Chapter 39
Stanled screams tore through the air. the new students scrambled for cover.
“Holy shit, that’s freezing! someone shricked, stumbling backward.
“My phone, it’s in my pocket another yelled, frantically pawing at their drenched jeans.
“What kind of psycho just hoses prople down like this?” someone yelled, right before a fresh blast of water smacked them in the face and cut their
trand short.
Just a few steps off the bus, chaos erupted as a sudden torrent from high–pressure hoses hit the students. The blast sent them sprawling, backpacks, flying, and screams echoing through the air.
Some of the more petite girls hadn’t even gotten back on their feet before being knocked down again.
A handful of instructors in camo uniforms stood ready, each wirkling a heavy–duty hose and grinning like kids at a water park as they unleashed powerful jets of water, sending the new arrivals slipping, flailing, and shrieking in chaotic disarray.
“A hot day like this, folks! Just helping you beat the heat one of the instructors hollered, barely containing his laughter.
Then he paused, squinting at a group of girls standing off to the side, suspiciously dry.
“Hey! What are you all doing over there?” he barked
Mae and Jolene had barely stepped off the bus when Briar grabbed them and pulled them aside.
The two girls were 100 stunned to react, but then the quiet, mild–mannered one, had somehow slipped out of the ambush pane with ninja–like
reflexes.
Briar gave a breezy wave. “Don’t mind us Carry on
The instructor returned to his deed, grinning as he resumed spraying the crowd until he paused, blinking in confusion and wondering how the girl had dodged their ambush so effectively.
“You there! Get over to
over to this side now!” he harked, signaling them to join the group.
Hands in her pockets, Briar sauntered forward like she had all the time in the world. “Come on, sir. Don’t you girk. What if someone injures themselves?”
think this is too much! We’re delicate
“You’re in a boot camp, not a spa day. No one cares if you’re a guy or a girl” He snorted and aimed the hose at her.
Briar reacted before the water could reach her, slipping inside his guard in a single, fluid motion, Her hand shot out with precision, wrenching the hose from his grip. A sharp metallic click rang out as she snapped the valve closed with her thumb,
He froze, staring at her. There had been no struggle, no resistance, and every motion was instinct, boned and lethal.
‘She disarmed me, like it was nothing. The thought sent a chill down his spine. If this had been real combat, Td already be dead!
Without a second thought and without considering that the girl in front of him might be just an ordinary university student, he lunged for the
lly slipped pa
Brar rauly
I past him, twisted the valve open, and unleashed a powerful jet of water directly at the instructors.
The blast hit like a tidal wave.
Men tumbird, boots sliding helplessly through churned mud as the torrent swallowed their shouts. While they had hosed students from a safe distance, Briar fired point–blank, turning the force into something brutal
A reverent hush fell over the drenched students. Wide–eyed and dripping, they watched as Briar kept the stream trained on the instructors, realizing she had just taken down the so–called toughest men without breaking a sweat.
A moment later, a man stormed off the near bus. “Briard What the hell do you think you’re doing? Put that down!”
It was Ethan Miller, the head instructor assigned to Limond University. He’d expected trouble, but seeing Briar casually hosing down his colleagues still had him seething.
Har calmly shut off the valve. “It’s a hot day. Thought the instructors could use a little cool–down”
Her tone was mild, almost innocent, echoing the exact excuse the instructors had used when they first drenched the students.
The instructors luuled themselves off the ground. Though humiliated, they weren’t angry at being taken down by a student.
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Chapter 39
They recognized their own failure as military–trained personnel and knew they’d be dead if this had been a real battle with guns instead of hoses
“Not had. You trained asked theme whose hose Briar had snatched, clapping her shoulder with a grant of approval.
firian lifted her chin. I’ve done martial arts since I was a kid”
The group fell silent.
“Don’t buy her crap, Ethan cut in, striding up with a scowl. “She’s a real menace. Probably spent her life weaving fairy tales and dodging rules”
Briar Blinked at him, speechless.
That sounds perfect,” one of the other instructors chuckled. “We love troublemakers around here. Just keep that spark during drills. We’ll take very good care of you.”
Their grins stretched wide, ammased and a little dangerous. They liked rebels, especially when the rebel in question was a sharp–tongued girl with more cuis than sense
Missing the edge in their voices, Briar smiled back, fearless and bright. Then I’ll be counting on you”
“Oh, we’re just getting started, came the reply.
None of the instructors realized it yet, but with Briar in the mix, they’d be the ones paying the price.
The later buses arrived without incident. Thanks to Briar’s stunt, the rest of the freshmen were spared the surprise soaking, and only the first group had been ambushed.
Some mourned their soaked phones, but with the no–phone rale already announced, no one dared complain.
Upon arrival, all students underwent another security check, and even the mraky ones were forced to surrender their phones before entering
AD
