Castiel was sleeping soundly in the bed, lingering on thoughts of Dean and their first kiss. It was amazing how a few simple words…a simple kiss could take him from the most self-depreciating train of thought he ever had…to the top of the world. He felt like nothing could shake him. Even the exam that was coming up the following day couldn't faze him.
He was still on cloud nine when the trumpet sounded for them to wake up. It felt like he had barely fallen asleep before they were being forced awake. He nearly rolled off his bed and hit the floor. The dorm had refilled in the peak hours and Castiel felt bad for the other men and women who had just arrived only to be deprived of the small amount of sleep they could get.
The uniform at the end of his bed was not the one he had been using so far for training. It was a slight variant of it, heavy as he picked it out of his dresser. There was heavy greens and brown in it and padding attached to the knees of his pants and to the elbow part of the shirt. A combat uniform.
They dressed quickly and almost haphazardly as they made their way outside where the other recruits were already getting into formation. Castiel followed suit and scowled heavily when he felt fat raindrops hit the top of his head. Perfect weather for a field exam gone bad. Maybe.
It wasn't right to assume the worst before everything began but maybe the pessimist side of Castiel would take some tries to wear down. As they got into formation, he spotted Dean standing ahead of them. In early morning darkness and rain, it was hard to see his expression.
Once they were still, the Sergeant addressed them. "Today is your field exam, Troop 88. We are leaving at 0600 to a secured location where the other Sergeants and myself will conduct the exam. Once we arrive at our destination, you will be briefed on your mission parameters. I expect the best out of all of you. Use the training you've learned in the last few weeks…use your head. Be sharp. I have every confidence that you'll succeed."
Dean moved to walk among them, hands interlocked behind his back. "We have a method in the corp. Your mission is not done until it is a complete. The same rules will apply here. You are not done until your objective is complete, is that understood?"
He heard a resounding 'Yes, sir!" that he nodded at before placing both hands behind himself again. "Head to the parking lot. Fall out."
They all did as they were told. There was no time to linger and speak with the Sergeant this time, or even really exchange a look with him. As soon as the order to fall out was given, he was turning and walking with his back to his troops where some other commanding officers were standing. One of them Castiel recognized as Gordon, Dean's friend.
There were several dark green trucks lined up and people were already climbing inside to get out of the rain. Castiel followed Balthazar to the very last one where only a few people were inside. The confined space inside made him feel like he had claustrophobia.
The ride was mostly in silence. Castiel didn't expect it to be so long. He started falling asleep, wrapping his camo jacket closer around himself and shutting his eyes. It was a brief reprieve to remove the sting from his eyes while moving steadily as the truck went over bad patches on the road.
At least two hours passed until they finally came to a stop and the driver moved around the front of the truck to open up the back and allow the men inside to file out. As they were stepping down into the light, Castiel was surprised to see how soft the ground was when he stepped on it. Then he took in his surroundings and realized they were in the middle of a forest. There was a small little clearing where everything had been set up. Other people were disembarking as well, taking a look around. At least it wasn't raining here. At least not anymore. He could see the shine on the grass where it had just stopped.
Good thing there really wasn't room around them to get into formation here. Still, he was feeling true nervousness now. Just how real was the field exam going to be? He looked to Balthazar following his gaze to weapon racks situated to their right.
"Do you know anything about what to expect from this field exam?"
"Not too much. You know I haven't talked to anyone outside of our troop though. I don't think the older recruits; the actual marines, would give us time of day. They look at us like we're wannabes," said Balthazar, shrugging. He seemed more relaxed than Castiel was certainly.
"I don't really care what they look at us like…I'm more concerned with what could happen today. What if it's dangerous? What if we fail?"
"Guess we'll never know until we find out…and those who don't try will never know," said Balthazar, squinting down at Castiel with a 'wise' look.
"Okay, Yoda," said Castiel, rolling his eyes.
"Look…don't sweat it. All of what they were saying to scare you was actually to just pump you up. Lighten up, okay? Everything is going to be fine. We're not the first of the program, remember? Tons of people have done this before us. That should make you feel a little better, huh?
"I know…but…"
"Shh,"
Balthazar hushed him just as Sergeant Winchester climbed out of his truck, took in their surroundings and ordered the troop to gather around him. There were still some stragglers and as Castiel looked over the heads of the others and saw a number similar to the ones from his own troop. There was another platoon here.
But it was hard to pay mind to that when Dean was speaking to them. The man could command attention, whether Agent Trenton implied otherwise or not, he was sort of like a born leader. Not that Castiel was trying to analyze him and not pay attention to what was being said.
"This forest is for lack of a better word…massive. Your objective, Platoon 88, is ultimately to retrieve a package that is located in the center of the designated area."
The Sergeant broke his gaze from them, his eyes going past the troop towards the truck he had just left where Gordon was unloading and throwing large black backpacks onto the ground. Judging by the thud each one made, they were heavy…and Castiel could guess that they were going to have to carry the damn things the entire time.
Dean's professional demeanor somewhat cracked. "….Will you hurry the hell up? I'm not gonna be standin' around here all day, waitin' on you. Bring the tent."
"Hey…Hey," Gordon pointed at him with an accusatory finger. "Shut it."
"Hurry up!"
Moments later, Gordon was throwing the last black backpack off the truck and starting to stick the ground to form a large green tent by himself. It wouldn't be big enough to house all of them, but both Sergeants entered first, gesturing them inside while Dean set up a stand where a large mass of green was shown on a map.
In the middle there was a clear part of white with a large red X. There was another red X on the outskirts of the mass of green. Dean pointed at that part.
"This is where we are…and this…," He pointed at the clearing. "is where your objective is. The item in question is a backpack, not unlike the packs you saw Sergeant Winchester throwing down. You are to retrieve it…bring it back here. Sounds easy. It is easy. This map seems to show it's easy, don't it?"
Yeah, nothing was ever this easy. Castiel had learned that the hard way. Dean nodded to each one of them, then shook his head as though in disagreement.
"No. It will not be easy. We have tested the area ourselves. The time it takes from here to your objective takes approximately three and a half hours. Walking."
Dean walked away from the stand to pace a line as he usually did. "Unfortunately, the jungle will not be your only enemy. Let's play a game we all played as kids. Make-Believe. Pretend that objective is a deceased squadmate that was gunned down by the enemy. Pretend his pack contains vital information regarding your next mission. Pretend this pack…is a level one priority."
It was Sergeant Walker who continued the instruction, stepping forward as Dean lingered in the back with his hands behind his back.
"Sergeant Winchester is right. The jungle isn't your only adversary out there. In this exam, you will face the situation as it would be felt for any other marine. Your enemy is in the treetops. Your enemy…will be looking for you. Your enemy will be shooting you. You will have no choice but to use the environment to your advantage…and I advise all of you to do just that."
"You will have until midnight to complete this task. If for any reason, the task is not completed...," Dean paused, doing a weird..dramatic pause thing as he looked around at them all. "We have a platoon on standby. They'll get the job done. They always do. Since there are exactly twenty-one of you...you will be divided into 7 squads of 3 in each."
"Isn't it better to do 3 squads of 7 in each?"
Dean dropped his professionalism again. "...Goddammit. Will you let me run my unit? The way I wanna run my unit?"
"I think you're running your unit badly." said Gordon, shrugging.
"Well, I think you're dumb," said Dean, not dignifying Gordon with his gaze as he talked. The platoon held the faintest amusement at their argument, thankful that they were trying to lighten the tension.
Gordon continued. "Your existing resources will be inside of the packs we have laid outside for you. Each of you are assigned one pack. It will come equipped with two flash grenades, spare rounds of ammunition, a spare firearm and water to keep you hydrated. Before we assemble the squads, are there any questions?"
Balthazar raised his hand and Gordon nodded to him. "...So anybody from any squad retrieving the objective and securing it constitutes as a victory?"
"That is correct. But think of it as a race of sorts. Your every action in this field exam is being monitored. Everything you say...every move you make whether you choose to be a team player or not...is on the line. You choose to stay and hide and wait for someone else to compelte the objective? Well, you'll be judged on that too," said Gordon.
"Well...I wasn't planning on doing that...," Balthazar muttered. Castiel pat his shoulder as head went down sheepishly. Then his own hand raised.
"Are the bullets firing at us going to be live rounds?" Castiel asked.
Dean answered him. "No. No live rounds are permitted. For you or the enemy. Rubber bullets. Still hurt. Still a very real incentive to move the hell out of the way when they start firing. You are wearing sufficient padding...but still... Try not to get shot. "
Gordon looked among them. "Any other questions?"
There were none so he nodded to himself. "All right. Everyone get outside. We're about to assemble the squads. Keep in mind, once deployment begins, your exam is officially started. There is a red line we have placed on the ground floor. Once you pass that point, use your make-believe skill and pretend we are not here. We will not help you unless the objective is not completed in time. You are each at a starting level of one hundred. Any action that is considered a hindrance to the mission...will deduct points. For example, turning around after passing over the red line will deduct fifty points. No one wants to finish this mission with only fifty points, do you understand me?"
They all gave their assent and exited the tent. Castiel felt his anxiety peek. He hadn't made it a point to get to know anyone else really in the platoon besides Balthazar. He hoped the other would be in his squad. Once they were outside, Gordon went back to his truck, sitting on the edge of it and reciting different names. Squads were assigned by letter, A-G. The formed squads as they formed the red line seemed to be randomized.
Finally when he got to Squad F, he announced 'Novak', 'Tran' and 'Balthazar' to Castiel's immense relief. His friend remained by his side while another boy with black hair that was a head shorter than him with a smaller build approached the two of them.
"Hey. I'm Kevin. Nice to meet you two."
"You are...tiny," said Balthazar.
"Nice to meet you too," Castiel elbowed Balthazar again.
Balthazar leaned towards Castiel so only he could hear him. "I really hope they don't deduct points for getting shot by a rubber bullet. He looks like he'll go flying if he gets shot by one."
"Like the Sergeant told us, try not to get shot," Castiel reminded him.
Kevin laughed nervously before nodding towards the red line. " Guess we're good to go. C'mon."
They each picked out a backpack. Castiel hadn't been wrong about it before...it weighed like eighty pounds. He couldn't help but think that in addition to what Sergeant Walker said would be inside...there was also bricks. Bricks or books. His shoulders already protested the added weight and he grunted to adjust himself before approaching the red line with the other two recruits.
Once the final squad was formed and every one was there, Dean lingered in the back behind him.
"Squads will release at ten second intervals. Squad A, you will dispatch first at my order to fall out." The three recruits to his far left each nodded to him in understanding. "Good luck...I have faith in each and every one of you."
Castiel turned, meeting the Sergeant's gaze personally and seeing the warmth in his eyes that instantly lifted some of his anxiety.
"I wouldn't put you up to this if I didn't think you could do it. I know you'll make me proud. You already have...Squad A..."
There was a brief pause as they all seemed to count the seconds. Castiel measured it all in tune with the beat of his heart.
"Fall out."