“Don’t worry about Reese, Sir. He’ll be here.” Andrews assured his boss.
“I hope you’re right about him, John.” The Colonel knew his second in command was high on the inexperienced recruit.
“The kid’s C.O. told me that Reese is the most capable young soldier he’s ever trained,” Andrews added.
Hawthorne continued to worry, though, and resumed pacing. Reese had proven himself to be more than just promising over the past few weeks. However, Hawthorne had witnessed other very good candidates get scrubbed from the program, or worse. Five years earlier a pack of arctic wolves had taken the life of an injured recruit. That had haunted him, even more than losing a man on a mission. There are many more dangerous hazards here in the Arctic besides wolves. Sudden deep crevices could appear in glaciers, avalanches, blizzards and the world’s most powerful land carnivore, the Polar Bear, prowled these parts.
He lifted the binoculars and scanned the horizon once again. Then something caught his eye. He adjusted the focus. “Son of a bitch!” he muttered, stopping in his tracks. “Son of a bitch!” the Colonel repeated loudly as he shook his head in disbelief.
“What is it, Sir?”
He handed Andrews the binoculars and pointed directly east. Andrews gently swung the glasses back and forth before settling on a muted white blob. It looked out of place in the stark sea of snow and ice. It also appeared to be moving. For a few seconds the soldier thought he was looking at a Polar Bear in the distance.
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