CHAPTER 6

The next morning, before the sun had even started to rise, Finn was hit on the shoulder and he awoke with a start. He saw the serious face of Sergeant Johnson standing there, dressed in p.t. gear and had a sheen of sweat on his forehead.

"Sarge?" Finn murmured, still adjusting to the land of the awake.

Finn was confused. Normally, for wake ups, Sergeant Banks brought in a bullhorn, and everyone would scramble out of their beds to line up in the barracks.

"Rise and shine, Hudson," Banks growled in a quiet voice. "You and I have a date. Get dressed up in your gear and be out in front of the building in ten." Banks turned and left the room, barely making another sound.

Finn frowned and looked down at his watch (he learned the hard way to keep that on him at all times), groaning a bit to see it read 3:30am.

Finn groaned inwardly. It was a Sunday too! Why the hell was Sarge demanding that he wake up and be out of bed this early on a Sunday while everyone else is still sleeping?

Swearing under his breath, Finn did as he was told and dragged himself out of his bunk. After rubbing his sleep out of his eyes, he quickly washed his face with frigid cold water. The sun hadn't yet come out so the water was freezing. It did help him wake up though. He then changed into his PT gear and then made his bed. Once finished, he exited the room quietly.

Finn left the barracks and looked around for Sergeant Johnson. A minute later, he found him. Sergeant Banks was standing on the grassy area beside the road, doing some lunges to warm up his muscles. He nodded to Finn and Finn walked over to him.

"We're running." Sergeant said, bluntly. Finn simply nodded and they set off. Because of his long legs, Finn was always very good at long distance running, and the sports he played (Football, Hockey and Basketball) helped his stamina.

They started running at a pace that caught Finn off guard. Finn was normally the fastest runner in his platoon, but Sergeant Banks was just as fast, if not faster. Finn made sure to match the Sergeant's pace, and not fall behind.

They ran side by side for 7 km without stopping. Finn didn't mind though. He could easily run 20 km, and the nature around them - lakes, trees, etc - gave him a sense of tranquility and peace. He hadn't felt that much at peace in months; not since before all the crap he had gone through after Sectionals. There was a soft rippling of water from the brook by which they ran, a few birds chirped in the early morning sunrise, and a few leaves rustled from the trees as the wind blew. Through it all was the steady, underlying cadence of two men jogging side by side at a pace few could keep.

Eventually they came into a clearing, and Sergeant Banks held him up by lightly tapping him on the shoulder. "Five minute rest."

They both stopped and breathed in deeply, Finn hunched over slightly and resting on his knees while Banks unscrewed his water bottle and pulled back a small sip. He wiped his brow before tossing another bottle over to Finn. After securing the bottle cap on his own drink he turned back to his recruit.

"I'm impressed, Hudson. I usually have to slow my pace down for green recruits. Not many can keep up."

Finn smiled at his sergeant before standing and taking a few deep breaths to regulate his airflow. "I play a lot of sports in school. Football, basketball, hockey, and a bit of track, so..." Finn shrugged before swallowing some of his own water and continued to try and get his breathing even.

Banks nodded in approval before looking out towards the lake, where the orange colours of the rising sun were just coming up over the horizon. "So, what made you decide to join the Guard, Hudson? Hmm? Why did you decide to fucking waste your last summer before high school's over?"

He considered the question a bit before answering. Taking a breath, Finn glanced at his sergeant. He wondered how much his sergeant would really want to hear about Rachel and what details he should reveal. But unlike during normal training hours, Banks didn't seem to have a scowl plastered on his face or anything. Instead, he seemed honestly curious. So Finn began with a nonchalant shrug.

"Halfway through the year, my high school life went to shit. For football, half the team dropped out a week before the Championship game, forcing us to recruit some girls to take their place. We obviously lost and I broke my arm halfway through so I was taken to hospital. Then came like girls. All three times I dated people, they cheated on me, even the one I didn't expect."

Banks smiled knowingly as he stretched his legs a bit. "What was her name?"

"Rachel. We'd dated for about six months last year, but well…it ended badly. I then went back to my first girlfriend, and she cheated on me again. After we broke up, Rachel assumed that if I could forgive my other ex, I would forgive her and get back with her. I didn't want to, which made it really awkward. A lot of our friends are mutual, so I just…." Finn took a breath and swallowed, trying to keep his emotions out of his voice, especially as he was in front of his superior. "This just seemed like a good way to try to restart and refocus." He rolled his eyes at himself. "This is probably a story you've heard a hundred times from other recruits, isn't it?"

"A few times," Banks admitted, shifting his stretching over to his other leg as he did so. "Nothing I'm not willing to hear again. Each story is different. Some guys come here trying to forget 'the bitch'; some come here with the hope of moving on and never going back." He cast a serious gaze at Finn. "Which is it with you?"

"I don't hate her," Finn responded, wiping more sweat off his brow and rotating his shoulders to loosen up his back muscles. "I thought I did, but I soon realised that I didn't. I just didn't have any romantic feelings for her anymore." His voice was devoid of all emotion.

Banks smiled thinly at him. "So, you're the second type. Hoping for it to go back to the way it used to be?"

Finn shifted on his feet to stretch the other leg. "Well, yeah… absolutely. She was a really close friend of mine, even before we started dating. But looking back, I realised how opposite our personalities are. She knows exactly what she wants out of life. Me, I'm not so sure." Finn said.

Banks motioned with his head for the two of them to restart their run, so they continued down the trail around the lake. "I think," Banks said as he maintained his even pace, "you have an awful lot going for you, Hudson. I've watched you around the troops. You're a natural leader, whether you think so or not. During the training drill, you commanded the troops better than a lot of officers would. So if you ever considered a career in the military, I'm sure any branch would be reaching for you. And I'm not just talking about the Reserve Force or National Guard. I'm talking about SEALs and Delta Force. I'm not kidding when I say this: you have more skill than any recruit I've ever met."

Finn's eyes widened. He had never heard the Sergeant say anything even close to as nice as that before.

"Thanks, Sergeant. It means a lot. But I don't really want my whole future to be based on the military, as much as I'm enjoying it right now."

The Sergeant nodded. "I understand. But even so, I've read your file. Aren't you Captain of the football team, basketball team, and the Glee club at your school? You don't get saddled with responsibilities like that unless people have faith in you."

They rounded the corner and back onto the path to start taking them back to their barracks.

"You should have more faith in your ability to figure things out. What other things do you like besides football? There's gotta be something that gives you wood, right?"

The taller boy shrugged a bit. "Singing. Performing. Guitar. But the chances of making a career out of it are pretty slim."

"Not necessarily," Banks said, slowing his pace down slightly as they came to a hill which they'd have to jog down. "Think outside the box, Hudson. Sure, maybe being the next Ray Charles or Paul McCartney might be a stretch, but for every one of those guys, how many were working behind the scenes? Producers, technicians, advertisers, lawyers, record executives, agents… the show business industry is larger than you think. Even if you're not the star on stage, doesn't mean you can't make a living in it. It might just be in a less obvious way." He paused and sucked in a few breaths before speaking again. "Same with sports; there's a lot of background people supporting what's going on around the main event. Would you be happy doing something like that if you aren't the star?"

Finn mulled over what his Sergeant had said, surprised to be getting such advice about his future from a man who had, to this point, only been interested in how well he could shoot and how clean his bunk area was. Everything Sergeant Banks had said seemed to make sense, and truthfully Finn figured he would be happy to be around an environment of sports or entertainment, even if he wasn't the star. He'd never really tried to be the star like Rachel had, especially in the past year. He was sure, however, that he'd be equally happy if he was the guy helping other stars get to where they wanted or needed to be. All he wondered now was how to go about doing that.

They veered across the grass and took another path that led over to the main road they'd need to follow back to their barracks. Finn smiled a bit and turned to regard his Sergeant. "That...that's a pretty awesome idea, Sarge. I never even thought about looking at what I could do behind the scenes. That could be a lot of fun, now that I think about it."

Banks nodded. "Sure it could. If you can't do exactly what you want, sometimes even just working in the right field can go miles towards helping you be happy and fulfilled in life." He motioned for them to set a walking pace and uncapped his water bottle, pulling back another sip. "Take it from one who knows."

Finn regarded him curiously, drawing a small drink from his own water bottle. "You work behind the scenes?"

Banks nodded. "Mostly. I'm a paramedic in my full time job. I didn't have the money needed to become a doctor, but being a paramedic still allows me to work in the field of medicine and do a lot of things that make a real difference in people's lives. The Guard wanted me to transfer to one of the medical units originally but I refused. I get enough of it in civilian life. And I enjoy the training of new recruits, which I can't do if I'm always in a military ambulance."

They finally arrived back at the barracks at around 4:30 am. They both walked in at the same time.

"EVERYONE WAKE THE FUCK UP AND FALL IN!" Sergeant Johnson shouted through a megaphone. Finn had to hold back a laugh. When he wasn't on the receiving end of the harsh wakeups, he found it hilarious to watch the various recruits try and make it out of bed in time. Some recruits were better at waking up than others. Katie was very good at waking up, Dalton however was not. The recruits scrambled to their feet, determined not to take too long and be called out by the Sergeant. Finn was obviously the first up, and he stood at attention in front of his bed. Once everyone was standing in line, an evil grin slid across Johnson's face.

"Today is my favourite day of the year. I get to see which of you actually have balls, and which of you don't. You guys have all learnt the theory side of it, but today you are parachuting for the first time."

Finn smiled to himself. He was so excited. They all started to head out of the barrack for breakfast and he made his way out the door with the rest of the group. After breakfast, they all clambered onto the plane for their first jump. Once they were up in the air, Sergeant Johnson turned to them.

"OK, who would like to go first?" He asked, an evil smirk on his face.

"I'll do it." Finn volunteered. He was really excited about parachuting for the first time, and he wanted to go as soon as possible. Johnson nodded.

"OK, Hudson, whenever you're ready…" The plane door opened, and a few seconds later, Finn hurtled out the door and into the open air…

It was the best feeling in the world. Finn was free falling from 10,000 ft in the air. He arched his back and got into a proper skydiving position. He checked the altitude meter on his wrist. 9000 ft. He needed to pull the chord at 800 ft so he still had a lot of time. He looked around at his surroundings. He was passing through a couple of clouds, and he could see lush fields and a breathtaking lake beneath him. The wind kissed his cheeks and he felt completely at peace. He had a GoPro on his forehead and he was videoing the whole experience. He could see the field of the Air base far, far beneath him, and could see a recruit quite a bit above him. When he finally reached an altitude of 800ft, he pulled the parachute chord and he was roughly yanked upwards by the sudden air resistance. He floated safely the last little while and landed perfectly on the ground, not even stumbling. He was greeted by another officer, and was congratulated on a perfect jump. He unclipped his parachute and watched the other recruits land their jumps. None were as smooth as his, and Morrison literally stumbled and face planted onto the ground. None of them had any parachute malfunctions though, which was good. Sergeant Johnson was the last to land and when he did, he turned to his recruits.

"Well done men, none of you got injured which is good. And all of you pulled the chord at the right time. Hudson was the only one with a smooth landing, but none of you majorly fucked up, which is good. We're going back up there and we're jumping two more times today."

They climbed back onto the plane for their second jump and everything went flawlessly. But during the third, something went horribly wrong…

Yet again, Finn was the first out of the plane. The view still got to him every time. He waited until 800ft, and then pulled the chute. From the moment he pulled the cord, he knew something was wrong. He was spinning out of control. His parachute was all tangled up and therefore was not slowing his fall down at all. He forced himself to stay calm. He needed to if he wanted to survive. He tried his hardest to untangle his chute, but when he reached 600ft, he gave up and pulled the cutaway chord. When the main parachute had been released, it automatically triggered the reserve chute. The chute wasn't as safe as the main chute, and when he landed, he stumbled a bit, but was otherwise unharmed. One of the officers on the ground ran over to him as soon as Finn had touched the ground.

"Hudson, are you okay?" He asked. Finn nodded.

"Yeah, fine. I made the right call to pull the reserve chute, right?" Finn asked. He didn't know if releasing the main chute might have interfered with the other jumpers. The officer nodded.

"Yeah you did. Good thinking by the way. Not everyone is calm enough to make that decision on their first day parachuting."

"What can I say? I play a lot of competitive football." Finn commented. The officer laughed and they watched as everyone else landed safely. When Sergeant Johnson landed, he ran over to Finn.

"HUDSON! What the fuck happened?" He shouted.

"My chute was messed up. It was all tangled when I opened it. I tried to untangle it until I reached 600 ft. Then I just pulled the cutaway and used the reserve chute."

The officer behind Finn nodded to confirm his story. Sergeant Johnson's face filled with relief.

"Thank god! We can't afford to lose you!" Sergeant Johnson said, and Finn raised an eyebrow. Why did Sarge suddenly care about him so much? First the run, then that comment. Was Sarge planning something behind his back. Finn put it out of his mind and joined the rest of his friends. He walked over to Chen, Brooks and Morrison, who were looking at him worriedly. They had obviously seen what happened, as they had jumped after him. When he walked over to them, Brooks gave him a hug, and he fistbumped Chen and Morrison.

"Dude, what the fuck happened?!" Chen asked. Finn recounted to them the story and by the end, they were all shocked.

"Wow, I'm just glad it wasn't me, cause you're the best recruit so you knew what to do in that scenario. If it was me, I would have crapped myself and just prayed." Morrison said. Finn chuckled.

"You do realise that we have had the same amount of training. There's no reason why I'd be any better than you." Finn argued. Brooks rolled her eyes.

"Maybe so, but you're still a damn better recruit than us. You beat us on every single test and exercise!" She argued. Finn shrugged. A couple of minutes later, they walked off the field and towards the barracks.

"EVERYBODY FORM UP!" Sergeant shouted and everyone lined up and snapped to attention. "Congratulations on a great day! None of you pussied out like I thought you would. I'm talking about you, Morrison! So I'm giving all of you this evening, and all of tomorrow off. Do whatever you want. Tomorrow, if you are leaving base, just sign out. Congratulations, you have all completed your training. At ease, soldiers"

They nodded and started to walk towards the barracks and the rec room. Finn was among them, but was quickly stopped by the Sergeant.

"Hudson, come with me to my office for a second," He muttered. Finn nodded and followed his Sergeant into a dimly lit office. It was pretty barebones, just a desk and 4 chairs in the room. Another man was already in the room and he stood up when they entered.

"Hudson, this is Lieutenant Colonel Brandt, of the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army."

"Nice to meet you, Lieutenant Colonel." Finn said, and shook the man's hand. Something was bugging Finn though. "I'm sorry but I've gotta ask. Aren't you Delta Force?"

The man and Sergeant Johnson exchanged a look, and the Lieutenant Colonel tensed up.

"How did you…" He growled.

"I'm sorry! You just have that aura to you. It's like you know that you could kick the ass of everyone on this base if you needed to. And you don't need to boast about your position, so you stay quiet." Finn explained and the two superior officers' jaws dropped. Sergeant Johnson was right - that recruit was special.

"OK, fine, I'm Delta Force - Squadron A. This doesn't leave this room, ok?"

Finn nodded. He knew how powerful these people were.

"So, Lieutenant Colonel, what can I do for you?" Finn asked, hesitantly. He had a feeling he knew what he was about to be asked, and sure enough, he was right.

"I'm just gonna give it to you straight. We want you in Delta Force ASAP. We've been reading your file and you're exactly who we need for this mission."

Finn's eyes widened. He was seriously being offered a place among the most elite in the US Army.

"Lieutenant Colonel, I'm truly honoured you asked me, but I'm just part of the full-time Air Guard for the summer. I still have all of Senior year of high school. And also, aren't there more qualified people for whatever mission this is? Like Delta Force officers who have trained for the full 6 months? Or, if there are absolutely no Delta Force officers, maybe SEALs, or any other elite branch?"

Brandt shook his head. "None of them are perfect for the job like you are. Trust me when I say this. I've been doing my job for a long time. And it's not a permanent job. It's literally just one mission. And, no matter if you succeed or not, we're paying you $100,000."

Finn's eyes widened. That was a lot of money. And he would be doing his dream job. He made up his mind.

"I'll do it…"