Author's Note: Well, as seen in last chapter, I didn't write this; Mojotheamoroq did, so give him all the praise, he will most likely be doing the "evens" while I do the "odds". So... Yeah. Oh, the "end-note" was written by him. (I wouldn't dare mod his work.) R&R...
The four of them stood side by side in a line not but a few yards away from where Humphrey had met up with Rollins. They were each dressed in the standard military uniform, two of them scribbling in some last minute details on the clipboards they carried.
Rollins did an about face away from Humphrey and started to walk toward the line, Humphrey following close behind. Rollins stopped with about three feet between himself and the line of wolves and raised his paw in salute. The four returned it and dropped their paws back to their sides. Rollins then turned back to Humphrey.
"Winters, I'd like you to meet Captain Scot, Major Wilkins, Sargent Huft, and General Weathers," Rollins said pointing to each wolf as he was named.
Humphrey reached out to shake paws with his superiors, but they just stared down at his outstretched paw with a nonchalant gaze. Humphrey immediately recognized his mistake and shot his paw up over his right eyebrow.
"Sorry, Sirs," he spat quickly, "just a bit nervous is all."
The four wolves emotionlessly returned the salute and dropped their paws back to their sides, Humphrey doing the same. They all studied the recruit, sizing him up, measuring his strengths and his weaknesses, going over every detail recorded about him since the day he first arrived at boot camp. The grey wolf that Humphrey now knew as Major Wilkins stepped forward.
"I must say that we are all very impressed with your performance, Winters," Wilkins complimented, "you ranked prestige in just about every test. Very rarely do we have a soldier enlist that is as high caliber as you."
"Thank you sir," Humphrey said with a nod, a small grin forming upon his lips.
Humphrey could feel his old anxiety about being here starting to dissolve, the uneasy feeling in his gut starting to settle.
Wilkins walked up to Humphrey, Humphrey immediately straightening himself up and puffing out his chest. Wilkins stopped with about a two feet between himself and Humphrey, a serious expression plastered upon his scarred and hardened face.
"Where are you from soldier," Wilkins asked out of curiosity.
Humphrey looked him in his emerald green eyes and spoke.
"Jasper Canada sir!" Humphrey replied with strength found by this new sense of confidence he felt in himself.
Wilkins simply nodded, taking a rare liking to this recruit. He could see inside of Humphrey a brave heart that was also filled to the brim with an undying compassion for those he loved; but behind that he could also see a young man struggling to find his place in the world, someone that was wiling to do things far greater than himself to prove his metal to those who had never seen him as anything but a scrawny nobody. He was unsure about who he was, but was willing to do anything to figure it out.
"Very good." Wilkins stated backing up.
"Sargent Huft will now be taking you to the medical barracks for a last physical examination and vaccinations," Rollins stated as the whitish grey officer stepped forward, limping slightly.
"This way," Huft said in a gruffy voice, obvious that he had been administering some form of instruction or punishment recently.
He turned to his left and began to stride his way down the road that they stood on. Humphrey followed, walking slightly behind him and off of his right shoulder. The two continued to walk in silence, Humphrey taking this time to better observe his surroundings. This road took him through terrain that was the same as the testing field in the ways of physical surroundings, hundreds of fifty foot trees growing proudly across the generally flat land.
They walked for a few minutes more and then Humphrey could see a spot ahead of them where the forest seemed to open up, the dirt of the road becoming more abused and carved from wheels. There were shouts, the sounds of marching, the grind of vehicle engines, and the agonizing groans of intense physical exercise. Humphrey guessed from those sounds that this was where the main barracks of this facility were located. Humphrey and the Sargent stepped out of the forest and into an open area about a thousand feet long by a thousand feet wide, occupied by neat lines of barracks. There were wolves milling about the area in their standard tan military print and vehicles were making their rounds, bouncing along as they went. In the middle of the clearing stood a tanned brick building, a flag pole out in the front of it flying the flag of their company, an eagle perched upon the arm of Uncle Sam, and the American flag above it. Humphrey guessed that that was where the higher officers worked and resigned.
Many of the wolves turned their attention to the new recruit walking into camp, sizing him up and already making judgmental comments about his size. Humphrey could feel the gazes upon him and could hear the murmurings, causing some of his confidence to slip away again. Huft lead Humphrey to a building not far from the entrance to the clearing, stopping down by the steps.
"Go on inside and wait for your name to be called," he instructed, "Doctor Lynch will get to you as quick as he can."
"Yes sir, thank you sir," Humphrey said giving Huft a salute of farewell.
Huft returned it and did an about face, turning and striding away toward the building with the flags. Humphrey watched him go for a while then turned and took a deep breath of collection before walking quickly up the steps, opening up the door and stepping inside.
I'd like to thank Samsonite for giving me the opportunity and the privilege of joining up with him in the writing of this story.