"Did your momma raise you weak? Come on, Faster! I know you can do better! Pick it up, now."

My captain was yelling at the four of us as we lept over the obstacles in front of us. I had completed the course many times before, but I wasn't fast enough to get a spot at Quantico. Not yet at least. I had a special feeling about today.

I was ahead of all the others, they always get stuck at the rope wall which I have learned to adapt to. It tripped me up bad the first time as I wrestled with a sea of ropes for a least a few minutes. It caused me to get one of the worst times in the training facility's history. But that wasn't the record I was trying to break. 

My captain stuck beside me, abandoning the other cadets, yelling in my ear the whole way across. He left the other officers in training to motivate my peers. I could hear the screaming and cheering behind me, but I was already through the tires and onto the dangling rope.

This one always caused me to pause. It was simple enough, grab onto the rope that floats above a pool of water and swing across safely, hopefully without falling face first into the mud. The scars on my wrist barely more than a memory, visible but no longer painful. I instinctively rubbed my left wrist before lunging for the rope. All my weight was put up against the ropes which stung worse than a bee. I didn't even flinch when my hands grasped the rough surface. My captain was screaming louder now. I didn't hesitate. 

I made my way to the dummy that was laying in front of the end wall. I couldn't even hear the others that were behind me anymore. I didn't know if that was due to my advance in positions or if the rushing in my head was drowning them all out. My captain yelled the all too familiar instructions at me: "Your partner is down. You have to find a way to carry them over the wall using nothing but a rope and your strength."

By the time he paused to take a breath, I was already in motion.

"Are you going to let your partner die, cadet?"

"No sir," I yelled instinctively. I pictured O'era laying bleeding on the floor in the hotel room as I grabbed the rough rope. I began tying it around the dummy's wrists, keeping its hands pinky to pinky. I looped their arms through my head and made an effort to stand up. They found something to weigh down the dummy to make it more lifelike, I guess they've increased the weight since the last time I did this. My second attempt had me up on my feet and running to the wall before I could process anything. I jumped, my fingers scraping the top of the brick and I pulled myself up to my hips. By the time I was swinging my legs over the top, I heard someone make a splash in the pool behind me. They were catching up. I took the dummy from my shoulders and gently lowered it down to the grass below before landing beside it. 

I couldn't keep the smile off my face as the captain congratulated me. 12 minutes and 23 seconds. My personal best and just a few seconds off from the overall best of the department. I was beaming.

My friend Sam came bounding over to me, light on her toes and embraced me in the biggest hug, nearly taking me down in the process. As the only two girls in the department, we have grown very close and have done almost all of our training together. She wasn't nearly as fast as I was, but she was always supportive and positive, never letting the competition get to her as much as it had the other cadets. "You did it! I'm so proud of you, Kara!"

I laughed, swimming in the joy that was beaming off of her as brightly as the sun. "Thank you, Sam. With a little more training you'll be here too."

This time she laughed, "Definitely not, but I'm not the one trying to get into the FBI." She playfully punched my arms as the other cadets began to drop their dummies next to mine. We scattered out of the way before the boys followed. They could crush us easily based on weighty alone.

Most of them were sweating with the effort of the course. Props to them for making it in under 15 minutes. That was always the goal to beat. I clapped as the first one's boots hit the ground, trying to be supportive. He shot me a glare full of daggers as he sauntered off of the field, clearly distraught, though I couldn't tell if he was more upset with himself or the rest of us. Sam grabbed me by the arm and started to drag me away before I could get any more hate from the others.

"Don't let them get to you," she said, "They're just jealous. Their egos are hurt that a girl could surpass them so far ahead. But they don't work nearly as hard. And they're not nearly as badass." 

I grabbed a towel from the bench and wiped the sticky sweat from my neck. I sat down beside her and watched a new group start the training course. She was right. None of them except for Sam work as hard as I do. At every pushup I find myself in that basement, every crunch I'm in the car, every pull-up is Liam getting shot, and every time I finish that course faster and faster is another minute closer to stopping it from happening to anyone else. I knew I couldn't single handedly stop crime everywhere, but if I could save just one girl from experiencing what I did or get her out alive to her own family and friends, then this would all be worth it. It had to be.

"Thanks," I said after a while. Sam never interrupted me when I was thinking, she said she could always see it in my eyes when I was in another place. I owed her a lot. I probably wouldn't have survived all the hate I got from everyone else here if it wasn't for her. She deserved a lot more than a thanks, but at the moment, that was all I had.

"Thats what I'm here for! Besides, you should be in an extra good mood," I gave her a quizzical look. She just laughed, "It's fro-yo Friday, girl! Frozen yogurt will be waiting for us inside. It's my favorite day of the week and puts everyone else at ease."

Her smile was huge, she loved sweet treats more than anyone I knew. Her smile was infectious, spreading to my own face. "Then we best be getting inside before it melts." She jumped up to come face to face with our commander. I stood up next to her and we both stood straight and still. 

"At ease," he said, clearly not at ease himself, "I'm here for Kara."

Sam looked back at me to make sure I was going to be okay. I nodded at her and she quickly took off for the building. The captain let out a slight chuckle. I was taken aback, he never laughed.

"Kara."

"Yes, sir?"

"Congratulations on your time on the course today. Your fast actions and even quicker thinking will help you when out in the field." He still stood stiff, but the slightest smile was plastered on his lips. Pride? 

"Thank you, sir. I've been working hard, sir." I was trying to calm the screaming in my ears that something was wrong. Something had to be wrong. 

The captain nodded in agreement. "I hope you won't let your skills go to waste."

I was taken aback. Surely he knew that I wouldn't get this far and just give up. "Sorry? I'm not sure what you mean, sir."

"You are more advanced than any of your other peers, and though some of them have grown fond of you," he looked back towards the building, Sam, "you don't belong with us."

"Sir, I don't understand." Was he kicking me out? Had I done something wrong? If he asked me to leave I don't know what I'd do. This was all I had left, all I've been working towards for practically my whole life. 

Two men and a woman in black pressed suits came out of the building, a complete contrast to the captain's white uniform. The woman took off her sunglasses and made eye contact with me. She smiled sweetly.

"They're here for you, Kara. They're with the FBI. They want to interview you for a position on their team." It was pride that was on his face. I hadn't even had field experience yet, and they wanted me?

"Th...thank you, sir. It's an honor." I was completely shocked.

He let out one deep laugh, "Don't thank me, thank that friend of yours. She'd been pestering me every day about you, and she was right. Those people over there could be your future, Kara, but only if you want it. I had nothing to do with it. They found you all on their own."

Of course I wanted it, he knew that. "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."

He nodded at me again before motioning to the agents. "Good luck, cadet."

He walked back over to the course to continue yelling at the other cadets who were tripping over the tires, his true passion. 

Before I knew what was happening, my feet were carrying me over to the agents. They introduced themselves and politely shook my hand. It was a dream come true. All I could think about was what I was going to tell Liam when I got home.