"Trials and Tribulations" Part 2
Day 6 Sarawak, Malaysia, Borneo It was at the end of the 6th day that things came to a head. The teams had spent the morning crawling through the scrub on their bellies and the afternoon hacking through the jungle, which they had indeed come to dread, startling some of the little cat-sized deer, that looked like puffs of fur on pencil legs, in the process. By the time they'd gotten back to the longhouse everyone was filthy, scraped up, and bruised. Mai was exhausted and Davenport was clearly dragging, but the others were barely managing to pull themselves along. Niall made some comment about the "stupid effing bastards" which unfortunately was overheard by their instructor of the day. "Does someone on this team have a problem?" he demanded. Everyone shook their heads wearily. The instructor turned on Mai, "Do you have a problem, dollface? The strain too much for you?" Mai met his eyes calmly, calling on all her abilities to look calm and unphased by his words and the day's trials. "No," she said simply. "So if I was to tell you that you had to run another 5 miles before you got to turn in for the night, you could handle it?" "Yes," Mai replied. Yes was the only answer she would have considered. With Martin a "No" would only have resulted in her doing double whatever he'd previously suggested with whatever abuse he chose to mete out added on to it. "Well then," the instructor responded, cocking his head to one side, "I guess our little dollface here has just gotten you all an additional five mile run. You know the trail. Head out. And don't let me catch you cutting any corners or you'll run it twice." He headed into the longhouse without so much as a look back. The other recruits were furious. "Who the hell does she think she is?" Helena bit out. "Just a damn stupid little stuck-up bitch, that's who. Thinks she's too damn good for us, acts like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, " Niall responded angrily. Mai continued walking towards the start of the five mile trail. Nothing about her suggested she'd even heard the comments, much less reacted to them. Davenport was another matter. He'd started off without a word as well, knowing that Mai really hadn't had anything to do with the extra run. The instructor had been looking for an excuse, if they hadn't given him one he'd have found some other reason to have them go the extra distance. It was a standard training ploy, designed to keep groups off balance and to see if they could start dissension among the team members. Davenport had kept his mouth shut over the whispered comments made about Mai thus far, but he couldn't make himself ignore this. He turned on the other two, coming up so fast on them that he loomed over them, fury clearly visible in his face. "I've had just about enough of this bullshit," he ground out. "She won't say anything about the way you treat her, but I've had it up to here with your comments and nastiness. You should be ashamed of yourselves. If you had any idea what this woman has been through, it would make you hurl. No, she doesn't complain because if she dared to complain her trainer would have beaten her half to death. No, running another 5 miles doesn't bother her, because she's been forced to run twice that distance with a broken ankle and was kicked in the chest hard enough to break three ribs when she didn't do it fast enough. Yeah, she's quiet, yeah, she doesn't say much, but when's the last time either of you bothered to even be pleasant to her? Oh sorry, I forgot. There was never even a first time. "We're supposed to be working as a team here and I can tell you from personal experience that this woman will work her ass off to make sure that every person in this group makes it through. And if you're too damned stupid to take a look and see what she's really like, then at least have the common sense to shut the hell up so I don't feel the need to snap both of your necks!" He spun back around and walked back to Mai who'd stopped, stunned at his words. "Let's get going. I don't want to be out here all damned night." All four of them ran the five miles without another word. Later that night, Helena sought Mai out. "Was it… was it true what he said? Those things about your trainer?" Mai nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Even here, so far away, the memory of Martin still frightened her. "Did he… Were there other things he did?" Mai nodded again, struggling to keep her emotions under control, trying desperately not to break down. Helena searched Mai's face and saw the truth there. "Oh shit," she whispered, "How long…?" "Two years," Mai managed in a voice so low Helena had to strain to hear her. "My god… But why… Why did they let that happen? Someone had to have known." "They wanted to see what would happen," Mai responded and then Davenport was there with her, wrapping his arms around her, keeping her safe from the past and her memories. He dipped his head in acknowledgement towards Helena. "I think we'd all better get to bed now," he said quietly and Mai let him lead her back to their sleeping pallet. The team's mood was different the next day. No one complained about any of the tasks required of them and even Niall went out of his way to be more pleasant to Mai. No one got them up on the 8th day. They woke up, but there were only the customary handful of natives there. "At last! A day off," Helena said sleepily. One of the natives laughed and said something in his own language. Mai asked him a question in the same tongue and he laughed again before responding. "It's a test," she said softly to the others. "We need to get out and get started on our own." No one questioned her, but she certainly got a few grateful looks when the instructors rewarded them with a good hot breakfast and an afternoon of academic work for a change. The final test, competing against the other team, was easier than any of them had imagined. They had become a true team, working together to solve the complex problems of navigating themselves and their equipment through the various puzzle pieces of their assignment. They reached the destination point and secured it long before the other team managed to get their acts together. All four of them had successfully passed Phase 2 of their testing. And then it was over and they were ready to head back - to New York City, Mai presumed. She took a moment to thank the Iban for their help and friendship and was startled when a large bird with an incredibly weird bright orange beak hopped down into the longhouse and squawked at her. The natives chattered and laughed softly before pointing to Mai and then Davenport and saying something quickly to Mai. She colored and nodded before rejoining the others for the canoe ride back to Miri. "What was that all about?" Davenport asked her quietly once they were on the plane. "They said it was good luck, a kenyalang or hornbill. They said it brings messages from the spirit world and that it means you and I will have a good… marriage." She colored again, not knowing how Davenport would respond to what she'd said. A slow smile spread across his face, "You know… I think we will." Return