Only a few hours later, I was waking up for formation, surprised to find that I wasn’t the slightest bit tired. When we formed up for drill, I looked over to see Cam nearly comatose on his feet. He looked like death warmed over. I guessed our late night had hit him harder than me.

  PT began as it usually did. We jogged out of the main campus and into the woods. I listened closely to the early morning chatter of the others, but heard no mention of escaped recruits or any indication that anyone was aware of our extracurricular activities earlier that morning. With every pump of my legs, my mind swirled, going back over each step of the plan we had enacted, and the absurdity of having actually pulled it off. Before I knew it, the whole company was back in the main quad area.

  To my surprise, I realized I’d finished the standard 5-mile run well ahead of the other recruits. No pain in my legs. No heavy breathing. I could scarcely recall the run at all. The drill instructor, the perpetually pissed-off Sergeant Wilcox, glanced down at his watch, then held it up to me to see. Twenty-five minutes even! I had never, in the previous three months, run faster than twenty-nine, and even then, my body had been screaming with the effort it took.

  The drill instructor looked me up and down with a scowl. I had the sudden realization that he was assuming I’d cheated, somehow shorted the course. Not surprising, given my performance earlier this week. With a disgusted look, he ordered me to report to medical.

  I snapped a “Yes, Sir!” and began jogging away. As I did, I saw Cam struggling to keep up with the last of the recruits. He eyed me as he passed, a look of confusion on his face.

  As I jogged across campus, I tested my limbs, focusing on each sensation. I couldn’t find a single sore spot. It was a strange but welcome feeling after the week I had.

  Inside, the young medical officer greeted me. “I’m glad you’re here, Max,” he began, his tone gentle.

  “Wait, please,” I said, holding my hand up. “Before you say something that will irrevocably change my life, I’d like to ask one thing.”

  The officer gave me a pitying look. I suspected this wasn’t the first time he’d had to dismiss someone from the academy, and wondered how many other people tried interjection as a way of delaying their dismissal.

  “I feel great today,” I continued.

  “That isn’t a question.” He reached for the file with my name on it from the counter and flipped it open.

  “Please let me stay!” I blurted.

  “Max, I consulted with Mass General yesterday afternoon. With these test results…” He held up the folder. “It’s not good news. You probably have a month or so, maybe less. There’s nothing you or anyone else can do. I’m sorry.”

  I sucked in a deep breath. Less than a month? Damn. I knew leukemia was serious, but I hadn’t anticipated so little time. The news shocked me into silence, and the doctor continued.

  “What you’re experiencing is perfectly normal. The doctor I spoke with told me you would have symptom fluctuation. You’ll have days where you feel completely normal, healthier than ever, maybe, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re dying.”

  “What if I signed a waiver, releasing you from liability?” I asked, suddenly desperate. “And… if I stopped being able to perform, then you can send me home.”

  “You’ve been underperforming all week.”

  “But not today,” I quickly said. I rattled off my 5-mile time before he could respond.

  His eyebrows raised. “I know. They called ahead, Max. Your D.I. thinks you cheated.”

  “But I didn’t… Is it possible that the test results were wrong?”

  “Your hemoglobin count was a third of the level it needed to be, and almost all of your white blood cells were nonfunctional. There’s no mistaking those symptoms, I’m afraid. There’s nothing I can do. We have to send you home.”

  “Then test me again… please.” My voice cracked on the last word, and I took a deep breath before continuing. “If you test me today, at least I’ll be able to finish EVOC before you get the results back.”

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  The doctor sighed, as if weighing the information in my folder against the look on my face. To my surprise, he shook his head, then placed the folder back on the counter and went to retrieve a syringe.

  “It can’t hurt to do another set of labs,” he finally said. “But you need to prepare yourself for the results.” I nodded and kept my mouth shut in case he changed his mind.

  I sucked in a breath, waiting for the sharp prick of the needle. Instead of feeling the expected pinch, I heard a soft snap. I looked down to see that the needle tip had broken. The medical officer stared, muttering a soft “that’s odd,” before grabbing a new needle and completing the blood draw. Eventually, he had what he needed and dismissed me.

  My platoon had just finished formation and was collecting the necessary books and equipment before we boarded the buses for Devens.

  “Where the hell do you think you are going?” asked an irritated voice from across the quad. I turned to see Sergeant Wilcox hot-footing it in my direction. I stopped and fell to attention as the wiry, middle-aged D.I. stopped in front of me.

  “Recruit Ryder has been given clearance to go to EVOC, sir.” I had quickly become accustomed to referring to myself in the third person when addressing a D.I.

  “Is that so?” His demeanor suggested he was unhappy about the outcome of sending me to medical. I wondered if he knew about my diagnosis.

  “You won’t be going anywhere,” he said, as his teeth flashed white against his dark skin in what could only be considered a sneer, “unless…”

  “Sir?” I asked, confused.

  “…Unless, of course, you can repeat that miraculous run you did this morning. Fall in!” Sergeant Wilcox bolted toward the western gate.

  And with those words, I found myself sprinting to catch up to the very fit and very determined Wilcox, who had a well-deserved reputation for consistently outperforming his recruits. I had noticed early on that any time one of his recruits did exceedingly well on an activity, he would inevitably partake in the next exercise and utterly destroy our entire platoon. I knew the best I could hope for was to avoid embarrassing myself altogether.

  But to my utter shock, I had overtaken him before we left Rear Company Street, where we typically started our runs. What had started as a fast run turned into an all-out sprint by the time we reached the gatehouse. The recruits who hadn’t yet gone topside stood gawking on the stairs to the building.

  By the time we crossed the street into the woods, the sergeant trailed me. I pumped my legs even harder as we made our way through the trees. He slowly fell further behind me as we ran the mile through the woods, my lead growing larger and larger. Just before I turned the corner at the farthest western edge of the forest, I slowed my pace, worried that he might accuse me of cheating again.

  This, as it turned out, only served to piss Wilcox off more than if I had continued my original breakneck pace. He began to swear between massive gulps of air as he neared me. I had no idea if he would try to forcibly stop me if he caught me, so I made sure to keep a healthy gap between us. I knew his ego was certainly small enough not to want a recruit to beat him. But I knew it was also big enough that he wouldn’t outright lie if I legitimately beat him in the run.

  When we exited the woods, I had a 20-second lead on the man. All the recruits stood in front of our building, cheering me on as we finished in the usual spot. I drew to a halt and doubled over, as if in exhaustion, but the truth was that I was barely winded. My muscles felt strong, and my mind was more alert than I could ever remember.

  It didn’t seem possible that this feeling was normal for someone who was dying. For a brief moment, I considered the interaction with Dan Driver only a few short hours ago, about the phone I had lost and the app I had logged into. Was it possible that Dan hadn’t been crazy after all? There was no way he could have been telling the truth.

  It was insane. There was just no way the world was really filled with people who worked for an organization that ushered souls. I remembered the words on the login screen of Dan’s phone, “The River calls, Endr. You have been selected to serve as a conduit between worlds.”

  I stood through Wilcox’s dressing down of me in front of the other recruits, staying quiet and giving the appropriate responses at the appropriate times. This time, though, the Sergeant never once accused me of cheating. The others gave me congratulatory nods or jabs in the arm as we headed to the showers, dressed and prepared to head to EVOC. Cam was among them, though he seemed more reserved than usual. I made a mental note to catch up with him on the ride to Devens.

  I smiled, thinking about the last 24 hours, as I stepped onto the bus. Frankly, I didn’t care why I was feeling better, only that I was. I decided, from that moment on, that I would enjoy my last moments at the academy.

  At the back of the bus, Cam smacked me in the leg to celebrate another morning survived at the academy—but instead of the dull thud of muscle, his hand hit with a hollow knock. We both glanced down to see the outline of the phone in my pocket at the same time. In the darkness of the backseat, the screen of the once-missing Elysium Pro glowed through my uniform, a silent notification pulsing with a new message.

  - - -

  ? Copyrighted 2026 by The Longwinded One

  No permission is granted to translate, copy, repost, or convert this original work of fiction into audio format. If you are viewing this on a site other than my Patreon or RoyalRoad.com, it has been stolen without my consent and violates the DMCA. Please note that this work is the result of my creative effort and is protected by copyright law. Removing or modifying this notification acknowledges that you are aware that you are violating the DMCA. No permission is granted for my original work to be used to train AI.

  https://longwinded.one/

  For more information on my Celtic LitRPG, you can visit

  For my Patreon, you can visit