I ran a hand over my uniform as we went up the stairs. The laughter and shouting grew louder the closer we got to the top. By the sounds of it, my teammates couldn't be much older than I was. I wondered what they were going to be like. Would they be friendly? Would they be intimidating?

Waiting at the top of the stairs, leaning against the banister was a girl with shoulder length dirty blonde hair and teal eyes. Her uniform was the same as mine except her sleeves were rolled up, and her midriff was showing. She had an impressive looking abdomen. A triangular silver badge hung from her shoulder that read: SQUAD 112 CAPTAIN.

“I brought the wild things,” the girl said with an Australian accent. She must’ve been the one on the phone. She put her hands on her hips then looked me up and down. “Nice to finally meet the guy I wrecked my Jeep for.”

“Yeah, this is…” Katherine looked at me. I gathered she was waiting for me to give her my code name. My mind rushed to think of something.

“Um, Kaine?”

“Kaine.” She nodded with approval. “Kaine, this is Hot Stuff. She’s my second in command.”

Hot Stuff offered her hand, and I shook it. "No worries, I'll take it easy on you. It's the commander you have to worry about," Hot Stuff said, throwing a playful glance at Katherine. "You never know when she'll decide to throw you off a building."

“Have you done that to everyone?” I asked.

“Only the ones I like.” Katherine smiled and punched Hot Stuff’s shoulder as she went upstairs.

Hot Stuff leaned closer to me and whispered, “She means the ones she’s bent on sending home.” She winked. “But stick with me, mate, and we’ll prove her wrong.”

“Uh, thanks,” I said.

Hot Stuff put her hand on my back. “I’ll introduce you to the Dingos,” she said and steered me into the upstairs living room.

Sure enough, I'd been right. A group of teenagers was the source of the noise. They all wore the ninja uniform, exposing only the tops of their head. Their lively conversations cut off once they saw us.

“Hello, gang. This is our newest member, Kaine,” Hot Stuff said. “Why don’t we go around the room and get acquainted?”

A girl no older than sixteen stood up to shake my hand. She had kind, aqua blue eyes and her light brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail. "I'm Lily, welcome to the team," she said.

"Don't expect me to get up," said a guy with short black hair and stormy gray eyes. His arms were folded, and he was sitting on the couch's armrest.

“Don’t mind Wolf, he’s still pouting about not being captain,” Hot Stuff said.

“Everyone knows I can best you,” Wolf said.

“Like I said, name the time and place,” Hot Stuff replied.

A tall guy who had been sitting on a chair strolled towards me. He was easily over six foot five. He could've walked into a bodybuilding competition and won the first prize without having to flex. He had wavy black hair, slicked back with gel. His hands gathered into fists as his eyes bore into me.

He crushed my hand more than he shook it and spoke quietly into my ear. "You'll be dead in the first hour," he said in a Spanish accent. The color drained out of my face. I didn't know how to respond. Then, all seriousness disappeared from his eyes. He laughed and slapped my shoulder. "Don't be so gullible, yes? I am Castile, welcome."

I nodded as best as I could. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I was glad when Castile took his seat again. The next person to introduce themselves was a boy who looked like an Indian prince. He put his hands together and bowed.

“You can call me Kavi. I am pleased to meet you.” His accent made it hard to understand him, but I’m pretty sure that’s what he said.

“Now that only leaves one more,” Hot Stuff said as she searched the room. “Where’s the little devil?”

Lily pointed behind us. I turned around and cried out in shock. Standing there was an exact copy of me.

“Hi!” my twin said.

“Cut it out, Spaz!” Hot Stuff shoved my twin. My double snickered before exploding into a cloud of gold dust. The dust gathered and took the form of a short boy with spiky hair. “He’s always changing into us. Be careful, if you see the commander giving strange orders—it’s probably him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said.

“Great, do we all know each other now?” Katherine said as she went past us pushing a whiteboard on wheels. She centered it so everyone could see. “Gather round, take a seat, whatever you like.”

Lily offered me the open space beside her on the couch. Once everyone settled, Katherine started to write something on the whiteboard. We fell silent as the words came into view.

“I have left the world behind to become one with the shadows, to be the invisible hand that stays chaos from consuming the world, and I will fight to my last breath or until justice reigns.” –Grand Master Enki

"The way of the ninja is simple: be selfless, judge wisely, and ensure peace," Katherine said. "Understanding our core principles will be a lifelong journey. Every path will be different, but the destination is the same. When I'm done with you, you will embody these very words." She underlined the quote. "We aren't here to just save people; our mission is to reshape and transform the world for the better. To do that, it will take everything you have." She paced back and forth. "If you came here because you wanted to be wealthy or learn how to control your abilities to do as you please, then you're in the wrong place because we're not here for you."

“Th-then who are we here for?” someone asked.

"We're here for the mother whose child has gone missing, for the man who was unjustly beaten by police officers, and for the children living in crime-ridden neighborhoods because that's all their parents can afford. We are here to be a force stronger than greed, hatred, and brutality.

"The ninja operate on all corners of the globe from the ocean floor to every sleepy suburb, and all that's in between. The world may not see us, but they feel our efforts every day, and it's been that way for centuries. During the Cold War, we were the ones who kept the nuclear bombs from flying. We helped tear down the Berlin Wall. The very idea of equality was implanted in human minds by us."

“So, everything we know…” I said.

“Is only a small portion of the truth,” she replied.

How much of history was missing? How much had been a cover-up? I looked around the room, none of the others seemed too surprised by this fact. Why was I the only one bothered by it?

"I'm asking all of you to give up everything you've known, everything you've wanted, for this cause. The only reward you'll receive for your sacrifice is one less tragedy on the news. No one will ever know your name, or that you even existed." Katherine capped her marker; the sound was like a brick falling in such a quiet room. "That being said, does anyone here want to change their mind?"

No one raised their voice. I didn't think any of us were even breathing. Castile held his shoulders high, ready to take on whatever was coming. Kavi was doing his best to hide his trembling. I kept my teeth locked together; there was no way I was leaving now.

“Alright then, if you think you’re ready, we can begin…” Katherine gestured to Hot Stuff.

Hot Stuff’s eyes glinted with a sick pleasure. She put on a pair of sunglasses. “Outside trainees!” she said, but no one moved. “That’s an order! Move your bums! GO!” She swatted at the air, and a powerful gust nearly knocked us over.

Everyone scrambled to the back door. We ran down the balcony steps and out to a field. The grass was thick and impossibly free of little stones and hills; it could make a groundskeeper cry. Hot Stuff and Katherine were already waiting for us.

"Form a line!" Hot Stuff said. We tried to organize ourselves. We were a wavy looking line. Hot Stuff shook her head. "You call this a line?! You are not looking promising trainees.” We tightened the line as best as we could.

Katherine held her hands behind her back as she scanned over us. “Some of you have been with me for a while, and some of you haven’t. It’s been all fun and games up to this point. The hard work begins today. We’re going to start with your most basic and most vital tool; running.”

My heart began to drum against my ribs. Why did we have to start with running? She knew that was my weakness.

“Everyone behind me,” Hot Stuff said and took off at a leisurely jog. We trotted in a line behind her. I found it was easier to run without having to carry all of my extra fat. My legs felt light and not every stride was a fight. “Not too fast, we’re still warming up. The number one killer in a fight is pulling a muscle because someone didn’t warm up. Don’t make that mistake.”

After five minutes, she picked up the pace. I had to put some effort into keeping up with the group. Every five minutes from then on she got faster and faster. I fell to the back of the pack. A few times a gap would separate us, and I struggled to keep it closed.

It wasn't long until we were sprinting. The gap I tried so hard to eliminate, grew wider and wider. I chased after my teammates; I couldn't get left behind, but my feet turned to lead.

Hot Stuff zipped around us, so her voice came at us in surround sound. “Run! Come on! There’s a horde of undead behind you! You call that running for your life, Castile?! Push it! I want to see your legs give out! Kaine, a zombie is about to eat your leg, pick it up!”

I groaned and forced my legs to keep moving. It was like trying to drag a kid from the toy section; they screamed and threatened to stay in one spot, refusing to move. My lungs became greedy, no amount of air seemed to satisfy them. I had to swing my arms and use the momentum to keep me going.

The hot, thick air didn’t help. It sat on me and slowed me down. The rays of sunlight focused on my exposed skin. I felt like an ant burning under a magnifying glass. My teammates seemed just as miserable as I was, there were grunts and growls intermingled with huffs coming from the group.

“Give it everything you’ve got for the next thirty seconds! I mean it! Everything! If you can get up and walk afterward, you're going to sprint for another five minutes!" Hot Stuff said.

My energy was slipping away from me. I didn’t know if I could push myself any harder than I already was. The more I ran, the slower I felt myself getting.

I tried to picture the imaginary zombies Hot Stuff kept saying were behind us; I thought of their frothing mouths, their gooey innards dangling around their legs, and the uncaged hunger in their eyes. I imagined them closing in on me. I could picture boney, decaying fingers reaching for my shirt.

“Don’t let them get you!”

I stretched my legs as far as they could go. I felt my muscles tear with the effort. My legs responded with a chorus of blistering anguish. I ignored the pain and pressed on.

I closed my eyes and shut the world out. I was determined to make this the day that I became a fast runner. Every ounce of strength I had, I devoted to my lower half. All I could hear was my breathing and my mind saying, GO! GO! GO!

Suddenly, I smacked into a wall and toppled over. The world was spinning. My body was filling with molten lava again. I moaned miserably; I felt like I was going to puke. My body shuddered as I rolled over and saw that I hadn’t hit a wall at all. My legs had given out.

“That’s what I want to see,” Hot Stuff said as she looked down at me. She offered me a canteen of water. “Alright, folks lie there for a minute. When you feel like you can crawl, I want you to stand up. You did a good job for your first sprint, but we’re still a long way from our goal of breaking the sound barrier.”

“You can run that fast?!” Spaz said.

“Yep.”

“Yeah, you need that speed to make up for your lame power. What kind of ability is being able to make a breeze in the first place?” Wolf said.

Hot Stuff unsheathed the sword on her back. Silver silk wrapped around the hilt and the curving blade was made of sharpened diamond. It glittered in the sunlight. She spun it around creating a mini tornado and sent it towards Wolf. The small tornado had enough force to lift him up, spin him around, and fling him a few yards away. Spaz and Castile blew up with laughter. Wolf frowned and brushed the dirt off of him.

“What’re you gonna do, fishy boy?” Hot Stuff said.

Wolf's hands curled into fists. The water in our canteens began swooshing around. The caps fell off, and the water gathered into a spinning vortex in the air.

Wolf’s forehead was turning red from the effort it took to control the water. He sent his whirlpool at Hot Stuff. An air current gathered around her feet and lifted her out of harm’s way. The water splashed all over the ground. Wolf’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

I turned to Lily next to me. “How can he do that?”

“We’ve all had a little time to work on our powers last week during orientation,” Lily said. “Wolf just got lucky that he has a better grip on his gift than the rest of us.”

“So, the others know what they can do already?”

Lily nodded. “Spaz can shape-shift, Castile can stun people, Kavi can make objects come to life, and I can read minds.”

I felt my heart sink. “I’m behind everyone else?”

“Unfortunately.”

I gripped the sides of my head. “I can’t be behind everyone.”

“Why?”

“I have to prove I can do this, or Katherine will send me home,” I said and punched the grass. “She didn’t even want me here in the first place.”

She patted my shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

“Alright, you lazies, get up,” Hot Stuff said.

I wanted to argue. What else were we going be forced to do? I staggered back onto my feet. My legs felt no firmer than a water bed. A light coating of sweat covered my body like sunscreen. My heart was still rattling.

Hot Stuff led us back towards the house, and we went into the chilly gym. Katherine was waiting for us there. I leaned against one of the machines. I was too tired to care if I got in trouble for it.

"I know you're all so excited to be able to break through walls and hurl yourself across rooftops, but you have to lay a foundation first. In the next two weeks, we will be focusing on grip-strength, balance, and flexibility," Katherine said. She pointed to the barrels of sand sitting in a line; there was one for each of us. "You're going to bury your hands as far you can and squeeze them into a fist."

“For how long?” Spaz asked.

“Until I say stop.”

I pressed my fingers together and tried to wedge my hands into the sand like a Kung Fu master. I immediately jammed my fingers. I hissed and shook out my hand. I looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Everyone was having trouble using that technique except for Castile.

I wiggled my fingers in a little at a time. Digging my hands in past my knuckles was hard. Trying to make a fist in the sand was almost impossible. The muscles in my palms ached.

Katherine went back and forth, watching us carefully. I kept my head down to hide the strain on my face. To have my hands in the barrel, I had to squat, so my legs were throbbing too. As the torment became worse by the minute, I couldn't help but look up. I stared at Katherine desperately waiting for her to say we could stop. It seemed like an eternity had passed by the time she said the magic word.

I collapsed back, freeing my legs of the weight. I was dripping with sweat now. My shirt was soaked. I wanted to tear the mask off; it was steaming my face.

There was only a second of rest before we were ordered over to the wall. A pull-up bar ran from one end of the room to the other. I had to jump to reach it. My hands were weak from the sand; they had no strength to grip the bar. I dropped down and huffed with exhaustion. I bent over to hold my knees, trying to gather my will.

"Are you tired, Kaine? Do you need to stop, maybe go home?" Katherine said. I was taken aback by her words. The girl I'd known up this point seemed to have disappeared; this was my commander talking.

“No,” I whispered. I jumped up and struggled to hold the bar. She waited for me to fall. When it seemed that I wouldn’t, she walked away.

She went down the line attaching weights to everyone’s legs. Cries of distress filled the room. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed for strength. I heard her finally come to me. She wrapped thick straps around my ankles.

Once she attached the weights, my fingers started to slip. They stung with growing blisters. The traction on my gloves was the only thing that saved me. I felt like my body was being stretched out.

I was ready to let go the instant she attached the weights. I didn’t know how I managed to hang on. My arms were rapidly filling with acid; I could feel it dissolving my muscles from the inside out. The sizzling heat grew and grew to an unbearable temperature. My strength was fizzling out. I shook as I tried to hold on by whatever means I had.

“Is it burning yet?” Katherine asked with a grin.

“Yes!”

"Good, twenty more minutes should feel like nothing then," she said and set the stopwatch in her hand. We responded with pleading groans. "Every one of you is going to have to dig down deep to get through today. My goal is to break at least one of you—if not all—before midnight."

Dear God, what did I get myself into? I thought.

I knew she was going to make us hang there until we fell. I couldn’t be the first one. I just had to outlast one other person. The sirens in my arms were going off, warning my brain of their inevitable failure. I tried to shut them out. I tried to think of anything other than the pain. Just hold, everything hold until someone else falls.

“Grah!” Castile shouted and fell to the floor. I was stunned. I didn’t expect a big guy like him to fall first. I guess he couldn’t hold all of that muscle weight.

I got a small boost of confidence. I, the former chubby guy, had outlasted Mr. Bodybuilder. Even though my arms were so done, I forced them to keep going. I wanted to see who else I could outlast.

Another minute or so went by. Each second lasted a day. The pain had no limit; it kept increasing. I was drowning in it. I couldn't breathe right. I couldn't muster enough focus to think of something else. I was barely aware of who else fell, or if anyone else did.

I wanted to let go. My mind whispered to me; someone else has dropped down. You lasted longer than you hoped. It’s okay if you let go now. I opened my eyes and found Katherine directly in front of me. From the way she stared at me, she knew I was planning to let go. I'd gotten busted. I shouted between my teeth at the horrifying thought of having to endure any longer.

I shook so badly it was effecting my grip. I tried to adjust, but moving only made it worse. My body scooted down one millimeter at a time until my fingertips were scraping at the bar. Finally, I fell. I hit the ground with a hard thud.

I wiped my eyes and looked up to see Hot Stuff was the last one to fall. I undid the straps holding the weights to my ankles. Hot Stuff came over to me.

“That was impressive, mate,” she said. All I could do was nod.

My eyes darted to Katherine. For some reason, I was hoping for a silent approval. Instead, she glared at me like an enemy. My heart lurched. I wasn't very fond of my commander; I much preferred her other side.

The afternoon blurred. The only thing I could expect was pain and more pain. When Katherine announced we’d be doing yoga, I was dumb enough to be relieved. The entire hour my muscles were in anguish trying to hold outrageous positions. After that, we were weighted down and forced to balance on one foot. Following that, we had to walk across an unstable tightrope. Even when we were stretching, I was in pain, because I was far from flexible.

We trained long into the night. Everyone was worn out. We could barely do what our commander instructed. We looked like aerobics hour at a retirement home. At that point, Katherine made us dive into the pool. The water was icy. The group was forced to run again in our wet clothes. The mountain air dropped to a freezing temperature. I shivered and wished I could make my body hot again.

Katherine was relentless. She was determined to break someone. I couldn’t let it be me. I saw her watching me, targeting me. The fear drove me to keep going. I couldn’t fail.

“Push-ups! Jumping jacks! Sprints!” There was no break in between each command.

Someone was crying. Someone was throwing up. Someone was screaming. I’m sure we all wanted to fall asleep and never wake up. Everyone kept looking around, hoping someone would give up, but no one wanted to be the first.

A voice broke through the wailing, “I need to stop!”

We were in the middle of doing scissor kicks. My legs felt like semi-trucks, I couldn’t get them off of the ground. I turned to see who had spoken. It was Spaz.

Katherine came to him and crouched down. I couldn't hear what she said, but it made Spaz shake his head wildly. His eyes were wide and rimmed with red. He was quivering, struggling even to sit up. Whatever else she said to him made him break. He started crying hysterically.

“I can’t do anymore! I wanna stop! I have to stop! Please! Please! Please!” Spaz screeched. The energetic kid I met earlier was completely gone. All I saw now was a fragmented, scared child.

Katherine ordered Hot Stuff to help Spaz up. Together, they slowly walked back towards the house. Some part of me was hoping that meant we could stop. When it didn’t, I watched Spaz and Hot Stuff disappear into the darkness with envy.

“It is now two-thirty in the morning. We’ve been at this for fourteen hours. That is Spaz’s breaking point,” Katherine said.

She kicked my heel, silently ordering me to focus. I grunted and raised my leg into the air. I couldn’t even hold it there for a second.

“If Spaz were to be captured by an enemy, you have fourteen hours to save him. Whatever pain and exhaustion you feel now will be nothing compared to a real life situation. You could be wounded, it could be pouring rain, or hell itself has opened up. I want to know if you can push through whatever small misery you think you’re in right now to save someone else. Are you going to let someone die to spare yourself a little discomfort?”

“No.” Everyone struggled to speak.

“Are you going to let someone die on your watch because you’re tired?!”

“No!”

“Then show me you have what it takes!” she said. “Get your legs off the ground, do the exercise right, and suck it up!”

The team got a second wind. We stopped looking like zombies. I willed my body to keep moving. At first, I was inspired by saving a fellow teammate, but the image of Spaz in trouble quickly changed to the night Hannah was kidnapped. I'd been too slow to save her. If Katherine hadn't been there, I don't know what would've happened to my sister. I couldn't let that happen again. I couldn't be slow anymore; I had to be better.

We ran more laps at a brutal pace. As soon as I thought I couldn’t take it, I dragged out all of the fear I’d felt when I realized I couldn’t save Hannah. I remembered how my legs had failed me then. They didn’t deserve to rest.

We entered that strange point of the day when the sun hid behind the horizon, but the darkness began to lift, and everything was a dull blue color. I'd officially been awake for twenty hours. At that point, I'd given up hoping for a break. I'd pushed all thoughts of sleep and food so far away; I'd forgotten they existed.

“I think we’re done,” Katherine said.

Her words didn't get through to me. I kept putting one foot in front of the other. Lily grabbed my shoulders and held me still. I looked around, unsure if we'd stopped or if I was hallucinating.

"I'm not going to say well done. Making it to this point doesn't prove anything. Tests are coming that will be harder than this one. You're going have to search for what you will live for and what you will die for. No one becomes a soldier to brag, and the ninja are no different. So think long and hard about why you want to be here," she said.

Everyone nodded solemnly. Katherine led the way back to the house. We were allowed to move slowly now. My body felt like it was beaten with a bat. I could feel pain in every muscle, even ones I didn't know I had.

When we got inside, the alluring aroma of soup filled every corner of the house. Waiting on the stove was the biggest pot I’d ever seen. Hot Stuff was stirring it. The desire to eat turned everyone a bit crazy. We stomped towards the kitchen, people were pushing and shoving to be the first in line.

"You get one bowl. You take it to your room. Do not make a mess," Hot Stuff said. She poured a bowl of soup for each of us. It was a reasonable amount, but with how hungry I felt the bowl looked like the size of a shot glass.

The smell teased me all the way back to my room. I shut the door and sat on the edge of the bed. I ripped my mask off and slurped the soup down in three gulps. My belly ached for more. Thankfully, sleep eased my suffering.