AIT graduation was upon them-starting in roughly half an hour. Like before they were in their class B uniforms and standing ready, they didn't have to emerge from the smoke this time because it wasn't a major event. No families were coming this time, it would just be a simple ceremony outside on the parade grounds for it. Same thing as before: speeches, congratulatory messages of good luck and all the best for them in their future endeavors while serving in the military. In a turn of events that shocked everyone again was that Hector was promoted second time, this time it was Staff Sergeant-not a huge jump but like with the BCT graduation-Hector showed he had the skills for the job so he was promoted again. Tallon, Thax, Evan, Viktor, and Ryan were promoted to and a few others but they only went as high as Private First Class. Tallon made Sergeant. Evan and Viktor made Corporal. Ryan made Specialist with Thaxter. They showed the most improvement in their unit which they adopted the name Inferno Unit. Hector was leader because he had the highest rank out of the six of them.
Of course they still all had their original platoon-it would be sticking together now now matter where they went and their station assignment would be given in a few days-they were still working on figuring it out apparently but for now it looked liked they'd be staying right at Fort Striker which was cool for him-he liked Berk and he was only two and a half hours from home. Well two hours and thirty minutes by bus ride, was probably a little more by car or truck, and then if they took a chopper or small plane it would lessen considerably. Hector was hoping for a little leave time to see his family and Gobber but thus far also-he hadn't yet heard about it. When the graduation was over they all just hung around their barracks to relax-it was about 3:30pm by the time the ceremony was over, a lot of the new graduates were just changing and showering to relax until dinner time at 6pm. "BCT and AIT are officially over-can ya friggen believe it, man?" Tallon said punching Hector in the arm now with a smile.
"Seriously, thank God too..." Hector mumbled while flopping on his bed before rolling onto his back and looking up with his eyes closed.
"So you gonna at random fall sick again?" Evan chuckled.
"Oh hush you-I told ya I had no idea where that bug came from," Hector rolled his eyes.
"Well still dude, it worries us. You're our friend, so it's not cool for us to be told you're sick as shit and can barely stand," Tallon stated.
"Well, like I said-I was going to tell someone as soon as I stopped throwing up, I just couldn't really move without feeling nauseated. And yelling would of made my head hurt more," Hector admitted.
"I'll start following you everywhere if I have too," Tallon joked with him.
"So not necessary, Tal...So what should we do tonight guys? Training is over-we're waiting on station assignments still," Hector asked curiously.
"Could talk about music, hobbies, or some shit like that?" Ryan offered now.
"We've discussed all that before. We agreed on saying we just about like all types of music except maybe opera and certain types of rap," Viktor pointed out to them.
"True, what about...first crushes, first times-if any of us have done it besides Evan?" Thaxter suggested now.
"Well that's nothing I can discuss. Never had a girl, guy, or had sex." Hector laid back again.
"What about a crush-come on, there's gotta be someone who you felt something for?" Ryan asked him.
"Eh-not really. I mean-there was a girl I like way back in the 7th grade but faded off when she hooked up with one of my main bullies, started picking on me with them after she found out I like her. Was pretty...shitty in the humiliation of me sense," Hector mumbled closing his eyes and turning his head a bit.
"She didn't like...lead you on then humiliate you in front of the school, did she?" Thaxter asked.
"Not the whole school-just the lunch room which then got gossiped about around the whole school..." Hector sighed now.
"What happened?" Tallon asked sitting down at the foot of Hector's bed now, Hector sat up now after rotating his neck to crack it.
"It was freshman year-I'd had a major crush on her since middle school but never had it in me to tell her. Well, she ended up hooking up with on of my brother's friends and I figured I'd never have a chance in hell with her. That was until it came out to her and my brother's group of friends that I had a crush on her-they decided to screw with me over it. The girl made it seem like her boyfriend hurt her and set it up that I'd find her being the kind fucker I am-would try to help. It was all a game-she led me on, made me think she liked me, and she even suggested us going out. I'd never been happier," he trailed off a bit now.
"She hurt you, didn't she?" Evan asked softly.
Hector nodded once, "We were dating and she said we'd show it off publicly during lunch after only a day. She told me to meet her at her usual table-that she wanted to show off what...a great guy I was to her ex but when I got there she was sitting in his lap while he was kissing her neck and shit. Of course I was confused but when they all laughed at me-even my brother did, I figured it out pretty quick what happened. That they'd played me together-all of them had been in on it. She laughed in my face and asked why anyone would be with such a weak loser like me. That I was so stupid that I fell for an easy trick...Honestly-it was something I expected but what bothered me the most was my brother knowing, even my sister did...and they didn't tell me what was going on. They...let me get laughed at by the entire cafeteria and laughed at me too. I don't even think I ate lunch that day-I just left. Went to the nurse-called my mom and told her I was sick and she came to get me. Since then-just haven't felt anything for anyone,"
"Fuck man-what a bitch..." Ryan scoffed.
"You closed yourself off so you wouldn't get hurt again," Tallon told him with a hand on his shoulder.
"Can ya blame me after all it went down?" Hector shrugged slightly.
"I suppose now but still-and what the hell with your own family not trying to help you? That's fucked up," Evan said.
"Yeah it is but it's just how things are I guess," Hector tried to smile.
"Alright so-fuck, let's talk about hobbies or something. What stuff do you like to do, Hector?" Viktor asked him.
"Draw, sketch, listen to music, write lyrics from time to time," Hector started now.
"Can we see?" Tallon asked curiously with a smile.
"My drawings or my lyrics?" Hector inquired now.
"Both-but it's up to you," Thaxter added now-Hector got up and went through his bag as he pulled out two notebooks: one black and one silver.
"Silver is lyrics. Black is drawings," Hector smiled softly tossing them on the bed towards Tallon as he sat back down while the guys began looking through it all.
"Holy shit-these are really good. Lyrics and drawings-serious talent dude. Props to you," Evan said with a smile.
"Thanks, I think?" Hector mentioned relaxing now.
"Do you sing any of them or just write them for shits and giggles?" Tallon asked him gently.
"Well it's pointless to write them if they won't be sung-so yes I do. They all the tunes for them are on my phone-I just sing along to put it together," Hector stated calmly.
"Sing one for us," Randy Ellis said.
"How about no," Hector mumbled.
"Come on, why not?" Luke Hale tried now.
"Because I said so-besides, not a fan of singing in front of crowds," he put his head down slightly.
"So...you have stage fright?" Ryan asked, Hector nodded once.
"What if we weren't looking?" Tallon offered.
"I still know I'm in a room full of people," Hector smiled some.
"Headphones in?" Vikto suggested.
"Then you don't hear the music and still a room full of people," Hector said again.
"Well there's gotta be a way for you to do it when you aren't afraid?" Tallon said now.
"I'd have to know you aren't here or in a complete not caring mood," Hector smiled at them.
"What if we all left the barrack?" Thaxter pointed out.
"And do what-just sit outside and listen from the door?" Hector laughed, "Seriously, don't worry about it guys. It's not gonna happen."
"But we wanna hear you sing-these are really good lyrics. Come on-you can trust us, we're your teammates." Tallon chuckled now.
"I know that-it's just how I've always been is all," Hector shrugged at them while relaxing on the bed as he saw one of the other guys answer his phone and start talking to someone-Hector could tell that it must have been grandparents since his friend referred to them as "Noni and Poppy". Hector closed his eyes now with sigh before reaching for his phone and pulling up his pictures-he scrolled through a few times then found the one he was looking for and he just stared at it. "Pick one." he said now.
"Pick one...what?" Tallon asked.
"Song-I just hit that not care mood, you want me to sing, this is your chance," Hector informed, "And don't ask," he added afterwards.
"Um...how about this one? It doesn't have a title," Ryan said showing him the notebook, Hector glanced over towards it without moving his head as he nodded.
"It's called How Do You Get That Lonely. Wrote it about a year ago," Hector stated softly as he found the song on his phone then reached in his bag-pulling out a small speaker as he plugged it in and then hit play as the music started and the room seemed to quiet down now.
"It was just another story written on the second page-underneath the Tiger's football score. It said he was only eighteen, a boy about my age. They found him face down on his bedroom floor. There'll be services on Friday at the Lawrence Funeral Home-then out on Mooresville highway, they'll lay him 'neath a stone..." he started after taking a breath and closing his eyes, the phone just rested on the bunk in front of him while his friends in the barrack listened closely.
"How do you get that lonely, how do you hurt that bad? To make you make the call, that havin' no life at all-is better than the life that you had? How do you feel so empty, you want to let it all go?...How do you get that lonely...and nobody knows?" Hector never opened his eyes and the others could quickly tell this was a song about being so alone that someone felt like death would be better. Why would Hector write a song like that? They were incredibly confused and wanted to know more.
"Did his girlfriend break up with him, did he buy or steal that gun? Did he lose a fight with drugs or alcohol? Did his Mom and Daddy forget to say I love you son? Did no one see the writing on the wall? I'm not blamin' anybody, we all do the best we can-I know hindsight's 20/20, but I still don't understand..." he paused only a moment before continuing.
"How do you get that lonely, how do you hurt that bad? To make you make the call, that havin' no life at all-is better than the life that you had? How do you feel so empty, you want to let it all go?...How do you get that lonely...and nobody knows?..." another pause before his eyes opened slightly while looking at his phone again. "It was just another story printed on the second page-underneath the Tiger's football score..." the music came to a stop as he hit the pause button with a sigh. Hector heard the silence of the room and just couldn't take it-he slipped on his sneakers and grabbed his phone after unplugging the speaker and walked outside the barrack without a word. Hector moved off to the side of it and just sat in the grass looking up at the sky.
"Shit that was...depressing almost, should we go check on him?" Evan asked.
"I think he wants to be alone right now," Thaxter replied.
"Yeah but I mean, come on...we're his friends and we should try and be there for him even if he doesn't want to talk about it," Ryan said agreeing with Evan now.
"Let's give him a little while by himself-something tells me that maybe...and I can't for sure say it's true because we only know a little about him-but I think maybe he's kind'a...felt like that before? Depressed, felt alone, and all that." Tallon said-he was worried for Hector too but he could tell that the song Ryan chose possibly brought up memories Hector didn't want to have brought up and now he needed time to clear his head before returning to the barrack, "And when he gets back, we shouldn't ask him anything-let him come to us,"
"Tallon's right-we can't push him or he'll just shut down." Viktor added.
"So we're in agreement to leave him be-that goes for all of us. We're his squadron, his friends and we'll show him we care by giving him space and letting him come to us." Tallon said-the rest of the barrack nodded to him as they just put Hector's things away in the closet neatly then went about relaxing until dinner time-hoping Hector would return in a better mood and maybe tell them what was going on.
(Dinner Time)
When 6pm rolled around on the clock the other began making their way outside to get to the chow hall-sure enough when the got outside they saw Hector sitting in the grass quietly with his eyes closed, Tallon broke from the group and went over to him now as he lightly touched his arm. "Hector," Tallon said. Hector opened his eyes slowly as he looked over his friend. "You okay?" Tallon sat down beside him now.
"Yeah...yeah I'm okay, Tallon," Hector said
"You sure-I mean you been out here almost two hours now by yourself," Tallon reminded, "You know you can talk to me right?"
"I know that-it's just some old shit is all. I'm alright, I wrote that song after all the deaths in my family. First it was my aunt Lilah, then my grandfather on my Dad's side, next it was my grandmother on my Mom's side four months after that. Uncle Oswald passed away seven months after her. Two months following his was my grandmother on my Dad's side and lastly about five months ago my grandfather on my mother's side went...just been like two years of death and it...sucks." Hector sighed heavily.
"Hey, I know it sucks. My grandparents died within a month of one another, and then my grandfather on my Mom's side almost a year after them. My parents are divorced and I don't have any siblings-well my Dad and his new girlfriend have a kid on the way so I guess that'll be my step brother or sister," Tallon shrugged, "It's one of the reasons I joined the army-got sick of the constant back and forth of being at their houses due to the custody agreement so I just found a way to work and get away from it all,"
"I've lost an aunt and uncle, then two sets of grandparents, then all that on top of my uncle Simon and aunt May not caring that their son is a complete asshole to me, my brother and sister being the way they are with me at school and then do a complete three-sixty for when at home, my parents always being busy with their jobs...and I never had friends so it's like...what the fuck for me. I didn't have anyone-I was so friggen alone and I hated it. I was...in charge of dinner and cleaning in the house, I worked a part time job, and I kept my perfect A's in school...I mean...I'm only seventeen years and it fell on me to do...everything! My only salvation was the fact I saw Cody at the school that day and made the choice that I wasn't going to be a slave in my own house anymore-that I wanted more for my life and I was going to prove to everyone...that I wasn't useless and my life would go farther than they could've ever imagined," Hector said lightly.
"Well, I can't say much for the deaths, or how your own family treats you, Hector but I know this much-you got us now. And we're your friends. You got Evan, Thax, Viktor, Ryan, and all the others too. And you got me, ole Tallon who isn't just your friend but your buddy for life. And even if no one else stands for you or with you, we will and you can bet your life on that. So come on, you are away from all the negativity in your life and you got nothing but a bright future ahead of you. You'll prove them all wrong and we'll do it with ya-I think they just don't know who the real Hector Haddock is and you'll show em', we'll help ya." Tallon said with a smile as he stood up and offered his hand to Hector now who took it and was pulled to his feet. "It's chow time, come hang with your friends."
"Thanks, Tallon," Hector said with a smile on his face finally. The two came out from the side of barrack while Thaxter, Evan, Viktor, and Ryan were smiling and waiting for them. They walked together laughing and smiling again towards the chow hall, Hector really was pretty damn lucky to have what he had now. Joining the army was more than just taking his life to new places-it changed his life forever. Before he joined, he had no one and now he had an entire group of friends both male and female who actually like being around him. His squadron-the Dragon squad and he knew they'd always have his back no matter what. He had friends and he knew these friendships would last his whole lifetime.
(Later That Night)
All sitting around the barrack now-laughing it up as Svendson came in the barrack now. "Haddock-need to see ya outside a minute," Hector blinked a bit but he got up and followed Sean out of the barrack-he could tell something was up for Sean to be this serious. Ever since BCT, Sean was very laid back with them. Once they were a few feet from the barrack-Sean led him down to the Drill Sergeant quarters-then inside down the hall to a larger room where the others sat around a table-even some of the higher ups were there too.
"Well this looks promising," Hector stated quietly.
"We apologize for the long delay in your platoon's stationing orders, Staff Sergeant Haddock,"
"Have a seat, Staff Sergeant. This is a rather serious matter," said the one of the Drill Sergeants. Hector took the seat beside Sean who pulled a piece of paper from the inside of his suit and slid it over to Hector now who reached for it, "What's this?" he asked opening it slowly to read it over.
Archipelago Islands Military Headquarters. Deployment orders-category Alpha. Nightwave Company ordered to Middle East hot zone; Iraq-for fourteen months starting July 1 st , 2016.
Hector read over the rest quickly-it didn't matter so much because the biggest thing he needed to know was stated. The Nightwave Company was being deployed to Iraq in roughly two weeks since it was already the sixteenth of June. "You want me to tell the others-that why you asked me here?" they nodded to him, "Very well then. According to that we leave July 1st at 0100 by transport plane that will be arriving on the airstrip here. Says to come prepared with weapons and in full gear. I'll let the others know. Is that all I was needed for?" Hector asked, they nodded to him. "I'll let them know now then-thank you gentleman," with that Hector stood up and offered a salute before leaving the Drill Sergeant quarters to return to the line of barracks. Great so he had to be the bearer of deployment news. "Nightwave Company! Fall in!" Hector called out.
Within seconds it seemed-the others from the six barracks rushed out and formed in their squadron groups before him at the position of attention where they stood with legs together, hands at their sides, and completely silent. "At ease," he stated softer but loud enough to still be heard.
"What's goin' on, Haddock?" Tallon asked first-light conversation was permitted from this position as long as they didn't move their right foot from it's position on the ground.
"I have our stationing orders," he began as the others looked at him curiously now, "July 1st, 2016- we will be stationing for the next fourteen months at Camp Fury based in Iraq to replace the soldiers going out because their rotation is over. We're joining up with the Dreki Battalion and leaving at 0100 by army transport plane with full gear," Hector stated firmly.
"Yes, Staff Sergeant Haddock!" the company replied to him with a salute.
"Do...we get any leave before we go or do we have to stay here?" Thaxter asked him.
"I've received no word on that situation yet. For now-we're to just pack our things and prepare for deployment," Hector informed calmer. He did want to see his family before he went to Iraq of all places but for now it looked like they had orders to stay on base at Fort Striker until deployment in two weeks. They'd been wondering where they'd be stationed and now they knew. Iraq at one of the Main Operating Bases-Camp Fury. This was a base that faced the front lines pretty often and ran fierce, hard missions from patrols, security detail, and rescues. Hector wasn't really worried-this is what he signed up for. The infantryman job was exactly where they were going-soldiers fighting for their homes. These were his orders, their orders and they would all stand together and carry them out.
