Memories still haunted her at night. In her sleep, she often dreamed of what happened. Like most times, Meredith sat up in bed with a hand covering her mouth, to muffle a scream. Sweat soaked her nightclothes and the sheets beneath up. Her eyes searched the dark barrack. She could hear men snoring and mumbling in their sleep. Meredith tried to think of whales, but her mind was plagued by her nightmare. A sharp and sudden sickness swirled around in her stomach and very quickly, rushed up to her throat.
Pushing off the blanket, Meredith jumped onto her feet and bolted for the latrines. Thankfully, they had a latrine attached to the barrack, her journey wasn't far, and she only just made it in time. On her knees, Meredith expelled the contents in her stomach. She shivered while doing so, body trembling and frame rattling with heaves. After twenty or so seconds, Meredith placed her forehead on the cool toilet seat and closed her eyes. She spat a few times into the toilet, hoping the terrible taste in her mouth would go away. Behind her, she could hear one of the taps by the sink running. Moments after, came Winters quiet and soft voice;
"hey, rinse your mouth out".
Sitting up, Meredith took the cup.
Spitting out the water, she gave him a tiny nod;
"thanks".
Sighing, Winters crouched beside her;
"hotdogs?"
Meredith shook her head;
"maybe the heat? I 'dunno".
"You're sweating". He noted quietly, "are you sick?"
Again, she shook her head;
"it's roasting here, Dick".
"Yeah, maybe it is the heat". He murmured.
But then, he tilted his head to the side;
"unless it's something else?"
When staring into his warm and kind light eyes, Meredith almost felt compelled to tell him the truth. A part of her wanted to, while another part kept her quiet. She might have trusted him, he seemed like a trustworthy and good man. But Meredith wasn't ready to spill the beans. Though, she did end up giving him something;
"bad dreams".
And he nodded.
Winters already guessed that;
"must be, huh? You're soaked with sweat, Meri".
Licking her swollen lip, she whispered;
"sometimes, I just think of the whales when I wake up and it works, eh?"
"Just not this time". Winters said softly, "that's okay, Meri".
She wanted to lighten the mood, to stop him from worrying.
Lip's twitching, Meredith joked quietly;
"bad dreams about that time I wrestled a polar bear…haunting stuff, Dick".
He snorted softly;
"right". He remarked.
With a fake serious expression, she whispered;
"really haunting…I don't even know my own strength".
Winters huffed out a tiny laugh;
"you're something else, huh?"
Tiny smile forming on her face, Meredith shook her head and apologised;
"sorry for waking you, Dick".
"It's okay". He assured her, "wasn't really sleeping anyway".
"Too hot?"
"Too weird". Winters corrected her kindly, "not used to sleeping in a barrack with forty-eight men and one woman".
She almost smirked;
"not used to sleeping with women, eh?"
Winters blushed;
"Meri!" He whispered loudly, "that's not what I meant, I-"
"I know". She cut him off with a tiny chuckle, "God…you're close to giving birth to kittens, Dick. Didn't mean to press a button".
"That's an image I really didn't need at three in the morning, Meri".
"It's three?"
Winters nodded;
"yeah…we'll be up in two hours".
"Jesus…".
"I'm just 'gonna stay up". He said, "I'll start getting ready in an hour".
Reaching up, Meredith flushed the toilet and asked;
"should we just sit here then?"
Winters nodded and sat down next to her.
The pair of them leaned against the side of the stall. Meredith picked up her glass of water and took a sip. After, she said to him;
"alright, tell me about Lancaster".
Winters looked at her;
"what do you 'wanna know?"
"Did you go to college?"
"Yeah, I did". He replied, "I enrolled as a business major and took courses in accounting, advertising, and business administration. My favourite courses were religion and philosophy. I like to think, you know, like mental exercises. But in my first year, I just wanted to fit in with the fellas". He snorted, "I joined this fraternity, Delta Sigma Phi. My old frat buddies learned that I hadn't even asked a girl out at that point, so, they set me up with this brunette and I went to the fraternity dance with her. I had never danced with a girl before, so, I spent most of the time stepping on her feet…I'm pretty sure she'll always remember that dance and my goofy feet".
Meredith smiled.
"That's sweet". She said, "did you graduate?"
"Yeah…I got my degree. And then two months later, here I am".
"I would say war changes things but yous aren't even in the war".
"Not yet". Winters said quietly. "What about you? Did you go to college?"
She shook her head;
"nah…even if I did go, the professors wouldn't understand me".
"You don't speak Icelandic?"
Meredith snorted;
"mum tried, eh? But I couldn't do it. Too hard for me. She spoke it around the house, even in Scotland but I couldn't pick it up".
"Where in Scotland were you from?"
A soft smile reached her lips when telling him;
"Faskally. Right by the River Tummel. Near the town of Pitlochry. Lovely place. Plenty of salmon in that lake. You'd never go hungry".
Winters shared her smile;
"you've always fished then?"
"Yeah…was always meant to be near the water".
With a tiny sigh, Meredith mumbled;
"you know, when I think about Faskally…my heart just feels…heavy, eh?"
"You miss it?"
"I'd love to go back". She said, "it calls me back, eh? That's my bit. That's where 'am meant to be. I love Iceland but Faskally…that's somewhere really, really special".
Winters could tell it was special to her, just by the way she sounded.
"You'll go there again". He sounded promising, "maybe not yet but one day".
Meredith took another sip of water, hoping that would get rid of the lump in her throat. It was only her first night in camp, she didn't want to get emotional with a man she barely knew. And it wasn't even like her to get sentimental and sad. Meredith had always been good at covering up her pain with laughter. She loved making others laugh, it made her forget.
"After stepping on that poor lassie's feet, did you get another date?"
Winters smirked;
"I got two more with her. Our last date was at the ice rink. I'm okay at skating but…oh God, that poor girl…".
Meredith smiled and ducked her head;
"you're evil".
He chuckled quietly;
"how was I meant to know she couldn't skate?"
"Ask her". She laughed softly, "Jesus, Dick".
"You ever been ice skating?"
"No". Meredith replied, "funny, eh? Considering I lived in the land of ice".
Winters grinned;
"yeah, it is a little funny".
With a snort, Meredith recalled;
"in my old unit, we had to submerge ourselves in freezing water. They broke up the ice in water and ordered us to get in, one at a time. This one guy almost died. His body just panicked, eh? He just shut down and forgot where he was".
"Scary stuff". Winters mumbled, "why freezing water?"
She cleared her throat;
"to get us used to it".
"For what?"
Meredith looked at him and simpered;
"ah…if I told you, then I'd have to tell you everything. And I'm not ready".
"That's okay". Winters said softly, "you don't have to".
"So… any more fun dates?"
He sighed and thought back;
"had a couple with a really smart nurse. Took one girl to an ice hockey game in Hershey. And then I went on some dates with the nurse's roommate".
Meredith smirked;
"mad lad you are, eh?"
"Huh?"
Shaking her head, she looked amused;
"never mind…anyone else?"
"No". Winters replied, "college got too busy. Haven't been on a date since".
"I've never been on a date". Meredith said, "by the time I was old enough, I joined the bloody army".
"How old was that?"
"Well, seventeen". She said, "I'm nineteen now".
"You were young when you joined". Winters said quietly.
Meredith shrugged;
"they were looking for volunteers. I volunteered".
"But Iceland is neutral". Winters said, "right?"
"Britain invaded us". Meredith whispered, "I wouldn't really call it that, to be honest. Not a single shot was fired. Before they invaded us, some Brits came on the lookout for volunteers in Iceland, just before Germany and Russia invaded Poland".
"So, you asked to go?"
She nodded;
"well, I asked my parents. They weren't happy. Not at all". Meredith remembered, "I 'dunno what changed their mind, but they did, and I was off".
"You ever regret it?" Winters asked her softly.
Meredith frowned and shrugged;
"maybe once or twice…but it's alright now. It's not bad now".
…
Because of her previous training, physical training in Camp Croft was more enjoyable than hard. Like Winters, Meredith enjoyed running and scaling up walls and poles. For once, she was glad of her old until training her. And it felt good, getting back into an army routine. It was like riding a bicycle, Meredith fell right back into training as if she never left. When it came to target practice, they were given 1903 bolt-action Springfields, leftovers from the Great War. Meredith didn't mind firing a rifle again.
After their first target practice, Winters vowed to her;
"I'll be back during free time. I've got a lot to work on".
"I can help?" Meredith offered, "if you want".
"Yeah, thanks". He smiled, "I'd like that".
"Ye-haw!" Trent beamed, "ain't I just a cowboy?"
"You need some work". Meredith teased, "piss-poor show, if you ask me".
"Don't rain on my parade". He said, "I did alright for my first time, you know".
"Around me, Platoon!" Slusher ordered.
Quickly, fifty men surrounded their Sergeant.
"Before we go over drills, we're 'gonna do the most important exercise".
With that said, he picked up a gasmask;
"the gas test". He said, "twelve at a time, you'll head into a brick building, where I'll set off tear gas. With your masks on, you'll then be asked to take off your mask, give me your name and serial number, before exiting the building. Understood?"
"Yes, Sergeant".
"Good. This way".
Walking across a grass field, Trent asked Meredith quietly;
"have you done this before?"
She nodded, with a tiny smirk;
"yous are 'gonna hate it".
Trent groaned, dreading the exercise;
"is there an easy way to do it?"
"Hold your breath. And don't rub your eyes".
Of course, it was easier said than done. Even Meredith goofed up and ended up choking on gas. Stumbling out of the building, she joined many other coughing and tearful men. Grabbing her canteen, she poured water over her face and tried not to rub her eyes. Snot and tears ran down her face fast, while she leaned over and coughed up a lung. Meredith hated the gas test. It was the worst exercise in basic training. She couldn't think of anything else but the pain.
After a few minutes, it was over.
Sitting on the grass, she ran her sleeve under her nose and looked to Winters.
His eyes were red and puffy.
With a tired smile, she said;
"I told you…don't rub your eyes".
He blinked a few times;
"yeah…I forgot".
"It's easily done". She said, "I forgot the first time too".
"When does it stop hurting?"
Smiling sadly, Meredith instructed him softly;
"tilt your head back".
With his head tilted back, she used the rest of her water to pour over his eyes. Winters blinked a few times and gave his head a shake while lowering it. Coughing first, he soon thanked her;
"yeah, great. Thanks, Meri".
She chuckled quietly;
"yeah, you're welcome".
It was an interesting morning for the new recruits. And it was interesting for Meredith to watch them warm up to the army way of life. A lot of men huffed and puffed. They complained about stitches, sore feet, and knees. But Slusher was there to remind them to keep going and to ignore the pain. Meredith could emphasise with them, she remembered getting swollen knees and sore feet from running. Even Trent was limping come breakfast.
"Stick your pillow under your feet tonight". She told him, "keep your feet elevated".
He sighed;
"thanks, Meri".
They sat at a table with Zerbe and his friend, Ed Wolf. It was scrambled eggs, toast, and sausage for breakfast that morning. A meal Meredith wasn't used to, but she enjoyed it. They never had scrambled eggs in Scotland, it was either boiled or poached. And Meredith couldn't remember eating eggs in Iceland. Judging by the happy look on her face, Trent guessed;
"never had this, Meri?"
She shook her head;
"no…this is good".
"What do they even eat in Iceland?" Ed asked, "just fish?"
"I'll give yous a few delicacies". She said, "number one, sheep head".
"Oh, Jesus". Trent paled, "like-"
"yeah, you're actually eating the head of a sheep". Meredith confirmed, "like, it's still got its shape and features…where the eyes used to be and that".
"What else?" Zerbe was curious.
"Yous have beef jerky?"
"We do". Winters confirmed.
"Well, we have deep-fried fish jerky". She said, "nice with some butter".
"That's not so bad". Ed said, "sounds nice and-"
"sour ram's testicles". Meredith cut him off.
The four of them stared at her.
Mouths slightly open.
"What?" Zerbe whispered, "you're…you're eating balls, Meri?"
She shrugged;
"just eat what's in front of you, eh?" She said, "some folk eat the puffins and whales. But like I say's, not a lot of people eat whales. They're really into lamb as well. Usually what you get for your Christmas dinner, smoked lamb".
Zerbe looked pissed and stared at Ed;
"why did you ask, Ed? Now I've lost my appetite".
Winters chuckled;
"it's not bad, Eugene. We're not eating ram's balls, are we?"
He shook his head and shuddered;
"hell no".
Trent smirked;
"but Meri has…she ate balls".
Meredith nodded and confirmed lightly;
"yeah, I did".
She then added;
"tasty".
Their table cracked up in a fit of laughter.