, number 13 and everyone else who passed, please follow me." He turned and left, but Ellen could have sworn he said, "Good job, Webber" to her quietly.

Two women and one man failed. Everyone else had to go through a tough athletic program again for the rest of the day, but there were no more competitions or tests to sort people out. During the practice, Ellen noticed the scrutinizing looks of the others. Obviously she had caused quite a stir. After the last strenuous sessions, she went into her room to get some things for the shower and when Lauren surprised her with a tight hug from behind

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said, giving her a peck on the cheek. Ellen laughed.

"You are welcome."

Lauren pulled away from her and Ellen looked at the small bandage on her head.

"How are you?"

"I've got a mild concussion and I'm supposed to sit out at least tomorrow," Lauren replied with a shrug.

"Lucky you!" Casey exclaimed as she walked into the room with Ida. "I would give anything for a little vacation."

"And that's just after the second day," Ida replied teasingly, whereupon Casey threw one of her off boots at her.

Lauren giggled. "You guys are doing really well. I'll be on my way to the canteen. See you later," she said and disappeared.