Awakening - The Tigris Series Book 2

Chapter Eight

It had only been a couple weeks in the camp for the 15 year old girl, and she was loving every second of it.

Even though she was glued to her father's side at all times, it didn't hinder her experience at all, to her. The respect and admiration she had for her father only grew with each passing day as he took care of his business as Colonel. Though he was strict and cold to his soldiers, something that she didn't see from him very often while at home, she didn't mind at all one bit. She understood the strict and cold nature of it all was necessary in the face of war. Her father raised and conditioned her very well to not be such a naive and ignorant little girl. She took in information like a vacuum, learning how everything worked and why very quickly. Needless to say, Colonel Phillips was very proud of her, despite her never lifting a finger.

He directed her to specific men who he thought would serve as good role models for what a good soldier looked like. His favorite was the top soldier of the camp, Hodge. Though he was certainly up to par with everything that was expected of him, the girl didn't like him. She watched closely to how he interacted with his peers, and concluded that he was an egotistical jerk; with the addition of being a total creep, after a short, unwanted conversation she had with him only five days after arriving.

Rogers, on the other hand, she was fascinated by. She kept a close eye on him ever since that first day that she saw him, even though her father had instructed her not to. Despite all of his efforts of keeping up with the others on a physical level, he never gained any muscle or stamina. He was an asthmatic, which should have made it even more impossible for him to be accepted into the Army, let alone her father's program. Doctor Abraham Erskine was the culprit behind his approval, who found Rogers' heart and spirit to be the most important factor when choosing the perfect soldier for their special program. Though the girl agreed with that opinion, she still couldn't deny her father's opinion of the matter; he was far too small and fragile. It would be a miracle if he survived the war, let alone the program itself if he is to be chosen. Despite that, she was still very impressed with him.

One day during a morning jog, she had tagged along with them on the jeep with Agent Peggy Carter, who was an English woman involved in the program. The girl looked up to her almost as much as her father, simply due to the fact that she was practically the embodiment of power in and of itself. During that run, they passed by a flag pole, of which the soldiers were instructed to try and climb the pole all the way to the top to retrieve the flag. The Captain bribed them by promising a seat in the jeep next to Agent Carter for the rest of the trail, to which the soldier's eagerly obliged and fought their way up the pole. It was an impossible task, given that no one had ever climbed all the way up before. So expectedly, none of the soldier's succeeded in climbing any higher than just a few feet.

Rogers, on the other hand, approached the task differently. Just as the soldiers had resumed their run to move on, he had unscrewed the thick metal screws that held the pole up, letting it fall to the ground. He had outsmarted the system to complete the task in the way that made it possible, granting him a seat in the jeep on the other side of Agent Carter as promised by the Captain. The move impressed everyone that day, even the girl.

"That was impressive." she told Rogers from the other side of Agent Carter.

He smiled at her, meeting her gaze with his sea blue eyes. "Thanks."

That was the day that her fascination of the man had begun.

She now was walking beside her father as they made their way through the camp towards Agent Carter, who was instructing Rogers' unit through a workout in her usual deep brown military suit, similar to the girl's, and perfectly styled deep brown hair that fell in tight curls to her shoulders. The Colonel spoke to Doctor Erskine while the girl listened intently to the conversation. Erskine had informed her father that he was considering Rogers to be selected for the program, and her father was not happy about it.