NOVEL FROG Chapter 19: The Circuit
The students stood in a mix of awe, fear, and excitement as Frost revealed the obstacle course found in the middle of the field. They only got to glance at it a few times while running laps around it, but now that they had to traverse it for their first lesson, they were slowly realizing that it was longer than it looked. It consisted of various short exercises connected by a dirt path that started right where Frost was standing. It first led to some barbed wire that they had to crawl under, then a few tall stepping stones with great space between them, a long, very thin wooden beam above a pit of mud, a ten-foot-tall rock wall with only a couple of crevices to climb it, monkey bars above a barbed wire floor, a horizontal rope above more mud, large logs set in a row to serve as hurdles, a thick rope to climb onto a platform twelve feet high in the air, and to finish the circuit, they had to jump over a sand pit from that platform to reach the top of a pole with a bell.
–I know you must think this might be too hard, so to show you how it’s done, our combat expert will teach you the optimal way to clear this course. Kiwy, please show us…– Frost announced to a now nervous crowd that could only watch as Kiwy stepped forward and took a brief moment to prepare herself before starting the course. Some were still processing all of the obstacles they had to go through when she dashed toward the barbed wire without a signal.
Panda began to time her with a hand watch that Tricky handed to him as soon as he noticed Kiwy run, although he was caught off guard once she started the circuit. He and Crisis stayed back and watched calmly while the students tried to wrap their heads around the possibility of a small girl like Kiwy being able to overcome all the obstacles. But they didn’t have to imagine it for long, as right away, Kiwi showed off her skills casually by breezing through each section of the circuit.
First, Kiwy crawled under the barbed wire like a spider. Due to her small size, she had enough room to almost crouch, but it looked like she was even faster crawling, since she could grasp the ground with her claws to boost herself, though it wasn’t needed, as she crawled under the entire length of the barbed wire ceiling in only two seconds. Her tail almost got caught up on the wire, so she even took a bit longer to check if she was injured, and also to clean herself a bit after sticking to the ground, but she didn’t waste more than a second to move on to the next obstacle.
Running as fast as her ancestors, she reached the stepping stones in a flash, but even though the stones were half her size and she had to jump across them, she didn’t find the need to stand up. By adopting a stance similar to that of an animal ready to pounce, she leaped onto the first stone, and with effortless jumps, she crossed each gap with ease. She first jumped right as she touched the next stone, but to save time, she boosted herself on the very edge of each one, and with that technique, she started skipping a few extra jumps due to her leaps allowing her to cross great distances.
It took her less than five seconds to complete the section, and as she continued running low, almost crawling, she reached the wooden balance beam with no problem. Seeing how there was no space to stand properly on the beam, the students grew even more anxious, but then Kiwy jumped onto it without hesitation. Despite how slim and even slippery the beam was, she had such a good grip that she was able to stroll through it like a cat without a care in the world. But as impressive as that skill was, the students were more discouraged to see that she was able to climb up the tall rock wall without even using the few small cracks and ledges intended for the proper climb. Instead, she took advantage of the grip of her sharp claws, which she used as picks to reach the top of the wall with a couple of smooth jumps.
After climbing the wall, Kiwy ignored the ramp set up behind it to come down the wall like intended and swiftly leaped onto the monkey bars, where she could have easily crawled above them, but she tried to follow the intended rules, though she still took some liberties. Instead of swinging from one to the other, she started swinging at the very first bar, trying to gain momentum without even looking down at the barbed wire floor. She waited for the perfect moment to swing across to the very last bar, barely grabbing it before she fell too short to reach it, to then drop casually onto the floor, causing most students to gasp in awe as she almost dropped onto the barbed wire.
Without looking back, she continued the course by running the loop that the path took before reaching the rope over the mud pit. For once, she slowed down to grab the rope properly, which looked tricky since it wasn’t strong enough to hold much weight. But since she appeared to be as light as a newborn kitty, she held tight to the rope, hanging upside down by gripping it with both hands and feet before climbing it horizontally. She made it look easier, although she was still hanging low, to the point where her tail almost hit the mud below. But after crossing the pit, she casually let go of the rope, spinning her entire body to be able to land on her feet before she continued running.
The hurdles ahead looked like nothing compared to the other jumps she had to clear, so without much thought, Kiwy jumped two logs at a time, failing to touch any of them, even with her tail wagging around like it had a mind of its own. As she reached the last obstacle, Kiwy mindlessly climbed the thick rope to reach the platform as fast as possible. It looked like it was designed specifically for her, as her claws stuck to the rope like a scratching pole, and even though she did climb it incredibly fast, she scratched off a few of the rope’s strings, leaving it now thinner and less stable.
But once at the top, she jumped over the sand pit with ease, and instead of ringing the bell with the clapper hanging short below it, she just hit the bell itself with her claws, creating the same effect, though even louder. She landed on her feet perfectly at the finish line, which happened to be the starting position where everyone was waiting as well. Panda stopped the timer and showed it to the audience, who were surprised to see that Kiwy was able to overcome all the obstacles in only thirty-two seconds. The students clapped upon seeing such a flawless run of the circuit, with Kiwy’s teammates cheering the loudest, even Frost, who smiled proudly for a brief second, causing some discomfort to the students closest to him, who quickly turned quiet and nervous.
–See, very easy. Thank you, Kiwy. You might have shown off a little bit and damaged the ropes… and made it harder for everyone else, and now everyone is probably going to fail… but good job nonetheless– Frost complimented Kiwy in a lighthearted manner, but his tone grew sarcastic as he turned to his students with a suspicious grin. Kiwy received another pet before walking back to Crisis, where she stood calmly with an amused smile as the students began showing their nervousness now that it was their turn. Some were still trying to remember Kiwy’s performance to use them as guides, but as soon as she walked away, Frost stepped closer to the students and gave their frightened faces a good look before chuckling and turning around.
–Alright, make a line. Panda will be timing you, and you better complete the course in less than triple the time Kiwy did, or I’ll be angry…– Frost said casually, but still slightly menacing as he walked away to talk with Kiwy and Nitro in private, taking them to the shack to brief them about his secret plan. With the order given, as soon as Frost entered his makeshift office, Panda walked over to the starting point of the course, where everyone formed a line. Only a couple volunteered to be first, and most of the students didn’t mind being last, with Scott staying at the end of the line with only three other students behind him, including a tall, robust one that he tried to ignore.
With the students ready and most of them reluctantly agreeing to run the circuit, Panda began timing each student to determine who would be the one to get a cool nickname, and the one who would probably earn another bad one. One by one, each student had their turn with the obstacle course, trying to complete it as fast as possible, not even considering the risks of their attempts to save time. Since Kiwy completed it in just over half a minute, it meant they had a minute and a half to complete the course, and even though many tried to complete it quickly, their fear of heights or being hurt prevented them from going all out.
The first obstacle with the barbed wire seemed the scariest, even though the fear factor increased later on in the circuit, though it looked like the first section was where the students wasted more time. For the few brave ones, they were able to traverse it rather quickly since it was as simple as keeping their heads down and sticking close to the ground. Of course, they weren’t as fast as Kiwy when crawling, but the ones that didn’t hesitate got over it in under ten seconds, though they didn’t have time to check if they accidentally touched some of the barbed wire, which many did.
The rest of the obstacles were similar in concept; they didn’t require much strength or speed, just a lot of focus and the courage to actually do it. But as obstacles like the ten-foot-rock wall or the high monkey bars over barbed wire looked too dangerous, that’s exactly where most students failed. However, Zoey was one of the ones who didn’t fear any of it, or at least most of the obstacles. She was fourth, and after seeing the mediocre performances of the ones before her, she was able to form some sort of strategy to get a good time. She started pretty well with the barbed wire, crawling almost as fast as Kiwy because she was also smaller in size, though she was also pretty agile since she had no trouble jumping high and far. However, where she failed was her strength, losing a lot of time trying to climb the last rope as well as not getting a good grip on the rock wall. In the end, she still got one of the fastest times, taking just over a minute. And since she was one of the first to go, everyone now wanted to beat her time.
While each student took their shot at the course, Scott waited anxiously for his turn. He got very excited when he saw Zoey breeze through some of the obstacles, but as he was getting close to the beginning of the line, he started panicking. Two guys behind him noticed his nervousness, both of them tall and similar in build, looking like generic brutes, only distinguished by their different tones of skin and hair. They began laughing at Scott, not subtly, and although he tried to ignore them, it was clear he was losing confidence fast. And just as his classmates discouraged him further, Scott ran out of time to build up courage; it was now his turn.
Trying to breathe to save energy, Scott heard Zoey cheer for him in the distance. She was standing with the other students who had finished their runs next to the line, surrounded by a few soldiers and Crisis. Scott didn’t get a chance to see her, but with the two bullies behind him pressuring him to start his run, he tried to concentrate on the circuit and just get it over with. And with Panda giving him the signal, Scott didn’t hesitate to sprint towards the first obstacle, the barbed wire. However, since he realized everyone wasted too much time at the start, he decided to take a different approach, and hopefully save a couple of seconds.
Instead of crawling under the wire like everyone else, Scott chose to run over it. Since the barbed wire was at the height of his knees and there was so much of it in the way, he tried to stand on top of it to use it as a floor. But right as he placed his feet on the bed of barbed wire, he immediately found out that it wasn’t stable enough to support him, so instead of running over it, his left foot went right through the wire floor. The pain set in immediately, and while Scott was too scared to see, the other students were dumbfounded at the sight of him making such an unusual decision.
His leg was scratched and cut in all directions, causing him to bleed right away, and despite the severity of his injury, the other recruits just laughed, though most were more in shock and didn’t see how grave of a mistake he committed. Even Panda and the rest of Crisis were startled, but before any of them could help, Scott pulled his leg out of the wire and kept running. He tried his hardest not to cry or yell, but with each step he took, the wire shredded a bit more skin off his legs. Bit by bit, his injuries worsened, yet Scott pushed through and actually advanced at a decent pace. Panda almost stopped the timer, but after seeing how the adrenaline in Scott allowed him to keep going, he just watched in guilty amusement.
Despite taking a dangerous and direct approach, Scott didn’t save any time. He actually took longer than Zoey on the first exercise, and now that his legs were all cut up, he struggled to even run. Seeing Scott in such a state, Zoey tried to call for his attention, but at this point, Scott was too deep in his focused mind, with the only objective being reaching the finish line, no matter how much it would take. So, with that determination, Scott committed to the rest of the circuit, now reaching the next obstacle after a slow run, leaving a thin trail of blood behind him. He was bleeding time and actual blood, but it looked like the pain was fading away. He kept grunting with each step he took, but now that he was on the stepping stones, it looked like he had it all under control.
The adrenaline helped him climb the first stepping stone, trying not to use his legs much, and just like the rest, he was able to jump over and over again with ease, though a bit slower as he had to balance himself every time he landed. He still lost some time, but as he seemingly forgot about his injuries, he approached the balance beam with confidence. He was so focused that he shimmied along without getting nervous. He just kept looking forward and advancing like it was nothing, using his arms a little bit to balance himself, although it seemed like he didn’t have control of his legs anymore, and they were doing all of the hard work.
At the end of the beam, he did slip up, falling right as he was reaching the other side. He managed to land one foot, but his other knee hit the beam in the process. At this point, it looked like he was numb to the pain in his legs, so this barely affected his performance. In fact, he didn’t have to worry more about his feet, as it looked like the next few exercises focused on his arm strength. He reached the rock wall and started climbing it right away, though he was a bit lost on where to go at first since he couldn’t find the cracks that the others used to climb it. But once he was able to spot all the ledges and crevices he would need, he put his hands to work and began climbing rapidly.
He got excited as he climbed at an excellent pace, almost mimicking Kiwy at the last section, as he tried to save time by jumping to reach the platform above. His leap got him in reach of the ledge, but as his movement was careless, his fingers slipped right as he reached the top. He only managed to hang with one hand, which was starting to lose grip as well. But as he looked down and saw the ten feet fall below, which would most likely be the end of his legs, he pulled through with some hidden strength, summoned by a powerful groan that even the audience far away could hear.
After pulling himself up to the top, he took a moment to catch his breath, but he was distracted by his next obstacle as he walked down the rock wall through the ramp behind it. In front of him, a twelve-foot-long floor of barbed wire was waiting for him, and the only thing keeping him safe was the monkey bars three feet above him. This time, he could actually run through the barbed wire since it wasn’t as abundant as in the first obstacle, but with his legs having learned the lesson, Scott saw no other way than to use the bars as intended. He showed no hope in his face, yet he closed his eyes, reached for the sky, and as he jumped blindly, he prayed to grab the first bar with both of his hands. He flinched in anticipation of his body hitting the barbed wire, but to his surprise, he was able to get a grip on the first bar, and contrary to how the others made it seem, it didn’t look easy to reach for the next one.
He began panicking when he looked down and saw that he was hanging eight feet above the wire floor. But to not repeat what happened with the first obstacle, he would need to successfully swing his way to the next bar. He tried swinging like everyone else, but he didn’t have enough strength in his arms to reach the next bar, especially while hanging with one hand as he barely reached it, so he began assessing the situation. He took his time, but the same two guys from the line started to mock him from afar. For a brief moment, he could hear them faintly, but he closed his eyes again and took a deep breath, knowing it would only take one slip for him to end up disabled.
He focused and began swinging, swaying his body back and forth until he felt it was right to let go. After a couple of seconds, he opened his eyes and saw the second bar right in front of his feet. They were almost about to contact, so with no hesitation, he took the leap. The numbness in his legs actually weighed him down, so he was worried when he began falling faster than usual. With little control over his legs, he got a glimpse of what it would be like to live without them as he found himself midair, with the next bar being his only hope of not hitting the wire floor. And in that brief moment, despite his hopelessness, he reached as far as he could with his arms, just trying to hold on to anything, and he did.
Beating his expectations, he grabbed the second bar, and without wasting any time, he swung his way to the next one, then the next one, keeping his momentum as he boosted himself with both legs and hands, risking it all for a brief second, teasing a horrible injury as his whole body freed itself in the air, relying solely on the chance of him grabbing that next bar. But as the odds were in his favor, his pace didn’t decrease; in fact, he swung faster every time, almost looking like a trapezist, much to the audience’s amusement. No one except Kiwy had attempted such risky moves, and even though Scott wasn’t clearing twelve-foot jumps with one swing like her, his movement was impressive, even captivating with his maneuvers.
However, his display of acrobatics lasted shortly. He had crossed the bars in almost half the time of the fastest run, even though he lost a couple of seconds at the first bar. He now seemed to be heading for one of the best times, so with that in mind, he dropped safely to the ground and kept running as he took deep breaths. But now that he had used both his arms and legs to their full capacity, the next obstacle seemed to be the hardest to overcome.
With the horizontal rope over the mud pit, Scott took a long time to even think of how he would cross it. It would be impossible for him to do what Kiwy attempted, and since many had already attempted it, the rope was actually looser than ever. He wasn’t going to stop his time to complain, though, and with a general idea of how to beat it, he tried a different method that would save him most of the scares. Instead of hanging upside down, which is how everyone tried, he got on top of the rope, straddling it with his thighs and keeping a good grip on it with his hands as well. He began inching his way forward at a very slow pace, with his body leaned forward to stay close to the rope. It looked like the safest option, but soon enough, he found himself in the same position he was preventing.
Losing his balance completely, he did a full one-eighty on the rope as his whole body turned around and left him hanging by his hands and legs. He instantly hugged the rope as tight as he could to not fall, but now that he was upside down, he was too scared to move at all. He began losing time again; the laughs from his peers came back, yet Scott didn’t pay attention to any of them. He was self-absorbed in his own fear, not really panicking, just completely still, until he decided to move. Once again, he inched his way forward, advancing a tiny bit every time he moved, but he was relaxed now that he was safely crossing the pit.
Scott took his time, and while he was definitely getting closer to the other side, he looked over at Panda and noticed he was checking his wrist and becoming impatient. The pressure got to him, so he began moving faster, but it was useless, his legs could barely keep up with his hands. But as he was about to reach the end, he tried grabbing the ledge of the platform in front, though it was just a couple of inches out of reach, so he tried to jump for it. Forgetting his current position for a second, Scott didn’t put much thought into his decision as he boosted himself from the rope and, due to being upside down, just dropped directly onto the mud.
The students burst out laughing, especially the two bullies who seemed to have a grudge against Scott for the mere fact that he was inadequate. But after facing failure in the dirtiest of ways, Scott had pretty much nothing to lose now, and with time ticking, he had to complete the last obstacles in record time. He was covered in mud, but he didn’t even try to wipe it off, as his goal was set on reaching the finishing line and nothing else. So, as he stood up and got back on track, he began running as fast as possible to the logs, using one hand to grip the log, and then sliding his feet over it before pushing off with the same hand. He took advantage of his arm and leg coordination to vault over each log, and while it looked impressive, some recruits seemed to have a problem with his technique.
Not paying attention to anything else, Scott cleared the logs, and with the pressure of not finishing with a bad time and getting a bad nickname like Turtle or Jumbo, Scott rushed to the last exercise, where he began climbing the rope like his life depended on it. Now that he was close to his classmates and could hear them clearly, he did not let their teasing get to him and kept pushing, or in this case, pulling himself up with the little strength he had left. He couldn’t give more but still had one objective and focused solely on it, leading him to reach the top with his breath running low.
The exhaustion didn’t stop him though, nor did the pain of his cuts, which seemed to be covered in mud and stopped the bleeding, though it could probably cause severe problems in the future. He didn’t have any of that in mind, though; he just saw the bell in front of him and knew he had to reach it. Without thinking it too much, he approached the ledge of the platform, and with his classmates a few feet to the right of the finish line, he leaped as high as he could, barely reaching the bell, only ringing it with the tip of his index finger before falling to the ground. He rolled to prevent breaking his legs on impact but still collapsed from exhaustion on the floor. Panda stopped the time and immediately called the next student, who was one of the guys who couldn’t stop laughing, specifically the one with a lighter skin tone and brown hair, as well as a distinct piercing on his right ear. But before starting his run, he made sure to approach Scott and mock him one last time while he was down.
–Were you afraid of heights? That was some masochist stuff you pulled out there too. Let me show you how it’s actually done…– the bully teased Scott with a cocky and condescending tone before starting his run. Since his insults paled in comparison to Frost’s, Scott had an easy time ignoring him. Besides, he was more distracted by the pain that had resurfaced, though he couldn’t help but notice that the other students were still giving him some weird looks, mainly because he was covered in mud.
But luckily, he had finished the run and seemed to have gotten a fast time, though he couldn’t ask Panda right away. So, as he lay on the floor next to his classmates, he looked both defeated but triumphant from his performance, smiling with genuine honor as he tried to save the little dignity he had left. And while the others didn’t see him as anything special and had pretty much forgotten about him as they were now watching the other guy who was mocking him, Scott was pleased to find that at least one classmate did care enough to check on him.