The march was brutal on all of them. No breaks for resting feet's or full bladders and Spencer was trying her best not to pee her pants at this point in time. Her legs were smaller than most of the guys so her stride came to be at least an inch or two short, "What's the hold up?" Dennison screamed seeing the marching party slowing down.

"Sir this kid here ain't going fast enough," one of the soldiers spoke. He was an elderly man about thirty with light red hair and green eyes.

Aiden stared down at Spencer, he was at least six foot one which towered her five foot seven statue easily, "What's the problem?"

"Um...I...my feet are smaller..." she spoke hastily unsure what to tell the guy.

"What was that...stop your stuttering, if your feet are too small than I'll teach you to get them longer. From here on out you will run a two miles ahead of us stop wait at attention for us to catch up, once the last man at the end passes you are to run the next two miles is that understood?"

"But I..."

"IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?"

"Yes sir," she growled clutching her fist at her side trying to hide that fact she'd almost knocked his head off for yelling at her like that.

"Well?" he nodded for her to start running.

"Watch your back," she snipped at the man who saw the fury behind her eyes and gulped before putting his brave front back on and rolled his eyes.

Taking a deep breath she started running, pacing her self. As she passed each of her brothers she nodded slightly telling them she was fine if not a might pissed off. Bladder full and a long way to run she tried to think of something else.

Trees passed by slowly, no matter how fast she was running it never seemed fast enough, glaring at the ground for most of the time than back up to make sure she wasn't going to smash into anything. The voices of the soldiers behind her began to get further and further away as her feet carried her into the silence of the forest. All of a sudden she felt like she was back home, in her own forest, alone and peaceful with only the scurrying animals and lone wind to keep her company.

Her mind wondered to her mother, the woman was one of the greatest or at least that was what she was told. Paula Carlin died when she was six years old, caught typhoid fever due to the rains mixing the cow feces with some of the grain in which the Carlin's used to make bread and such. She was sick for days, Spencer remembered lying with David, cuddled in his arms shaking with fear and tears streaming down her face while her older brother tried to hide the screams of pain coming from their mother.

The last good memory she had with her mother was one she'd never forget and would cherish until her dying days.

"Spencer honey hurry up we don't want your father getting worried," Paula called for her five year old daughter to finish picking the last of the blackberries. It was a warm summer day and the two had been at home cleaning and doing chores when little Spencer in her cute little overalls and pig tails stepped on a stool where her mom was doing dishes and smiling a wide crooked grin asked so politely to make a blackberry pie for desert and well Paula could hardly say no to that adorable face so here they were out in the forest toward midday.

Spencer nodded toward her mom indicating she'd heard the call but in her five year old mind she couldn't leave with out getting that last berry, the one that would surely make the pie one of the best in the world. She reached as far into the bush as possible, her head turned so she could reach that extra mile, she knew she could make it just a bit...

"Owww," Spencer screamed pulling back and watching blood trickle down her tiny fore finger. A funny feeling tugged at the bottom of her tummy as everything around her became fuzzy except for the blood pooling out of her pricked finger which seemed to get clearer and more in focus.

"Spencer honey I told you to be careful of the thorns," Paula chided holding the child's hand in her own but Spencer hardly knew her mother was there as darkness crept in from the corners of her eyes until nothing existed but the silence and the color red. While her eyes were closed she swore to this day even that she saw the color red but not just saw, heard, felt it thumping in her mind, heart, and body saw the music it produced, "Sweetie wake up, come on baby open your eyes!"

Slowly blue eyes opened to settle on the same blue above, a warm gentle smile tugged on Paula's lips as she held her daughter in her arms as if the girl was a new born again, "Mama?"

"You're okay baby just got a bit frightened is all," she chuckled, "We'll have to tell your father about your phobia of blood."

"But they'll laugh at me," she pouted looking down at her finger which had been bandaged already.

Paula cupped Spencer's cheek guiding her child to look back at her, "Listen here Spencer, no matter what anyone says don't let them get you down, you're my special angel sent from God and don't you forget that okay?"

Spencer wiped her tear stained face with her left hand nodding, "Okay mama,"

"Good now let's get you back home and make this delicious blackberry pie," Paula set her daughter down taking her uninjured hand and began walking home.

Spencer smiled at the memory, her mother thought that after Glen she couldn't have any other children due to an illness she received and she'd always wanted a little girl to share all the secrets and duties that her mother had shared with her.

Blinking several times she realized that she had traveled the needed two miles, glancing back she saw that the men were no where in sight. Licking her lips she raised an eyebrow in thought before the pain became unbearable and she ran into the forest off the trail, throwing off her coat than the suspenders, unzipping her pants and long john's and squatting behind a tree releasing her bladder with a self satisfied 'Aw'.

Quickly straightening out her uniform she rushed back to the trail to stand at attention and wait for everyone else to arrive which only took a good thirty minutes, "Good job soldier only nine more hours to go!" Aiden clapped her on the shoulder as he and the others walked on.

Sighing she waited for the last man to pass her before taking off jogging passing each and everyone of them and heading off into the distance of the quiet forest with only her memories to keep her distracted and one very progressive thought passing through her mind, this was going to be a long day...

TBC...