I watched and played GI Joe as a child. Now as I write, I see that it not only enriched my imagination as a child, but impacted me so much that as an adult they live in my imagination today. This story is something I have been working on for a while. It developed out of real memories of my brothers and I playing GI Joe when we were kids. Perhaps you can relate…
I'd love to hear some of your stories.
Thank you Larry Hama and Sunbow writers for such vivid and happy childhood memories!
Notes: Flint quotes Wade Davis, an MLB player, in this chapter.
I went back and made changes to the dialogue and word choice in some areas to improve the flow and continuity.
All hero quotes are taken from the online Hero Quote-Brainy Quote website.
The youth, intoxicated with his admiration of a hero, fails to see, that it is only a projection of his own soul, which he admires.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
If I were the blushing kind, I would blush to be called a hero.
- Aung San Suu Kyi
"All Joes, pull back! To the transports! Retreat! I repeat, retreat!"
"Retreat!," the command echoed through the ranks.
"Retreat!," followed by the hollow pounding of boots on dry earth, clouds of dust following at their heels.
"Retreat!"
They were the words no Joe ever wanted to hear.
The heatwaves from the hot July sun rose and drifted in the distance, blurring the view. The air smelled of stale barbecue grills, hot brittle grasses and the acrid sulphur of explosives and gun powder, like the smoky aftermath of Independence Day celebrations.
Lady Jaye stumbled forward, her steps on the pavement heavy with fatigue. Her right arm rested in a fresh sling, a stark contrast to her face and body streaked with the dirt and dust of battle. Scarlet, her own smaller injuries also freshly bandaged, walked beside her, an arm wrapped tightly around Lady Jaye's waist. They leaned heavily on one another in support.
In the chaos left behind them, Doc and Lifeline ran a makeshift infirmary, barking orders to the Green Shirt medics, nearly overwhelmed as they treated the numerous injured and wounded Joes. The dead would have to wait.
The Joe women continued their slow uphill climb toward the point of rendezvous. Once there, they met up with the rest of the Command Team. Flint, Duke and Snake Eyes were also the worse for wear, their uniforms torn and dirty, their battered bodies marked with minor cuts and abrasions. Considering what they had just gone through, it was truly a miracle that none of them had been severely injured.
As the two women came into view, Flint's eyes were instantly drawn to Lady Jaye. His gaze quickly took in her torn and dusty BDU's, mussed hair, dirt smudged cheeks and then stopped to linger on her bandaged arm. She had been injured. He growled softly, taking hurried steps toward her, worry and anger fighting for dominance in his eyes.
"You were hurt," he took a slow breath, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart as he pulled her close. Despite accepting the dangers that went along with their job, it always angered and frightened him when she was injured, no matter how small. She understood this and relaxed willingly in his embrace, burying her head in his broad chest. It had frightened her, too. Right now, she needed to feel his arms around her. To have him hold her. To feel safe and protected.
"You Ok?" he whispered, inhaling the lingering familiar scent of her shampoo mixed with the less pleasant smells of sweat, pain and fear. They both knew he wasn't asking about her injury.
"Yes," came the whisper.
"You sure?" he insisted, already knowing she was not.
Lady Jaye had never been able to keep up pretences with Flint nor was she able to now. With him only, she had found her heart open and vulnerable in way that it was with no one else. From past experience she knew it was impossible to hide anything from him. Tears, of their own accord, began running down her cheeks. She stopped fighting and let them fall.
"No," she admitted softly, "Not really," and with the flood came release.
He swallowed back the growing lump in his own throat, wishing he could take her pain as his finger traced the warm tears streaming down her cheeks. Instead, he heaved a heavy sigh. Wrapping his arms even more tightly around her, he held her firmly against his chest, so close they could feel the beating of one another's heart. Her anguished cries were muffled in his strong embrace.
Scarlet, only a few steps behind Jaye, was quickly losing the battle with her own emotions. Silent tears slid down her face, one after another. Duke gently but firmly pulled her, trembling, into his strong arms. He held on to her as she clung to him, sobbing.
The three men looked from one to the other helplessly, their raised eyebrows the only indication of their surprise. It was completely unheard of for Scarlet, Lady Jaye or for that matter, even Cover Girl, to break down and lose control like this in front of them. The Joe women were strong, stronger than most men. When they did give in to their tears, it was always in private, never where they could be seen by others.
But this battle had been bad.
The Joes had marched onto the battlefield fearlessly, brave soldiers with their heads held high, but Cobra had set a trap. Rows upon rows of fully armed Cobra soldiers were in waiting. The Joes never stood a chance. Cobra mowed them down effortlessly, levelling the town around them in the process, destroying the homes and lives of countless innocent civilians.
The Joes hadn't been able to defend the town or the townspeople against Cobra. They hadn't been able to stop Cobra's rapid advance. They had failed. Battered and bruised and defeated, they had been forced to retreat.
It had been very, very bad, indeed.
Duke and Flint held on to the women, murmuring words of encouragement, waiting for the storm to pass. In this present moment, it was the only comfort they could offer.
The small rural town before them continued on as before, oblivious to the altercation between the Joes and Cobra that had occurred during the night just mere miles from their border, oblivious to the terrible beating the Joes had experienced. To them it was just another hot, lazy summer day.
"chi…ka, chi…ka, chi…ka, tcheeeeeeeeeeee," A sprinkler head rotated slowly until it reached the end of it's revolution, then it hurried back to the point of start.
"Flint!," a girl in flip flops and cut off shorts dove behind a strategically placed wooden board, barely avoiding getting hit by the water spray of the sprinkler. "Look out!," she screamed. Her small nose was covered in summer freckles.
"Coming 'Lady Jaye'," a smaller boy's face lit up with a happy smile. "Pow, Pow, Pow," he yelled as he pointed his wooden 'gun' toward the enemy. Ducking and running from invisible enemies, he slid feet first next to the girl.
She flashed him a cheeky grin and jumped to her feet. Pulling back her arm, she threw a stick like a javelin. It soared through the air, bouncing as it hit the ground. "Boom!" she yelled, "You're hamburger, Snakes!" she brushed her loose brown hair out of her face, tucking it smoothly behind her ear as she dropped down again.
"Good work, 'Lady Jaye'!" He gave her a high five. Then his eyes lit up as a new idea occurred to him. "Come on," he yelled, motioning to her to follow as he dropped to his hands and knees and began crawling low enough to avoid the stream of water spray. "This way!"
Crawling on hands and knees, she followed his lead.
Across the field, a second boy stood near the line of trees. He was wearing black shorts and a black t-shirt, hitting the side of a tree with a stick, then dodging and twisting away from an invisible opponent's sword. "Crack", he hit the side of the trunk again. "Yah!" he gave a yell that echoed back and forth between the nearby houses and trees. Then dropping his sword, he took a step backwards and began suddenly throwing punches and kicks at his imaginary foes. "Yah! Hi-Yah!" his loud voice rose even above the sounds of the sprinkler.
"Look, there's 'Snake Eyes'!" the girl elbowed the boy beside her and pointed. They rose from their knees and shared identical grins. Forgetting all about Cobra's 'machine gun,' they ran over to assist. Immediately all three began fighting and kicking imaginary foes.
"You're mine, Fang Breath!"
"Take that! Snake meat!"
"Joe's rule, Cobra's drool!"
The boy, 'Snake Eyes,' paused in his play for a moment to wipe the sweat running down his face. The sun was brilliant overhead. He squinted as he tried to look at his friends. "How come we always fight trees?" he sucked in his breath.
"Because no one wants to play Cobra," the girl answered wisely. "They always lose."
"Oh …," the boy nodded sagely. That made sense. Then, with a disappointed sigh, he turned his attention back to fighting trees.
"How in the world did Cobra get the jump on us?" Duke's face was livid, "We're Joes. This should never have happened. They set a trap for us and we just blindly walked into it."
Snake Eyes' clenched his fists tightly and gave a nod in agreement. His team had been one of the first out. He should've been able to warn the rest of the Joes, to stop them from walking into the trap, but even he hadn't been given time. His eyes blazed as a fierce anger warred within him. He couldn't say whether the anger was directed more towards Cobra or himself. Retreat had never settled well with him.
Duke shook his head slowly and continued in a hollow, defeated voice, "I don't think we've ever lost this badly."
Flint had been pacing back and forth during Duke's rant. His dark eyes rested for the moment on the still flushed and damp faces of Lady Jaye and Scarlet as they stood quietly to the side, arm in arm. He growled softly in anger, vowing to make Cobra pay for what they had done, the hurt they had caused.
His angry thoughts were interrupted by the prickling sensation of eyes on the back of his head. He turned suddenly and met Snake Eyes' cold stare. Almost imperceptibly, the black ninja gave a slight nod of his head.
Flint nodded in return, accepting the offer; they would pay Cobra back, together.
Two more neighbours came outside, having heard the noisy play of their friends.
"Yo Joe!," they yelled with a laugh, announcing their approach.
"Hi, 'Duke.' Hi, 'Scarlet'," the three heroes paused in their fighting and happily waved them over.
"Can we play, too?"
"Sure. We can all stomp some snake tails!," 'Snake Eyes' grinned wickedly and they all joined in, kicking and punching once again. The air was instantly filled with the five children's mingled screams and shouts and yells.
"Yo Joe!"
"Take that, Snake," 'Flint' kicked out.
"Hi, Yah!," a stick was swung through the air, making contact with a sharp crack against the tree. Slapping on a smile and blinking back tears, 'Snake Eyes' vigorously shook the sting out of his hand.
'Scarlet' did a cartwheel across the lawn and landed with a kick and a punch to the air.
"Cool, 'Scarlet'," 'Lady Jaye' watched her friend enviously, "That was so awesome!"
'Scarlet' looked at her and grinned. "It's easy. I'll teach you some time," she promised.
The younger 'Lady Jaye's' eyes lit up, "Wow, Really? Thanks! You're the best!"
The children's voices carried up the hill to where the Joes's were debriefing in the spotted shade of an olive grove. Disjointed bits and pieces of the children's play reached their ears. At first the Joes dismissed it. Then, one by one their eyes widened as the children's words began to take on meaning. The battle they were just discussing seemed to lose importance as more and more of the children's conversation reached her ears. Soon, forgetting everything else, they all turned toward the children playing below.
"'Duke', watch out!" a girl's high voice shrilled.
Duke moved close to the edge until he was standing shoulder to shoulder with Flint. "Well, what do you know…" his eyes lit up as he followed the young 'Duke.'
"'Flint', over here!" another young girl's voice carried over.
Flint's lips slowly curved into a lopsided grin. He cast a glance toward Lady Jaye who was still standing close to Scarlet. She was not smiling.
"I can't believe it," Scarlet spoke in soft wonder.
"They're…us." Duke's grin widened.
"'Scarlet', check this out!" 'Duke' yelled in a high voice as he jumped from a tree and landed in a spinning kick.
"Ha," the girl laughed, tossing a blond pony tail over her shoulder, "I could do that."
Scarlet turned to see Duke grinning at her. "She's certainly got you pegged," he chuckled.
Scarlet's cheeks flushed red. "Sure, Duke," she rolled her eyes. "And he's an exact copy of you," she countered with a smirk.
"Touché," he laughed, his eyes teasing.
Scarlet shook her head slowly and turned away. Eyes resting on the young girl once more, she allowed a small private smile to touch her lips.
We're… heroes. A smile formed under Snake Eye's rubber mask as he watched his young imitator. The young ninja had once again pulled out his sword stick and no longer content with trees, had begun attacking nearby bushes, sending innocent leaves scattering in all directions, still yelling at the top of his lungs. Snake Eyes crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a tree proudly. The kid showed potential.
The five Joes continued to watch the children playing their respective selves.
"We're heroes," Duke spoke in awe.
"Heroes," Scarlet repeated, her eyes wide.
Flint turned again toward Lady Jaye. She lifted her eyes slowly to meet his.
"Why us?," she shook her head in disbelief, "I don't understand. How could we be heroes?," she asked heavily.
"What do you mean?," Flint asked quickly in surprise.
She took a step back, swinging her good arm in a wide arc toward the direction where they had fought the last battle. "Flint, those people in that town over there,…. their homes were destroyed, innocent people lost their lives. Green Shirts gave their lives, and for what? We still couldn't defend them. They depended on us and we failed them. We're not heroes. We couldn't be," she finished adamantly.
Lady Jaye had been on the frontline, nearest the residential areas of the town. What she had witnessed there tore at her heart, searing itself into her memory. She had failed at stopping Cobra's advance. As she lay helpless on the ground, bleeding and bruised and defeated, with Green Shirts laying on the ground all around her, Cobra had turned their attack on innocent civilians. She could still hear their unanswered cries for help.
"Those people died because of Cobra, not because of what we did or didn't do," Flint said quietly.
"But we were supposed to protect them," she replied stubbornly, now near tears.
"Yes, innocent people died but a lot of others did not…, exactly because of what we did do," Duke rebuked her.
A single tear slid down her cheek. She brushed it away angrily.
"You know he's right, Jaye." Flint said gently. "Even though the Joes might have lost this round, without us, it would have been a lot worse. Remember, it was just one battle, not the war."
"Yes Jaye, and even heroes are allowed to have bad days once in a while," Scarlet chastised gently.
"And I know for certain, the Joes will be back," Duke spoke vehemently, "and next time…, we'll win. I, for one, am not about to give up."
Lady Jaye stood silently, looking from one to the other and then dropped her eyes, lightly touching her aching arm. Some heroes we are, she thought bitterly. We're just ordinary soldiers. We don't have special powers or bullet proof uniforms. When we get hit by a bullet, we hurt, we bleed…we d…
"Jaye," Flint spoke again, breaking into her thoughts, "Heroes aren't just special or super powered like in the comics or movies. Anyone can be a hero and most heroes are actually just ordinary people. What makes a hero, a hero, is that you are chosen." He stepped forward and cupped her chin, turning her face so that he was looking directly into her troubled eyes. "Those kids over there see something in us greater than themselves, something they can aspire to be. Really, that's all a hero is. And despite our failings and our weaknesses, …or maybe even because of them," he released her gently and pointed to the children playing in the distance, "those kids still chose us Joes to be their heroes…."
"We never give up, we're always there, fighting for freedom over land and air…," Scarlet smiled wistfully. "You know Jaye, aspiring to be a Joe is not a bad thing. We, Joes, actually do a lot of good in the world."
"Yes, I know, but…"
Flint lightly touched Jaye's injured arm, "And don't forget…, in spite of everything, that young girl down there chose you, Lady Jaye," he said softly, "She didn't have to."
Jaye looked from Scarlet to Duke and back to Flint. Could those kids really see them as heroes? See her as a hero? She shook her head. She didn't feel anything like a hero and she certainly hadn't been very hero-like in this last encounter with Cobra.
"Jaye, we're not expected to be superheroes," Flint's voice softened as he read the doubt her eyes, "Real heroes are brave, they're authentic, and they're courageous. They're also determined and discreet. Real heroes don't win every time, Lady Jaye, but they never give up trying…. Just like the Joes…., " He paused a moment, searching her eyes and then continued, his voice was deep with emotion, "…and just like you." Flint held her eyes.
A faint colouring crept up his cheek as he finished. Lady Jaye looked at him strangely, studying his eyes. Flint never blushed. An awkward silence passed between them.
She thought about what he said. Could he be right? Could a hero be injured and defeated in battle and still be regarded as a hero? Could she? Flint seemed to think so and that was high praise coming from him even if she still wasn't so sure.
"Thank you," she finally whispered, her own cheeks tinting.
'You're welcome."
He looked down, his eyes holding hers, "Remember, you were already chosen. Just be the Lady Jaye you are," he gave her hand a squeeze, "That's enough."
"Just be myself?"
"Just be the hero that is already you. You don't have to be anything more than who you are today, at this very moment. Don't try to be a super hero. Don't try to be perfect. All that you are, the good and the bad, the messy and the beautiful…just be you," he smiled softly, encouragingly.
She took a deep breath, feeling the air expand her lungs, feeling her own life flowing through her veins. Her eyes took in the green of the trees, the bright blue of the sky. A warm summer breeze caressed her cheek, playfully lifting the hair off her neck. She took it all in, embraced it all. Finally, when she turned back to Flint, her eyes were soft and warm and full of love.
He watched as she stood there beneath the trees, the shadows of leaves dancing upon her cheeks
in the soft breeze. She was shy and awkward, feeling on display with with all the messy emotions and feelings that made up who she was. But to him, she could not have been more beautiful than she was at that moment.
"My hero," he whispered, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply.
She responded, kissing him back, her heart rapidly beating in her chest, reminding her just how wonderful those messy emotions could be. Then she nestled against him, pressing her head to his chest, listening to the rhythmic beat of his very real heart, feeling her own slow to match his, beat for beat.
Scarlet took a step closer to Duke. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her, drawing her close. She leaned her head comfortably against his shoulder and sighed.
Lady Jaye thought about what it meant to be herself, to be Lady Jaye, and to be a Joe. Was it enough to make her a hero? She might have been just an ordinary soldier, but she was a Joe soldier. That had to count for something. And for whatever reason, that young girl chose her, Lady Jaye. She still wasn't sure she was a hero but at least to that little girl, she was. Maybe Flint was right. Maybe simply being herself was enough.
For the moment, she could almost believe.
She chewed her bottom lip in thought and slowly turned to her friends.
"I guess the Joes are heroes," she gave a nervous laugh, "even though I'm still not sure why they chose me," she blushed and smiled shyly. "I don't think I make a very good hero."
"None of us do, really, when it comes down to it," Flint laughed softly. Nevertheless, they had all been chosen as heroes.
Behind them, the transports were returning to pick up the remaining Joes.
"Let's go home," Duke said lightly, beginning to make his way back to the makeshift infirmary, back to Doc and Lifeline, back to the rest of the Joes.
A quiet Scarlet and equally thoughtful Snake Eyes followed slowly, a few steps behind.
Flint and Lady Jaye were the last to go.
The children were now taking turns running through the sprinkler. Their exuberant laughter followed the Joes as they walked down the other side of the hill, out of sight. Innocent in their youth, unburdened by the cares of the world, their laughter was light and full of joy. The children had been given the greatest gift of childhood. They were free to be children.
"That makes it all worth it, doesn't it?" Scarlet said softly as the children's laughter echoed faintly around them once more.
"Yes, it certainly does. I guess you could say we did okay," Duke smiled happily.
"That we did," Flint chuckled.
The five Joes suddenly grinned and exchanged glances. As one, they lifted their arms and voices in the familiar battle cry, "Yo Joe!"
The group of children below stopped their play for a moment, staring at one another with wide eyes. One by one, huge smiles erupted on their faces. They had heard the cry.
"YO JOE!" they yelled, their surprised laughter filling the spaces of darkness, filling the hearts of the Joes, chasing away for the moment, the shadows and doubt.