Chapter 5
Sam placed the last of his belongings into the box and taped it down. He sat on the mattress and used a marker to write an address on the top. He looked at the name and knew he needed to call Bobby Singer, a close family friend, to let him know about the package he was sending. He pulled his cell out and looked at his contact list finding the name and pressing it. He listened to it ring several times before it was answered.
"Singer Salvage," a gruff male voice greeted Sam.
"Hey Bobby; it's Sam, Sam Winchester," Sam replied smiling warmly to hear his voice.
"Sam! It's good to hear your voice. How are you doing lad?"
"I'm fine. Ummm…I wanted to let you know…Well, I hope it's alright if I mail you a package to hold for me," Sam finally got out.
"Of course, Sam, it's no problem," Bobby assured him. "What's going on with you? Where's your Daddy and brother?"
"I…I…I don't know…" he stammered.
"Talk to me son. Are you in trouble?"
"No, no, nothing like that," Sam sighed knowing he just needed to tell him. "I left them to go to college."
"Why that's wonderful! I knew you were smart and could do more than what John wanted for you."
"But I dropped out and I joined the Marines."
There was silence at the other end for a moment before Bobby finally spoke.
"Was that your idea?"
"Yes. I thought college was the answer I was looking for, but it wasn't. But Bobby, you can't tell Dad or Dean what I've done, please," he begged.
"Don't you think they should know?" he asked gently.
"No, please. I have to do this on my own. I need to stand on my own two feet and find myself."
"Sam, what if something happened to you?"
"I'll put you down as next of kin and emergency contact. I'll write to you with my address so we can keep in touch. You can let me know what's going on."
"I'll do the best I can. Yer Daddy hasn't been around in a while since we had that fight a while back. Hopefully Dean will do better."
"Thanks Bobby."
"When do you go?"
"I'll be going to Camp Pendleton tomorrow for basic and I'm not sure where from there. I'll have to wait and see."
"You stay safe and keep in touch; you hear me son?"
"I will Bobby; I promise. Thank you for everything."
"My pleasure Sam. You're family."
"I'll be posting the package today."
"I'll be looking for it and will keep it safe until you want it back."
"Bye Bobby."
"Goodbye Sam. You watch yourself and come back to us."
The connection was ended, and Sam hung up as his mind wandered to memories of times he had stayed with Bobby growing up. They were happier times. He shook his head to dispel his thoughts and brought himself back to reality. Knowing he needed to get going, Sam picked the package up and headed for the post office.
Spn
Sam picked up his pack and headed to the pickup site given to him by the recruiter. From there he would be taken to the center for testing and more paperwork to fill out.
He wasn't the only one joining up and milled around with the others waiting to start the process. Everyone looked uncertain and some scared to death, but Sam was determined to make the best of the situation. He followed the others to a room filled with desks and took a seat. Two Marines came in and gave them instructions as tests were passed around and a timer started. Sam opened the booklet and began to answer the questions.
An hour had gone by, and Sam double checked a couple of questions since they still had thirty minutes to go. He glanced around at the other recruits who were still working away. He laid his pencil down and studied the two Marines at the front of the room. They were smartly dressed in uniforms and had metals on one side of their chest. Both were stoic and stern looking.
When the time was up and the tests taken up, they were given a short break as the tests were graded and each person was called back separately to meet with them.
"Mr. Winchester, have a seat," one of the Marines told him waving to a chair in front of the table.
"Yes sir," Sam replied, his voice a little unsure.
"We've graded your tests and I have to say, I think you've scored the highest of any recruit I have seen in years," he told Sam.
Sam looked at them surprised by the statement. He knew he was smart, or he wouldn't have been accepted at Stanford, but to hear them say it was a shocker.
"Thank you, sir," Sam told them.
"What are you doing here? Why aren't you in college?" the other asked. "With these scores, you could probably get into any college out there."
"I was in college sir, but decided it wasn't what I wanted to do. My father was a Marine, and, well, I wanted to do it too."
"Alright, do you have any idea what career field you would be interested in?"
"I honestly hadn't really thought about it."
"With your scores, you could go into about anything you want. Would you be interested in Special Ops units? Depending on how you do in bootcamp, that is, if you don't wash out."
"I'm not going to wash out sir," Sam firmly stated, a determined look on his face.
"Well, we're going to mark your file so the powers that be will keep an eye on you. If you do get through boot camp with high marks you will be talked to again."
"Thank you sir."
"For now, you'll be assigned to intelligence." The Marine scribbled some notes in Sam's file before continuing. "That will be all for now. You'll be taken to a motel for the night, along with the other recruits and tomorrow will be bused to Camp Pendleton. Do you have any questions?"
"No sir," Sam answered before getting up to leave the room. He went back to the waiting area and joined the others until all had been seen.
They were provided motel rooms and vouchers for food at a diner nearby. Sam's roommate was a guy from Pasadena who was the same age as him. They walked down to the diner together and sat with the others who were there. Afterwards, everyone headed back to the motel for a good night's sleep so they could be up early the following day to take a bus to boot camp at Camp Pendleton.
Sam settled into the bed and tried to relax and calm his racing mind. He listened to the soft snoring coming from the other bed and thought back to growing up and sharing a room with Dean. He wondered what the next day was going to bring as he started boot camp. Sam had a general idea from movies, books, and television shows but thought it didn't scratch the surface of what he was about to face. He finally drifted to sleep as dreams of his childhood played out in his mind.
Spn
It was a rush the following morning as everyone ate a quick breakfast, packed, and the recruits were herded to the bus for the trip. They had an eight-hour bus trip ahead of them, allowing an hour for lunch, before reaching their destination. It would be later in the afternoon by the time they would get there.
Sam took a window seat near the front of the bus and briefly smiled as his roommate from last night sat down beside him. Quiet conversations could be heard from others on the bus, but Sam didn't feel like talking as he gazed out the side window at the passing scenery.
Before Sam knew it, the bus was pulling into a restaurant for their lunch break. He broke from his thoughts and waited as everyone got off before following them. They were herded into the building and taken to a side room to be seated where they were given the choices of meals that they could order. Waitresses came in to take their orders and brought rolls and took drink orders.
The food was brought out a short time later and they hurriedly ate knowing they needed to get back on the road. Everyone went to the restrooms before boarding the bus to continue their journey. The traffic was moving well, and the weather was sunny and cool, a perfect day for traveling.
Hours later, Sam sat up as the bus slowed, and stopped at the gate for Camp Pendleton. He let his gaze roam over the high chain length fence that encircled the camp. The bus rolled forward through the gate and proceeded to the drop off for new recruits and stopped.
The recruits made their way off the bus, grabbed their bags, and moved quickly to make two lines like the Drill Sergeant yelled at them.
"Good afternoon ladies," the DS said in a loud, strong voice. "We are going to march to the barracks where you will be assigned a bed and locker. And then we will head to the mess hall for a meal. When you return, you will check the list left on your bed of things that you can keep from your bags. All the rest will be packed and stored until you either graduate from here or washout."
"Now ladies, let's see how well you can march," another DS barked at them. "Left face! Forward march!" he shouted. "Left, left, stay in step!"
The recruits were marched to the barracks and into a large room filled with cots and built-in lockers. Once everyone was assigned a bed and locker, they marched to the mess hall for dinner. They were allowed to get their food, but no one could sit down until everyone was served and standing by their places. The DS ordered them to sit and eat, they had thirty minutes to finish their meal and then line up at the door to return to the dorm.
No one spoke as they quickly began to eat their meal before their time was up. One by one, the recruits took their trays to the window and lined up at the door waiting for the slower eaters. They marched back to the dorm and were ordered to go through their personal items and only keep what was on the list. The rest was to be packed in their bags and put in storage.
The first thing Sam did was make his bed like his father had taught him and then he looked at the list and removed personal items that he could keep. He silently sat on his bed and gazed around at his roommates for the next six weeks. He could sense uncertainty, fright, no emotions, brashness, and a few didn't seem to give a damn.
"Lights out in one-hour kiddies! Six am is going to come early. Tomorrow you will receive your uniforms, have your physicals, get your shots, visit the barber and dentist. There will be no talking once the lights go out. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir," they replied.
"What's that?"
"Yes sir!" they yelled, their voices echoing around the room.
Sam didn't flinch as the yelling continued while some of the other recruits cringed and looked frightened. He had been trained by a Marine so was one up on the rest of guys.
"That's more like it." The DS turned on his heels and left them alone for a short free period.
Spn
After breakfast, the recruits marched to the induction hall to be sworn in and begin their journey of becoming a Marine. They watched as several of the recruits' names were called, and they were escorted from the room. Word got around that they were classified 4F and would not be sworn in. Their time there was over, and they would be sent home. Everyone raised their right hand and repeated the oath as it was told to them. They were then marched to a supply depot to get uniforms, boots, duffle, and then were taken to the barber to have their heads shaved.
Sam stood in line, waiting his turn thinking it wasn't the end of the world to have his head shaved. He knew it would grow back, but it was still a shock to him. He dropped into the chair and held his breath as the buzz of the shears ran over his head and his hair fell to the floor around his feet. He got up and ran a hand over his head not willing to look at the floor at his hair.
The recruits walked in single file to each station where they were weighted, height taken, vitals taken, vision and hearing checked, bloodwork completed, and finally they were administered numerous vaccines before being moved to another part of the building where they have dental exam and x-rays and made note of any bad teeth that needed fixing.
Sam couldn't believe it, as he marched out with the others. His life was now owned by the Marines, and he was going to make the best of it. He had to, and when he made up his mind to do something, he gave it a hundred and ten percent.
A/N: Sam has taken a different path now. We shall see how he handles it. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC