Page 76 of Remade

Stay hydrated, stay dry.

I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulders.

Two weeks. Eight recruits. Four giant sectors. Seven checkpoints where we’d collect markers. If we missed one, we were out. If we accidentally crossed the border into Colombia, we’d be airlifted out of there and sent home.

We’d be wearing trackers with distress signals and beacons so that the instructors could keep an eye on our whereabouts and our heart rates, but if we needed to be rescued, that was still hours away. We would, however, be able to contact fellow recruits, ’cause chances were they’d be closer. Though, that function was mostly in place so we could avoid one another. We weren’t allowed to team up for anything, and a signal would go off if we were within a hundred meters of one another at any point.

Standing by the window in front of my nightstand, I peered out over the courtyard in the pale predawn light, and I figured Bo would be up soon. He and the other senior operators had prep to do before we were off.

Two more weeks, and then I’d be an operator. It was fucking surreal. But I was so ready for that chapter to begin. Operator Watts…

I chewed on the inside of my cheek and retrieved my phone, and I reread the messages I’d received last night. My whole family. Well, those who knew what was going on.

Remember to stay dry and hydrated at all times. Boil the water twice and use the water filtration system without fail. You got this, son. If Gray can gettime off work, we’ll fly out to see you in DC once you rotate home. –Darius

Good luck down there, kid. We’re thinking about you. Trust your gut and listen to your body. You only get one. –Ethan

If you have the energy, sleep off the ground. Trees are safer. Use the netting. Stay dry. And even though you’ll be eager to get to the next marker as soon as you leave camp in the morning, do yourself a favor, take an hour or two to fill your hydration pack with clean water. You’ll need a minimum of one gallon per day. More water, fewer headaches and less dizziness. Dehydration is the first attack against you. Don’t let it fucking win. Oh, and tend to every cut, no matter how small. An exposed wound in that environment is like begging for an infection that your tiny cache of antibiotics can’t fix. Be safe, and we love you. –Ryan

My brothers are being too vague about something, but apparently you’re off on some exercise that’s part of your training? Since I don’t know what it’s about, I’ll tell you what Jake used to say when I was little. Read the room before you enter it, always bring clean underwear, and you may catch more flies with honey than vinegar, but shit also works. Good luck, and I hope I’ll see you again soon. –Lias

Consider my home office a remote command center. I’ll be keeping close tabs. Be safe or else. –Willow

I smiled to myself and pocketed my phone.

“Nervous?”

“Sh-yeah.” I couldn’t describe how much.

I trailed down the stoop steps to the gravel courtyard, and I breathed in the misty morning air.

Bo finished his coffee and left the mug on the stoop. “Remember, if you can’t wear the tracker around your wrist for some reason, place it around your ankle.”

“Yessir.”

With the rest of the recruits finishing up breakfast, they headed out to the courtyard too, backpacks ready for inspection.

Rose, Payne, Riggs, and Coach came out too.

It might be the first time no recruit had something to say. Including Tanner. Maybe we were all busy letting the oatmeal and anxiety battle it up in our stomachs. Oatmeal, chicken, raspberries, eggs, and peanut butter for breakfast was going to last us through the day, hopefully.

Miguel was the only one who looked somewhat excited. His biggest worry had been final testing, and once he’d received his stamp of approval, he could relax. The physical stuff didn’t seem like much of a challenge to him.

The testing hadn’t bothered me too much, except for the medical part. Field medicine and whatnot. That’d been difficult.

I’d known from the beginning that Hillcroft didn’t accept recruits who were on required medication. Whether someone was allergic to pollen or peanuts or…whatever. Simply because access to medicine couldn’t always be guaranteed, and an allergic reaction could jeopardize an operation. But the course we’d completed now, with the final exams taking place here in Ecuador, had covered way more than that. For instance,operators couldn’t even bring vitamins or their own deodorant on assignments, because fucking everything could be used to map out their lives in the event of a hostage situation. If I suffered from dry elbows, I should pick up a local product—definitely not bring anything from home—that was used to treat something similar, to throw off a potential captor’s quest for clues.

Originally, I had expected field medicine to be about how to treat gunshot wounds and fractures, and while we’d certainly covered that too, it was much more. Nutrition, profiling within medicine, nature’s own pharmacy—the list went on, and yeah, I’d been nervous about that exam.

Even so, nothing compared to what we were about to embark on. If I failed these next two weeks… It’d be a year for nothing. A year wasted. More than that, it would knock me the fuck down.

“You got this, pup.” Bo draped an arm around my shoulders, and we stayed back a little while everyone else moved to the center of the courtyard. “We’ve given you every tool you’ll need to pass.”

That may be.

Some would still fail.

In the history of final selection at this place, no class had ever returned without a few dropouts.

---