Setting Up Camp

The next day in the training camp wasn't very different. The recruits woke up early and began to do the morning warm ups before being rushed through breakfast then they began the real training.

Unlike yesterday, Lieutenant Marco was present. Arianna couldn't help but feel his eyes all over her. She loathed him. Somehow it seemed like he was smiling when she was pulled out of line to go do thirty push ups.

They ended the day with bruises and broken bones. Most of the recruits were seen carrying ice packs around. The exercise really did push them to their limits.

This morning, however, everyone was in high spirits. They were waiting outside with their bags all packed up. To ensure that no one brought food along, each bag was checked to make sure that it only contained their uniform, gun, knives and other basic things they'd need.

They loaded their bags into the large trucks that was to bring them to Groovy Wild—the forest where they would stay for a week.

There were three large trucks each could accommodate fifty people. The instructors which included Richard, Marco and two others would be following them with the jeep.

They were almost ready to leave but Richard hadn't arrived yet. He had slept in the training camp's camp house for the past two days however, that morning he had informed Marco that he had to go home and prepare himself for the training.

They had to wait for another thirty minutes before Richard arrived with a slightly heavy bag. Edwin's interest was piqued as he looked at his bag. The way he carried the bag, to him, showed the elegance of a soldier.

Edwin shook his head to clear away his dreamy thoughts. "What is in your bag? It looks heavy."

Richard glanced at his bag. "Materials and equipment necessary to survive in the wilds."

With that the recruits were called into the trucks and after each truck was filled they moved off. Groovy Wild was located around Baywich and Boulderview. It was a large forest though not as large as the Crotan forest that surrounded the Crotan mountain range in the borders.

The journey from Misthill to Baywich would take 8 at most while driving and according to their schedule they would only have time for bathroom breaks. This new piece of information made the recruits come to a realisation that they hadn't had breakfast in the morning and they would still spend a whole day driving which would leave them so hungry by the time they arrived at Groovy Wild.

All they could do was groan and murmur silently.

….

The trucks slowly came to a stop at midnight. The trucks had driven a bit into the forest till the area was no longer accessible by car. From then on the soldiers would have to continue on foot.

The recruits had messy appearance and grim expression. They would've hidden their problems very well if not for their stomach which kept grumbling like an earth quake. Richard chuckled at their uneasy appearances.

"Let's go deep into the forest then we'll set up camp." He instructed.

They unpacked and like before, the recruits found their small bags heavier than usual. Back in the training camp they would at least get to eat two times a day after every gruesome training.

They took out their flashlights and switched them on. The area ahead was illuminated. Dry leaves crackled under their feet and birds flapped away from the sound of their footsteps. It was dark and quiet except for the croaking of several insects which seemed to be getting louder by the second.

Arianna glanced around her. The trees in Groovy wild were mostly tall with thick canopy though there were some areas with short scanty trees. The tree trunks were sturdy and thick and the ground was smooth, littered with dry leaves.

She nodded gently. She had been to Groovy Wild before but she hadn't explored this area. They walked forward and kept meandering in order to find a place that was suitable for setting up camp.

One of the recruits yawned. "So, in theory, if we don't find a suitable place will we continue to search till morning?"

"Why not?" it was Marco that replied.

The recruits face became pale. He couldn't imagine going on for a whole night without sleep and on an empty stomach at that! He took deep breaths and calmed down. It was what he had signed up for.

His stomach grumbled again and his flashlight fell from his hand. He quickly bent down and picked it up but ended up grabbing a pool of bird's droppings. He froze.

The others snickered when they saw the sight. He shook his hand and cleaned it against a tree trunk. "It's not funny. By the way which bird would be large enough to produce that much shit?"

"That shit just looks delicious…" another recruit said with a yawn. She had hunger written all over her face.

"If you continue to dawdle on then we'll really have to keep moving till morning and mind you whether you sleep or not we're training in the morning."

Everyone picked up pace at Richard's firm reminder. Everywhere was wood and trees and there was no clearing that they could use for camp. The occasional undergrowth made it worse too. The recruits would occasionally stumble on a tree root.

Edwin salivated at the sight of squirrels huddling on a tree branch. He felt his hunter instincts kicking in but he had to restrain himself to not fall out of line and to not also appear too hungry in front of the others.

Among all the recruits he was the one with a terrible—if not the worst—reputation in the endurance and fitness test and his combat skills were rotten compared to Arianna. He sighed and moved along, occasionally glancing at the back of Arianna's head.

Her hair was cut short according to military requirements and it gave her another new level of charm. He instinctively looked at his arms and wondered when they'd develop muscles as thick as Colonel Richard's.