A Doll Month || Tom Holland Fanfic

Chapter 2: Flying Colors

I wake up groggy, and wince in pain as my sore muscles remind me of the events of last night. Memories swirl through my mind. Not getting the job. The gym. But then, a glimmer of hope. A job offer?

Though undoubtedly sketchy, it could potentially help me pay rent this month. Without this job, I'll be homeless, or I'll have to move in with my mother. Both options sound equally awful.

So as 1 rolls around, I find myself hopping in my car and driving towards the gym. My brain is telling me that, logically, 78% of the victims who are abducted into situations of trafficking are women, and I, being a woman, have a 78% chance of being abducted.

But there's also woman's intuition, and surprisingly enough, I don't have a bad gut feeling about it.

As I park my car and head inside, I can't help but marvel at how quiet the gym is without people in it. It's almost eerie.

It reminds me of apocalypse movies, where everything is so quiet, that the silence is deafening.

"Ah, nice of you to join us," Says a voice behind me, and I turn around to be greeted by Bob, the manager of the gym. At almost 65 -we celebrated his 64th at the gym last year- his salt and pepper hair and slight wrinkles do nothing to hide his attractive appearance. He's not my type, but silver fox would definitely be a term used to describe him.

"Glad to be here," I reply, and he motions for me to follow him

"What is your name, again?"

"Val Larson."

"All right Ms. Larson, the training will take place in here," He says as he motions to the door we've stopped at. I gasp the cool metal handle and turn it, stepping into the gym. But it doesn't look like it usually does.

Instead of the wide open space where people use mats and do stretches, there is now what looks like an obstacle course. I note dumbbells on the ground, punching bags, a treadmill and more.

"Charles, Val Larson is here," Bob calls out, and Mr. Du Pont, or Charles apparently, looks up from a paper he was holding and smiles at us.

"Welcome, well get started in a minute, I'm just waiting for my other helper to come along."

"I'll leave you be," Bob says, and makes his way to the door. "Holler if you need something, I'll be in my office."

The door shuts behind him leaving us alone in the gym. Charles goes back to reading his paper, and having nothing better to do, I head over and inspect the items that are occupying the, once empty, space.

Other than the items I've already seen, I now notice a punching dummy, something that looks like nunchucks, and an assortment of random items such as bottles, pipes, twine, and part of a metal fence.

I hear the door click open again and turn to see a muscular man approaching me.

"Thomas Gynes," He shakes my hand. "I'll be your trainer today."

"Val Larson," 

"All right, now that you two seem to be acquainted, let's start," Charles calls out and walks over towards us.

"Today, Ms. Larson, you will be tested physically, to see if you are fit enough. If you are, we will move on to the second portion, endurance. After that, medical knowledge, and then, you will be tested on your ability to get out of a difficult situation using only what you have around you. Lastly, if you have passed all of the above, gun training."

Well, I'm screwed.

"Don't worry, love, you'll be fine," Charles reassures me. "I've seen what you can do, I have no doubt in your abilities."