To my left, a drawer opened and closed, and the squeakiness of the old wooden dresser cracked my eyes open. I looked around for a few seconds, but everything was blurry and unnoticeable. The whispers of the night floated around the air, and the taste of adventure was on the tip of my tongue. Groggily, I climbed out of bed, bumping my head on the cold metal above me. As I stood in my oversized Tshirt the masses around me were slipping into bathing suits. My eyes finally adjusted and I checked the time. The numbers 3:10 glared back at me.  I caught Caroline by the arm and asked what was going on. Her reply of “get into your bathing suit,” left me aggravated with still no clue of why. Since I had woken up late, the ten girls around me were waiting for me to change. I quickly slipped into my black one piece, and hopped into the straight line we were ordered to make. We followed the three officers, marching forward. As I stepped outside, the cool moist air of the july night hit my bare arms, back, and legs. In my head I marched:

Left
Right
Left
Right
Left
Right

Sudden, we drew near the enemy forces, and lowered our voices. The night guard on duty was the vicious Sharon. She was the most ruthless and skilled of them all and it was rumored that she captured rebels and tortured them by taking away their candy. The loud slaps of the flip flops were muffled by shuffling feet in seconds, and we passed with ease through the her region. Having escaped danger, we marched on with wonder in our eyes. We were still in the dark about our destination.

Were we bombing the opponents with toilet paper? Stalking up on supplies from the kitchen? Practicing our strength skills and embarking on an early morning workout? Why were we in bathing suits?

Finally, we arrived at the gates of the mystery. We’d been here before, but at this time of day, the whistling and splashing of the day had past. In front of us now stood a location of serenity and mischief. As our leading spy fought her way over the surrounding fence and picked the lock, we hustled inside. The officers gave the orders,
Stay where I can see you.

If down in the dark unknown, we could get lost. Lose track of time. And never come up.
     2) Be as quiet as possible.
The enemy could awaken at any moment, and we didn't want to give clues to where we were.
    3) Don’t tell anyone about this mission.
(It Is to be kept within our troop for eternity.)

Once the rules were stated, we joined hands and melted into the calmness. Diving in with the excitement of adventure, our eleven year old brains couldn’t handle the wildness of what was occurring. I turned onto my back and gazed up. The sparkling white dots formed a U shape, with a handle. I’d been told this was called the big dipper. I could see it  rested above my barrack every night, next to it Orion, standing tall and confident. I liked to believe he was hunting for ice cream to eat out of the dipper.

I was drawn out of my haze as the shrills and screams around me came closer, and Floating next to me was my comrade Annie.

“Tag you're it!”
      

I wanted to join my team in the games of the water but I couldn't stop thinking about the complexity of the sky. Looking Up I said, “Do you ever think about what's beyond our vision?”

“Uh….”

“Never mind, Tag Back” I said.
      

I stayed on my back, as she realized I didn’t want to play and left. After about 20 minutes, we prepared to go back. We marched through the enemy zone for a second time with ease, already being skilled professionals. Once back in the barrack we changed out of the wet bathing suits, and crawled back into the safety of cushions and warmth. I fell asleep to the hope that the morning wouldn’t remember the night.

The sun was shining and the smell of french toast sticks wafted from the kitchen. The events of the night before where not to be talked about, but in the eyes of the ten soldiers and their officers, you could see they had experienced something amazing and had created an unbreakable bond.