Alex Rider - You Left Me

16.

I can't be bothered to make up a chapter title

The units headed for the Western lake at a quick jog after John and as they started to arrive they spotted two sets of two wooden supports and 2 metal poles connecting the supports. It ran almost the length of the lake.

"What you are going to do is a lovely competition. The unit that loses gets mess hall duty for 3month, the next losers gets 2months cleaning guns duty, the next get 1month cooking duty, the next are 1week no warm showers and the winners don't get a punishment. Swim out to the pole, climb up and start begins when you're all on."

The soldiers understood and walked right into the water, putting the occasional knife and gun on their persons on the ground, in a real circumstance they wouldn't have any weapons on them as their captors would have taken them.

The water dragged them down and they knew it wouldn't help them when I came to the task.

Alex was the quickest out to the wooden supports, he climbed up and sat on the pole so he could scoot along it to the centre. He reached the centre of the pole and started to squeeze the water out of his clothes and tipped the water from his boots.

Alex then looked across at the pole parallel to the one he was on and felt like tutting at the idiots that were already hanging by their arms on it and silently applauded the one soldier who copied him. Glancing to his left and right he knew that most soldiers clearly did not think this through and their arms were bound to be hurting already and yet they hadn't even started yet.

A whistle blew and Alex gently swung down so he was hanging by his arms like everyone else. He hung on as slight pain began to flare in his arms as John called out that one minute had passed and Alex cursed in his head, that minute felt like hours.

McCain's voice from one his missions rang in his head and sent him into a flashback

AN: so I had to check this in the crocodile tears book and jhddfdgvbg I opened to the exact page! What are the chances?! Like basically none! It's on page 328 (paper back version) just so ya know😌💅

"The longest anyone has ever remained where you are is eighteen minutes," McCain said. He spoke slowly and evenly. he didn't have to raise his voice to make him heard. "The man in question lost his sanity before the end. He was giggling as he fell. But you, Alex, you have one hope, one chance of survival. My men can shoot at the crocodiles and scare them away. But first you have to answer my questions, and I have to believe you. If you can make that happen, then you will be safe..."

Alex swore. It was difficult to speak. All his concentration was fixed on his hands, the increasing pain in his arms, the need not to let go.

Seven minutes, or maybe eight minutes what the time he had lasted, before the time that Myra Bennett was killed by a knife to the back and Rahim had saved him.

"Six minutes!" John called out and Alex realised his flashback must have taken up that amount of time. Slowly, the pain of his arms began to pass through his mind and he winced as a stitch in his left side was over stretched. He noticed that on the bank of the lake sat a member from X-unit that was present and the full set of D-Unit who were glaring at Tiger. Oh so Tiger was the one to fall. Alex mumbled in his mind.

"Seven minutes!" That was an ok minute Alex gave himself a clap on the back (metaphorically of course) as he is equal with his time.

'"Who are you?" Alex asked.

"My name is Rahim," the man said. "But now we must leave. When they find the woman is missing, the will come looking for her. Here - give..."'

The flashback faded away as "Eight minutes!" Was called out and a splash sounded to his right. "F-unit out!" And the rest of F-unit dropped into the water, there was no point holding on any longer than needed.

And that's it! Alex has past his record, not that it was something to be particularly proud of that he was ever in that position in the first place.

Alex's arms were on fire and he adjusted his grip on the pole as he had done many times before. The teen caught Wolf giving him a glare that clearly meant 'you fall, you're dead.' Alex rolled his eyes in response.

"Nine minutes!" N-unit sniggered as Eagle lost a hand on the pole for a couple of second before regaining the strength to place it back on the pole.

It was just N-Unit and K-Unit now and many arms looked as they were were going to slip out of their sockets. Glares we're going around. "Ten minu-" was blocked out by a splash. Everyone glanced around for who had let go. It was just a boot. The 2 units on the poles began glaring again.

Alex felt like letting go so badly. This can't be good for him to stay this long doing this, especially for his age and muscles which were going to cause him much pain the following day. His hand slipped from the pole and he replaced it as quick as possible, catching the death stare from Wolf and Walrus. "Eleven minutes!"

Alex shuddered in a deep breath as his fingers were slipping again. He didn't have the strength to replace himself properly on the pole.

A big sploosh sounded near him. "N-Unit out!"

His arms gave out and he dropped into the icy water. Alex's legs did most of the work to get him to shore where Wolf clapped him on the back "Good job, you didn't mess it all up for us."

Eagle and Snake gave him a smile and they cradled their arms.

Alex's head was pounding and he brought his arm away from his body as he felt a warmer substance from the lake water on it. Many soldiers stared and Alex just dazedly looked at it, black was forming in his eyes as he concluded that his stitches didn't hold.

He let out a light giggle at the Instructor's shocked face as he fell to the ground, only just caught by Snake not far from the ground and a knife that was tossed there.

AN: I got carried away, I couldn't stop writing. 1,219words!!!! All at midnight 😔🤟