October twentieth.

This was it today was the day. The day that Faith had been waiting on pins and needles for. Today was the official Physical Screening Test.

Her dream was now at her fingertips and Faith felt like she could grasp it right now.

They arrived at the Extreme Seal Experience Base in Chesapeake Virginia last night for a hearty dinner and good night's sleep.

Out of the fifteen people selected to go and take the PST Faith was of course the only female from her group but there were a few that came from other bases that she shared a cabin with.

Before going sleep last night some of the ladies swapped stories about how they heard about the NAVY's decision to allow women to train for SEALS and what it meant to them.

Much like Faith they all wanted to make something of themselves and for some being a SEAL was a lifelong dream and a far cry from being the stereotypical stay at home wife and mother.

There was also the fear of what would happen if they did not pass the test but not wanting to wake up the next day with negativity they focused on the positivity of their goals.

They woke up this morning with determination in their hearts and nothing more and nothing less. Before starting the test everyone was required to meet in the base's gymnasium.

Of course most of the men there snickered as the few women entered the gym, which was to be expected. Faith didn't care nor did she mind because she'd prove herself in test today.

"Looks like we've got more ladies joining us today" Ron said chuckled

"Yeah they're here to take the test just like you Ferry" Daniel said

"At least we'll be getting some pussy after our hard work today is all I'm saying" he smirked.

Conrad shook his head if there truly was a god then maybe just maybe Ron wouldn't pass the test. He watched as the rest of the people filled up the gymnasium and he caught Faith's eye.

Conrad could tell that she was a bit anxious about the test and gave her a smile; he was certain that if she did exactly what she done when they trained together that she would be just fine.

"ATTENTION!"

Everyone settled down when the three naval special warfare coordinators stood in front of them. All three of the men wore grey shirts with black pants with two of them holding clipboards and whistles around their necks.

"Welcome to Extreme Seal Experience" the head coordinator introduced himself "I am Wilkes and along with Morris and Gibson we will be conducting the Physical Screening Test"

"You are all here for one goal today" Wilkes went on to say "to pass the PST in order to move on to Naval Special Warfare Preparatory School to start your training to be a SEAL"

"Things are a little different this time around," Wilkes said looking at certain members sitting in the stands "as you all know by now based on the inspirational words of Admiral Greenert's words we have some female applicants"

This of course provoked a chuckle out some of the men including Ron.

"I will make this perfectly clear" Wilkes went on to say "we will not I repeat we will not be doing things different or making anything easier for our female applicants"

"Everybody will be tested on the same level and will be judged on the same level" Wilkes added "if our female applicants were not capable of such then obviously they would not be here"

It was definitely a sexist comment but Faith knew that she was going to have to get used to a lot of sexist comments thrown at her. She could also sense a lot of the women there felt the same way as well

"Now since we've got a large group today were going to be splitting you up in small groups" Wilkes said "when I call your last name please go to your corresponding group"

Faith sliced through the water in her lane and she felt Wilkes's judgmental gaze on her. There were only about six minutes left in the 500-yard swim test portion, which meant it was already halfway done.

Unfortunately for Faith she was the only woman in her group so she found herself swimming side by side with some of the men who were testing today.

"Keep it up!" Wilkes demanded "SEALS never hesitate and every minute and every second counts!"

Faith moved her arms and kicked her legs a little faster. Determination drives her and it would ultimately help her; however she knew that Wilkes was watching her in particular there was no doubt about that.

Her back crunched and burned as she completed her last few push-ups. Faith stared right at Wilkes as he jotted something down on his clipboard. She noticed that he did the same thing when she performed her sit-ups and pull-ups as well.

The 1.5-mile run was the hardest obstacle of the screening. Full uniform no matter what the weather conditions were and no rest period. Faith knew this and it was exactly why she spent most of her training if not all of it on the run.

It was late afternoon and everybody was on the base's track field getting ready. Wilkes purposely made the women sprinkle out among groups of mostly men so that he could really scope out their ability.

"He treats us like we're lab mice or something" one of women said sitting down next to Faith who was still waiting her turn.

"You looked good out there" Faith insisted

"Thanks" the woman replied "I did put my best foot forward but there are still men like Wilkes and even the ones testing with us that think a woman's place is being bare foot and pregnant"

Faith cringed at that notion she hated it mostly because that's where she almost found herself not too long ago. Women are more than just sex objects and baby factories.

"I'm not going to sit here and cry too much though" the woman said checking the other half of her privilege "although I'm a woman I'm also white I can only imagine

the world of trouble you have to go through"

Black and female. A double minority. In fact Faith was the only other black woman here and what were the odds that either one of them was going to pass the screening? Little to none. Not with close minded white men like Wilkes in charge.

It was nice that this woman acknowledged that since most white women turned a blind eye at what women of color had to go through in the name of feminism.

"Amelia Holloway by the way" she offered her hand

"Faith Jamison" Faith introduced herself shaking her hand "nice to meet you"

"At least your last name sounds masculine" Amelia pointed out "that should give you respect right away"

"It doesn't" Faith replied "then again I'm not expecting respect from anybody here"

"RAMSEY!" Wilkes called "FRONT AND CENTER NOW!"

Faith watched Conrad quickly take his place on the track so that the group could start the run.

"He seems to respect you" Amelia said

"Huh?"

Amelia chuckled "I saw you two talking earlier; he's quite the looker"

"We're from the same base" Faith replied "and it's not like that he's engaged and his fiancée just had a baby"

"That's a shame then" Amelia said, "you two looked pretty close"

Okay now in that moment Faith was glad she was black because she probably would be beet red from blushing right now. Faith had been growing close to Conrad the past few weeks in training for the PST but she didn't realize how close until Amelia pointed it out.

It didn't matter no good would come from it even if Conrad wasn't engaged; Faith wouldn't allow herself to entertain that thought.

"Why aren't they starting?" Faith asked since Conrad had already made his way to the starting line.

"Looks like they're going to add one more person" Amelia said as they watched Wilkes talk with Morris and Gibson. Wilkes looked annoyed and then called out

"JAMISON! YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE TO GET DOWN HERE NOW!"

"That's you!" Amelia said "you better get a move on now is your chance"

Faith quickly got to her feet and made her way down to the track; she knew that Wilkes was annoyed with her. The man had been annoyed by her all day; but she didn't care because now was her chance to shine.

Not wanting to run beside Ron who gave her a crude grin Faith quickly moved over to another lane much to Wilkes' dismay.

"Make up your mind Jamison we're losing daylight!"

Conrad moved over a little allowing Faith to take a space next to him and she whispered a thank you to which he replied "Good luck"

"You two girls whispering and gossiping?" Wilkes growled at them putting emphasizing the word girls.

Ron chuckled, as did some of the men waiting to start the run too.

"As you all know or should know by now you have exactly eleven minutes and thirty seconds to finish the run" Wilkes said "there is no rest time and you have to finish all of your laps within that time period"

"This portion is just as important as the swim test" Wilkes explained "we need our SEALS to be able to navigate fast both in water and on land"

Wilkes made his way over to the grass where Morris and Gibbs were standing and gave his whistle a loud piercing blow. With that everyone took off running. Faith felt like a mouse among elephants in size and stature with the men including Conrad running beside her.

Faith was doing a balancing act where she was trying to pace herself as well as keep in tow with her competition. Faith was had always been a good runner and just like many people had told her she would have been a superstar on a high school track team.

The only other time Faith remembered running so fast was ten years ago when she first tried running away from Howard....

Faith wiped the sweat from her brow and sighed as she tried to scrub the entire residue off of the dishes she was working on.

Howard always left his dishes in the sink just expecting Faith to do her wifely duty and wash up after him instead of acting like a grown man and doing them himself. Faith wouldn't dare leave her dishes in the sink in fear of him getting angry with her and beating her.

"FAITH GIRL GET US SOME HEIKEINS OUT HERE!" Howard called. His "friends" were over tonight to play cards and watch the fight; the last time his "friends" were here Faith got passed around like a bottle of Heineken.

"YOU MAKE SURE THEY COLD TOO!"

"Yes sir" the thirteen year old sighed as she went to the fridge to dig out a couple of bottle of the beer.

It was then Faith heard a police car quickly make its way down the street. Trouble with the neighbors again---

Of course why hadn't she thought of it before? Faith could go to the police they would help her or at least she thought they would. It was a cold winter's evening and there was a still quite a bit of snow and ice outside but maybe she could.

Faith quickly slipped her boots on and unlocked the kitchen door---

"GIRL WHERE THE HELL ARE OUR DAMN BEERS?!?"

Ignoring Howard; Faith quickly began to unlock the screen door.

"MOVE IT JAMISON!" Faith heard Wilkes call out to her to despite her being in the lead with her peers. Ron threw her a nasty look over his shoulder as she began to move up a little past him.

She was older now. An adult and she was running for a completely different reason. An adult that could run a hell of a lot faster than a thirteen year old. Faith was run on the concrete of the track and not trying to slip and fall on ice as she made her first attempt to escape hell with the devil himself at her heels.

She had finally gotten the screen door unlocked and without hesitating Faith immediately dashed out of the house.

Quickly Faith pushed the trashcans against the fence so she could climb over the fence and---

"GIRL WHAT THE HELL?!?"

Howard was at the back door with his friends close behind him to find Faith half way over the fence. Faith quickly got over the fence and landed on the sidewalk her bathrobe got caught in the hook.

"I'M GOING TO CHOKE THE SHIT OUT OF YOU WHEN I GET A HOLD OF---"

Faith wasn't listening and she abandoned her bathrobe at the fence and was running down the street to the police.

The cold airs hitting her through the thin nightgown as she dashed down the sidewalk making her way to the police car. Faith slipped and fell hard on the ice hitting her bare knees. A bit of blood spilled from the cuts but Faith still got up and ran despite her knees hurting.

"THREE MINUTES LEFT!" Wilkes called

Faith felt her heart set ablaze as she put her shift into full gear to make these last few minutes count. Ten years later Faith still had those same cuts from the ices on her kneecaps at least they stopped bleeding and didn't cause her pain anymore.

Faith almost made it that day she almost made it.....

The police were getting back in their car to leave the house they had been at. Faith urged her legs to move faster despite the hot white pain in her kneecaps.

"HELP!" she cried out "PLEASE HELP ME!---"

Before she could say anything more Howard had caught up with her and snatched her up. Faith kicked and cried out but the police had already gotten in their car and were driving away.

"NO!" she cried tears falling from her eyes now "LET GO OF ME!---"

"SHUT UP!" Howard said smacking her across the face "DON'T YOU EVER AND I MEAN EVER TRY TO RUN AWAY FROM ME AGAIN! YOU'RE MY WIFE AND YOU WILL OBEY!"

"...."

"WHAT WAS THAT?!?"

"Yes sir"

"Get your ass back to the house!" Howard grumbled pushing her back towards hell "you still got beers to get"

"Yes sir"

"TIME!"

Faith had heard Wilkes but she kept running she had to get to the police they were going to leave her. They were going to leave her.

"What the hell is wrong with that Jamison?" Morris asked scratching his head and Wilkes was even more annoyed.

"JAMISON I CALLED TIME!" he roared.

Conrad ran after Faith to catch up with her. Something was wrong because Faith would have stopped just like the rest of them. It was obvious she was running from something but it was something he couldn't see.

"Jamison!"

When Conrad caught up to Faith he grasped her arm into his hold. Faith jolted a little obviously startled and stopped to look at Conrad. Conrad was surprised to see how big and wide her eyes were and it concerned him.

"The test is over now okay?"

"It is?"

Yeah it was definitely something else. Faith looked over at Wilkes who shook his head and everybody began to leave to go hit the showers and go to the hall for dinner.

"Jamison are you---"

"I'm fine" Faith replied "the police car left"

"Police car?" he asked puzzled "what are you talking about?"

"Nothing"

Before Conrad could say anything more Faith walked away and he let her go.

Conrad didn't see Faith in the hall for dinner that night so he figured that she showered and went to bed for the evening.

It had been a long day after all and the announcements of who passed and who failed the PST wouldn't be until tomorrow morning in the gymnasium. He hoped she was okay and wondered what she meant by police car.

"Did you see that little scene Jamison pulled out there?" Ron asked as he bit into his chicken leg "that's exactly why none of the women should go on to train"

"Yeah that was crazy is she touched or something?"

"Women you know how they are" Ron continued rolling his eyes "she was probably on her time of the month or something"

Not wanting to hear Ron's bullshit Conrad got up to stand outside and catch some air and think about Faith. If anyone had proved that they were more than qualified to pass the PST it was her.

Faith curled up in her bed waiting for sleep to take her; which was difficult considering she only took a sandwich from the hall instead of a full meal. She honestly didn't know if she passed the PST or not; she seemed a bit distracted.

It had been years since she last thought of that run to the police. The same police who left her to fend for herself. She ran her fingers along her kneecaps and could still the bumps from the scars that were left behind from that day.

Faith remembered Howard had yanked her so hard she was sure he was going to misplace her arm. She had remembered cringing as he dragged her back to the house because she knew that he was going to beat her.

Faith shivered violently as the memory haunted her and brought her knees to her chest. She didn't know what triggered it but Faith just wished her past could just stay in the past.

"Are you nervous?" Amelia asked Faith the following morning as they all gathered in the gymnasium.

"Not really" she replied "I'm not expecting much"

"Don't say that"

It was true Faith was still pretty shook up from yesterday's events and it didn't look like she made a good impression on Wilkes.

"I'm prepared to go back to my position as a seamen" Faith insisted, "it won't be easy but it will have to do"

"Let's just wait and see what the announcements are,"

As Faith followed Amelia to find a seat in the stands she caught Conrad's eyes but then quickly looked away. It was obvious he remembered yesterday's scene as well.

"ATTENTION!"

Everyone settled down as Wilkes made himself known and he began to speak.

"We're going to make this fast and quick" he said "the results are in and we have determined who has passed and been chosen to go on to Warfare Prep School"

Wilkes began to call out the names in a random order.

"Daniel Boone"

"Anthony Yeager"

"Ronald Ferry"

Ron folded his arms and smirked as if he knew that he was going to pass anyway. Conrad was happy that his friends Daniel and Anthony made it though so at least the recruiters were able to see past some bullshit.

"Rachel Truman"

"Katherine Brown"

"Amelia Holloway"

Faith smiled as Amelia squealed with excitement. It was obviously killing Wilkes that he had to call out female names and he switched back to males quickly.

"Edward Thompson"

"John Donovan"

"Conrad Ramsey"

Conrad let out a sigh of relief and in that moment he felt like a man with a weight lifted off his shoulders. This was going to be a great career opportunity for him he was going to be able to provide for Heather and baby Lukas and give them a bright future.

As Wilkes read through the rest of the list Conrad was worried that Faith's name was not going to be called. Was Wilkes really going to let that one incident prevent Faith from having a fair shot at being a SEAL?

Wilkes read a few more names and it looked like he was about to dismiss everyone for the buses to take them back to their bases. The people whose names weren't called obviously were upset and Faith's face fell.

"Wait!" Gibbs called running towards Wilkes. Gibbs whispered something to him and a look of annoyance and disgust grew over Wilkes's face. Much to the recruiter's dismay he announced.

"Faith Jamison"

As Faith made her way back to the bus to go back to her home base she felt a lot of angry eyes on her and a lot of snide comments were said. Not everyone was selected and passed the PST all of qualified white men that is and they were not chosen yet Faith was.

This was what she wanted and should be proud but yet now she felt like shit. One of the men rudely shoved past her to get on the bus first.

"You alright Jamison?" Conrad asked as he walked up to her

"Yeah"

"Don't pay those guys any mind" he said "you earned it"

"Wilkes didn't seem to think so"

"Don't worry about him either"

"I still can't believe it's happening"

"You better believe it Jamison besides I can tell this means a lot to you"

"It does"

The sky was the limit for her right now and she earned it. Faith was reaching her goal and best of all Howard was not here to stop her.