Chapter 3 - The Block Kicked Away
Knox waited until Nora had both hands on the rope.
Then he did something he should not have done.
He slammed his whistle down against his palm and kicked the wooden starting block out from beneath her boots.
The block skidded sideways across the dirt.
Nora’s body swung hard to the left.
A sharp breath moved through the platoon.
Her boots scraped the ground. The rope snapped tight. For half a second, it looked like she would lose her grip and hit the dirt in front of everyone.
Knox smiled too soon.
But Nora did not panic.
Her shoulders locked.
Her hands tightened.
Her core absorbed the swing, and her legs clamped the rope with a clean practiced motion that made Colonel Shaw lean forward slightly.
The soldiers laughed at first, because they thought that was what they were supposed to do.
Then the laughter weakened.
Nora steadied herself.
Slowly.
Completely.
As if the kick had been part of the test.
Knox stepped beneath the rope, his face tilted up toward her.
“Still calm now?”
Nora looked down at him.
Her expression did not change.
“Start the clock.”
The words landed flat and quiet.
No anger.
No fear.
Just command.
A few soldiers stopped smiling.
Colonel Shaw’s eyes narrowed.
He had seen that kind of calm before.
Not on parade grounds.
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Not in training videos.
In places where panic got people killed.
