The instructor screamed directly into Liam Carter’s face.
“You stop again, you’re done!”
Liam looked past him.
Thirty meters behind the formation, another candidate was lying on the trail.
Everyone else kept running.
Liam didn’t.
“MOVE!”
He hesitated.
That hesitation could end his selection.
For twelve days, candidates had been evaluated on everything—speed, endurance, navigation, teamwork, decision-making under exhaustion.
Everyone wanted the same thing.
Nobody wanted to be the person sent home.
Candidate 41 had been struggling since sunrise.
His name was Devin Shaw.
Liam barely knew him.
They had spoken twice.
That morning, Shaw had stumbled several times during the movement.
Each time, an instructor told him to continue.
Now he was face down in the dirt.
Liam turned around.
The instructor grabbed his shoulder.
“Where are you going?”
“Candidate down.”
“The cadre sees him.”
Liam looked toward Shaw.
Nobody was beside him yet.
“Sir, he’s not moving.”
“Your task is to finish.”
The formation disappeared around a bend.
Every second mattered.
