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The sun had already set as he and I dragged ourselves out of the freezing surf, shivering uncontrollably. The Barry M. Goldwater Range, spanning a little over a million acres in southwestern Arizona, was a harsh master.
It got uncontrollably hot in the mornings, with little shade or water available. The terrain was a rocky, hilly nightmare, traitorous enough to feature inRed Dead Redemption, a range of video games most of us had grown up playing.
Nothing compared to the caustic cold of the nights, though, for you could not expect something this hot to suddenly turn into a freezing expanse of nothingness.
Darkness stretched for miles and miles. It was in the starless sky and the eyes of the men around me.
This was training week. To become frogmen, we had to survive. To survive, we needed to make it through Hell Week, a grueling round of exercises meant to separate future SEALs from the litter.
We'd been at it for four days and three nights, but it felt like we'd crossed a light-year and passed beyond the realm of something interstellar.
The instructors had put us through the wringer, pushing us to our limits and beyond.
We trudged through the sand toward the obstacle course, our bodies screaming in agony. Our muscles were on fire, and our lungs felt like they were about to burst.
Every breath was a struggle, and every step felt like it could be our last.
Cole, a surprisingly deft guy for his scrawny frame, had become my friend on the very first day. He turned to me and asked, "You okay, Reed? You look like you're about to keel over."
I shook my head, my teeth chattering. "I'm good. Just gotta keep moving."
We approached the first obstacle, a twenty-foot-tall cargo net that loomed over us like a giant spider web.
Our instructors had made it clear that only those who could finish the course in under twenty-five minutes would move on to the next phase. The pressure was on.
"Remember why we're here, Reed," Cole said, his voice filled with raw urgency. "Remember what we're fighting for."
I nodded, determined. "HOOYAH," I yelled, and we charged toward the net.
I grabbed onto the rope and started to climb, hand over hand. The net swayed beneath me, and my heart pounded in my chest. I could hear my breathing, ragged and uneven, and the sound of my pulse pounding in my ears.
Halfway up, my grip slipped and I nearly fell. I heard Cole yell my name, and I looked down to see him staring up at me with a look of horror on his face.
"Come on, Reed!" he shouted. "You can do it!"
I gritted my teeth and continued climbing, fueled by sheer willpower. When I finally reached the top, I let out a yell of triumph, and Cole clapped me on the back.
"Good job, man," he said, grinning. "Now, let's finish this thing."
We charged through the course, leaping over walls and crawling through tunnels. The instructors threw everything they had at us, but we refused to give up.
Finally, we approached the finish line, our bodies bruised and battered but our spirits unbroken. We crossed the line together, arms raised in triumph.
The next while was a blur of exhaustion, pain, and determination. We crawled through mud, climbed walls, and carried each other through the freezing water. Cole's leg started cramping up at one point, and I had to help him limp to the next station.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, we reached the finish line. We had both finished the course in just under twenty-five minutes, and we collapsed in a heap, gasping for air.
"That was somethin' else, eh?" He smiled at me, his face caked in dirt and the remnants of victory.
"Can't wait for tomorrow," I grunted, and we both began laughing.
Suddenly, Cole's eyes watered. Except, he wasn't crying the way we do. His eyes were rivers dripping blood, so red they made my stomach lurch.
"COLE! COLE!"
"Why did you leave me, Reed? You promised me we'd do this together. You promised."
"I NEVER LEFT, COLE!"
