"How is everyone? I heard you're all tired from the last two days' exercises, so today I'll let you relax in the swimming pool and enjoy some sunbathing. Our instructors will help you with water and sand therapy. Make sure to enjoy it," General Arjun announced from the stage.
A few innocent trainees relaxed a little, while those who knew the drill were already mentally bracing themselves.
"Are they really asking us to take a break?" Dev asked Karan.
"Of course. Be at ease. The therapies are amazing," Karan answered with a hidden smirk.
Everyone was taken to a changing room.
One by one, trainees were called out.
Soon, it was Dev's turn.
"Prepare yourself," Karan murmured in Dev's ear.
Dev, who had just begun to relax, tensed up again.
"Dive in," the officer commanded.
Dev took a proficient dive into the pool and soon reached the officer.
The officer handed him a bag weighing 50 kg.
"Wear it—and make sure you don't pass out."
The moment Dev hung the bag on his shoulders, without giving him any time to think, three officers pushed him into the water.
Water rushed into his mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. He began choking.
Dev struggled. He tried to push the officers away and swim up, but the bag made it nearly impossible. Underwater, those 50 kg felt like a ton, dragging him deeper.
When Dev's struggle began to weaken, he was pulled out.
The moment he surfaced, he began violently coughing up water.
As soon as the officer sensed he had regained a little strength, they shoved him in again. This time, Dev managed to take a deep breath just before going under—but it didn't make it much easier. He was held down until his strength was depleted and he choked on water again.
This cycle repeated for thirty minutes. Dev was drowned again and again until the brink of unconsciousness, only to be pulled out moments before he passed out. Each time, it felt like a near-death experience.
After half an hour, an officer dragged him out of the pool. Dev lay sprawled on the ground, coughing water.
"Feeling relaxed after the therapy, right?" the officer asked with a smirk.
"Do you want sand therapy too?" he asked again.
Dev, still trying to catch his breath, couldn't even register the question.
"Since you're not answering, I'll take it as a yes," the officer said cheerfully. He then grabbed Dev by the leg and dragged him toward a sandpit.
The sand was heated and scorching to the touch.
"Since you got wet earlier, you'll dry up here," the officer joked.
He tossed Dev into a pit and began filling it, leaving only his head exposed.
The hot sand made Dev's skin feel like it was burning. Any attempt to move only made it worse, as the grains rubbed against his raw skin like salt on open wounds.
The officer approached again. He used cotton buds to block Dev's nose and ears, leaving only his mouth for breathing.
Soon, Dev discovered why.
The officer brought a box, opened it in front of Dev's face—and insects began crawling out.
[Dev's POV]
I was still catching my breath when I was thrown into the scorching sandpit. It burned like hell. Though I've adapted to pain, these new kinds of torture were taking a mental toll.
The near-death experience in the swimming pool had already pushed me to the edge.
And on top of that, they called this human-killing exercise a therapy drill.
When the cotton buds were stuffed into my ears, a question popped up—what the hell is he doing? Now I knew.
The insects—cockroaches, spiders, moths, even a damn snake—started crawling toward me.
I hate cockroaches. I wanted to get out of there, but the moment I tried to move, I felt the sand cutting into my skin. The insects crawled all over my face. The snake coiled around my head and hissed right in front of my eyes. The cockroaches crawled up my cheeks. I felt chills all over.
I took a deep breath and sealed my lips. I closed my eyes too, but the crawling sensation made me want to rip them off me. I couldn't.
I stayed like that for what felt like eternity.
After an hour, someone finally spoke.
"Wake up. It's over."
I was pulled out of the sand. My body had turned red. But hey, at least my muscles still looked good.
The moment I tried to take a step, I collapsed. My legs were numb—I couldn't feel them.
"Wait, we'll carry you," the officer said.
They took me to the resting area. On the way, I saw more heads popping out of the sand. I even spotted Karan blowing insects off his face using just his mouth.
When I entered the resting zone, I could hear people wailing, some vomiting, others knocked out and drenched.
Ignoring them, I sat down and closed my eyes.
The drill ended. We were sent back.
The moment I reached my room, I collapsed on the bed. Today had been mentally exhausting.
[Dev's POV ends]
Day - 4
Dev could be seen sprawling in mud, crawling under wires in the pale moonlight.
It had started at midnight. The siren blared at 1:00 AM.
Every trainee threw on their training gear and rushed to the ground.
"Hello, everyone. Were you expecting training to start at 4:00 AM so you could sleep until then? Sadly, you're not here to sleep. Soldiers, let's go for a morning run," Instructor Rana shouted. General Arjun wasn't present today.
They were taken to the track for a 10 km warmup jog. Even in their drowsy states, the trainees ran.
After the jog, they arrived at a different training ground—an obstacle course.
Dev was wide awake now, staring at what lay ahead.
"This is our obstacle course," Instructor Rana said. "We lovingly call it The Gauntlet — 'Only the Ghosts Cross.'"
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"I'll demonstrate how to cross it. It's 2.5 kilometers long. You'll run it with a 40 kg backpack."
Without another word, Rana turned and sprinted toward the course. He disappeared into a tunnel—the starting point.
The first obstacle: a 300-meter crawl through a pitch-black, narrow pipe barely wider than the human body. Inside, sharp turns came out of nowhere. The ground was slick with knee-deep mud, making every movement slow and suffocating.
Rana didn't even take five minutes before emerging from the other side, caked in mud but unfazed.
Next came a four-story-tall rope climb. The rope swayed violently in the wind, but Rana ascended like a machine—his movements efficient, powerful, and unshaken by the height.
Then began a 1.5 km belly-crawl under a net of rusted barbed wire, suspended just a foot above the rocky ground. It was a test of pain tolerance and endurance. Every meter dragged skin and soul through hell.
No break. No hesitation.
A 15-foot cliff jump into freezing cold water followed next. The splash echoed across the training field. Rana surfaced calmly, adjusted his gear mid-swim, and continued.
Between these main obstacles were a minefield of challenges—climb walls, leap over rock pits, cross unstable logs, wade through sludge—all under time pressure.
Instructor Rana took only 30 minutes to conquer the entire course.