Pyle woke up the next morning as Ermey came walking in banging the empty garbage can with his baton. He stumbled out as he stumbled out and flopped down. He still felt like he was in pain as he wasn't able to move that well. Squirrelkit pulled free from the covers as she noticed Pyle was in agony. She soon walked over to help him.
"Pyle, what happened to you?" Ermey asked him as he noticed that he wasn't well at all. Squirrelkit was there and she must have known what happened to him since she was forced to participate last night.
"Sir Whitekit made up all beat up Pyle last night for whenever he messed up as a sign of revenge, Sir!" Squirrelkit responded as she rose to the occasion. Ermey looked at her.
"Wait so Private Sky did this? I suspected that someone wouldn't be happy. I'll speak to her to find out what her motivation behind all of this was. You best get Private Pyle some medical help. Private Luna would be able to take a look at those wounds." Ermey knew he had a few choice words to speak to her about it as Squirrelkit got Pyle out as they went to go find Leafkit.
Leafkit and her new friend, Mothwing, were busy in the medical tents with the other medics in training as they were engaged with a morning conversation.
"… I personally do not know what is going on with some of these recruits; many of them seem pretty reckless. I feel like I have to mend a lot of broken bones while I'm at boot camp." Mothwing explained as she was getting the day ready for what recruit will stumble in beaten and injured. Leafkit looked at her.
"Me either. Look at me and the rest of us. All we do is take care of the pads of the recruits which so often get covered in blisters. I mean you don't see an apprentice with their legs getting blown off right?" Leafkit asked as she was cleaning some of the needles. Soon a knocking was heard as she was wondering who it was. "Come in." Squirrelkit and Pyle stumbled in as Pyle looked like he was in agony.
"What happened to him?" Mothwing asked as she prepared to lay Pyle down on the examination table.
"He was in pain for the entirety of last night and I told the drill instructor about it." Squirrelkit responded as she Mothwing began to examine Pyle, he was covered in black and blues from the beating he had taken the night before. Leafkit began to put ice all over him to bring down the swelling. Soon she decided to take a look at him as she was coming up with the proper diagnosis.
"Well it was clear he was badly beaten last night. We might have to take him out of training for the day if that's okay with you." Leafkit told him as she was beginning to take care of him. Squirrekit nodded as she got up and left. She knew there was nothing she could do for Pyle.
Days went by. Pyle thankfully recovered, Whitekit was given punishment that she was going to have to mop up the head every time she was called upon which she wasn't too pleased about. Ermey was soon marching along with the cats as he was going to give them their proper motivation.
"Port… hit!" He began. The cats reciprocated the event as they put their rifles with the barrel facing to the left and pointed up. "Left shoulder… hut!" The cats responded as they turned their rifles following the command. Ermey soon looked at it as he wanted to give out the last command. "Right shoulder… hut!" The cats responded as he went over to them. He soon wanted their attention directed on him. "Left face!" Ermey commanded. They soon looked at him. He was ready to drill more stuff into their heads. "Do we love our beloved Corps, ladies?" The kits soon responded as they wanted to shout.
"Semper fi, do or die! Gung ho, gung ho, gung ho!" The kits chanted out loud. Pyle stood there staring into space not responded at all. Ermey nodded as he soon asked the next question.
"What makes the grass grow?" Ermey asked them to see if they had the correct answer.
"Blood, blood, blood!" The kits chanted as Ermey was liking it. Pyle once again said nothing. Ermey just continued asking them.
"What do we do for a living, ladies?" Ermey asked them wondering what they loved to do. The kits soon responded.
"Kill, kill, kill!" The kits chanted. Pyle was once again not responding. Ermey was worried about their pitch as he felt they weren't loud enough to speak.
"I can't hear you!" Ermey shouted at the kits. The kits chanted the same three words again wondering if it was better.
"Kill, kill, kill!" The kits chanted as Ermey wasn't impressed by this at all either.
"Bullshit! I still can't hear you!" Ermey shouted at them to be louder. The kits soon began shouting.
"Kill, kill, kill!" The kits chanted as Pyle was still silent about it, not even saying a word. Ermey soon looked at them as he was getting bored but satisfied about their shouting.
"That's enough. I'll see you on the bleachers for more testing." Ermey soon walked off as he wanted them to put their rifles away and for them to meet him on the bleachers.
It was an hour later when all the cats were sitting on the bleachers as Ermey was still glorifying the TCMC and their history of good fighters. Ermey soon looked at the cats as he began to speak.
"Do any of you cats know who Charles Whitman was?" Ermey asked them wondering if they had any idea. No one responded. Ermey soon got looked up as he was shocked. "None of you dumbasses know." Ermey mewed displeased. Cowboy soon shot his paw up as Ermey might have the cat answer his question. "Private Cowboy?"
"Sir he was the tom who shot all of those cats in the tower in the University of Austin, Texas sir!" Cowboy responded as Ermey snapped as he had the right answer.
"That's affirmative. Charles Whitman killed 17 cats and wounded 31 others from a twenty-eight story observation tower at the University of Texas from a distance up to four hundred yards." Ermey responded. He soon looked around as he wanted to ask another question but something a little bit easier to make sure all the cats knew what the answer was. "Anybody know who Lee Harvey Oswald was?" Ermey asked them. All their paws shot up in the air as he looked around to pick whoever was the closest. He soon turned. "Private Snowball?" Ermey asked him.
"Sir, he shot John, president of Thunderclan at the time sir." Snowball responded. Ermey knew he was right on the money.
"That's right and do you know how far away he was?" Ermey asked him if he knew how far the shots were fired. Snowball turned to Ermey as he answered his question.
"Sir, it was pretty far! From that book suppository building sir!" Snowball replied. All the other kits laughed at the word suppository. Ermey knew he had to get their attention.
"All right, knock it off! Two hundred and fifty feet! He was two hundred and fifty feet away and shooting at a moving target. Oswald got three rounds with an old Italian bolt action rifle in only six seconds and scored two hits, including a head shot. Do any of you cats know where these individuals learned to shoot?" Ermey gave the exact answer and what weapon they used. He soon asked on where they learned to shoot. Squirrelkit raised her paw.
"Private Joker?" Ermey asked her if she knew the answer. Ermey had to call on her.
"Sir in the Marines, sir!" Squirrelkit responded as she knew the answer. Ermey looked at her impressed.
"In the Marines! Outstanding! Those individuals showed what one motivated marine and his rifle can do! And before you ladies leave my island. You will be able to do the same thing!" Ermey soon told them that with their rifles they will now be able to learn how to shoot them. Whitekit was overjoyed as Pyle continued to stare at Ermey without saying a word.
"Sir, when will we begin shooting them sir?" Whitekit asked Ermey when they will begin to shoot their rifles that were handed to them. Ermey turned to her.
"In a couple of days sweetheart, be patient." Ermey soon walked off as they all headed back to their bunks.
The next morning, the kits were waiting in their rows as they were standing. Ermey walked by as the he was leading the kits to sing.
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, dear Starkit, Happy Birthday to you!" Ermey and the kits sang. Ermey soon stopped as he turned to the kits.
"Today… is Christmas! There will be a magic show at zero-nine-thirty! Chaplain Charlie will teach you about how the free world will conquer Communism with the aid of Starkit and a few good marines! Starkit has a hard-on for marines because we kill everything we see! She plays her games, we play ours! To show our appreciation for so much power, we keep heaven packed with fresh souls. Starkit was here before the Marine Corps! So you can give your heart to Starkit but your ass belongs to the Corps! Do you ladies understand?" Ermey was explaining on what will go on. The kits looked at him as they were ready to respond.
"Sir yes sir!" The kits responded. Ermey wasn't satisfied with the pitch as he wanted it louder.
"I can't hear you!" Ermey shouted to the kits. The kits shouted louder in unison.
"Sir yes sir!" The kits shouted. Ermey was satisfied as he walked off.
That night, the kits were given some free time as they were sitting on their foot lockers as they were chatting and messing around with their M14's since they will be shooting them in the morning. Ermey was walking around making sure no fights broke out between the kits. Pyle was talking softly to his rifle.
"It's been swabbed… and wiped. Everything is clean. Beautiful. So it slides perfectly. Nice. Everything cleaned. Oiled. So that your action is beautiful. Smooth, Charline." Pyle mewed quietly to his rifle. Squirrelkit as looking at him as she was beginning to feel uneasy. Was his rifle his girl or something. She decided to finish cleaning her rifle.
Squirrelkit, Pyle, Cowboy, Crowkit and Whitekit were given the assignment to mopping the floor in the latrine to make sure it was clean. They were excited for tomorrow morning as they would be testing the rifles out. Squirrelkit soon noticed Cowboy as she pulled him over as she wanted to talk to him; she looked around to make sure they were alone before she began to speak.
"What is it that you want to speak about Joker?" Cowboy asked Squirrelkit as he wanted to figure out what was going on. Squirrelkit soon began to speak to him.
"Leonard talks to his rifle." Squirrelkit mewed. Cowboy turned back as he kept mopping. Squirrelkit was waiting for a response from Cowboy when he turned and gave his word.
"Yeah!" He muttered as it was the strangest thing. Squirrekit continued to mop.
"I don't think Leonard can't hack it anymore. I think Leonard's a Section Eight." Squirrelkit responded as they continued to mop. There was no response only a brief moment of silence between the two kits. Cowboy broke the silence as he wanted to speak to her about it.
"It don't surprise me." Cowboy responded. They continued mopping as Squirrelkit was thinking about what she could say next. She began to think as she mopped as she knew that Pyle could be unfit for service but with where he was, he was nowhere near that side nor would he be discharged from service due to Thunderclan needing fighters. Squirrelkit soon spoke.
"I want to slip my tubesteak into your sister. What'll you'll take in trade." Squirrelkit joked with Cowboy despite being a she-cat herself. Cowboy ignored her as he had nothing to return. He kept mopping away as Squirrelkit continued to work.
"What have you got?" Cowboy finally responded. Whitekit was looking at them with distrust as she knew Pyle went from a former shell of being unable to do anything to being her biggest rival. She knew things between them and she was slowly expanding as she was going to snap.
Ermey walked in the next morning grabbing the trashcan and banging it with his baton to wake them all up. The kits were waiting at this point as they knew today was the day for the exciting part of being a marine.
"Reveille! Reveille! Reveille! Today is the day that you've all been waiting for. Grab your uniforms and your rifles. Today is the day that you will be heading down to the shooting range." Ermey announced that they were lucky that day. The cats looked at him as they were excited. Rushing to get ready, they knew on what to do. They soon marched into formation in record timing having their M14 rifles by their side. Ermey impressed by this now knew that their location was the shooting range.
They soon got to the shooting range as they were getting ready to fire their weapons as Ermey was handing out the M14 magazines to all of the cats. They all happily took them as they soon went to their designated spots.
"Now we get to the fun part of being a marine, learning to shoot your very own rifles. You got your targets at 100 yards away. They will eventually get 50 yards farther from the first target and you might need to change it up if you want to get to hitting the target precisely. "Now let's see how well you can hit those targets." Ermey told them. Crowkit went first as he raised his M14 rifle and bang! He nailed the 100 yard shot first as the other kits were firing away but they weren't hitting the target precisely. Whitekit was the next to fire and bang! She easily nailed the 100 yard target as it retracted to being a 150 yard target. Squirrelkit being short looked up as she fired the rifle. Bang! Hitting the target with ease, she waited for the next target to rise so she could fire the next shot. Pyle soon went down prone as he fired the first shot. Bang! He nailed the target with ease. As soon as the next target was raised, he fired hitting that target again. The targets continued to scale back. 200, yards 250 yards. Ermey knew he had to do something to test on how well he was able to fire it. He soon began raising metal targets and bells for him to fire as the 300 yard target came up. Pyle continued to fire at the targets. Bang! Bang! Bang! The targets were being pushed away as bells were ringing. Pyle soon kept focus as he fired at the 300 yard line. Squirrelkit, Crowkit and Whitekit were getting challenges as well as the targets were being raised. They were firing away to hit them but they weren't as fast as Pyle. Pyle soon finished the last target at the distance of 500 yards. He went to reload. Ermey looked at him as he was impressed. "Outstanding, Private Pyle! I think we've finally found something that suits you well!" Ermey called out to him. Pyle finished reloading the M14 as he cocked the bolt to the rifle.
"Sir yes sir!" Pyle called out. Squirrelkit was the next to finish as she reloaded her M14 as well. Ermey walked over to her.
"Nice shooting there Private Joker. You're up there with Pyle when it comes to shooting." Ermey complimented her. Whitekit soon finished shooting her group as Ermey walked to her.
"Sir yes sir!" Squirrelkit responded. Ermey looked at her as she was reloading her M14.
"You always impress me Private Sky; I think you might become a good tactical shooter one day." Ermey complimented her. He soon got up as he went to Crowkit who finished his grouping.
"Sir yes sir!" Whitekit responded. Ermey soon walked over Crowkit who was reloading his M14.
"Nice shooting there but don't let the rifle bounce up too much or you'll miss the follow up shot if you want to aim. Keep some force down on that rifle." Ermey told him. Private Cowboy finished his shots as he went to reload.
"Sir yes sir!" Crowkit responded. Ermey walked over to Private Cowboy. He was reloading his M14.
"You seem to be waiting for the follow up shots as the targets get ready, you seem a little cautious in your shooting. Other than that, you did fantastic." Ermey complimented Cowboy as the rest of the kits were still trying to hit their targets. Ermey knew he had a treat for the five of them in mind.
"Sir yes sir!" Cowboy responded. Ermey soon motioned for the five of them to come to him.
"Since you five got your shooting done the fastest, I want to see what other weapons you would want to try out to see what you're the most comfortable with. Then we can determine what role you would play as: Sniper, Support, CQB, or if you want to you can hang onto your M14 rifles when you go out." Ermey wanted to make their training special. Squirrelkit, Crowkit, Whitekit, Cowboy and Pyle were going to be put through more testing to see where they lie. They were excited for this.
[A/N]: Sorry for being on a bit of a writer's block but I wanted to make this a bit longer than the others to make up for it. I still crave those reviews as they will mean a lot to me and I still want to see where you want Pyle to end up, completely insane or being able to recognize his own mistakes and try to be better. I want to hear your opinions on the matter as I will be posting out more chapters in the near future so let's try to get to 10 reviews by the time this week is over. So that is all for now, see you next chapter.