Sparks To A Flame

|12| The Message

Jaden

"Just a little more! You can do it!" I motivated.

Rebecca was at the end of the training maze, attempting to conquer the last obstacle. The rope... It was my first time stepping foot into this place and, to be completely honest, I was shocked that she so passionately wanted to train here. Even the entrance of this place intimidated me.

The whole maze was pretty harsh but she managed to skillfully hustle through with astounding speed until she made it to where she is now which is where she was getting pretty close to giving up at this point. The thing about this course though, you're not allowed to leave unless you finish, with the exception of getting injured or passing out. There was the option to tap out but that will only force you to reschedule to complete the test another day. In other words, you don't sign yourself up unless you know you're ready for it.

All I could do to help keep her from doing all of this over again is guide and motivate her through a walkie-talkie from the railing above along with the other team members doing the same with their partners.

The objective of this maze was to trust your teammate. Doing these obstacles alone would be practically impossible without the extra set of eyes which made it perfect when learning to work with other members. And, not to flatter myself, but I make a hell of a good partner.

I watched as Rebecca tried to climb the rope again. Her face was red, sweaty and gassed out as she pushed herself to go up. I had to give her some props, her speed and strength during her performance went far passed my expectations. The fact that she made it this far really amazed me.

"That's it, almost there!" I encouraged.

"Jaden!" She grunted, "I want you to know... That I hate you!"

I laughed, knowing she didn't really mean that, "What did I do? Doing this was your idea."

She pulled herself up an inch higher, "I know..." she groaned then looked up at me, exhausted yet playful in the eyes as she said, "But you never told me... How amazing I am right now..." She huffed out a laugh before trying to continue to finish climbing the rope.

I bit my lip as I smiled down at her. She was doing this to impress me... Cute. "You are amazing... You're kinda like Catwoman, but hotter." I leaned against the railing to rest my elbows on it as I told her, "I still got that massage thing you gave me. Once you finish, I'll take you there right away." I winked.

She stared at me for a while then a smile suddenly grew on her face. I had her convinced. She forced herself up, gritting her teeth and reaching out for the surface that was only arms reach away.

"Rebecca, go higher so you can just land it!"

She shook her head. It was clear to tell that she didn't have any more energy for climbing but I would think it'd be harder for her to pull herself up onto the surface than to just hop down if she goes higher.

She jumped to the surface and lifted one leg onto it, pulling up.

Maybe I was wrong.

"There you go! That wasn't so bad- Rebecca!" I called after the heart stopping sound of her shoe squeaking and slipping off of the surface.

She screamed as her leg slipped, causing her to fall right back down, towards the maze.

I stared in shock as she fell feet first and her body thumped hard against the floor.

Oh shit...

"Rebecca!" I jumped over the railing and slid down the rope. As soon as I landed, I knelt down beside her. "Are you okay?" I asked, heart pounding.