about the obstacle course and the rules they must follow. All members of each group must cross the finish line. No one could be left behind. Each group of twelve men must finish with their team. The only catch was that one of them had to cross the finish line as clean as when he started.
That shouldn’t be so hard, Em thought. We have eleven others to carry one man. As long as we work as a team, it should not be entirely difficult.
The surprise that awaited them just across the flight line was the muddiest obstacle course any one of them had ever seen. Just to reach the first wall, they had to make their way through what looked to be a very deep mud pit. The only real rules were that every man had to go over every wall and one man was to remain clean. Em immediately chose Koval to be his “clean one.” His group was in luck because Koval was the smallest man in formation. Two groups had thirteen men, so his team had another advantage. Em looked at Corby’s group and saw that he organized his team into two separate teams, one group responsible for carrying the load and the other group for keeping it clean. Em copied his friend. Before he was quite satisfied with his choices, Cannon roared, “Teams to the starting line!”
As soon as the starting gun was fired, all four teams hoisted their cargo onto their collective shoulders. Em stayed in front of his group, trying to ensure that everything went the way they had hastily planned. He held his arms high over his head to keep them clean in case he had to lift. He told everyone else to do the same. He entered the first mud pit. He estimated it to be twenty-five feet across. The first two carriers stepped in after him. As Em walked backward in the mud, trying to assess the situation, it soon reached his knees. Morris was holding Koval’s head and shoulders, and Hamilton had his torso. Jack had one leg, and Smith had the other. The rest of Em’s team surrounded these four, ready for any impending disaster. When Morris’s foot became lodged in the mud, he dropped Koval’s head. Before any of the emergency team had a chance to assist, Jack was under Koval and supported most of his weight. They did not resume moving until reinforcements supported Koval. Very carefully, they proceeded, no one moving forward unless everyone had lifted his foot first. Em saw Corby’s team beginning to climb out of the pit. Two members of team were already scaling the first six-foot wall.
When McAtee, who had replaced Morris, holding Koval’s head, reached the point where he had to climb, he lost control of Koval’s head. Em made a mental note to himself: biggest would not necessarily mean strongest. Jack, in an instant, supported Koval’s entire weight. He held Koval on his shoulders as Hamilton climbed out of the pit. The other team members lifted Koval from Jack’s shoulders and raised him above their heads. Em noticed three of his team members already had muddy hands. They were desperately trying to find a place on their fatigues to wipe their hands. Em told them to stay out of the way unless they were needed.
As soon as Em’s first two were over the wall, he noticed Corby’s last man going over. He hadn’t had time to see how they managed to get their cargo over. The other two teams were dead even with Em and his team. The three lagging teams were trying to figure out how to accomplish their new obstacle. Jack took over from there.
Em stood at the bottom of the wall and watched as Jack pulled Koval to the top. There he sat until the rest of them made it over. Once all twelve were on the other side and Koval was back over their heads, they proceeded to the next obstacle. In front of them were two bridges, spanning over another mud pit. This one looked a little larger than the first. One bridge was covered in mud where Corby’s team had crossed. The other was clean if they could reach it first. Both bridges were about six feet above the pit.
Jack stepped up again. “We have to go over the one on the right; this one is all muddy,” he said. The first thing they did was set Koval onto the bridge. This was accomplished with little effort. Now Koval had to walk across without falling off. This would prove to be rather nerve-racking because the span was a mere four-inches wide. Em sent two of his men into the pit so that Koval would have something to use as support in case he faltered. Koval stepped onto the span and immediately began to wobble. His arms were dancing around as if they had minds of their own. He took a step forward and righted himself. Em told him to slow down and be careful. Once on the other side, he had to stand on a small platform to let three men pass him. These men climbed down and hoisted Koval into the air once more. Em was the last of his team to cross. He had to wonder how the other teams were going to cross the muddy beams. He never looked back. He had to catch up to Corby’s team. He made a quick survey of his team. The only ones who were somewhat clean were Jack, Hamilton, Smith, and himself. Everyone else looked as if they had had a mud fight.
Next, they had to make their way through a rope maze. In some places, they had to support Koval only inches from the ground. Jack had proven to be worth his weight in hold. He continued to support most of Koval’s weight alone. His team seemed to be working well, but Em saw Corby’s team finishing the rope maze. He knew he would have to push his team if they were going to catch up. Em climbed through rope after rope, holding the ropes so they would not touch Koval. The ropes had been coated with creosote to keep them from rotting. If the ropes were touched in any way, they left stains on the clothes.
When they crawled through the last set of ropes and stood on the other side, they decided to take another survey. Jack, Smith, and Hamilton put Koval down on a tree stump and examined him. So far, he had remained unscathed. The three of them only remained clean from the waist up. Em was relatively clean above his knees. Em thought that the most critical part of the course was surely ahead of them, so he had everyone wipe their hands on the grass. Em looked ahead to see where Corby’s team was. Only half of his team had completed the next obstacle. Em felt for sure that his team still had time to overtake them.
The next obstacle was over two hundred yards away. Em could see the last of Corby’s team starting to propel themselves onto the wall. He wondered why they had not gotten over it yet. Once his team got closer, he understood what the problem was. The wall was at least ten or twelve feet high. As they approached, Em had Jack maneuver Koval so he sat on Smith’s shoulders with his feet resting on Hamilton’s shoulders, keeping his feet from the muddy fatigues. Jack told Em to get on someone’s shoulders and climb to the top of the wall. From there, he could assist everyone else up. One by one, they ascended the wall. Em looked at the other wall and saw Corby’s team trying to lower their cargo to the other side. They were definitely catching up. He rallied his men to go faster, and when they lowered Koval on the other side, Em saw that they were almost even with Corby and his team. If they made no mistakes from here on, they should be able to pull ahead. Em continued to walk behind Jack and Smith. Jack had stepped up the pace a little. The next obstacle was still not in sight. The hill in front of them was obstacle enough. It was at least a quarter of a mile to the top. If they continued their pace, they would overtake Corby’s team before they reached the top.
The front seven on Em’s team disappeared from his view as they made their way over the crest of the hill. Jack and Smith soon reached the top. Koval started to complain. Jack told him to shut his piehole. Em saw that Koval had no intention of speaking again. Their team had finally overtaken Corby’s team. Em could see them right behind and still looking strong. Any good feelings he had disappeared as soon as he saw their next obstacle. Directly in front of him, in the middle of the path, were two small towers made of wood. There were pulleys and cables attached at the top. The cables descended to the bottom of the hill, which looked to be over two or three hundred feet. At the bottom, he saw yet another mud pit. This one was the mother of all mud pits. It looked as if the cable descended directly into the pit. On the bottom of each tower were simple instructions: cargo must descend by cable.
Rather simple, he thought. They unloaded Koval onto tower 1. He climbed to the top and strapped himself into the harness. Em and Jack climbed up to help. “Koval, don’t do anything stupid! Just wait and take your time. Remember, if there’s any mud whatsoever, this will have all been for nothing.” Em felt like there had to be a way to descend slowly and carefully. He looked all around him. Koval’s harness, a two-foot cable with two metal loops, was the only thing on the tower. Only one person could descend by cable. The cable looked
