" When life gets hard, don't wish it to be easier, decide to be stronger."
- Unknown
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When Hazel arrived back in the barracks with the new weapon, automatically all eyes were looking towards her.
" Is that the new one?" Catherine asked immediately standing up with wide eyes, admiring the weapon.
" Yep." Hazel said as she slowly sat down on Catherine's bed and adjusted the weapon in her lap. Catherine sat beside her as she felt Lizzie move in on her other side. Catherine looked at it as Pat came over with a cigarette in her lips.
" Shit, Hazel, that the new on?" she asked, and Hazel looked up nodding.
" Whoa." Lucia said.
" Thermes was the one to get it for me, at least that's what Wilson said." Hazel said softly, her eyes looking over the entire weapon.
" Thermes?" Lizzie asked. Hazel nodded.
" I was just as surprised when Wilson said so." Hazel said.
" Thermes reminds me of my high school statistics teacher Dr. Henderson. The guy was nuts. Complete ass to my entire Statistics class, kids dropped out, forced themselves to be kicked out, all sorts of stuff. But he meant well. In the end, if I hadn't had his class I would've never been in that top spot. If it wasn't for him I would never been prepared for college. Sure, it was tough, the tests were horrible, and he made you stand in front of the class and show that you know how to solve a problem. But it helped me through. That's how I'm approaching this asshole." Catherine said gazing at the group of women surrounding the weapon.
" Damn, really?" Pat said shaking her head, " You probably are better off than most."
" And that's why I'm here." Catherine said and Hazel smiled at her. Catherine was truly meant to be here.
The following day after the morning run, which was slowly becoming easier which each torturing run and torment from Thermes, the first mail call came. The first since the women had been there. Laura and Barbara were the ones to deliver it to 2nd platoon with help from Loughty and soon everyone was able to read letters from their family members, which allowed a sense of security through the stressful week or training and classes, with virtually no days off.
Dear Hazel,
I hope you are doing well, I'm missing you a lot more than I have in the past summers. Picking those tomatoes isn't the same without you. I miss you so much, but I know you are doing a good thing and that they wanted you there and that's what I tell myself everyday. The sunrises have been beautiful, and I've started making my own tea in the morning. It's herbal tea, healing tea, you're favorite. I wish I could just send you a box of the tea but I know the Army wouldn't exactly be too fond of that.
I miss our walks into town together, but Harry's been over a lot so we go to lunch together; he's like the son I never had. He always asks about you and wonders if you're ok. And he helps with fixing up our little home, or putting lights up or getting groceries. He's helped me with gardening the little walk way to the house, and there's these beautiful sunflowers and daises, I know they're your favorite so to remind me of you everyday, I'll soon be able to see them outside on the walk way.
I've decided to get a new dog. I know we had one when you were a kid, but she was old and died when you were young, but I know a dog will keep me company and protected at night. It will make me feel safer when you're not home. She's a golden retriever, she's a beautiful yellow/golden color, and I named her Daisy of course. She's only 3, but she was the first one that caught my eye at the shelter. I was surprised she was even there. But she sleeps by my side, goes on walks with me, we eat dinner together. We do everything together, and it's like a companion. I'll be so happy when you can meet her.
I miss you so much, honey. I wish you and your friends well, I know this is the first letter I've written to you, but please tell your friends that i hope they are well. It's rough for families out there right now and they may not be able to afford the money to send a letter, so think of it as I'm a mother for them, dear. I miss you so much.
I love you!
Your mom, Lena Parker
Hazel smiled. Daisy sounded like the cutest thing. And it was best for her mom, especially now. A dog like Daisy would be the perfect companion and ensure safety. She was glad her mother was doing ok as well, for Hazel's sake of being away from her. She sometimes looked out to the stars at night, whispering a few quiet words as if her mother could hear them. It calmed her.
Throughout the next few days, it downpoured constantly, which meant even more fun for Thermes to have. The run was even more gruesome because as it rained there was also a mucky humidity that swarmed them. Hazel could no longer tell the difference between rain or sweat but she was focused more on the concept of getting up the cliff for the second time so that she could finish the course. She knew Thermes was just preparing them for better though. It all had intent and purpose.
The night runs weren't ideal either, but the women strived with each mile they finished in the pitch black, when the stars were most radiant.
Thermes was there through every ounce of training however, and he, though an asshole sometimes, had intent with what he was doing and he always completed the course with the women he was training.
And Hazel admired that.
He could've amped up the asshole level to about 99% by watching them run, but he actually did all courses with them, all activities. He usually partnered with Wilson or 1st's Lieutenant Henry Moore or 3rd's Lieutenant Wayne Goldwin. But he always made sure that as he performed it everyone that followed, could as well.
It was why everyone seemed to respect Thermes the way they did.
It's the reason the Company worked as well as they did.
As the weeks passed with training and classes, Hazel found herself become more mentally strong in ways many of them wouldn't expect. They were not allowed to leave camp, mostly because it was considered a distraction in Thermes book, but by now, none of the women cared.
So what if they couldn't go out on weekends?
They were here training, training for the war of the worlds, and training to show that their purpose was important within the face of fighting a war. They wanted to be the best, the most elite of groups.
Many of the women were actually glad that their training focus on them and they didn't have the distraction of the men of the 82nd and of Special Forces. The women truly got to focus and hone in their skills and it surprised many of the women that they enjoyed that aspect.
Thermes continued weekly air-raid siren drills, and supposedly it was 'just for the fun of it', which Catherine usually found rather hilarious.
Thermes regularly would do full mud crawls on the hottest days of the week, which were slowly turning to the coldest days of the week, and made the women perform in full uniform or basic PT gear. Then that required them to clean their ODS and weapons and shoes to basically spotless for inspection.
Each week it had been increasingly easier there, and by the 7th week, the women were doing it with a speed unheard of. Thermes even seemed mildly impressed and he usually didn't change expressions, as Catherine had commented previously.
The 250 women that were in training, remained 250 women, as none were willing to drop out of the grueling training that they had fought so hard to be a part of. They all had dignity and pride and knew that by now they were half-way through. Each one got them closer to their goal.
Hazel lined up behind Margot Griswold, for the mud Army crawl. It was downpouring again and the humidity was muggy, nothing unusual by that point but it was the end of the September and absolutely disgusting to be outside in.
Hazel hadn't even gotten into the mud before she was soaked head to toe in water. As Margot moved forward Hazel slowly slid into the muddy slosh and began crawling forward through it, blinking away mud particles and water from her eyes, as the barbed wire over top of them scratched at her skin.
Thermes was patrolling the sides of the wired in mud pits, eyes like a hawk as he caught each and every person moving through the mud. As Hazel came out on the other side, she stood as the mud dripped down her legs, and the rain came down harder.
" Well, this sure is lovely." Catherine muttered as she came out beside Hazel, running a hand through her hair to rid it of mud.
" If anything, Thermes didn't berate us for touching the barbed wire this time." Hazel said with a soft smile.
" Got that right, Hazel." Catherine said squeezing her shoulder. The muddy troop of women obtained showers, and then were provided with more colorless Army food. Thermes however walked in front of the group at the front of the 2nd mess hall that Hazel, Catherine and Lizzie sat in.
" I just wanted to tell you that all of you women are over half way done this training and I've seen growths in each and every one of you. You're almost there, and I've never been more proud to have you 250 women in this Operation and be as successful as you have been." Thermes said.
Hazel watched him look at the group with a gentle calmness that the women weren't sure he was capable of. It was a quick mention of the pride he had in them all but Hazel felt it was what they needed right now in this harsh part of the difficult training them were enduring.
Within the coming weeks, it turned colder, and the mornings and evenings became darker quicker. But the training lengths remained the same and just as tough as they needed to be.
One of Thermes favorite things to bring out were the 4 mile runs, that consisted of a multitude of 14 obstacles throughout the entirety of the course. Each obstacle was designed to be completed in a simple way, like a ladder across a bit of mud and making your way across, but usually someone always fell in. There were other things, like getting up 3 different sized walls, going up dirt cliffs to the top only to realize you have to climb up a rope to the rest and pull yourself over to sprint down the mountain.
Hazel's personal favorite was the 80 pound jugs or water they had to carry across a tiny course, of stepping over logs or moving under huge logs with the 80 pound bag.
It was truly a test of ability.
There were a few women, who gave up on that part of the course and did a course of push-ups, sit-ups and jumping jacks as the rest of the women completed the course, but eventually the next time the course was put into action, those women performed to the highest standards and continued to do so afterwards as well.
They wouldn't quit.
It started to snow a lot, and their training became tougher, combating the snowy tundra that encased them. They began forming patrols through the snowy forests of Fort Bragg out late at night, or up bright and early in the morning, with specific missions and task sot take on.
Hazel was set in a sniping position on most missions, but sometimes Barbara managed to convince Loughty to get her moving with the platoon and try close-range sniping in the case in war if they were to be surprised by such quick motions.
There were times out on patrol, where they would be one or two women who would break for a moment, tears crawling down their face like realization hit them that they had gone through as much as they did, but then Fernsby would get in their face and toughen them up and Hazel would never see that woman cry again.
But it worked and it was effective in the way they did it.
It wasn't that they were forced to hide their emotions, but it was more putting the focus of the war in front of them and putting their emotions more of the side of things than letting the side of womanhood that was supposed to show be she shoved to the side as any soldier would do.
But then at night, they found more time to talk and laugh and be girls again, it didn't dehumanize womanhood and that's why it was as bearable as it was.
Hazel, personally, enjoyed night time patrols that were spent in the snow, crawling through the cover of darkness with the comforting vision of stars above them, as Catherine would lead their squad through the forest of North Carolina.
Catherine was good at her job.
She focused on each member of the squad she was in charge of from the medic, Lizzie to Hazel, the sniper to Lucia, a rifleman. Each person was important and Barbara was quick to realize how good Catherine was at getting members of a group to follow her and trust her with her motives. Hazel respected Catherine a lot, her and Lizzie had talked plenty of times about how well Catherine led a group of people, and how easy it was to get people to follow her.
But Lizzie, Hazel felt, was equally as good.
Lizzie was generally someone who would always check up on you, crack a tiny joke, with her silent smiles and then move on quietly. She had the funniest one-liners, but she grew angry if you didn't follow the rules instructed by her. But that's what made her so good at her job. Everyone respected the way she worked. You loved her even if she was yelling at you because then you knew you had messed up.
As the weeks drew on, the nights getting colder and their training slowly approaching an end by the last week of November, Hazel found herself looking even more to the stars and their brightness, just as a comfort mechanism. She couldn't believe really that she was getting as close as she was to completing training and becoming even closer to reaching the statues of earning her wings.
With the final week upon them, they proceeded to take their final exams of their classes on weapons studies, wrapping a wound, little things like that, that were assets in knowing their job importance in a platoon or a company.
Thermes didn't back down with their final week of training doing full pack runs, for their 5 mile mornings in the freezing cold, mud crawls, practice of hand to hand combat, wall jumping, a favorite of his, and sometimes an obstacle course that was set nearby that was previously in use by special forces before Virago occurred.
But everyone was so close to getting their medals by this point that they didn't care about the difficulty Thermes threw at them, they all wanted to earn their stripes, to earn a spot in Operation Virago and the military itself. It was like each person was shot up with adrenaline.
Their intelligence had grown and so had their muscle mass and tone, and now their capabilities and specialties in certain areas were the highest ranking of even some records set by men of the 82nd or nearby Infantry Divisions.
It was a proud moment for many of the women involved.
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hey, another chapter! i have adrenaline and a want for you all to see the end to this mini training period i showed you all, as i am very proud of what i managed to write and portray through these few chapters :)
thank you all again, for everything!