The Kazak Guardians Read Online Free PDF Page A

I reached a small ledge where I could maintain my balance, I removed the gloves. Turning them around, I put them on again with my index and middle fingers in the glove's ring and little finger slots, which were in better condition, and left the thumb outside the glove. Then I continued climbing. When I finally reached the top ledge, the sky had begun to brighten. So close and yet so far. I found I was too tired to pull myself up the last few feet to the ledge. I panicked. I couldn't feel my hands and my legs were cramping. I was going to fall. Then I saw someone reaching down to help pull me up the last few feet. Relief overwhelmed me. Then a shout echoed in the silence.
    "Stop. She makes it on her own or she falls. No one helps anyone. You'll find we don't care whether you make it or not." I couldn't see him or I would've punched him in the face. Rage surged through my body, and I pulled myself up and over the ledge and collapsed on my back. A man dressed in black stood looking down at me.
    "Welcome to the Hill. Several girls have made it to the top over the years, but they didn't last. Seems like a lot of trouble for nothing."
    "Go to hell," I managed to gasp out. He smiled and walked away. I lay there for a long time enjoying the cool breeze and the puffy white clouds floating by. They can all go to hell. I'm staying.
    ***

    When I finally sat up and looked around, I was amazed. The mountain rose another ten stories or more in what looked like steps. From what I could see, they were large terraces, many encompassing several acres. On each terrace were multiple buildings.
    "Now that you've rested," the same man in black said as he looked down at me with a grin. "Your luxury apartment is that long gray-stone building on the first terrace. You are free until the competition ends at six p.m. Until told otherwise, you and the others are restricted to the first terrace."
    I found myself in the same barracks as the men, a large open room with multiple beds, showers, and toilets. After my experience in foster homes, this would inconvenience them more than me. There were eighteen of us. As soon as the competition time expired, we were gathered outside for our welcoming speech by several men dressed in typical black Kung Fu attire: long baggy pants tucked into soft leather boots, hip-length long-sleeved shirts closed at the neck, and a black sash around the waist.
    The man in the middle appeared to be the oldest with his silver-gray hair. His face was narrow and hawk-like. "I am Master Johar, the head instructor on the Hill." He paused as he locked eyes with each of us in turn. I felt like a mouse looking into the eyes of a Tiger. "You aren't here to have fun. If you came for fun, you came to the wrong place. We did not ask you to come here; therefore, you'll stay only as long as it takes us to find a reason to get rid of you."
    Like Jianyu, he spoke softly, yet he held me frozen. Jianyu had been right. The Kazaks didn't care about our needs or us. They may not have invited me; nevertheless, I was there to stay. They'd better get used to it.
    "You've successfully passed the first challenge. There will be four more. If you fail a challenge, you'll be sent home. There are no second chances. We'll wake you each morning with a bell. You'll have thirty minutes to eat and get ready. Eat hearty. It'll be your only meal until dinner."
    After a quick breakfast, we were led into a building filled with electronic stations by one of the men who had been standing alongside Johar. Inside were several... instructors... masters?
    "You will have three years to pass your second challenge. During that time, you will be expected to develop computer skills, achieve reasonable proficiency in two languages of your choosing, and pass the academic courses we feel necessary for any Kazak to function in our elite clientele's varied environments."
    I stared at the room, more terrified than I had been climbing the face of the mountain. I had only attended three