CHAPTER FOUR

The first exercise he would begin with was how to start a fire. It was the most basic and probably the most essential part to survival aside from finding water. With a fire you could cook your meals and stay warm – even in the desert, the nights were freezing because there was nothing to retain the heat. Since the desert was so barren, it was essential to be creative with kindling as well. He also liked this exercise because he could split people up into pairs so if one was struggling, they could help each other, and it was one less person to bark at. Plus, in the short time he had been doing this, he noticed that they got the most satisfaction out of it. And who wouldn't? They created fire!

Leading the group over to a long thin table with various supplies and equipment for starting a fire he split them up into two groups of five. Ten, although it would become a handful in the later activities, was a blessing because it saved him from the awkward groups of three or having to stand in as someone's partner. He didn't have the patience for it, and half the time he would end up doing it himself, and some activities just didn't work with an odd number.

After he explained the different methods that they could use to start a fire he numbered them off based on what they would be using to create their fire, they would have ten minutes to do so and then switch to the next method. Number one was the wooden stick method, number two was the magnifying glass/ eye glass lens method, number three the coke can and chocolate bar method and number four the steel flint method. Since the wooden fire started method was so difficult, and his least favourite of the bunch he would give two stations to that since it definitely required the most practice to get down correctly. Honestly, when it came down to it, starting a fire that way was mostly luck.

It would take exactly fifty minutes for the them to go through each station if they kept to schedule, which meant ten minutes to talk to them about what they learned and what they could have done better which would take them nicely to an hour and then to lunch. Then he could treat himself to another cigar, eat something light and continue the day.

Standing back from the crowd so he could get a good view of what each group was doing he sounded them off and began watching the minutes fly by.

Purple Hair Girl was trying to organize the people in her group by task – one person to set up the kindling, another to blow air to get oxygen to the spark when they got one. The others in her group were to take turns watching for a spark and spinning the sticks together in order to get one. All in all, the process was inefficient in his eyes. It was a clinical way of working, and she just kept talking and trying to delegate "resources". The only way they were actually going to accomplish anything was just by doing it.

With a quick glance down at his watch to see how much time was left, he went to go check on the other group. They were assigned the coke can and chocolate bar method. From the looks of it, they had managed to polish the bottom of the can fairly well, making it into a pretty good lens, but were having trouble finding the correct angle to set off a spark.

Since they almost had the method down, he decided that today he would cut these kids some slack and help them out a little. Besides, it would help him get out of the doghouse with Mr. Naraan. He was being "supportive". Really, the best way for them to learn was through trial and error. That's how The Boss taught him. She showed him once and then it was up to him to repeat it until he finally figured it out for himself. It was the only way to know if you really understood it.

Walking up to the Slavic boy who questioned him about his eye earlier, Snake patted him on the shoulder and asked, "Need a hand with that?"

The boy shook his head and shrugged him off and continued facing the bottom of the can at the sun. "Listen, you almost have the angle right – like seventy percent there. Try crouching down a bit and pointing it lower. Standing all the way up here you're never going to get it," Snake continued.

Reluctantly, the boy followed his instructions, only to watch in wonder as the faintest spark began to appear. Quickly the other members of his group began hooting in excitement and trying to fan air into the fire to get it going. No matter how draining dealing with rookies was, it was always a fair sight to see someone make their first fire.

He looked at the other group and saw that they weren't even close. Purple Hair Girl was furiously trying to get something going as she barked at her teammates. But, they were out of time and would have to try that one again the next time they came around to it.

"Alright, switch!"

There were sighs of disappointment and relief coming from the two different groups as they changed stations as Snake reset the timer once again. Only few more rounds of this and he could eat something, and he was craving a smoke. If there was one menial thing that he missed about being in FOX was that he could at least smoke whenever he wanted, or his job was mentally stimulating enough to keep him occupied.

A/N: Holy crap! Sorry for not updating. School has been murdering me and I've been there most days until midnight ;_; Portfolio crunch time is hard.

I'm glad I finally got this out though. Thank you for being patient with me!

A/N - March 24, 2016: Thanks mockingjaybrandybuck and Galya for pointing out some minor SPaG issues!