Hone the Edge: Page 1

A few days later, Tius had as all up bright and early for what he called a "Bonding Exercise" and the rest of us called several days of soreness.

"Come on, Valentine. Keep that pace and Lexi's gonna lap you. Again."

I groaned as Lexi ran up from behind me, slowing down a little to keep pace with me.

"Come on babe, just a few more laps to go."

I gritted my teeth and pushed harder, still failing to keep up as she returned to her normal pace. Of course it was easy for her, she spent her childhood and teens doing sports. I had spent mine doing more intellectual activities, like video games and avoiding my family.

By the time Tius let us stop, we were all beat, even supreme athlete Alexis North.

"Alright, good work team. Sarah, remember to pace yourself, its not always a sprint. Ash, breathing, work on it. Lexi, great stuff, as usual. And Lucas, endurance, train it. Anyway, get some water everyone, regroup in five."

Lexi stuck her tongue out at me, sauntering over to the ice chest to grab a bottle of water. I was about to follow her when Sarah plopped down next to me and pressed a bottle into my hand.

"Thanks."

She grunted in reply, downing the rest of her drink. I followed her lead, sucking in the ice cold water till it hurt my teeth.

"Careful, drink to fast and you'll make yourself puke."

I set my empty bottle on the ground beside me.

"You know, I heard that was a myth."

She shrugged in reply. There was a moment of silence after that.

"Whats going on with Tius? I mean, this is the second bonding exercise we've done this week."

Her eyes flicked over towards him, and I could swear I saw a look of concern flash across her features.

"The cults been quiet since around when you disappeared. He thinks they're planning... something."

"And that's why he has us running laps and doing push-ups?"

"He wants us ready, Valentine. Wants us sharp. 'Sides, a little exercise never killed anyone."

"Uh excuse me? You're like 6 ft 4, and you could probably bench press a car. Meanwhile, a bit of this and I might actually die."

She laughed a little, then stood up to get ready for whatever Tius would have us do next.

"You'll be fine, kid. Just power through."

"Yeah yeah, I know."

The rest of the day was not, in fact, fine. By the time the sun finally set and we we're dismissed, I was limping to the apartment. Though, in my defense, even Lexi was exhausted by that point.

After dinner, she and I spent a little time in her room watching tv. Eventually, we both were on the verge of passing out, so we kissed, said goodnight, and I returned to my room.

I could hardly even get my shirt off before crashing into my bed and dozing off.

But my sleep that night was anything but restful.