Waking up this morning came slower, Hector was up at 5am for his usual PT workout. It didn't matter if he wasn't in Basic or AIT anymore-he did it every morning between 5am and 6am just to stay in shape. Hector set the timer for lights on at 6:30am for both the girls' and boys' barracks. Hector was still up at his normal time though-he enjoyed the morning workout, helped wake him up and get ready for the day and then the shower after he got back was always welcome too. The month now was September of the year 2019 and in eight hours they'd be on a plane back to Iraq to continue the original tour. For Hector it was a continuance, for the new soldiers it was the start of their first and still no idea how long it would go one for. Hector got his workout gear on as he headed outside silently-he knew his guys would figure out where he was if he wasn't back by the time they got up so he left a note on his made up bed where he was and would be back by 7:30am at the latest. Hector reached the PT field which wasn't far from the barracks and began with stretching out his body, always important to do before working out.
(6:30am)
As the timer had been set to do: the lights flipped on at 6:30am which woke the barrack up slowly. They instantly started on getting in their showers, dressed in their ACU's, and making their beds. All that was done by 7am and most of them sat around wondering where Hector was-he was still their commanding officer so they had to wait for him to give orders.
"Where is he?" Skylar groaned.
"Likely doing his morning work out," Evan stated.
"He actually gets up to do that still. He isn't in Basic so why bother?" Trent questioned curiously.
"Keeps you fit and in shape-good way to wake up too. He was probably up at 6am and started then, his note says he'll be back by 0730 hours," Tallon remarked as he was holding the note from Hector's bed and reading it over.
"So what, he just goes for a run every morning?" Darius arched a brow-at this time, the barrack door opened as Hector walked in.
"Two mile run, twenty-five push ups and sit ups, then a few other things before walking back," Hector shrugged as he reached his bunk closet and grabbed a towel and his clothes for the day-ACU dress of course, then entered the bathroom to shower. Hector came back out after fifteen minutes, dressed and shaved. He sat on the edge of his bed and got his boots. With all that done he stood up and cracked his neck, "Well, who is ready to eat?"
"All of us are," Tallon chuckled.
"Well let's go then," Hector stated as he moved outside with Inferno and then the new soldiers followed as well. "Ladies, we're heading to the chow hall for breakfast if you'd like to join us!" Hector called, one of them stepped out.
"Drill Sergeant, one of the girls is really sick, we're kind'a worried about her too," she said softly. Hector broke off from the group of males and headed for the door.
"Everyone dressed in there?" Hector asked the girl as she nodded-then he walked in to see a few of the girls gathered around one of the bunks. Hector reached the bunk as the girls moved aside and Hector could see the one who was sick laying on the bed groaning and whimpering in pain. "Talk to me private," he said crouching by the bottom bunk.
"I just feel so sick, Drill Sergeant...I can't...move without wanting to throw up, I feel weak and my body heavy," she replied softly.
"How long you been feeling this way?" Hector asked now as he checked her forehead to find she had a fever.
"Since...0300 hours sir. I thought...a shower might help but it didn't. Everything hurts," she whimpered now.
"Should have sent someone to come get me. Come on, I'll take you to the medic," Hector told her as she nodded and moved the covers off slowly as she tried to get up but winced with an arm over her stomach. "Don't try to walk," he said sternly as he put his arm under the bend of her knee and the other arm under her arms and around her back-then picked her up slowly and stood up straight while heading for the door. One of the other privates opened it for him as he walked out slowly and turning some so she wouldn't her head on the door frame. "The rest of you head to the chow hall," he commanded.
"You need any help?" Thaxter asked him.
"Nah, I should be fine. Lead them to the chow hall to eat, I'll meet you there once I get her settled with the medic." Hector told his group.
"Got it, Cap." Ryan saluted as Hector began walking ahead to the on base medic's office. The rest of of them followed behind Inferno to the chow hall. After half an hour-Hector walked into the chow hall with a sigh and sat with his friends who thankfully had gotten him some food. "So how was she?"
"Medic says it's a combination twenty-four hour bug and period. Gave her something for the pain and keeping her there until right before we ship out. Ginger ale and crackers for the nausea, fever reducer, pain reliever. She'll be fine by the time we leave," Hector stated calmly.
"Reminds me of you from your Basic days-never telling anyone you're sick until someone went to get Svendson," Viktor chuckled a bit. Hector flinched a bit at the name and closed his eyes as Tallon shot a glare to Viktor and shook his head for him to shut up.
"Yeah. I'm a pretty stubborn guy-I'm aware," Hector smiled a bit as he started eating slowly.
"Who is...'Svendson'?" Jessie asked.
"Sean Svendson was our Drill Sergeant when we were in Basic and AIT. He was...the one who was killed in action that I mentioned back during my first leave from the first tour when we got the orders to return early," Hector stated lightly while continuing to eat his food quietly with eyes remaining closed. The rest of breakfast stayed pretty quiet except the quiet chatter from others talking about going to Iraq and hoping they wouldn't be there really long because they already missed their families. Hector didn't want to hear it-he went under the radar for a full year before his family saw him again-and even when they did, it only lasted three days before he was back in Iraq for another seven months. Here he was on his second tour and already done a year without seeing anyone, only home for three months to train new recruits and then return to Iraq to continue a tour they had no idea when it would end. After breakfast was over-they returned to their barracks to relax or continue packing up for when they'd leave in now, five hours.
Hector was sitting up and back against the metal of the bunk frame while holding his guitar and strumming a few notes but no real music. Tallon could tell he was thinking about all the people they'd lost since they joined the military-wasn't a happy subject of course but Tallon knew all those deaths his Hector hard, mainly the ones from Dragon platoon. "Hec-I mean...Drill Sergeant?" came Darius's voice.
"You graduated Basic and AIT, you don't have to call me Drill Sergeant anymore. You can call me almost anything else-just don't be disrespectful," Hector replied to him calmly.
"Just wondering if you're okay. Been kind'a quiet since breakfast," Darius asked him.
"I'm perfectly fine-just waiting out the time to go back," Hector answered now.
"Are you looking forward to going back?" Drew inquired.
"Yeah actually. Miss my platoon-always a riot with them," he chuckled now.
"So which ten of us get to stay with you?" Skylar asked next.
"Marx, Michaels, Garcia, Jorgenson, Thorston, Andersen, and Burgston for males and the girls will be White, Christians, and Andrews," Hector stated calmly.
"You have their units picked out too?" Ryan asked curiously.
"I gotta figure that out still. Ellis is gone so I gotta pick a new leader for Blade. I'll work on it while we're flying in," Hector shrugged some. "You know a lot of them aren't going to want to work with privates as their battle buddies so I gotta try and keep them with people from the original group,"
"We're just as trained as them," Skylar remarked now.
"Trained the same but not the same experience level. The original Dragon platoon has had two years and fourteen more months experience than you all have. My group knows what it means to work together-we know how we get things done effectively and efficiently. You'll discover that on missions and guards-you fuck up what we have going already and you and I will have problems. Got it? This is why I put you five specifically in my platoon-so I can keep an eye on you. I don't trust you can do as you are told from the others and I certainly wouldn't want to give them the added headache. Now shut it, Jorgenson. When we get there-you're gonna be in a whole new world and if you screw up you or someone else is gonna die. In my group, I won't let you screw up and get my people killed," Hector retorted coldly.
"Will ya stop giving him a hard time, Skylar. Jeeze," Drew said he and Trent sighed heavily.
"He shouldn't get to be in charge of us. He's our age and he's ranked wicked high-he cheated his way to the top," Skylar said.
"Captain Haddock EARNED his way to the top. Best watch yourself, private. Or should we remind you that you barely survived Basic and AIT? You almost got discharged because of your antics during the field training exercise. Doing that in Iraq will land you dead," Tallon scoffed.
"You're just jealous that Hector is ranked higher than you and your commanding officer," Darius rolled his eyes. "No one said you had to join with us. We joined to do something with our lives-you joined so you wouldn't be bored,"
"And why did he join?" Skylar motioned to Hector now.
"Because he wanted more. He told us that," Trent replied with a sigh and closing his eyes.
"Wanted more? His life had going for him? He didn't care about his life. He told us that too, remember. He wanted kill himself! Sure his life had so much meaning that he wanted more. Not buying it-he joined for another reason and I wanna know what it is," Skylar said glaring at Hector now.
"You want to know why I joined? Hector asked now-his voice calm as he stood up.
"Yeah, I do!" Skylar said.
"I joined the military because I was so sick and tired of being called a worthless, weak, nothing and that my life would never anything more than the auto shop," Hector stated. "Weren't those your words, Skylar?" Hector opened his eyes now as Skylar shut his mouth, "That was a question, I expect it answered. Were those not your words that day in the cafeteria that day during Sophomore year? 'You're a loser-at least my life is going somewhere. You'll be stuck at the auto shop the rest of your life. You're a nobody and a nothing'." Hector asked now.
"Yes, they were. But that doesn't tell us why you joined the military," Skylar crossed his arms over his chest.
"Little fact about that day-it was the one where Cody Greysen was sitting at a table outside the main office, across the cafeteria. After I walked away I went there and picked up one of the pamphlets and Cody asked me 'does military life interest you?' I told him I never gave it much thought then went home and researched everything and the more I read-the more I got interested. All the opportunities I could be offered by joining, so the next day at lunch, I called the recruiter office and set up an appointment to find out more. You know the rest from there: Got my GED, did the paperwork, MEPS, then bailed for Reception Week at 9:30 at night through the basement door. Cody picked me up and took me to the bus station. I joined because I was sick and tired of hearing exactly what you said to me that day-the fact I'd heard it for years," Hector said calmly.
"You said you were gonna kill yourself if you hadn't met Cody, that mean would would have offed yourself if you didn't talk to him that day?" Skylar asked.
"Yes," he replied, "Thought about it while doing my homework, cooking dinner, cleaning the house...then putting my stuff away-the pamphlet fell out of my bag and I started reading it over. Made my choice from there and just went through the process. It's funny ya know? I was so depressed for years and no one noticed a thing. Someone you're around every day and never noticed anything off about them? The quietness, the sarcasm to cover the anger and sadness, always locked away in their room never saying a word, just keeping to themselves? Tell me, Darius...how long did it take for anyone in the house to realize I left?"
"That next morning when you didn't come upstairs for your shower. I found the note on your bed," Darius replied.
"My point. Almost ten hours later before anyone noticed I was gone from the house. I left at 9:30 at night, and you didn't find that letter until 7am and only because I didn't come upstairs for my shower? No one thought my 'staying at Freddie's on a school night' was odd-then gone all day and missing school? No one noticed me not really doing any work in school because I already had my GED and the principal was letting me hang there until I left for Reception Battalion? Gobber knew I was leaving-he just didn't know where I was going or for how long. I actually called Gobber before I left for the first tour too. Told him I was safe and okay-would be home soon to tell everyone where I'd been all that time. But ya found out anyway. Regardless of all that-no one noticed me and no one cared either. I chose to make something with my life so I wouldn't be a nobody and have a nothing life-that's why I joined the military. To prove to you assholes that I wasn't what you said I was and it looked like I did just that. And now I'm just here because I want to be-I get to do something amazing with my life every day." Hector said. "Take that with you from now, Skylar...I joined because of what you said to me and decided to prove you wrong about me and now you just can't handle the fact that everything you ever said about me, ever thought about me-is nothing but wrong and you don't like being wrong. You're jealous of me and you can't stand it,"
Hector patted Skylar's shoulder a few times with a smile before stepping back and heading outside for a cigarette. "Good going, Skylar," Drew mumbled.
"Don't blame just him. You all had a hand in it back then-even you Darius. Even the girls. You bullied him and teased him for years," Thaxter said.
"You broke his heart during freshman year and all of you were in on it. Even his own brother, sister, and cousin-laughed at him instead of having his back," Viktor added.
"And you hurt him so much that he wanted to stop living just to get away from it all. You pushed him that far that he thought death would be better than living. But he rose above it and found another way-he joined the military to prove you all wrong and I'd sure as shit say: he did just that. Hector didn't give up his life because it would of proven everything you ever said about him. Being a nobody and a nothing, that he was worthless, and weak. He chose to take another course of action-a way for him to be himself and not get judged or bullied. Even now-you're trying to do what you used to-bully him, make him feel bad about himself but it's not going to work. This is the real Hector Haddock, boys, whether you like him or not-this is who he really is and will continue to be. He knows he doesn't need anyone's approval on the matter-he knows who has his back and will stand with him," Tallon said, "You should be grateful he's being as cool as he is with you," as he moved outside as well.
(Outside The Barrack)
Hector leaned against the barrack wall as he smoked his cigarette, he wasn't upset at all, he wasn't even mad at Skylar. He figured it would come up eventually so what held him back from telling them the truth? That he joined because he wanted to prove them wrong. What they didn't know was there was another factor too, and that was the neglect from his parents, never having time for him, no one being there for him before the military. That would come out eventually-just not right now. It wasn't time for that to come out just yet. Tallon saw him out there and moved beside him, "Decided to smoke too?"
"Checking on you but sure, why not?" Tallon shrugged as Hector took another drag then handed it over to Tallon who did the same.
"I'm fine-honestly been waiting the last fourteen weeks for that to happen. Knew it would, just didn't know when," Hector replied after blowing out the smoke into the air.
"Thought you didn't want that getting out yet?" Tallon asked.
"Doesn't matter-it would have eventually. Didn't really matter when," Hector glanced over at him.
"Well, we reminded them how much they hurt you and should be damn lucky you're being as cool as you are with them right now," Evan said now as he lit one his own cigarettes and joined them.
"Didn't matter guys-he doesn't bother me anymore. He's gonna find out joining for the reason he did wasn't a great idea," Hector chuckled some as Tallon handed back the cigarette for Hector to take another drag of it.
"So you...actually planned to kill yourself that night? That one after school they day Cody was there?" Tallon asked as Hector nodded once as his smile faded.
"What were you gonna do?" Thaxter asked coming outside with Ryan and Viktor now.
"Didn't give it much thought-had a lot of ideas: cutting, overdosing, hanging, drowning, poisoning..." Hector replied.
"You've...never cut before, have you, Hector?" Tallon asked curiously.
"Got close to it when I was fifteen but never went through with it," he said while taking another drag.
"We're glad you didn't," Ryan said putting his arm over Hector's shoulders with a smile now. "We're glad you're still here too," he added as the others linked their arms over their shoulders in a circle-all smiling happily as the smile returned to Hector's face.
"I'm glad too," he said. The day continued as they finished their cigarettes and moved back inside to make sure everything was ready. When 1:30pm hit-Hector got everyone outside on the airstrip and the girl who had been sick, who was feeling better now too. Bags were loaded-gear was on and guns in hands as they loaded up. Hector did a roll call and head count before radioing up to the captain they were ready to leave. The doors and hatches were shut and the plane moved down the runway and took to the air. Hector relaxed in his seat-on their way back to Iraq for the tour to continue on.
