PLEASE READ.

The events of this story have been changed dramatically. If you're reading from where you think you left off, you WILL BE CONFUSED. Please re-read to understand. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

The rest of the evening had passed by slowly, measurements taken for uniforms with a promise of delivery by the morning. Everyone had introduced themselves, and even though there had been no initial grievances, there was bound to be a fight eventually. Merlin had reentered the room shortly before lights out, telling them how they should all try and get some rest, explaining how tomorrow could be one of the hardest days of their lives. A standard set of night clothes were distributed and without much more they were all sent off to bed. It felt a bit like a fucked up summer camp to her, only it was one where you had a good chance of dying if you made so much as one wrong move. How joyful.

Everyone around the room had already started to pull on their sleepwear, Sam still struggling with the buttons of her shirt. Quentin had already offered to help once, and even though her tone had been light, be assured that he would never ask her again. She hated feeling helpless, and hated everyone for assuming she was helpless. Though it was quite the struggle, she made her way over to the sinks after mostly everyone had made their way into bed and began to brush her teeth.

Thoughts swam in her head as she stared at her reflection in the mirror blankly, wondering if her mom worried about her disappearance, or if she'd remembered to water the plant in her room. For a second she thought about asking Merlin to call at least one of her family members and assure them she wasn't dead, but then decided against it out of worry that she would be the needy one. As she turned to leave, something caught her eye.

Turning back to the mirror, her brow furrowed as she looked at it closer. Edging up against the wall, she picked her fingernail at the bottom of the glass, shaking her head. Two-way glass. They were being monitored. Of course, she had already assumed this, but the two-way mirror was just cliche.

Quentin had already fallen asleep by the time she tucked herself in, his glasses reflecting the last bit of light before she shut it off. Silence passed over the room immediately, spreading from person to person until the only noise left was the soft snores of those asleep and the sleep-shuffling people did. Rolling over onto her side, Samantha forced her mind to rest, and shut her eyes.

A few hours had passed since lights out with the candidates, Merlin standing in the control room of the barrack with his attention directed to his clipboard. He scanned their vitals to be assured they were all asleep, the few restless sleepers making him want to wait that extra hour. No one had woken yet, but if someone woke up right as he triggered the flood, it took all the fun out of it. "Christ, Merlin," Eggsy groaned, leaning tiredly against the wall. "Can't you just flood it already? It's two in the morning!"

Merlin would have rolled his eyes, if he hadn't been so engrossed in his work. "Patience, Eggsy, is key. Didn't your mother ever teach you that?" An obscene gesture was tossed his way by the boy, and a small smile graced Merlin's face as he accepted his win.

"I, for one, find it fascinating." Roxy chimed, arms crossed as she stared at the candidates through the glass, their sleeping forms reminding her of when she was in their shoes. She would admit that she was proud when her candidate, Quentin, hadn't caused a lick of trouble and readily befriended Merlin's choice. Samantha, or something of the likes. "I'd always wondered how you could flood a room that fast without creating much noise. And now that I know, I'm wondering why I didn't think of it sooner."

"I'm wondering why we haven't gotten rid of it, Rox. I know it's for training n'all, but it's still a bit ridiculous." Noticing he was being completely ignored by the two of them, the scowl on his face deepened slightly. Roxy had already forced him to come to this, and now no one was paying attention to him. "Pricks," he muttered under his breath.

Merlin's hand hovered over the release trigger for a second, his hesitation always there. Yes, Eggsy was right. It was a bit ridiculous, but it taught all of the candidates that they needed to remain on their toes. It always proved more to be more good than harm. Swallowing his thoughts, he pressed the release.

As if appearing from nowhere, water started to pool in the middle of the room and rapidly increase in quantity. The floor was covered in five inches of water before any of them had time to blink, and they all watched with interest as the first of the candidates woke. Panic spread through the room quickly, everyone snapping awake at the first shout. "Merlin," Eggsy said with some confusion, noticing one of the candidates. "She's only got one hand." The water had reached the bottom of the mirror by this point, people standing on top of their beds. Two of them had already figured out how to get oxygen, water rising more rapidly now that it was at their waists. One girl had started towards the door, only to find it was shut by the pressure inside of the room. Eggsy watched with hesitance as the girl who he had mentioned stared directly at the mirror, unmoving.

Glancing over towards Merlin, he repeated his statement, only to be met by silence once more. Eyes snapping back towards the rest of them, he let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding when he caught glimpse of his candidate, Leo Winchcombe, at the toilets and still breathing. The one armed girl finally moved from her spot over her bed towards the mirror, having surveyed every other option and deciding this was the easiest route out. All three watched as her face grew close to the mirror, checking the glass and barely treading water with her missing hand. Confirming to herself that it was a two-way mirror, she grabbed hold of the faucet on the sink, bracing herself with one foot as she slammed the other against the glass, a small crack appearing.

Merlin turned on his heel, and held open the door for the two of them. "After you." He said, nodding at Roxy as she passed by into the hall. Taking a final glance as the crack in the mirror grew larger and larger, he shut the door to the sound of glass shattering and water rushing in. Checking his watch, Merlin finally acknowledged what Eggsy had said. "Oh, yes. Sorry, Eggsy; she severed it a few years ago."

Eggsy felt himself swallow hard at the word "severed." He couldn't tell if Merlin was simply being dramatic, or actually meant what he said. Either way, he could imagine it wasn't very pleasant for her. Pushing the door open once more, Merlin stepped in and glanced over the shivering, coughing, shocked group of bodies on the floor. No one made an attempt at standing upon seeing him. Roxy and Eggsy stood in the doorway, eyes glued out into the flooded room.

"Congratulations on completing your first task," Merlin said calmly. He was impressed to notice that each candidate's decision making process was similar to their mentor's. "Quentin, Leo, well done. For those of you who are still confused, if you can get a breathing tube around the U-bend of a toilet, you have an unlimited air supply. Simple physics, worth remembering."

Eyes flickering down towards Sam, he was stunned as he caught the immediate panic-stricken, fear-ridden look in her eyes, carved out underneath a layer of absolute hollowness masquerading as death. She was doing a good job of keeping it together while everyone was around, but it was obvious what would happen when she was alone "Sam," he said, her eyes meeting his for a split second before they darted away. "Well done for spotting that was a two-way mirror."

There was a pause between his words, and the air shifted when he noticed someone was missing. Fuck. "As far as I'm concerned, every single one of you has failed." He snapped, the furrowing of his brow concerning all of them. There was a little bit of a pause as the smiles of relief on their faces dripped slowly off, fear etching into all of them. Quentin looked over his shoulder, face going a ghastly white when he, too, realized who was missing. "You all forgot the most important thing." Everyone stared up at the bald man, praying what they thought wasn't real. "Teamwork."

Pointing out towards the flooded room, every single one of their hearts sank as they stood, two bodies floating in the middle of the drowned room. One, Sam could recognize immediately as redheaded Natasha Hawethorne, and she felt bile rise to her throat when she recognized the other—a sweet girl named Amelia who occupied the bed next to her.

Her senses changed instantly, hearing flooded with a shrill ring and eyesight swimming. Her breathing became uneven, and she knew from two years of waking up with thrashing nightmares what was about to happen. It was like she was outside of her own body as she shuffled up to Merlin and muttered her request of dismissal in an attempt to get out of there before she had a massive panic attack. PTSD was a bitch, and an unapologetic one at that. Samantha barely even waited for an answer as she walked out of the room, slamming into someone as she tried to get as far away as quickly as she could.

Bracing herself from falling, she kept one hand on the wall as the same scene flashed in her mind. The plane crashing into the water, Piers and Lewis' bodies drifting to the surface and never moving. She could feel the freezing ocean consuming her, the searing pain in her hand, the way the ocean had begged her to join the rest of her dead crewmembers, only to be pulled onto the surviving life raft by George seconds later.

Sometimes she wondered what would have happened if she had stopped trying to make it to the surface. If she had stopped trying to free herself from the sinking twist of metal that held her like a prison. Sam sometimes liked to imagine that she hadn't, now resting at the bottom of the ocean while her family buried an empty grave.

Forcing her eyes open, the image of her dead friends was replaced by cold tile, a small puddle of crystal-clear water surrounding her shivering form and she attempted to rid herself of all thoughts. Her heartbeat sounded like someone had placed a drum over her head and was beating as hard as they could. You're not there, that's not real, she promised herself, feeling herself slip down the rabbit hole. You're not there, you're safe. You're not there, Sam, you're safe.

The mantra repeated itself over and over in her head as she tucked her knees under her chest and forced herself to focus in on her surroundings. She had to pull herself together, make it seem like she wasn't losing her mind. This was the only way she could continue to serve her country, help the people she loved. When Merlin had shown up and given her the opportunity, she promised him that she wouldn't disappoint him. She'd fucked that up already.

For what seemed like years, she sat with her head between her knees, hand gripping at the back of her head as her heartbeat slowed. Her muscles unlocked themselves, and she let her legs uncurl, dropping against the tile as if they were eight hundred pounds. It was over for now, and that was the good part. Her only worry was that she might get nightmares later in the night, and nothing said "I'm mentally stable and completely competent enough to be here" like sleep paralysis.

Sam stayed on the floor for a little while longer, staring down at her missing appendage and wondering why the hell this had all happened to her. Wondering why she ever thought it would be a good idea to join the military. No good had come of it, and the proof was indisputable.

A shaky sigh passed over her lips, and she took a deep breath with her eyes closed before pushing herself off of the ground. Eventually, she would have to head back, so she'd rather do it now rather than when people have started to notice her elongated absence. Taking her steps as slowly as she could, she hoped that she wouldn't have a soaking bed to go back to. Reaching the metal door she came in through, she noticed that when she pulled it open, it was like it never happened.

Everyone was dead asleep, the floors were completely dry and the mirror was replaced. Lights surrounding her own were out, and she was floored at how they were all back to normal. Maybe she had been gone longer than she thought. Either way, she needed rest.

Tomorrow was the first day.