Can you all believe you've read about 280 pages so far? That's a short novel! And to think, this story is nowhere near over.
Chapter 16 - Hangovers
Rico's eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing a sea of hangover haze as they stared blankly at a wall. She blinked as a heavy force pushed against her skull and the back of her eyes. Furrowing her brow, she let her lids close and her head spin. The room felt hot and oddly still as an eerie early morning light began to peek through the blinds. A strange dim hue covered the room.
Finally mustering some strength from her will to want to power through the headache and hindrance, she sat up gradually. Some of her hair fell into her face in a messy fashion as her brow remained stressed. Using her elbows to keep her up, she sat at a 40-degree angle. She began to look around the room in mild confusion, but then nearly jumped as she noticed the sleepy body next to her. It was Soap. The bend in his arm lay over his face, shielding his eyes, as he slept soundly on his back. His bare shoulders and chest stuck out from the covers. He appeared rather at peace.
Observing him, she allowed for the cloudy images and memories to recollect in her brain, where she was left having to come to terms with all that had happened. The images of the way he took control, man-handled her, and slid in between her thighs were dancing around her head. A hand found her mouth as reality continued to sink in. She rose more out of the bed until her upper body was completely straight; her eyes remained on the only visible portions of his body. She swallowed hard and looked off to the door, where she found everything to still be locked up tight. Rico joked with herself that the door was the only thing that remained locked up last night. She had to let her head fall into her palms as she pondered over everything.
Suddenly realizing that he could stir any moment, she quietly removed herself from the bed. She wasn't sure if she could handle the obvious scenario they'd both be finding themselves in if he happened to wake up before she snaked out of the room. She knew it'd look terrible: him waking up and she was gone. It was a shallow thing to do. But her cheeks began to burn with a mixture of embarrassment and slight arousal. Embarrassed by her out of character choices and aroused from the misty memories of the night before. She was smart enough to know that she was not in the position to carry on a conversation with him in the complete nude about the drunken night before.
She abruptly remembered Shorty, her designated roommate for the night. Where did she end up? Rico immediately wanted to go find her friend, and she only prayed that Shorty hadn't discovered anything the night before. She'd never hear the end of it from Shorty, especially after the woman had told Rico weeks before to 'not go sucking his cock'. And now it seemed Rico had done much more than that.
Standing up completely, minding any disturbances she may make, she began to scour the floor for her clothes. She was unsure of where they had been tossed off to, and the little light from the early morning sun made it near impossible to see through the shadows on the ground. Her hand suddenly felt something silky and recognized it as her bra. Snatching it up quickly, she clipped it back on and returned to feeling around the floor.
He suddenly sighed, causing her to pop her head up over the side to stare at him closely. She waited and watched his chest move slowly up and down before finally deciding that it was safe to resume her search. Finally snagging a hold of her panties, shirt, and pants, she rose to put everything together. She quickly glanced at him one more time to verify that she was still in the clear; his arm still remained thrown over his eyes. Taking a brief moment to stare at him, she realized how suddenly the giant, intimidating man was now seemingly harmless and adorable. The pulsing of her headache forced her to get back on task as she began to slide her clothes back on.
Soap's brow furrowed under his arm as his senses began to slowly hone in. A pressure in his head pushed against his eyes as he began to stir. He swallowed hard and had to sigh through his nose. Somehow, he sensed the room became very still, and it was mildly confusing for he had sworn he had heard movement just seconds before. His thoughts began to dose again as he allowed his mind to wander. Then, a sudden realization occurred to him as his memory became clear.
Once again, he heard very silent movement, but this time he was more aware; it caused him to move his arm down from in front of his eyes. His eyes narrowed in a sea of haze as the minor light source shined in his face. Eventually, his vision began to return and focus revealing an image before him. Near the end corner of the bed, stood a woman only partially clothed. He watched her fumble quietly with her articles of clothing she pulled out before her. Then, he recognized it as Rico, and simply remained silent as he observed her pulling her pants up over her heart-shaped rear before getting her shirt up over her head where the fabric eventually covered up her bare back.
Sensing something, her eyes shot to the corner of her vision in Soap's seemingly sleepy direction. She nearly jumped a foot once she saw him staring back at her. Even with a hangover, the man still had sharp, smart eyes; it was very apparent that he very rarely missed anything. His expression stayed stoic as she turned to face him with nervousness.
Her heart began to pound against her chest as she gawked back at him with wide eyes. Soap, of course, saw her now anxious mannerisms and was quick to put two and two together.
She swallowed and blinked at him as her lips parted. "Sorry. I didn't want to make you stir."
He took a moment to study her face in the little lighting before replying. "What are you doing?" His words came out closely resembling that of a statement versus an actual question.
Her eyes looked off towards the door. "I wanted to get dressed. I was about to-"
"Leave?" Soap finished her sentence with his deep voice. His eyes fell onto her chest which moved up in down with anxiousness.
She sighed and looked back at him. "Yeah. I was about to leave. I know we all have to get up soon, so I was going to head downstairs to find some coffee." She paused briefly. "Would you like some?"
He blinked at her, his eyes were probing but somehow calming. Then they suddenly scrolled over towards the tiny digital clock that set atop the nearby nightstand. "It's 0513. Quite early for coffee." He moved a bare arm out from under the covers and rubbed his stubble covered chin. "That means we slept only three hours."
Her eyes moved for the clock; it was something she hadn't noticed before. Realizing the current time made it become obvious why she was still fatigued. "We still need to be back to base in two hours."
He suddenly leaned forward causing the covers to fall off his stomach and onto his lap. "The run back will take approximately 40 minutes. That leaves us an hour and twenty minutes to get ready." His eyes stayed locked onto her; they were magnetic. There was something so utterly mysterious about the Scotsman, and she couldn't put a finger on it. "Where were you planning on going?"
She rubbed her arms, feeling as if she had just been caught red-handed, even though she knew there wasn't quite a reason to feel entirely ashamed or guilty. "Shorty was supposed to be in this room last night with me. I want to go find her."
His eyes widened slightly, as if now she had just tossed him a curveball, but somehow, his overall aura remained intact and strong.
"So, I'm going to go leave to get coffee and search for her." She pointed a thumb over her shoulder.
Soap was quick to respond. "No. You should stay. I think it'd be worse if she came back before you did and I was the only one in the room, don't you think?"
Rico nodded slowly in agreement.
"Alright? So you stay here, and I'll go." He began to rise from the bed, hand landing on the cover to toss it to the side.
Not wanting to seem nosey or rude, Rico turned her head to the side to let her attention drift elsewhere. She crossed her arms calmly and blinked distantly with blushing cheeks. For some reason, a feeling of embarrassment swarmed around her emotions as a sinking sense became apparent in her stomach.
Soap moved off of the bed and began to scan the floor for his clothing. His skin glowed from the early morning light peaking through the blinds as he fully stood completely bare. He kept his eye on her momentarily before reaching for his shirt and undergarments. After covering up his manhood with the boxer briefs, his legs carried him towards her backside. She could feel his presence approaching, despite how silently he moved.
He was now standing directly behind her, she could feel his heat already encompassing her surroundings.
"Rico." His voice emitted lowly, sending shivers down her back. He was close.
She craned her neck to look back at him where her eyes met up with the image of his exposed collarbones; his hands worked at turning his shirt right-side in. Her eyes inched their way up until they met up with his face. He looked tired but oddly alert.
His full lips parted. "We should probably talk." He noticed her shift in facial expressions. "I think you know what I'm referencing." Then, as if he couldn't already be standing closer, he decreased their distance and was now only several inches away.
Her eyes peered straight into his eyes where they became stuck onto his light irises. Eventually, she looked back down at his strong chest and sighed. "Yeah. I do."
There was a moment of silence where the two of them became lost in thought, and both knew exactly what was going through the other's mind. Both thoroughly enjoyed it, but both wanted to establish a common ground on the situation; just to make sure they both were going to be seeing eye to eye. He stared at her pink lips and let his mind wander.
Then, he lowered his head closer to her's to the point where she could feel his hot breath from his nose near her face. She looked into his profound eyes and bit her lip.
Just when she thought he was about to capture his lips against hers again, he merely opened his mouth to speak. "Stay here. I'll be right back." Pulling away he stared down at her as he lifted his shirt up and slipped it up over his head concealing away the muscles and hair on his chest and stomach. He turned to begin the search for the rest of his articles of clothing. She had to sigh as tension released from her body; her heart was pounding in her chest.
Taking a nervous seat on the end of the bed, she watched blankly as Soap found his pants and shoes. After finishing, he ambled for the space before her and quickly occupied it with his dominating mass and aura. She glanced up at him, and tried to read his face. It was an incredibly difficult task at times, just the way the muscles in his face relaxed all while his eyes narrowed in with focus.
"Two creamer and two teaspoons of sugar, right?" His voice sounded.
She shook her head slightly in mild confusion. "I'm sorry, what?"
He gestured his head at her. "The way you take your coffee. That's how you had it that one day back in the mess hall."
"Oh, right. Yes, that's how I take it."
He nodded at her. "Give me ten minutes."
With that, he went for the door and placed himself outside into the hall. The door closed softly behind him. She blinked at the door before curling up and exhaling heavily. Her eyes darted towards the side where they came upon her phone she had taken out of her pants the night before. She suddenly remember checking it drunkenly after Soap had just drilled her. The image of him pulling out from between her legs and nuzzling up against her as she giggled flashed into her mind.
Her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose as her headache returned full force with vicious intent. Eventually, she reached out to check the screen on her phone and saw no new notifications. She sighed and tossed the phone to the front of the bed before falling backwards against the sheets. The room buzzed with that growing faint morning light as dust particles danced through the dawn's sun beam. The second full-sized bed remained untouched, whereas the one she lay sprawled out on top of was just a manic, cluster of sheets and covers. The urge to leave the room only heightened, but she remained cemented to the mattress. As she stared at the unmoving ceiling fan, she started to drift off.
After several moments had passed, she stirred at the sound of the door closing. Her eyes peeled open and before she knew it, Soap was standing over her with two mugs in hand. He rose one slightly in the air towards her.
"Here." He lowered the same mug onto the nightstand. Her eyes followed the movement before she sat up.
"Thanks." She reached out for it reluctantly. "God knows I'll need this to lie to my brain that I don't have a hangover."
Without missing a beat, he reached down to pull a water bottle out of a small bag that remained hidden out of her line of sight. He extended the water out before her. "Hydrating helps too. Water is from the night before, but it's still water."
She blinked at it momentarily before accepting it and taking a drink. While she swooshed the fluid around in her mouth, Soap had taken a seat by her. He was close, closer than she would have expected; she knew he was watching her. Unable to resist, she peered over at him from the corner of her vision.
Once their eyes met, he sighed before talking. "No sign of Shorty out there."
"Hopefully she isn't dead on the streets somewhere."
"Unlikely. Trevor had his eye on her all night."
She nodded slowly. "That's an understatement."
He took a moment to just study her. She still couldn't read him, and felt as if everything she was thinking and feeling was just being reflected right back at her with his eyes.
Finally, his lips parted. "We need to discuss last night."
She paused and swallowed hard. The taste of the coffee was only making her stomach more uneasy and upset. "What do you mean?"
He straightened his posture and raised a dark eyebrow in her direction. "Did you blackout? I would imagine you could connect the dots even if you did."
"No. I didn't blackout."
"Good."
She looked over at him with a furrowed brow. She appeared stressed, annoyed, and impatient all at once. He immediately saw the look and even he had to feel uneasy by it. "Mind elaborating on that?"
"Elaborating? You mean in reference to my comment." He asked.
She nodded in approval at him.
"Well, for one it means you didn't wake up thinking I took advantage of your state-"
"I know you didn't take advantage of me."
He paused briefly before continuing. "And since you remember it, it means we can discuss it thoroughly."
She instantly had to place her mug down to rub her temples as she released an exasperated sigh. "Look. Soap. I respect you, I really do. But I'm in no way shape or form ready to have this discussion."
He was quick to respond. "So you'd rather just ignore that it happened?"
"What the hell...no. That's not what I'm saying. All I'm implying is that I'd rather have this discussion when I don't have a throbbing headache." She gazed at his face and was met with that mysterious expression. "Ok?"
"Fine." He rose up and stared down at her before checking his wristwatch. "Only 0536. You sure you don't want to do this now?"
She nodded up at him. "I'm sure."
He could only gawk back before sighing and pulling away. The man wanted to get this all out on the table before leaving for base. Now it seems that wasn't about to happen. He couldn't help but feel frustrated but could respect her openness to admit she wasn't in the position to deliberate on it.
Following after him, she brought herself up to stand before him. "Well, I'll see you later then." She stated before moving past his mass and for the door.
Without responding, he simply nodded and watched her go. Once the door closed quietly, he looked to the bed and exhaled heavily.
Outside in the hallway, it was only a short passing of time before Rico encountered Trevor just as soon as he was leaving his room. Their eyes both met, as Trevor's stare widened.
"Rico." He said.
"Trevor," she stopped before him. "Have you seen Shorty? She was supposed to share a room with me last night."
Trevor's tongue rolled around in his mouth as he pondered. He finally opened his mouth to reply, "Funny. I was about to start searching for Soap. Know where he may be?"
With that now out in the air, both paused and stared silently at the other, as if everything just became apparent. Trevor scratched his head with a ponderous expression while Rico simply crossed her arms and looked to the floor.
"Well, how are you feeling? Hangover wise?" Trevor broke the silence.
She peered up at him. "As expected. I should have eaten something last night. Not sure how I'm going to make this jog without puking out my insides."
He nodded in agreement at her. "You said it-" Suddenly there was an exasperated sigh that emitted from the closed off room behind him. He flashed a nervous smile as Rico raised an eyebrow at him.
"So, see you down in the lobby in 10 minutes?" She inquired.
"Yep."
With that, the two of them went their separate ways. Rico turned for the stairs to find a place to sit in the lobby while she waited for the others. Her stomach growled with discontent. She shut her eyes and sat in the lonely lobby in complete silence. It wasn't long before a few of the members began to appear. Tatiana yawned and stretched as Shawn walked around her with a bag in hand.
Shawn began to hand out some breakfast bars. "Here. I got a bunch of snacks for this morning. Eat up."
Each person accepted the food willingly. Eventually, Shorty ambled in with Trevor and Soap behind her. The three bore completely different expressions.
"I'll be honest," Tatiana spoke up, "I doubt I'll be able to run this. I'm a mechanic, not a soldier."
Reggie looked up from his position on the lobby couch, which faced the front entrance. "Hitch a ride on someone's back. Like Soap. He looks up to something like that."
Soap glanced over at Reggie as Tatiana shook her head. "Nah. No need for any of that. I'm staying in town for a little bit. I was going to head to the hardware store once it opened." She replied.
"How are you getting back then?" Shawn questioned while handing her some food and drink.
She shrugged. "I'll find a way. You all can't go to Mexico without me."
Trevor suddenly leaned in closer to Soap and lowered his voice to a near inaudible level. "Where were you last night, man?"
Soap's eyebrows rose slightly at the inquiry. Without looking at him, he responded. "Not where I was supposed to end up."
Trevor blinked in thought as his eyes scrolled over toward where Rico sat silently. He looked back to Soap's profile. "Dude. You fucked her, didn't you?"
Soap pursed his lips and shook his head. "Not sure what or who you're talking about."
Trevor had to emit a chuckle. "You totally did." He pulled away and crossed his arms with amusement. "Nice."
Before Soap could respond, Reggie's voice broke into the silence. "Jesus fucking Christ, let's get this over with. I'm seconds away from literally spilling my guts." His eyes then narrowed with weariness as he scanned the many faces gawking at him.
With that, everyone either rose or came together and made their way for the outside and into the early morning sun. Tatiana waved and went a separate way as the group began their jog. After several minutes had past and they broke out of the central location of the city, Shawn had to sigh.
"Part of me regrets nothing and another part of me regrets everything."
"Let me guess. You don't regret drinking heavily last night but you also regret drinking heavily last night." Trevor commented.
"Yep. That'd be it," Shawn replied with a flat tone.
Soap immediately noticed the distance Rico kept between the two of them; it irked him slightly. He was having trouble comprehending her thought process. His eyes watched her as she jogged with a blank expression. Sensing his stare, she glanced in his direction, but only to quickly look away. Was she embarrassed? Was she indifferent? Was she not interested? It was bothering him way more than it should have.
During their jog back, a few had stopped to regurgitate. Once Shawn halted to throw-up to the side, a few others had to look away. Shorty threw a hand over her mouth.
"Oh, God…" She said before stopping to dry heave.
"Chain reaction! Look away!" Reggie shouted as he jogged around her to avoid the heaving pathway.
Rico had stopped to wait for her friend who was doubled-over and staring at the ground. Shawn wiped his mouth and resumed with his hurried stride.
"Great. Amazing taste in my mouth now." He stated sarcastically.
Trevor grimaced. "You all are gross."
The jog back was a rough one as everyone's heads throbbed and their visions were squinted from the sensitivity to the sun's light. Once they all broke into the clearing and found themselves back at base, they were immediately greeted by Price and Samson who were standing and awaiting their arrivals patiently.
Price glanced at the face of his watch. "Two minutes early. Good" Then he looked up. "But I see you're missing a few laggers. You better hope they get back in time."
The group who had arrived first all looked around at each other with anticipation. Samson smiled faintly at the lot of them. Eventually the remaining others appeared and joined up with the rest of them. Rico stood by Shorty as she bent over and panted.
"Ah, shit. That could have gone better." Shorty commented before she straightened and put her hands on her head.
Price looked at his watch again. "You're late." His eyes found the few that had shown up only several minutes past the designated return time.
Shorty waved him off. "Relax. Some of us were vomiting and sobbing the whole way back."
The old man crossed his arms and lowered his brow. Soap was very much aware of what was about to happen. "Clean your mouths out and return to this spot in five minutes. I got some exercises for you all. Should help to wake your arses up and get you all kick-started for the day."
Several faces looked up with worry. A few had to sigh and look off towards the distant mountain tops.
Price waved for them to get a move-on. "Chop chop. I don't have all day. We have several hours of preparation scheduled into our agendas. Mexico is calling our names."
The group all peered around at their surroundings before finally dispersing to tidy up a bit before returning to prepare themselves for quite the list of exercises Price had planned out for them. The idea was slightly terrifying.
Soap walked with a relaxed stride for the showers; he heard feet approaching his backside.
"Hey. Soap, my man." It was Reggie, of course.
Soap kept his eyes locked ahead. "What?"
Reggie was quick to find his side. "So, you get the lady in need back to her room safely?"
"Aye."
"That's cute."
Soap raised an eyebrow in mild confusion.
"And how about you…?" Reggie studied Soap's face with oddly probing eyes.
Soap swallowed and let his brow go flat. "Well, got her back safely then I went off to bed myself."
"Uh huh."
The two of them were now just staring at each other. Soap crunched up his nose and scratched the tip of it before speeding up his pace. "See you on the courses, eijit."
Reggie chuckled as the Scotsman was quick to disappear into the building which housed the bathrooms and showers.
The day carried on slowly but painfully. It was rather dreary as a mysterious fog snaked into the valleys and covered the base. Everyone ran the courses and participated accordingly to the tedious work-outs Price had laid out for them, but the tide shifted as Samson beckoned everyone.
He gestured for several of the members before turning around to find the others. Eventually, after a short interval of time had passed, Darkhorse was all gathered up and were now staring at Price intentively.
Price had to heave a sigh. "First things first. Lemann has been given a month to live. And that prediction was on the longer end of the calendar." Everyone's expressions became stern and concerned. "That means that once the commander has left us, I should be taking his place, and that also means we're getting a new team member. We've already been looking at some compatible candidates."
"Such as…?" Shawn asked.
"Combat engineer, infiltration expert, and another infantry. Those are the three we're examining." Price then rose his hand out before him and narrowed his eyes. "And as for Mexico, we leave tomorrow evening. Talon is picking us up and then we're loading up on one of their vessels to journey over towards Merida. That trip should take roughly a week. Assuming the worse types of climate and weather during the trip there."
Everyone nodded in understanding before Samson grabbed everyone's attention from his location in a front positioned chair. "Guys. Mexico is going to much different from what we're used to. Less freedom, stricter rules, heightened alertness, and most likely a large increase in threat levels. This is enemy territory because we know Vasquez are dealing with a group of Mexicans as well. Echo only got one lead, and the name was Rio. That's it. So…" Samson's eyes then looked off to a distant corner. "So that means we're going to be doing a lot more investigating and field-work."
Darkhorse stared at Samson with tired but focused eyes.
Price cleared his throat and then looked to Soap. "Expect some darkness to creep up on us. This isn't a fairytale, and we are about to be reminded about that." His eyes then moved away from Soap and found the others. "Got it?"
"Copy that." Was emitted from their throats.
Soap narrowed his eyes. Suddenly, his previous dream flashed into his mind, he had to lower his head and place his face into his wide-palmed hands as he pondered. His head felt like it was cracking down the center. Lately, he had been getting migraines, something he hadn't experienced before. When they occurred, it was as if Thor himself was smashing his hammer down onto Soap's skull. It all started after his last almost fatal injury, and the migraines themselves only happened several times after. He could count three off the top of his head; when they erupted, they came full -force and were incredibly unforgiven. He was worried that one was beginning to explode behind his eyes.
His hands came down from his face as his eyes found Price staring at him with actual concern. Soap's stomach churned and his vision spun. He wasn't sure what triggered it, but it became more apparent that he was now falling victim to the torment.
"You're all dismissed." Price announced firmly, causing everyone but Soap to rise from their chairs. Soap stared blankly and emptily ahead as the Darkhorse members passed him up; Rico looked down at him as she ambled by. Her hand patted his shoulder lightly. He rose his head up to turn around and watch her backside as she left with the others.
Suddenly, Soap's attention was grabbed by Price who was quick to stand over him with his default stare.
"You're pale." He pointed-out.
Soap peered up at the old man with discontent. "I know."
Price furrowed his brow. "What's wrong with you?"
"Migraine, I believe."
"Hm." Price paused briefly. "You've been getting those lately. You're last one was about a little over a month ago."
Soap blinked at him. "How did you know that?"
"You disappeared for the whole day. I found you sprawled out on the floor. Passed out."
"Wait, what?" Soap straightened up with questioning eyes.
Price ran his tongue over his teeth as he shook his head. "Don't remember that?"
"No, I remember staying in the room but I don't ever remember being on the ground."
"You must have rolled off the bed. I had to help you up. You were muttering something. I just ruled that you were dreaming." Price let his chin lower as the brim of his boonie covered his eyes. "You must be putting on more muscle because you were a heavy shit to move."
Soap could only stare with a deadpan expression. "I really don't remember that."
Price finally peered back up towards the door as a hand found Soap's broad shoulder. "You need to rest then. I need you back in the game tomorrow." He looked back down into Soap's fatigued face. "Go lay down."
The old man then left, leaving Soap in a quiet and lonely room. He finally brought himself up and headed for the exit. He staggered to the outside world and slowly made his way for his room in search of peace and a dark space. Finding his room, he closed off the windows and the door and crashed into the bed, head spinning. The thought of food made his stomach twist, despite being hungry. He eventually dozed off and drifted into a seemingly restless sleep.
Soap had remained in the room for the entire portion of the day. Many began to question his whereabouts as they helped with organizing inventory and prepared to lock the place up for their journey to Mexico.
Trevor approached Price. "Where's the big man?"
Price glanced at him. "He's out for the day."
Shawn heard the comment and peered over his shoulder. "Out? For his hangover?"
Before Price could respond, Ivan was quick to complain. "How come he gets hangover privileges but we don't?"
"Yeah! What the hell! I've been throwing-up all morning and you don't see me whining about it." Shorty scoffed.
"You're whining about it now…" Shawn murmured.
"You know what I mean, little buddy."
Price let his hands out before him. "Relax. No need to turn it into something personal. He's out for the day. Leave it at that." He scratched his nose and resumed with his patrolling.
The four members who stood amongst themselves all sent each other confused glances. Neither really could determine what the issue could have been, and just decided to move-on from it.
The day lagged by as night approached. Everyone ate dinner and had to raise their eyebrows in confusion at the lack of Soap's presence. Price finished his meal swiftly and left everyone at the table. He was quick to return himself to the sleep corridors in search of his close comrade. The old man wasn't one to worry, or at least get caught up on all of the fuss, but he was still obligated to check-in on the Scotsman.
Before bringing himself through the threshold to their room he tapped on the light, metal door before opening it to the room inside. As expected, the room was dark, and dark enough to the point Price had to find the light switch. Flicking on the light, he quickly found the mound on Soap's bed. Soap lay motionless as Price approached.
"Soap." Price said.
Soap remained still.
Price sighed and went over for him, tapping him on the shoulder once in reaching distance. "Soap. You need to eat something."
The large man's entire mass was shielded by a sheet, and his face was obscured by an arm and pillow. He murmured slightly but was stationary.
"Soap. You're not having an aneurysm, are you?" Price asked with a stern tone.
Soap shifted quietly before finally pulling the pillow back to look up at Price. He instantly cowered away from the light.
"No." His voice emitted deeply.
"Good. Now go eat something."
"I'll pass."
Price exhaled. "Not eating or drinking won't put you on the fast track to feeling up-to-par."
Soap sat silently for a moment. "I know."
"Enough." Price patted his shoulder firmly. "Get up and go get yourself something to eat."
Soap returned his stare to the old man as he blinked. "Fine."
Price nodded and turned to leave. Soap slowly brought himself up and gawked mindlessly at the jarred door Price had just paced through. Taking a moment to regain his senses, Soap finally stood up and walked for the door, where he began his trek for the mess hall. Somehow, he managed to amble subtly to the point he went unnoticed by many. Grabbing what he felt he could keep down, he returned for his room with a groggy expression.
Once morning time came, Soap was lucky enough to feel capable of managing exposure to the sun and a variety of loud sounds. Several people waved at him as he approached to help with packing up the place.
"Hey! You're not dead!" Reggie shouted.
"Unfortunately…" Shorty murmured.
Soap simply nodded and made his way past them; his sights were on Rico who was checking off items on a clipboard while she sat with Gretel. His legs carried him until he was standing over her. Her aqua eyes shot up and found his face.
"I see you're doing better." She stated.
"Aye."
She chewed on the inside of her cheek before looking back down at the clipboard. "Good to hear." Her hand checked off another item from the list. "Still have Shorty's dice?"
He smiled faintly. "Of course I do. She's not getting those back."
Rico chuckled softly. "You sure have shown her."
Before Soap could say anything, Samson's voice sounded.
"Hey, Soap. Glad to see you're moving around again." He began as he jutted a thumb over his shoulder. "The old man needs you."
Soap nodded in understanding and went off to follow Samson. Rico watched the two leave as she patted Gretel's head. She returned to her task with slight contempt as her thoughts ran wild.