CHERUB-Xplode

Basic training continues

3rd Person from now on

17 days into basic training, and Jake couldn't believe it could get any worse. The countless hours the kids spent pushing themselves was taking its tool physically and mentally. As Jake lay awake in the freezing Nissen hut, he imagined the look on Capstick's face if he pulled out. The smug instructor would undoubtedly be impressed that he had pushed Jake to braking point, but that just reinforced Jake's attitude: he couldn't afford to let himself be beaten. He continued to massage the sore blisters on his hands as he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

The following morning, Jake was woken by the klaxon alarm brutally sounding throughout the hut. A few seconds later and Capstick stormed in, spouting instructions at the bleary eyed recruits, spittle flying everywhere.

"Right you lot, I want a 6 mile run around the perimeter and a kit check before 8!" Most of the recruits were still rubbing their bleary eyes, but Jake heard a few collective sighs as he pulled himself out of his bed and grabbed some combat trousers and a long sleeve top. Scotty was the first out, closely followed by Jake and Masie. Scotty was already sprinting off ahead, using his unusually large legs to good effect. Jake couldn't help but feel intimidated by Scotty, as he completed most training tasks either with the best results or the quickest. 

Just minutes later, Jake had built up a sizable lead over Masie and all the other recruits apart from Scotty who was still in sight but looked very comfortable. Jake felt himself tiring, but compared to the rest of basic training, the running and exercise aspects came naturally to Jake, who before he joined CHERUB kept himself reasonably fit, although he was often malnourished living in poor conditions on his own. He also felt running gave him a chance to think and contemplate, and give his mind a rest from the intense environment that was basic training. He understood why all CHERUB recruits went through the process, but this didn't really make it any easier.

As Jake turned onto a particularly muddy part of the course, his mind switched focus to Hayley. His mind suddenly panicked: how is she? he thought as his heart rate quickened. Never had a girl got on his mind this much before, and although previous to CHERUB he hadn't really had any friendships with anyone, regardless of age, Hayley made him think in a different way. His heart quickened, he focused more, and he felt much stronger. Instantaneously, Jake felt his running pace quicken. His body and mined urged himself to run faster than he thought possible, and in no time at all he had caught up with Scotty. As Jake pulled up beside the large recruit, he heard that Scotty's breathing was intense and laboured. Jake knew that if he pushed the pace any harder, Scotty would not be able to keep up. He decided that the best course of action would be to run in with the blonde twelve year-old. 

Around a quarter of an hour later, Scotty and Jake finished the run. Capstick and Sharma were waiting for them at the end, and although it was hard to tell any kind of emotion from Sharma's face, let alone the older and more hardened Capstick, Jake thought they both looked reasonably impressed by the time it had taken for them to get around the course. 

"Well done you two, go get yourselves a nice hot shower. We're hitting the dojo just before lunch so grab your kit" said Capstick as Jake and Scotty took deep breaths trying to recover from the physical exertion. Jake was relatively pleased, not only with the small amount of kindness he thought he heard in Capstick's voice, but also because training in the dojo was something Jake usually enjoyed, and because of his rough upbringing, he was relatively good at it as well.

As Jake walked towards hut 4 with Scotty, they began conversation. 

"That was a pretty tough one this morning" Scotty began, his thick Scottish accent obvious as usual.

"Yeah, I'm absolutely knackered now, and combat training is pretty physical as well" Jake agreed. Although Scotty was a beast when it came to the running and assault course aspects of training, his body size and relatively slow reflexes meant that he regularly struggled in the dojo, despite Scotty's incredibly overpowering raw strength. Blake, his best friend, was easily the best male when it came to combat training, but the best fighter overall, across Karate, taekwondo and muay thai was Iordanka, the eastern European girl who had spent of basic training so far with best friend Masie. Iordanka, or Ior as she liked to be called, was incredbly athletic and had been attending martial arts lessons from a very young age. When she had lived in Bulgaria for the first six years of her life, Ior had been made to do manual labour to earn a little money to help her family buy the basics, like food and clothes. This meant that she had built up a strength close to that of Western boys twice her age by the time she came to England.

"I'm suprised you caught me up today, i'm usually streaks ahead of you in the long distance." Scotty replied. Jake knew Scotty wasn't trying to be rude and it was a well known fact that Scotty always beat the other basic trainers in long distance runs.

"I dunno mate, I guess i felt pretty good today" as Jake's mind flicked back to Hayley. Jake hoped she would finish the run soon, but knew that she wasn't as strong as most of the others in the physical elements of training.

As Jake and Scotty entered the hut, Blake and Iordanka had just finished. Jake hit the shower button and began to strip off his muddy clothes as Scotty did the same in the only other cubicle. The hot water was sooting for Jake's aching body, but he knew that in just a few hours time he would be all hurt again after the predictably tough dojo session.