Whelp, this story is already longer than the original. The original version had 13 chapters and was 92 pages long in my Google Docs. This rewrite is 102 pages and 13 chapters so far and I'm nowhere near finished. It's been four years since I first published this story in 2018, so I hope my writing has improved since then. Gosh, that seems so long ago. Where has time gone?

This last week's weather has been chaotic. We got over 20 inches of snow in a day and a half and it sucked shoveling all that. Nevertheless, I've been on a creative streak this entire Christmas break, so here's another chapter before I go back to school Monday. Updates might slow down a bit during this upcoming semester. I promise I'll try to update as often as possible but I make no guarantees on scheduled updates. My education comes first so please be patient with me.

WARNING: mentions of menstrual periods (menstrual products, bleeding, cramps, etc.). It's not too graphic but I'm adding this warning just in case you're a bit uncomfortable.

Chapter Thirteen: Bleeding Out

The first few weeks of January 1944 passed by without any trouble. Stone instructed Lemay and Garcia to stay away from Suzie in the showers, mess hall, and during training drills. Aside from a few nasty glares from the two, Suzie did not see much of them but she still kept an eye out if they decided to attack her again.

The daily schedule included hours of training with a few classes that allowed the recruits to sit. Most of the training still focused on physical activity. Every morning, they would gather in formation, march once around the camp, and start their sets of calisthenics. At first, Suzie did not mind the sit-ups and jumping jacks, but she struggled with the burpees and push-ups. The other men outmatched her with the push-ups since they had more upper body strength than her. Suzie pushed through the pain throbbing in her shoulders and Stone yelling at everyone to hurry up. It also helped that she and Richard started a mini-competition to see who could complete the sets the fastest without Stone yelling in their ears. Since Richard had noodles for arms, Suzie usually won the calisthenics competition. Richard's long legs meant that he ran faster and could keep up with the other men while Suzie fell to the back of the group during the runs.

The first time she ran two miles, Suzie ended up in last place. Never before had she run like that in her life. She had watched a few track and field events at her school, mostly because she wanted to watch the cute boys in their short-shorts and tank tops. Sure, Bucky ran track his freshman year and Travis ran from freshman to senior year, but Suzie did not care about watching them, even though Bucky set a school record in the four-hundred-meter dash in his first and only year of track.

Actually running it herself, however, was easier said than done. The first mile went by without much struggling because Stone told everyone to go easy and find their paces. The pain started registering at the second mile. A sharp pain laced up Suzie's side and she ended the run wheezing so much that she sounded like Steve having an asthma attack.

Thank goodness Steve did not have to run two miles; he would probably die from lack of air. It sure felt like Suzie was dying. How, and why, would anyone want to do this for fun? And it would only become harder. They would add the weight of their equipment later once everyone got used to running two miles without collapsing at the end.

In near-constant aches and exhaustion, Suzie survived the first three weeks of January. Other than a few comments on how she looked 'weird' when she ran, nobody bothered her. The comments confused her but she chalked it up to her inexperience with extreme exercise. Learning the correct form for each exercise took time and quality time with Stone shouting in her face whenever Suzie did not meet his standards. At least she did not suffer Stone's harsh judgments alone because of her incorrect form. Almost half of the troops struggled with the same issue but none of them received any comments about how their 'hips swayed too much' when running.

Halfway through the third week of January, the unit went out on another two-mile run, this time with their equipment strapped to their backs. By this time, Suzie moved from the tail end of the group to the last section of the middle, closer to Richard. The improvement earned praise from Stone and redirected his attention to the stragglers jogging behind Suzie.

"Hurry up, recruits!" Stone shouted from the passenger seat of the jeep puttering beside the group. "We're almost halfway there! If you walk, you have to run four miles. Don't you go quittin' on me!

"Barnes, looking good! Vazquez, way to lead the group! Smith, pick up your feet and stop trudging! We're a hundred yards away from one mile. I want you men to pick up the pace this second mile. Lemay, quit complaining! Keep it moving, boys!"

Stone's shouting faded as Suzie focused on the backs of the men in front of her to distract herself from the pain squeezing in her lower abdomen. The pain started yesterday during the morning calisthenics. Now it spread to her lower back and the inside of her thighs, but the extra weight attached to her shoulders could have caused it, too.

Ignoring the urge to collapse and curl into a fetal position, Suzie pistoned her legs and tried to think of anything other than the stabbing sensation in her lower torso. Sweat poured down her forehead and neck. The backpack pushed her shirt onto her back which soaked up the sweat that poured out of places she did not know were possible. Even her pants felt a little wet from her body's attempt to stave off the heat from the Texas sun.

Why did they do this during the hottest part of the day?

A small tap on her shoulder startled her and she turned her head the best she could while staying in pace with the group. Charlie Graham, a stocky twenty-year-old blonde from Oklahoma, stared back at her with wide eyes. He frowned and glanced at Stone before staring back at Suzie.

"Do you know you're bleeding?" Graham asked, seeming uncomfortable with the question.

"What?" Suzie exclaimed, her eyes widening and her feet stumbling over each other. "Where?"

Embarrassment and sympathy passed over Graham's face. Weird, for a supposed football player…

Realization suddenly washed over Suzie and she quickly looked down at her thighs.

Shit.

Sure enough, a dark red stain spread out from between her legs. It did not feel like anything other than sweat. The fabric also did not stick to her thighs but Graham and anyone close to her could notice the stain.

Well, that would explain the cramping.

"Do you need medical attention?" Graham asked through huffs of breath.

Shit.

"I, uh…" Suzie wheezed. Coupled with her already stressed lungs, the realization of her free bleeding in front of dozens of men knocked the rest of the wind out of her.

She really should learn how to keep track of her monthly cycle better. It would certainly help her avoid Stone's attention.

"Barnes, Graham!," Stone shouted. He ordered the driver of the jeep to slow down enough to keep pace with the two recruits in question. "Is there a problem?"

"Uh…" Suzie mumbled.

"Barnes is bleeding," Graham interrupted, earning a sharp glare from Suzie that he ignored.

Stone pursed his lips and motioned for Suzie to stop. "Graham, keep going. Barnes, fall out. Everyone stay in pace! Follow Vazquez, he's doing a great job!" Stone shouted to the group. Once the group jogged a few hundred yards away and kept running, Stone leaned over the door of the jeep and stared down at Suzie.

"You're bleeding?" Stone asked, his eyes roving over Suzie before settling on the growing stain. "What did you do, Barnes?"

Swallowing the meager amount of spit to lessen the dryness in her throat, Suzie open her mouth and closed it again. She could not tell Stone the truth. Her throat worked to form words and sweat poured down from the heat of the sun and Stone's glare.

"I don't have all day, Barnes. Either tell me what's wrong or fall back in line," Stone said, his eyebrows pointing down at his nose as he became impatient.

"I, uh…c-cut myself," Suzie stammered. "Sir."

"Doing what?"

"I, uh…was…sh-shaving yesterday and I, uh, thought that it would heal by today," Suzie lied. In any case, it wasn't unheard of. Last week, she accidentally stumbled upon one of the hairiest men in the unit shaving.

Stone glanced down at the blood stain again, his eyebrow quirking up. "That's a deep cut, Barnes. Did you bandage it?"

"I tried," Suzie replied, her legs pressed together to hide most of the stain. An agonizing cramp seized her and she leaned forward a little to ease the pain. "Sir," she added as an afterthought.

"Go have a nurse check it out. Report back to me once you're done. The army doesn't tolerate stupid mistakes so you're on kitchen duty for the next two weeks," Stone ordered.

"Yes, sir," Suzie said and saluted the best she could while the cramp crushed her insides. "Thank you, sir."

"And Barnes," Stone said, a corner of his mouth twitching in his version of amusement. "Stick to shaving only your face."

"Yes, sir," Suzie repeated and remained at attention until Stone and the jeep drove to catch up with the rest of the unit.

Once the jeep reached enough distance for Suzie to let out a deep breath, she turned and shuffled to the barracks. She could feel the stain growing so she tried to avoid large groups of people.

Ma always lectured Suzie about keeping better track of biological issues such as this. Dealing with this every month since she turned twelve, Suzie assumed that she could predict when her period would start. However, since the first time it started, her period refused to be pinned down to an accurate schedule. It annoyed her when it randomly started in the middle of class or created a stain on her favorite clothes. Even now, the training and other anxieties distracted her from tracking her period.

It always started with cramps, but this time Suzie's abs had been aching for weeks so she assumed that the cramps came from the core exercises they had done the other day. She knew better than to think like that but she lacked the energy to care. Still, once Suzie reached the barracks, she could not shake the urge to lie down on her bed, curl up into a ball, and sleep the soreness away even if it stained her white bedding.

Suppressing the desire to curl up and cry, Suzie dug through her foot locker at the end of her bed and grabbed a washcloth, fresh clothes, a towel, and a tampon.

The package of tampons came from Aunt Ida since Suzie preferred pads. Ida recommended bringing tampons instead since they were smaller, easier to carry, and less noticeable. She and Becca promised to send more packages every other month to restock Suzie's supply. They even went a step further and packed as many tampons as possible into a large cigarette box to better conceal the items from prying eyes.

Shoving the tampon/cigarette box to the bottom of her footlocker, Suzie gathered her things and headed to the bathroom. Not wanting to attract any attention to herself by walking to the showers, she ran the washcloth under the sink in the adjoining bathroom and peeled off her sticky pants.

While keeping an eye on the door, Suzie cleaned herself off and rinsed the blood from the washcloth. The blood turned the water red and shone pink where it splashed against the white porcelain of the sink.

With her clean pants and underclothes pooled around her knees, Suzie rested a foot on the cleanest toilet seat, braced her hand against the wall, and stared at the tampon in her other hand. She had never done something like this before. What if it hurt? What if it got stuck? Will it ruin her purity?

No, that's stupid. Why would an inanimate object take away her maidenhood? It's not like she slept with dozens of men outside wedlock like Bucky did with women.

"It's just cotton, it's designed for this," Suzie thought, trying to psych herself up. "Aunt Ida wouldn't give me something if it didn't help."

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Suzie lined the tampon up and gently pressed it in. She may or may not have made a small sound at the first touch. Biting her lip to keep herself from panicking, she finished, quickly dressed, washed up, and sat down on her bed to stare at the wall.

Intrusive thoughts fought for control in her mind. What if it fell out in the middle of a drill and she started bleeding all over herself again? Would Stone figure out that she didn't actually cut herself from shaving and have her discharged from the army? Would her future husband know that something had been in there before him? If a tampon felt intrusive and big, how the hell would a man fit, let alone feel?

A loud bang of the barrack door snapped Suzie from her silent panic attack. She whipped her gaze from the wall to the man standing in the doorway.

"Oh, hey Riley. There you are," Richard said, his arm outstretched as he held open the door. "Stone's looking for you."

As soon as she realized it was only Richard instead of the Military Police or one of the nurses, Suzie calmed down and wobbled to her feet. A stabbing pain punched her in the lower abdomen when she stood up, hunching her over. Pressing her hands against the pain, she groaned and hobbled over to Richard.

"Are you okay?" Richard asked, raising his arm to allow Suzie to walk underneath and out the door.

"I'm fine," Suzie hissed through clenched teeth.

"I heard what happened," Richard said and walked beside Suzie to lead her to Stone. "Everyone's got a nickname for you now. It's kinda vulgar so I'm not gonna repeat it."

"Of course they do," Suzie muttered under her breath. Walking upright took a lot of effort as the cramps coerced Suzie to fold into herself.

"Did you have to get stitches?" Richard asked.

"I don't wanna talk about it," Suzie said and forced herself to stand at attention when she reached Stone in the yard where they did their morning exercises. A few snickers rustled through the unit standing there. A sharp glare from Stone silenced the recruits.

"Miller, fall in. Barnes, I want to talk to you. Recruits, I want fifty jumping jacks," Stone commanded and left Hassen to take control while he walked over to Suzie.

"Medical report," Stone ordered.

"Uh, stitches, sir. I'll be fine by the end of the week, sir," Suzie said after she gave a quick salute.

"Good," Stone said. "You're on light duty, only upper body strengthening. You need it anyways. We'll ease you back into tougher exercises next week. Now go report to the head cook. He'll tell you what he wants you to do for the next two weeks."

"Yes, sir." Suzie saluted and shuffled toward the mess hall after Stone turned back to the unit.

The head cook accepted her a little too gleefully. Drill sergeants and other officers tended to choose kitchen duty as a favorite punishment to dish out to misbehaving recruits. The cook handed Suzie a peeler and directed her to a large pile of potato sacks outside the back door of the mess hall.

The cramps eased a little once she sat on an overturned bucket. If it bled like this every time her period started, she did not know how she could complete simple exercises without Stone sending her to the nurses. They would kick her out if she kept having a recurring medical issue, even though she knew that it was natural—hated, but natural. Like everything else so far, Suzie decided that she would have to power through it and figure out how to convince questioning peers that she could handle the training. And that she did not always cut herself to the point of "stitches" when shaving.

As she settled in to peel potatoes for the rest of the day, Suzie wondered how long she could continue with the lies before they caught up to her.

Running isn't that bad once you get used to it. Then again, I have been running cross country since middle school, so maybe I'm a little biased. My older brother was half a second away from breaking our school record in the 400-meter dash. Since Bucky is known to be very athletic, I personally think that it's not far-fetched if he joined track just to try it, broke a record, quit, and went on to earn 3 championships in boxing. Bucky's just that talented.

All of Suzie's thoughts about tampons are accurate to what people thought during that time, especially about her purity and whatnot. And, no, tampons do not ruin your purity. Use whatever you find comfortable.

For the boys reading this story, I apologize for the description of periods, but it's a natural occurrence. Go hug your mom or the women/girls in your life

Once again, thank you for staying patient with me. I'll try to update soon. If you have any questions, comments, and/or concerns, feel free to leave a review or PM me. If you have any ideas or suggestions for future chapters, I'm open to anything. We're about halfway through this story (maybe, IDK, it's subject to change). At this point, I'm just trying to move the plot along so that I can get to the chapters that I've had planned out for a while now. Why is the middle part of a story always the hardest to write? I've got the ending all figured out (it'll be a long way off yet) but I need to bridge the beginning and end together and I don't want to bore you with the same chapters talking about basic training.