studiobondurri Chapter 180: Ch.179 Dr. Erskine
Chapter 180: Ch.179 Dr. Erskine
Chapter 180: Ch.179 Dr. Erskine
Thanks to the exhibition, this recruitment center was a bit more entertaining than the ones Steve Rogers had visited before. Not only were there advanced display screens playing promotional videos in the hallways, but there were also various things meant for amusement and photo opportunities.
For instance, there were large photo cutouts with a hole where the character's face would be, allowing people to stick their heads through and take pictures as if they were the character.
But Steve was too short. He watched as others enjoyed taking pictures, laughing as they posed. When he tried, the only thing visible was the tip of his head.
With a sigh, Steve shook his head, collected himself, and continued toward the section where the real recruitment medical exams took place.
"Many have sacrificed their lives for this. I have no right to do less. I just need a chance to prove myself," he muttered, his eyes filled with determination, as if giving himself a pep talk. His resolve to fight the fascists only grew stronger, never wavering.
Su Ming had told him to simply be himself and stay true to his heart, and that would be enough.
As he moved through the crowd in the hallway, his frail body appeared like a small boat adrift on the vast ocean, yet he remained composed.
Unbeknownst to him, a bald, bespectacled older man, standing a short distance away, had overheard Steve's words. He observed Steve with a satisfied look, his eyes wandering over him in an appraising manner.
A few minutes later, Steve sat in the examination room, nervously waiting for the army doctor to conduct his medical checkup. He had removed his shoes and jacket, sitting on the edge of the bed.
A nurse entered the room, whispering something into the doctor's ear.
The doctor nodded, set down his instruments, and turned to leave. "Wait here," he said.
"What? Did something happen?" Steve asked, confused.
"Just wait," the doctor replied without expression as he walked out, the heavy curtain separating Steve from the outside world once again.
Now Steve was starting to panic. His eyes fell on the poster on the wall behind him, which read: *Falsifying recruitment information is illegal.*
*Have they found out?*
He remembered Bucky's warnings—how he should stop trying to enlist under false identities. Bucky had said that prisons were full of tall, tattooed thugs who liked scrawny, pale guys like him. They'd treat him like their "b*tch," and do all sorts of horrible things...
Steve shuddered, his mind racing. He could already imagine himself being passed around by a group of big guys like a doll in a dark, dreary place.
"This file might not be entirely accurate," Steve stammered, squirming slightly in his seat, desperately trying to cover for himself.
Dr. Erskine snapped the file shut. He knew the information was accurate. The Strategic Scientific Reserve's intelligence was always precise.
The long list of medical conditions on the file was real. This sickly young man had indeed tried several times to enlist, risking prison with each attempt.
"I don't care about the test results," Dr. Erskine said, waving off the file. "I'm more interested in the number—five times. You tried five times. Why?"
Steve was at a loss for words. They had all his false records right there—undeniable evidence.
Dr. Erskine walked back over to Steve, staring into his eyes. The young man's gaze didn't show hatred, but something was clearly driving him to get to the battlefield.
"You still haven't answered my question. Do you want to kill Nazis?" Dr. Erskine asked.
Steve frowned slightly. "Is this a test?"
"Yes, it is," the doctor responded, observing Steve's face, which looked just as pale as it had under the soft yellow lights of the room.
Steve paused for a moment. By all rights, the answer he should give was, *Yes, I want to kill our enemies.*
Even General Halsey in the Pacific had famously declared, "Kill Japs, kill more Japs, and then kill even more Japs!" He'd even said, "Soon, Japanese will only be spoken in hell."
Such statements were well-loved by the military. After all, the job of soldiers was to kill the enemy.
But those words didn't feel like his answer. His own heart wasn't like that.
He wanted to stop the pain that war brought to people. He wanted to end the war. Maybe he would kill, but only for the sake of a better future.
So, Steve shook his head, choosing his words carefully. He looked directly into the doctor's eyes and gave his honest answer.
"I don't like killing. I don't like bullets, and I don't care where they come from."
Dr. Erskine pressed his lips together, raising his eyebrows in a relaxed expression, though Steve wasn't sure what that meant.