𝙱𝙰𝙽𝙳𝙰𝙶𝙴𝚂, 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴

𝟎𝟏. 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐖𝐎. 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

The brunette sat in the crowded room filled with medics, the air was so hot and humid that drops of sweat ran down her face. She wiped the irritation quickly with the back of her hand, her mouth twisting in frustration and her brown eyes glared at a harmless floorboard.

"Staring at it like that won't do anything," Gene said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. His hands were interlocked and he truthfully looked like he had witnessed a traumatic event. Though, sitting in a hot and crowded room isn't exactly helping.

There were only a few seats, and the two had been lucky enough to snatch them. The room might not have been as hot if the medics all shut their mouths, and if they weren't layered in clothing while also being on top of each other.

Dottie leaned back, "Gene, what are we waiting for?" She didn't look away from the crack placed in the wood board, but she could see his head turn from the corner of her eye. She felt his eyes analyze her for a moment, observing how she seemed a bit pissier than she had an hour ago.

He shrugged and mimicked her motions to lean back, "I don't know Lane-"

She didn't let him finish, she sat up and turned to him. "Gene, we've been sitting in this shit for forty minutes. They still aren't saying what we're doing and I am getting annoyed," She explained. Glaring at him for trying to wipe away her negativity.

"Well being all negative and hating solves nothing," He muttered, glancing away from her. She huffed, leaning back to her original position, and watched two medics from B Company act out a play. The room was too suffocating for them to do so, Dorothy wanted nothing more than to throw half the men out of a window.

Luckily, only five more minutes went by until Daniel Stewart stood in the doorway beside Colonel Sink. Immediately, everyone jumped to attention. She bumped into Gene as they both stood abruptly, he gave her an anxious side look before focusing on the men.

Sink had a firm neutral appearance on his face, his eyes darting into the eyes of every man he saw. It was only when he saw her did he begin to speak, "Men, and woman. You're here today to run true tests. There will be a written and action one. Men of A, D, H, I, and C companies will be performing the action test. All other company medics are to report to Barbe Hall for your written assessment. Dismissed."

All at once, the medics began to scramble, grabbing their equipment and meeting up with the other men from their company. Dorothy was thankful she wasn't with the D company medics, they are closely associated with the rest of D company and they are all pigs.

She stayed close to Gene and Spina, they were the only two medics she often spoke to. The three rounded the corner along with all the other company medics in their group. Barbe Hall is a large, brick schoolhouse that originally was an educational building in 1890 and during the Great War, it was used for shelter.

There were rows of plain wooden desks with just enough space for paper and pen. Butterflies swarmed her stomach, she was dreading the assessment. Though she was fully confident in her abilities to perform medical tasks and her ability to remember all the necessary terms and equipment usage, she couldn't help but feel nervous. The desks were evenly spread, each sorted into rows to prevent cheating. She quickly took a seat on the far left, Spina and Roe sitting beside her.

Not a single medic spoke, a deafening silence took place as Dorothy fiddled with the cuffing of her sleeve. The static room came to a ringing silence when Daniel Stewart walked in, with stacks of paper sitting perfectly on a cart. She swallowed some vile that threatened to spill. Her heart pounded and her hands became clammy as her eyes darted around the room.

"No need to be alarmed, I have full confidence in every one of you. What you do need to worry about here is the action course, it won't be easy. Complete the packet to the best of your ability, don't start until I instruct so," He informed, grabbing a stack and slowly making his way down each row. It was a harsh reality setter when he dropped the packet onto her desk, she flinched slightly to where no one noticed. She was amazing at tests, why should this one be so different?