Golden Widow #1: Awakening

4

It's been a week since I had arrived at the camp. I'd followed Colonel Phillips orders, stayed out of his way and close by to Peggy, keeping an eye on the candidates' progress. All of the men here are exceptionally athletic, and are able to clear courses in a quick enough time.

And then there's Steve.

Whenever Steve takes his turn on the courses, something always goes wrong for him. On the third day of training, Steve was climbing a huge net with some other men, when all of a sudden he dropped and was dangling by his foot upside down. You could clearly see his face beginning to turn bright pink as the blood rushed to his head. All of the other men were laughing, even Colonel Phillips. I giggled a little bit, but stopped immediately when I saw the hurt look on his face. Peggy had to go over to him and help him down again so that he could try again. But again, he went to try doing it in the middle of the netting, which everyone knows is the hardest part to climb, and that you should always go for one of the edges so that it is easier and quicker.

The other day, they were given rifles, and were told to crawl on their bellies under ten meters of barbed wire on the muddy ground. I had seen Steve struggle to keep up with the rest of the men. One of the men had turned over and kicked one of the wooden poles holding up the barbed wire, trapping my brother in a net of spikes. That time, Colonel Phillips had refused to let Peggy help him out, and Steve emerged covered in scratches and gashes, his uniform speckled with blood. The training officer had helped him out, but had screamed at and lectured him, which hurt everyone's ears, including my own.

Today, they were on a run around the camp; Peggy and I sat in a jeep with another officer beside her. She had been glancing down at all of the notes she had taken on the candidates: there were two more tasks for them to complete before a decision had to be made. "Pick up the pace, ladies! Let's go, let's go! Double time!" The training officer screamed at the tops of his lungs. I'm surprised that over the last week he hasn't screamed himself hoarse, given how much he has done. "Come on! Faster! Faster!" Eager to see my brother again, I turned around rapidly in my seat, my braided hair whipping around from my left shoulder, across the back of my neck, and onto my right. Peggy and the officer also did this, but slower, and in a bit more of a dignified manner.

The candidates quickly jogged along the path towards us, their feet stomping on the dirt and dust, kicking it up with each step. "Move! Move!" The training officer screeched, before appearing to have changed his mind. "Squad, halt!" Rounding a corner, they slowed to a stop, unknowingly allowing Steve an opportunity to catch up. To their right, stood a flagpole that reached 20 feet in the air, the fabric of the flag embellished with the training camp's logo, name, and some dates that I couldn't read. We remained on the troops's left, and as the training officer continued to scream at them, I noticed some of the candidates oggle at Peggy. I wrinkled my nose at them, feeling self conscious as they began darting their piggy eyes over at me as well.

"That flag" The officer shouted, pointing up at the worn, yet embellished flag that drifted in the light breeze, the candidates attention yanked back over to him. "Means we're only at the halfway point. First man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Carter." Steve caught my attention again, as he stood wheezing, doubled-over. Clearly, no one was taking his asthma into account, and i swung back around to meet Peggy's gaze.

"Steve," I began, worry digging a toxic pit in my stomach. "His asthma, I think he's struggling to breathe." Peggy took my hand in hers as she placed her clipboard down on her lap, and rubbed it reassuringly with her thumb.

"I'm sure he's going to be ok. He's smarter than all of the other brutes over there." She smiled, as the officer next to her squinted into the sun. "He'll be the one to get the ride back to the camp, you'll see." Silently, I prayed to God that she'd be right, as I swivelled reluctantly back round to see what was happening over at the flagpole. Sure enough, Steve was beginning to straighten back up, grinning in disbelief as he looked at the height of the flag.