Yours... 'til the End of the Line

Letters and Revelations

By midweek, none of the men had been able to knock me down. All relied on their strength to attack me, it was quite sad. They were currently all on the practice field as Peggy ran them through calisthenics. I watched with a sad gaze as Steve struggled to complete the push-ups. Hodge on the other hand looked determined to prove me wrong as he breezed through them.

I leaned against a large truck that held crates of grenades as I watched the men go through their paces. I no longer needed to prove that I could keep up with them, I could run circles around them if I wanted to and they knew that. Peggy sighed heavily as she passed Steve's frame. She didn't believe he could do it, but she had hope for him.

"I am searching for qualities beyond the physical," I heard the doctor's voice sound beside me.

Glancing to my right, I watched as Dr. Erskine and Colonel Phillips came to a halt beside me. The doctor shot me a sweet smile before reverting his attention back to the taller man. The Colonel looked displeased at the doctor's comment. I knew they were talking about Steve. It was the main topic of Camp Lehigh. No one understood how a scrawny kid like him made it past the recruitment desk.

"Do you know how long it took to set up this project? The groveling I had to do in front of Senator Brandt's committee?" Colonel Phillips growled.

"I'm well aware of your efforts –"

"Hodge passed every test we gave him –"

"Not mine," I muttered causing the Colonel to shoot me a glare. I held my hands up in defense, I wasn't wrong.

"He's big, he's fast, and he takes orders. In short, he's a soldier."

"He's a bully." Dr. Erskine stated indifferently.

The man was often unphased by the words the Colonel spoke to him. He had a different agenda, of that, I was sure. He put his trust in me for crying out loud! Phillips stared at Dr. Erskine for a moment before reaching into the crate in the truck.

"You don't win wars with niceness, Doctor," Phillips growled. "You win them with guts."

In the Colonel's hand, I caught a glimpse of a grenade before he pulled the pin and hurled it in the direction of the recruits.

"GRENADE!" he shouted.

The small device tumbled into the grass, stopping just in front of the men still laying on all fours. The recruits began to scramble away. Hodge yelping as he threw himself beneath a nearby jeep. Peggy moved quickly toward the grenade, gearing up to kick it out of the way, but Steve got there before she even had the chance. He curled his body on top of the device, my heart hammered in my chest as I watched the small boy with wide eyes. He screamed telling everyone to get down. I waited with bated breath for something to happen, but nothing did.

Steve slowly peaked his eyes open after a moment of waiting. Realizing the bomb wasn't going to explode, I looked behind me and read the crate's markings. M-56 TRAINING GRENADES – INERT. A smile played on my lips as I gazed back at the young boy.

"Uh... is this a test?" Steve asked as he sat up off the device.

"Let's see if he passes Agent Beninati's test in two days," Phillips grumbled before stalking off.

I sat alone on a bench lacing up my boots. My hair was down, casting a long shadow across my features. It was early Friday morning; the sun had just begun to rise along the horizon. It was peaceful for the time being. The horn would sound any moment, effectively waking up the troops, rocking them from their slumber. Heavy footsteps approached from my left.

Glancing up, I was met with the friendly face of Sergeant Watkins. He was young, only a few years older than I was. He always had a look of stoic resignation on his face, causing his smile to never reach his eyes. He came to a halt in front of me and thrust a white envelope in my face. I thanked him. His shoulders visibly relaxed at the kind smile.