Chapter 182: GET STRONG
"I asked for 200 push-ups and y’all only gave me 70? Have you people suddenly gone lazy?" He questioned the men, who were sweating buckets under the hot scorching sun, wearing only their military pants, their upper bodies glistening with sweat.
Spotting a comrade heading towards his direction, wearing a similar uniform, Edward stood up from his chair and they both saluted each other.
"Edward, it seems that your juniors are quite tired now hey? Why don’t you give me a break for a while," comrade Jackson suggested.
"And why should I? They don’t deserve any break until they complete their training. It is for their good," Edward remarked, not willing to listen to his comrade who ended up shrugging after hearing Edward’s words.
He was a commander as well and each commander had been assigned a few men in training to be guided by them and Edward’s methods were brutal.
Any junior that had been assigned to him would either quit or finish the training with packs of bruises on his body. Those who didn’t want to be victims would go plead to the higher-ranked commanders and it would only be by luck that the junior would be transferred to another commander.
Those who couldn’t escape the harsh training would just have to endure until it’s finished but none of them could deny the fact that Edward’s training would always make them stronger than before. It was the best but also the harshest.
Edward Anderson glared at his juniors one after the other and none of them could open up their mouth to speak, as if a cat had cut their tongue until one mustered his courage and retaliated,
"But commander, you are saying this because you are not under the sun with us, you are under the shade and also, you are fully clothed and lastly, you are also not training with us. You are just sitting down there and giving us orders. We are trying to give our best here and you are only making us feel worthless."
A loud gasp erupted from his fellow training crew and they stared at him with a pitiful look. No one had ever had the guts to speak to their commander like that, not even the seniors because they all feared him for being a strict commander.
He was one of the military officers who battled the most dangerous terrorists that tried to get into their country so his rank and his name were not taken for granted but for a mere junior to insult him like this, it had created a thorn in his image.
"What did you say?" Edward questioned the junior as if daring him to repeat his words.
Cowering down, the junior lowered his head and glanced at his colleagues who were not looking at him anymore.
"REPEAT WHAT YOU JUST SAID!" Edward demanded from the man who didn’t dare to make eye contact with him. His loud voice made everyone flinch, including his comrade.
"You people should be lucky that I am not that strict with you but since you are all begging for it, give me 400 pushups in an hour. If you are unable to do that, you might as well pack your bags and go home. I don’t want to train lazy wieners like you," he spat out, his face etched with both annoyance and anger.
Shocked, the juniors glared at the one who had retaliated early for making their training much harder than it already was. 200 push-ups was difficult but 400? That was just impossible. None of them would be able to complete that without having a tense muscle.
"Seriously? 400?" Jackson intervened, trying to reduce the punishment but there wasn’t a guarantee that could work. The juniors stared at Jackson with the hope that he would be able to change Edward’s mind but the next words that spilled from their commander’s mouth instantly killed the hope.
"I think 400 is perfect for them," said Edward. Again, the junior men glared at the one who dared to speak back at Edward earlier. Things would have been much easier for them even if it was just 200 but now it was 400. They all cursed at him in their minds.
Comrade Jackson decided to back off and let Edward train his men the way he seemed fit. It would be rude to continue to persuade him when it was none of his business. So he simply went away.
"Am waiting and don’t forget to chant!" Edward reminded them when he noticed that they hadn’t started.
After giving a grumble of unspeakable words of protestion, the men got into position and began.
"Up down, up down
We fight together through the day and night.
With pride in our hearts and duty in sight,
We stand as one, ready to fight.
Strong and brave, we’ll face any plight,
For our country’s cause, we’ll take up the fight.
With honor and valor, we’ll do what’s right,
Up down, up down".
The sturdy men’s husky voices echoed around the perimeter of the training ground and Edward stared at them intently, waiting for one to mess up as usual.
Suddenly his phone rang with an unexpected name displayed as the caller.
"What is it?" He asked as soon as the line connected.
"I need your help," said the caller. He recognized that voice and a smirk pulled up his lips at the thought that this person would need his help someday.
**
In the wall-covered room, Erika lay on the bed like a lifeless soul as she wet the bed with her tears. She had been like this for days after a full week had already passed without the sight of Ethan or his presence in the mansion.
She didn’t want to believe that he was dead but a full week had already passed.
"What could be taking him so long?" she asked herself since she was the only one in the room. She tried to sniff back her tears but couldn’t. She had gone weak. She’d stopped eating and wouldn’t leave the room, hoping that Ethan would come and get her.
