CHERUB : Fitting in
I kept up as steady a pace as I could through the jungle, sticking to the barely visible trails. Dusk soon began to fall and the insects began their night. I hid out most of the dusk period behind mosquito nets, catnapping, waiting for the night to take its hold on the rainforest.
I continued on through the night in the heavy air. I refused to let my mind wander to anything other than the task ahead: getting to the next checkpoint. The sounds of the night surrounded me, the strange bird calls, the occasional hissing of a snake or scream as an animal became dinner. Through the gloom, I saw the moonlight glinting off the surface of water and knew I had reached my checkpoint, an hour before the deadline.
I dove into the water, swimming across the surface of the small lake. Warily, I pushed open the door into a little tin hut, my eyes scanning the single room, expecting a trap.
"Well, you seem to have survived so far, excellent," Said the voice of one of the lower training instructors. I snapped my head round to see Mr Speaks lying comfortably in a hammock. I didn't miss a beat.
"I'm here for my mission statement," I said, eyes narrowed slightly. Mr Speaks stretched lazily.
"I was supposed to withdraw it, but you seem to be coping fine on your own." He said, pulling an envelope from his pack. Wordlessly, I took it, moving so as to read it in the moonlight, trying to decipher the letters.
"Do me a favour, Shadow," Speaks said seriously, "Don't push yourself too far. Good recruits are hard to come by and there's a lot of stuff in this jungle that can easily kill you."
"Not if I kill it first," I growled, stuffing the statement into my pack and striding out of the door.
I jogged along the paths, the sketchy map in one hand, my brow furrowed in concentration. Desperation was starting to creep up on me. My throat burned with thirst, my muscles screamed in pain, sweat dripped down my forehead, but I forced myself on, repeating the CHERUB mantra in my head: This is tough, but cherubs are tougher, this is tough, but cherubs are tougher, this is tough, but cherubs are tougher. I refused to let myself give up. If I gave up, I would be proving to Large that he was right and I was wrong. Soon, all rational thought was out of the window. I relied solely on animal instinct.
By the time I reached the final checkpoint, I looked a sight. Bloody scratches looked like war paint, twigs and leaves were tangled up in my long hair, the plait having been long lost, but I was alive! Then her heart sank. It was only the morning of the last day. There had to be something else. I leant against the side of the little hut, allowing myself to relax after the long journey. Someone coughed. I opened my eyes, looking to the side, towards the origin of the noise. Large stood there, his arms folded over his chest, one eyebrow raised. My heart sank slightly. It had only just occurred to me that he could still fail me over disobeying orders.
I fidgeted, uncomfortable. It was the last leg of the test. Large explained to them that they had to see how the recruits handled pain. The thought of pain itself didn't bother me, but it was having my ankles tied firmly to the chair, blindfolded and gagged, that was starting to get to me. On Large's command, I lowered my hands into a bucket containing a poisonous jellyfish. I tried not to flinch as it wrapped its tentacles around my wrists. I frowned slightly. My hands didn't hurt that much. There was only a slight burning. What was the point in a predator if it didn't hurt instantly? To my side, I could hear the others starting to protest about saw the point of the exercise.
I had had enough. I yanked off the blindfold, seeing a little white squid at the bottom of the bucket. I squashed the urge to sigh. A test of nerves. As I bent down to untie my ankles a flash of grey caught my eye. A t-shirt. A grey t-shirt. Exclamations of joy erupted around me as the other cherubs saw the prize from their efforts over the long weeks.
I slept mainly on the flight back. I was exhausted from basic training and looking forward to being back at CHERUB. Most of all, to my shock, I wanted to see Bruce again. It was getting dark by the time we finally arrived back. There were a few people waiting to receive us back on campus. To my delight, Bruce was there. I jumped out of the minivan that had brought us from the airport, running towards him. To my surprise, he stepped forwards, wrapping his arms around me.
