Page 7
Story: Orders and Obsessions
“Halt!” Mason yelled, and everyone stopped in a straight line. He turned to me, and I remembered my manners. I stood up straight and looked ahead, with my four fingers on my forehead in a salute. Damn, I’m doing great today.
Mason said in a deep voice that was loud enough for all seven continents to hear, “You’re late Rivers.”
I noticed that he was calling me by my last name again instead of my first name, like he did last night.
“Sir, yes sir?” I said, but it sounded more like a question than an answer.
“Drop and give me twenty.” I laughed out loud, and people behind him looked at me in shock.
“Wait, you’re not kidding?” He leaned in close to my face. Nose to nose. Eye to eye. Lips to—I’d like that.
“Does it look like I’m joking, Rivers? Drop and give me twenty right here, right now.” He yelled at me so loudly that it scared me. I got down on my knees.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
I pushed my body up and down like a baby. I had no strength in my arms and could barely do a push-up. He watched me struggle, my face getting redder and redder, my arms shaking, and I was having trouble breathing.
Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.
I could feel my body getting heavier and heavier because I wasn’t fit. The push-ups I did started to look like belly flops. Every time I did a push-up, I fell to the ground. He made me keep going, though, and it was very embarrassing for me.
Eleven. 12. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen.
My hands hurt because of the pressure of the grass underneath, and my wrists hurt because of how hard I was holding my body. I gritted my teeth and clenched my jaw as I tried to get through the last obstacle.
Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty.
I jumped up and looked at the piles of people who had stopped. Luckily, their eyes were forced to stay looking ahead. Thank goodness they didn’t see me try to do push-ups badly. Mason, on the other hand, looked as serious as always.
“That was pathetic. Get in line,” he said in a mean way. I tightened my belt and fell in line, marching to the sound of his constant call.
He led us to a lake that looked like a swamp and smelt like dirty water. There were two ropes over the water, one high and one low.
“Cross the lake,” he yelled.
Mason told us to go across based on where we lived. We watched as people slowly crossed the lake, holding onto the top rope and keeping their feet steady on the lower rope. The ropes moved, but it was all about controlling your mind and working together as a team to keep the ropes as steady as possible. Most people were able to cross the lake without falling in.
“Good job,” Mason said.
Then it was our turn.
Maddie was the first to step on the rope, and she only moved a little to the left. After that, Sierra went up, then Amber, and finally Raven. I joined in the middle, and Zoila and Elise came after me. It was very hard, but we were doing well and got halfway there pretty quickly.
Mason stomped on the lower rope with his foot, which made the rope move all over the place.
“What’s wrong, ladies? Are we feeling a little weak today?” he joked.
Amber grabbed Raven, who grabbed me, and before I knew it, we all fell like a stack of dominoes. Jumping into the dirty water below.
“Climb out, you failed,” Mason yelled, his voice full of anger but his face showing that he was having fun.
“It’s no surprise we failed! What the hell? You did that on purpose,” I yelled as I pushed my way through the wreckage to get to him. There were a few gasps from the groups, and Amber put her hand on my arm to try to stop me.
Mason yelled, “Rivers, drop and give me twenty.”
“No!” I said back.
He took his walkie-talkie out of his pants and spoke into it. “Red dog is calling for black sparrow.”
A response came right away. “This is a black sparrow answering a red dog’s call.”
“General, I need a disciplinary for Rivers right away,” Mason said in a calm and professional tone. He looked down at the floor and told me again to drop and give him twenty. “Do I need to write two disciplinary slips for Rivers?” I shook my head. “Then drop and give me twenty.” I looked down and didn’t look him in the eye.
“Sir, yes sir.” I said, and then I dropped to the floor and gave him twenty. I was miserable because my body hurt, I was wet with smelly water, and I was generally miserable.
But what really bothered me was that he had actually punished me. That was something the judge gave me, and if I got three of them, I would go to jail right away.
He let all of us go home after another long day in the field.
“Rivers, thirty laps.” I stood at the starting line and didn’t look up to see his face. And in a matter of seconds, I was running, and with each step, I could hear the squelch of my sock inside my boot.
I wanted to cry, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. He didn’t walk or run with me today; he just stood back and clicked a dumb thing to count how many laps I did.
My thighs hurt from the wetness of my trousers, and my body felt heavier because of the wet clothes I was wearing, but I wasn’t going to let Lieutenant Arsehole see me fail. I ran away from him without looking at him or trying to talk to him. I just pushed through my laps, quietly and painfully.
“Riley,” he said, and hearing my name on his lips made me so angry that I could feel my blood boiling.
I said sharply, “You don’t get to call me that.” I think he was a little surprised by my outburst, but his face stayed the same as always.
“Rivers,” he said, standing up straight. I looked down at him and treated him like my Lieutenant because that’s all he was. He let out a big breath. “I’m just doing my job.” He tried to smile a little, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“I’ve done my thirty. Can I go?” He nodded his head quietly, so I turned away from him and walked across the track. I felt his hand on my arm as I reached the door.
“Wait.” I turned back to him, but then I remembered I wasn’t supposed to look at him, so I looked down. “I—” I waited for him to say something, but there was only the sound of the wind blowing in the quiet. He sighed again and said, “Never mind.”
I turned my back on him and went to the living quarters, where I really needed a shower.
The assault course was really the devil’s playground, and you don’t want to mess with the devil at six in the morning when you haven’t been up long.
Mason said in a deep voice that was loud enough for all seven continents to hear, “You’re late Rivers.”
I noticed that he was calling me by my last name again instead of my first name, like he did last night.
“Sir, yes sir?” I said, but it sounded more like a question than an answer.
“Drop and give me twenty.” I laughed out loud, and people behind him looked at me in shock.
“Wait, you’re not kidding?” He leaned in close to my face. Nose to nose. Eye to eye. Lips to—I’d like that.
“Does it look like I’m joking, Rivers? Drop and give me twenty right here, right now.” He yelled at me so loudly that it scared me. I got down on my knees.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
I pushed my body up and down like a baby. I had no strength in my arms and could barely do a push-up. He watched me struggle, my face getting redder and redder, my arms shaking, and I was having trouble breathing.
Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten.
I could feel my body getting heavier and heavier because I wasn’t fit. The push-ups I did started to look like belly flops. Every time I did a push-up, I fell to the ground. He made me keep going, though, and it was very embarrassing for me.
Eleven. 12. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fifteen.
My hands hurt because of the pressure of the grass underneath, and my wrists hurt because of how hard I was holding my body. I gritted my teeth and clenched my jaw as I tried to get through the last obstacle.
Sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen. Twenty.
I jumped up and looked at the piles of people who had stopped. Luckily, their eyes were forced to stay looking ahead. Thank goodness they didn’t see me try to do push-ups badly. Mason, on the other hand, looked as serious as always.
“That was pathetic. Get in line,” he said in a mean way. I tightened my belt and fell in line, marching to the sound of his constant call.
He led us to a lake that looked like a swamp and smelt like dirty water. There were two ropes over the water, one high and one low.
“Cross the lake,” he yelled.
Mason told us to go across based on where we lived. We watched as people slowly crossed the lake, holding onto the top rope and keeping their feet steady on the lower rope. The ropes moved, but it was all about controlling your mind and working together as a team to keep the ropes as steady as possible. Most people were able to cross the lake without falling in.
“Good job,” Mason said.
Then it was our turn.
Maddie was the first to step on the rope, and she only moved a little to the left. After that, Sierra went up, then Amber, and finally Raven. I joined in the middle, and Zoila and Elise came after me. It was very hard, but we were doing well and got halfway there pretty quickly.
Mason stomped on the lower rope with his foot, which made the rope move all over the place.
“What’s wrong, ladies? Are we feeling a little weak today?” he joked.
Amber grabbed Raven, who grabbed me, and before I knew it, we all fell like a stack of dominoes. Jumping into the dirty water below.
“Climb out, you failed,” Mason yelled, his voice full of anger but his face showing that he was having fun.
“It’s no surprise we failed! What the hell? You did that on purpose,” I yelled as I pushed my way through the wreckage to get to him. There were a few gasps from the groups, and Amber put her hand on my arm to try to stop me.
Mason yelled, “Rivers, drop and give me twenty.”
“No!” I said back.
He took his walkie-talkie out of his pants and spoke into it. “Red dog is calling for black sparrow.”
A response came right away. “This is a black sparrow answering a red dog’s call.”
“General, I need a disciplinary for Rivers right away,” Mason said in a calm and professional tone. He looked down at the floor and told me again to drop and give him twenty. “Do I need to write two disciplinary slips for Rivers?” I shook my head. “Then drop and give me twenty.” I looked down and didn’t look him in the eye.
“Sir, yes sir.” I said, and then I dropped to the floor and gave him twenty. I was miserable because my body hurt, I was wet with smelly water, and I was generally miserable.
But what really bothered me was that he had actually punished me. That was something the judge gave me, and if I got three of them, I would go to jail right away.
He let all of us go home after another long day in the field.
“Rivers, thirty laps.” I stood at the starting line and didn’t look up to see his face. And in a matter of seconds, I was running, and with each step, I could hear the squelch of my sock inside my boot.
I wanted to cry, but I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. He didn’t walk or run with me today; he just stood back and clicked a dumb thing to count how many laps I did.
My thighs hurt from the wetness of my trousers, and my body felt heavier because of the wet clothes I was wearing, but I wasn’t going to let Lieutenant Arsehole see me fail. I ran away from him without looking at him or trying to talk to him. I just pushed through my laps, quietly and painfully.
“Riley,” he said, and hearing my name on his lips made me so angry that I could feel my blood boiling.
I said sharply, “You don’t get to call me that.” I think he was a little surprised by my outburst, but his face stayed the same as always.
“Rivers,” he said, standing up straight. I looked down at him and treated him like my Lieutenant because that’s all he was. He let out a big breath. “I’m just doing my job.” He tried to smile a little, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“I’ve done my thirty. Can I go?” He nodded his head quietly, so I turned away from him and walked across the track. I felt his hand on my arm as I reached the door.
“Wait.” I turned back to him, but then I remembered I wasn’t supposed to look at him, so I looked down. “I—” I waited for him to say something, but there was only the sound of the wind blowing in the quiet. He sighed again and said, “Never mind.”
I turned my back on him and went to the living quarters, where I really needed a shower.
The assault course was really the devil’s playground, and you don’t want to mess with the devil at six in the morning when you haven’t been up long.