Training camp

Fear

The last few weeks had been more than tough, both physically and mentally. She found that despite the constant badgering and teasing from the male recruits, that both herself Chloe quite liked them all. So far, the whole group of them had made it through, and she was finding it increasingly easy to stay at the front the pack.

She jumped down from the ropes, continuing to run before she realised Chloe was no longer beside her. She turned and felt sick as she realised she was trapped.

"Chloe," she yelled, turning around, running quickly back to her friend who appeared trapped in the ropes, "Chloe, stop struggling, stop struggling," Her legs burned as she climbed up the rope, trying desperately to free her now panicking friend. She managed to release the rope enough so Chloe could take a breathe, but knew she wouldn't manage for long, "Corp..." She screamed as she caught sight of him in the distance,

"Corp, help me," she yelled, impressed at his speed as he ran over to her,

"Chloe, it's Connie... open your eyes," she uttered as the Corporal cut the rope, catching Chloe and lowering her to the floor,

"Chloe," Connie repeated, exhaling with relief as her eyes flickered open, 

"Have we got any oxygen?" she asked, nodding as he handed her the portable cannister and face mask .

"Okay, let's get you sat up," the Corporal spoke calmly, as she leaned back against him. Connie placed her hand on her neck, sighing with relief as her pulse remained strong against her fingertips. 

She helped Chloe into the ambulance, stepping back as the paramedics closed the doors,

"Good work Miss Chase," he told her honestly, "You seem to have eyes in the back of your head,"

"There are twelve of you, get used to there being twelve of you, these people are your team, your family, you need to look after each other," she replied quietly, "Didn't you tell me that?"

"I didn't think you were listening," he stood close beside her, and she could feel his breathe on her neck,

She pushed her hair behind her ears before she turned to face him, "Do you want me to run that course again? I can, but I don't think I could do it straight away... Maybe give me a couple of hours,"

He shook his head, "No. You're probably the fittest person here,"

"I know we're not meant to leave Corp... But if she stays in, could I visit her?"

He inhaled and nodded, "my guess is she'll stay in over night... I'll drive us up there after dinner."

She nodded, "thank you... You can certainly run,"

"As can you," he nodded as they jogged back to the start of the course.

True to his word, he had driven her to the small local hospital, and despite all observations looking good, they had decided to keep her in over night. Connie kissed her cheek gently, before squeezing her hand, "rest up, I don't want to complete this without you,"

Chloe smiled, "if all is okay tonight, I'll be back tomorrow don't worry."

Connie nodded and Chloe squeezed her hand as she went to leave, "thank you," she nodded, before hugging Connie tightly as Connie nodded against her shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay... I'll see you tomorrow."

She exhaled as she got into the passenger seat of the car. He handed her a takeaway cup of coffee and she smiled great fully, "thank you,"

"What's got you so quiet Chase?" He asked and she looked at him, 

"I wouldn't have been able to get her down without you Corp... If you hadn't seen her when you did, I wasn't sure what I was going to do next."

"Hey," he told her gently, "I have every faith that you'd have known what to do,"

She shrugged, "I'm not sure,"

"You can't do everything alone," he told her, "you noticed she wasn't beside you, you responded quickly and got help... That's all you could have done, you know that."

She nodded, "and she'll be able to continue..." She asked, "I mean she's fine and..."

"We have no concerns about either of you not being fit enough," he admitted, "not completing one task doesn't mean a thing if you can continue with the rest."

"I don't usually like women I work with," she admitted, "but she's my friend as well as a colleague, and I need her with me."

He nodded, sipping his coffee, "let's get back for dinner."

She nodded, closing her eyes and falling asleep quickly as they sat in a gentle flow of traffic. "Connie," he spoke gently, placing a hand on her shoulder, "we're here." She nodded, "I'm going to skip dinner and head to bed," she admitted,

"Well done today," he told her, placing a gentle hand on her back as she nodded back at him.