Elite Page 22

  Daniel knew that he should be feeling worn-out and sore at this stage, but he had now begun to fully expand his lungs with every breath, absorbing the maximum amount of oxygen and sending it soaring through his bloodstream, into every critical muscle mass, mixed with high levels of adrenaline, testosterone and other hormones. He felt nothing. He was a machine. He was unstoppable.

  If he had been able to step outside his mind – which was currently occupied controlling dozens of the signals being sent from his brain to the inner-workings of his body at once – he probably would have been slightly frightened by the reckless figure he had become. But right now he had a job to do, and he had every intention of getting it done.

  In his current state, the next stage offered no difficulty for Daniel. It was a series of small four-foot by four-foot platforms separated by considerable gaps. Each podium was lower than the last, eventually leading down to the floor.

  Daniel had no problem clearing even the furthest distances between platforms. In fact, at one point he put too much strength behind one of his jumps and almost overshot the next podium. Fortunately he was able to reach back and hold on. With each jump he gained muscle memory – better able to judge the amount of muscle contraction necessary to cover the distances he needed to jump.

  Before he could take the time to realize that he only had two obstacles to go before successfully completing the main portion of the course, he was already making his way to the eighth challenge. He had heard quite a lot of chatter about this stage and he was ready to face it head on, feeling a sense of almost god-like invincibility flowing through him.

  Outside of the Pipe Ladder, both Charlie and Shifty had labeled this as the absolute toughest obstacle complete, and had also cited it as the reason so many guys like Jitters – who was otherwise able to climb the length of the Pipe Ladder – were unable to successfully tackle the tenth stage after completing the rest of the course.

  “It will fuck you,” Shifty had said.

  It was called the “Inclined Pack Climb.” This stage of the course required carrying a seventy-pound backpack up a sixty-foot ramp that was angled at forty-five degrees. The ramp was also made of Plexiglas, making it very hard to get any kind of traction underneath your feet. To assist with this hindrance, a rope was tied to the top of the ramp and strung down the center, all the way to the floor. The challenger was to use the rope to help pull themself up to the top of the ramp.

  Only there was one more added complication.

  The backpack had no straps on it. This meant that the challenger could not just simply wear the pack on their back, allowing them to balance out the weight as they pulled themselves up. Rather they had to find another way to carry the hefty pack up with them.

  Daniel stepped up to the base of the ramp and grabbed the bottom of the rope with his left hand, holding the pack by the small loop at the top with his right. He stepped forward onto the glass-like surface of the ramp and pulled himself forward with the rope. He stood, holding himself upright with the aid of the rope, but realized that he needed to let go and grab further up the rope up so that he could pull himself further up the ramp.

  Without much thought, he dropped the rope and leaned forward in order to grip it further up the ramp. As he did so, the weight from the pack caused him to lose his traction on the Plexiglas surface, causing him to slip.

  He fell forward, grasping for the rope as his chest smashed into the Plexiglas surface. Aware of where he was on the ramp, he quickly bent his knees as he hit to keep his feet from touching the floor of the complex. If any part of his body left the surface of the ramp, it would mean failure of that stage and he would have to start from the beginning. He had come too far for that now.

  He turned to look down at his knees. There was only an inch or two of Plexiglas surface between them and the floor of the complex.

  He cursed himself. He had gotten so lost in his brain, controlling the chemicals and hormones inside of him and enjoying the pleasures that came with them, that he hadn’t taken the time to think over what he was doing. His heightened strength and agility had made him feel invincible, but he knew that arrogance was so often the downfall of able-bodied men. This course, and this stage, required strategy and conscious thought. Brute strength alone would not help him achieve his goal.

  He took a moment to gather more focus in his conscious mind, letting his traditionally involuntary functions operate on their own, though he remained in-tune with the signals his brain was sending.

  He looked up to the top of the ramp, then pulled up on the rope with his left arm. Once he had put enough distance between himself and the bottom of the ramp, he lifted himself up onto his knees, making sure he wasn’t going to slide downward.

  He took a breath, and stopped to think for a moment. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to do this with one hand. He looked over at the pack, still clutched in his right hand. Quickly, he maneuvered his hand so that he could shove it completely through the top loop.

  Daniel grabbed the rope and wrapped it around his left arm, anchoring himself into position. He then laid his body down on top of the pack and shoved his forearm through the loop as far as he could, until it rested in his elbow. The loop was too small to slide any further up his arm, but at least this would free up his right hand.

  He stood up on his feet, the rope still tied around his left forearm. He then reached forward with his right arm, the seventy-pound bag pulling down on it. He surged blood and adrenaline through his veins, redirecting much of what he had been sending to his left arm over to his right, and pulled forward on the rope.

  He only needed repeat this process one more time before realizing that he could not maintain it for the entire sixty feet. He dropped down to his knees again, resting the pack on the surface of the ramp and allowing his right arm some relief. Even with the intense amount of blood and adrenaline aiding his fatigued muscles, working them so intensely would result in either his arm falling off or his muscles exploding.

  He decided to take a somewhat different approach. He laid down flat on his stomach, and began pulling up on the rope, slinking his body upward along the ramp like a worm. This still put a great deal of stress on his arm, but at least this way gravity was only pulling on the pack at a forty-five degree angle rather than ninety, and although the surface was made of Plexiglas, it still created enough friction to work in his favor.

  Still, the stress on his arm was great, and no matter how much aid he pumped into his muscles, they began cramping up. He couldn’t stop now however. He had already spent enough time thinking about it, he now needed to persevere and do it.

  After what seemed like far too long, Daniel finally reached the halfway point. Here he wrapped the rope around his waist, turned over on his back and planted his feet in front of him to keep himself from sliding. With a bit of a struggle, he managed to switch the pack from his right arm to his left. His right arm was throbbing in agony, completely worn out from the thirty-foot climb.

  That agony only worsened as he redirected blood and adrenaline over to his left arm in preparation for the second half of the climb. Daniel turned himself back over, gripping the rope with his right hand. He cringed as a stinging pain suddenly shot through his right arm.

  Not so invincible now, are we? He thought to himself.

  Still, there was no doubt in his mind that he was going to make it to the top, and that once he did, he was going to get himself through the ninth stage of the course.

  Now that his body knew what it needed to do, he began to lose himself in his unconscious mind again, directing his body to keep itself from failing the task at hand. By the time his left-arm began emulating it’s counterpart with searing pain, he had already reached the top.

  Daniel pulled himself to his feet on the flat surface at the top of the ramp, immediately pulling his arm out of the pack that now felt as though it were the size of a rhinoceros, and kicked it over the edge, watching it go tumbling down the ramp and hitting the floor of the complex.
He never wanted to see that devil-bag ever again.

  As he stood at the top, he began swinging his arms out to his sides and rolling his shoulders, trying to loosen himself up. That obstacle had taken a lot out of him, and no matter how hard he tried to mask the pain, he felt it.

  There was no time limit in which he needed to complete the obstacle course, and several of the other agents had recommended he take his sweet time after the Pack Climb. He now understood why. Obviously he couldn’t stay up there the rest of the day, but he figured a short five to ten-minute rest was in order.

  Especially since the next stage was the Pedal Cable – the same stage Charlie wrestled with trying to complete his first several times through the course. Daniel better understood why after the climb he had just finished. In fact, he couldn’t understand how that skinny little prick had managed to make it this far. Richfield wasn’t lying when he said that he recruited the toughest men and women around.

  It was at about this point that Daniel looked at Norma. She had also been able to complete the first nine stages after a few tries.

  That is one badass chick, he thought.

  Daniel turned to face the ninth, and almost final, obstacle in the course. If he could figure this one out, he would join an elite few who had managed to complete the first nine stages in their very first attempt.

  He walked up to the cable, which was strung at eye level across a thirty-foot gap – another gap – until reaching a secure platform on the other side. Richfield was apparently a big fan of these high-wire acts.

  Sitting on the cable was a pulley system which looked like an upside-down unicycle, with the wheel resting on top of the wire and the pedals hanging down. The object was to hang form the object, using your hands to pedal it, in-turn turning the wheel on top of the cable and moving yourself across the open chasm.

  Daniel decided to take a few more minutes before attempting the trial, breathing deeply and absorbing as much oxygen as possible out of the stale air in the room. He sent neural signals to his muscles, commanding them to fully relax themselves. This mixed with the intense flow of fully oxygenated blood and other chemicals he was sending from his brain created a sensation that was remarkably soothing. He didn’t know how the rest of the agents got by. They were clearly tougher than he was.

  After the burning in his muscles had become tolerable again, Daniel grabbed ahold of the pedals and pushed himself off the edge of the platform. The trick now would be to avoid ending up like Charlie, and figure out quickly how to make the pedals turn.

  It should not be that difficult, he thought to himself, knowing very well that he was about to be proven very wrong.

  The way he was currently gripping the pedals, the pedal in his left hand was at the top of its rotation, while the one in his right was at the bottom. He could feel them both start to rotate back and forth as he shifted his weight. With the force of his weight pulling it downward, the wheel was surprisingly stable atop the cable.

  Daniel deduced that if he lessened the tension he was currently placing on the right pedal by pulling up on the left, then he should be able to successfully rotate the pedals and turn the wheel. As he pulled up with his left arm however, the pedal came down the wrong direction, rotating the wheel backwards and moving him back a couple inches.

  “Shit,” Daniel muttered under his breath. How was he going to direct the pedals to rotate the way he wanted them to?

  Then he figured it out. He needed to try and push up with one hand as he pulled down with the other. This would help direct the pedals in the right direction.

  It took a little push from his brain power to create the necessary amount of strength to complete the rotation, but once he was able to do it a few times, it started to become easier with every crank.

  It wasn’t long before the burning in his arms began to set in again, but his brain quickly began sending the necessary signals to his muscles to compensate for the added stress, this time without having to lose his conscious mind in the process.

  The phenomenon caught Daniel a little off-guard, and for a second he completely forgot about the obstacle course. His abilities were beginning to work on auto-pilot it seemed. He feared the kind of permanent effect that could have – if his involuntary functions would now operate at full-capacity whenever they sensed they need to, possibly destroying his heart. But he could feel that his conscious mind was still connected, only now it gave the commands almost…unconsciously. It was like typing or texting and not having to look at the keys – or getting lost in a deep thought while driving and suddenly coming to once you’ve arrived at your destination, not really sure how you got there or if you ran over anyone along the way.

  Coincidentally, once Daniel had finished contemplating the subject, he found himself on the other end of the cable. He pedaled his way up over the platform and slammed his feet down on the surface, signifying the successful completion of all nine of the primary sections of the course.

  The last part of the course was not an official obstacle, but rather a fun way to end the journey by sliding down a thirty-foot slide that went almost completely straight down before curving five-feet before the bottom and throwing you onto the floor below. Daniel did not even try to land on his feet as he reached the bottom, deciding instead to somersault across the floor.

  As he stood up he heard a single cheer come from the gallery.

  “Yeah!” Charlie shouted as he slapped his hands together.

  This drew a glance from Daniel. Charlie stood with a mixed look of embarrassment and horror on his face as he noticed that Richfield and Blank had still not moved or shown any change in expression. Shifty covered his face, trying to hide his laughter. Robby stood with his arms folded, staring at Charlie and shaking his head, unamused. Norma had a full – though still teethless – grin on her face, but she was looking at Daniel rather than Charlie.

  Horchoff had his hands in his pockets and was rocking back and forth nervously. He seemed rather concerned. Daniel knew he was most-likely less nervous about Daniel’s upcoming attempt at the Pipe Ladder than he was at how big a toll completing the course would take on his body – particularly his heart.

  Daniel had made sure to keep his under control however. He had to crank it up a few times to increase the flow of oxygen to his muscles and create the strength necessary to complete some of the challenges he had faced, but in his workouts with Robby Daniel had learned ways to do this without increasing his heart rate to dangerous levels – just unordinarily high ones.

  He also only had one challenge left to go, and in all honesty, it was one that Daniel never had any intention of actually completing. Completing all ten stages in his first attempt – that was a milestone he was willing to let Titan claim all to his own. He had only been concerned with getting past the first nine. His plan all along was to try the Pipe Ladder just to have the experience, and then he would come back later in the week to climb the entire ladder individually before trying to complete the entire course in one shot.

  And so Daniel walked over to the ladder, completely satisfied with everything he had already been able to accomplish. Everything from here on out was just for fun. He stood under the cross bar that was resting on the first pair of teeth, and looked straight up, a tower of small metal teeth on either side of him. If he hadn’t already accepted the fact that he was not going to complete the tenth stage, he was sure he would have been intimidated.

  The bar rested within his reach. He guessed the height of the first set of teeth – referred to by the other agents as rungs – were put at the height it was so that people shorter than him would also be able to reach the bar. He figured he could easily get to the second pair of rungs if he simply picked up the bar and jumped, but feared such a thing would be considered cheating. Instead he bent his knees, enabling him to hang from the bar. He looked up at the second pair of rungs, a foot above the supports the crossbar currently rested on.

  He had seen Jitters attempt the obstacle just a couple weeks before, an
d knew that gathering momentum was key to making the jump from one set of rungs to the next. He began swinging back and forth, and prepared his upper body to pull himself upward. After a few swings he felt he had sufficient momentum and pulled up his knees, crunched his abs and swung his legs up in front of him while simultaneously pulling up on the bar with all of his upper-body strength. When his chin passed above the crossbar he used the strength in his abs to throw his legs downward and lifted the bar up off of the rungs, rapidly moving it up over the next set.

  “Agh!” He belted with a ferocious might as he pulled himself upward on the bar. Suddenly the pain that had accumulated throughout the first nine stages of the course came rushing back to him all at once.

  As gravity pulled his body back down to Earth the crossbar landed firmly on top of the second set of rungs, Daniel’s body now hanging from it. His feet now hung above the ground with his body fully extended.

  Daniel’s eyes opened wide as an incredible sensation came over him. It was unbelievable – like nothing he had ever felt before.

  The intense amounts of adrenaline and hormones coursing through his veins had created a response that made him feel as though he had achieved the perfect high. The pain no longer bothered him. He liked this new sensation – he craved it. He wanted more.

  Staring straight ahead with his eyes wide he went deep into the back of his mind and began pumping up his heart to extreme levels. He took quick breathes, but was somehow able to fully expand his lungs with each brief inhalation, taking in major amounts of oxygen. His pituitary gland was working overtime, cranking our hormones like an assembly line.

  He repeated the act of gathering momentum, swinging and then lifting himself upward before throwing the bar up and over the next set of rungs.

  Daniel was no longer performing these actions consciously – at least not in a normal sense. He was lost in the depths of his brain, sending an onslaught of neural signals all throughout his body.