Disclaimer: I am making no money, just enjoyment.
Team Building Continues
Maurice dumped the contents on the ground. There were more water bottles, some food packs, and a couple of canned heat. There was a pot and five mugs. There was no cutlery, or plates. There was also another pouch with five tokens inside. Each person took a token and put it in the plastic baggies in their back pack. They also took a folder.
Maurice spoke, " I need two volunteers to start the meal. We don't have time to do everything individually here. We will have to start conserving our time. Who wants to cook?" Everyone looked at Stephanie. She put her hands up in horror. "Uh, guys, I can't cook. I'll help with something else, but if you value your lives, don't trust me with cooking!". The men looked at each other. Their faces showed that in a number of cases, they thought that was what she had come along for.
Stephanie glared back at them. This was a sure case of gender discrimination. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. She was preparing to go in full rhino mode. Maurice spoke. His voice had a strong tone of authority. "All right, listen up. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses on this team. Everyone by the end of this exercise will be doing things they never thought they could do. Stephanie will be taking her turn cooking. Terry, you cook and Stephanie watch. The rest of us will decipher the next directions. Any questions? Move out." With that, he signalled that Eddie and Teddie follow him to a spot away from the food.
Terry grimaced. He had been thinking all along that Stephanie had been sent along to clean up and cook. She looked pretty useless alongside the other members. He had heard rumors that she didn't even like to carry a weapon. Maybe she was the company ho. He would check her out later. He prided himself on his manly prowess. He wondered how quickly he could get her into the sack. He hoped she was a good lay.
He quickly set out the supplies. Asking Stephanie to light the canned heat, he poured two bottles of water into the pot and checked out the packages. Stephanie had one of the canned heat in her hand. She was reading the directions. Terry looked at her in amazement. "Haven't you ever used one of these things?, he asked. She shook her head no. "I was never a Girl Scout. I hated camping. I'll help you but you have to give me some direction here." Terry shook his head. Useless, she was totally useless.
Grabbing the canned heat from her, he reached into his back pack and pulled out a match. Striking it against the striker, he lit the match and put it to the wick. Placing it on a flat piece of ground, he put the pot with water on it. Stephanie was watching carefully. When the water began to boil he dumped in the packages. They began to swell and he opened them a little and let the steam escape.
Calling the guys over, he handed a package to each man. They sat down with their meals and began to eat. They all used their knives from their web belt. Stephanie followed their example. When there were no chunks of food left they squeezed the liquid contents into their mouths. While they were eating, one of the men had put some tea bags into the boiling water. Each person grabbed a metal cup and poured tea into it. They set it down beside them to cool. There was no milk and sugar.
Maurice spoke. "OK, it looks like the fun and games are about to begin. This time, in addition to a compass setting, we have been given a map. It looks like there will be a water exercise. I need to know now. Anybody unable to swim or afraid of the water? He looked around. Eddie put up his hand. "I almost drowned when I was five. Teddie pulled me out. I swim but I am afraid of water." Teddie punched his brother on the arm. "I'll be there to save you, little brother." Stephanie smiled at them. Teddie was older by 12 minutes. It sounded like he liked to portray the protector.
Quickly cleaning up, they divided up the cooking utensils among the five packs. Maurice took the duffle bag with him. That made two. Teddie had grabbed the first bag. On an exercise like this, you never knew when you might need something like this. Terry's knee had stiffened up when they stopped. He gingerly got to his feet. He would walk off the stiffness. Taking the lead, Maurice headed out. With compass in hand and map at the ready, they started off. The sun was starting to lose some strength. They needed to get to their next checkpoint before dark, find shelter and get ready for the night.
Stephanie was now walking by Terry. She had already started to have bad vibes from him and his next remark confirmed her suspicions. "So Baby, when we settle down for the night, you might need a bed mate to chase away all the scary monsters out here. I can keep you safe." He grinned a lecherous smile and sidled up to her. Stephanie mentally shuddered. This guy was going to be a problem, she could just tell. "I don't need help to keep away the monsters unless it is you. Actually, I can look after myself pretty well, Terry. I warn you. Stay away from me or risk the consequences."
With that, she left his side and made her way up to Teddie and Eddie. He shrugged. If she wanted to play hard to get, then the game would get more interesting. He smiled as he limped along. He thought that later on he might be needing a nurse to help him. He could think of nobody better than the cute chick.
Normally they would have been carrying freeze dried or dehydrated meals in pouches. Since they had no access to water other than the drop offs, I gave them food pouches already hydrated but needing to be heated up. Myrna