Never Coming Home

Part 6
I woke up to the sound of a trumpet blaring. I groaned, and covered my head with my pillow. The last thing I wanted was a wake up call. I heard Mikey shift beside me, and get up. I did the same, and was about the pull off my shirt until I realized how bad that would be. Instead, I turned around and pulled on my pants and boots. While Mikey was trying to put on his pants, I quickly changed my shirt into my uniform button down.

We both left our tent and hurried to role call, staying close to him so I wouldn’t have to run into Frank or Bob. I stood in line with Mikey, and looked around to see all the men with their uniforms put on in a sloppy matter. I grimaced; no decency. I accidentally caught Bob’s glare and I cowered inside.

“ATTENTION!” We heard Major Way bellow, walking down the line with Corporal Toro behind him. We straightened our postures and looked straight ahead.

He walked down, inspecting us. He told the men to tuck in their shirts, or hit their stomachs to straighten up. When he got to me, he gave me a look. It was hard to read; I couldn’t tell if it was of annoyance or disgust.

“Men,” He said. “Today is your first day of training. There are three things to know when you’re in the army, and that’s to fight, beware of the enemy, and most of all to survive. As your commanding officer, you will obey me, otherwise face gruesome consequences. Today we will have you experiment with physical combat; simply punching, kicking, and blocking.”

I grimaced. I was going to be beaten alive by people who could snap my arm like a toothpick.

“You will be in a group of four; you and your partner with two others,” He said, and it felt like my stomach had dropped to my feet. “Corporal Toro, would you read out the groups, please?”

Toro nodded and started reading a list of the names. I inhaled and exhaled, trying to calm myself down at the thought of my group beating me. I kept trying to remind myself that Mikey would be with me, but I still felt uneasy.

“Miller, Way, Iero, and Bryar,” He called out, and Mikey and I stepped forward, and I looked around to see that Bob and Frank had also stepped forward. I gulped and started to panic. They were going to kill me.

Mikey sensed my unease, and gave me a reassuring smile and gave me a pat on the shoulder as they walked over to us.

“Well, well, well,” Frank grinned. “I guess we’re gonna teach you how to throw a few punches, eh, Monty?” He pretended to punch me, and I involuntarily took a step back as my heart hammered in my chest. He chuckled darkly. “What’s wrong? You a yella-belly?”

“Quit it, Frank,” Mikey snapped. I made a mental note to thank him later. “Let’s just start, okay?”

“Alright,” Frank said. “How about a two on two combat?”

“Fine, me and Monty can take you,” Mikey nodded. “Can’t we, Monty?”

I nodded shakily, managing to squeak out, “Sure…”

They took off their shirts, and I widened my eyes. I pushed my sleeves up, and that was as far as I was going.

“Ready?” Bob said.

Mikey smirked. “Definitely.”

It happened rather quickly, and I couldn’t even remember how I was lying on the ground. I could only hear cackling laughter from both Frank and Bob. Mikey sighed, and helped me up and asked if I was alright, and I gave him a nod. It started again, and Mikey and Frank fought each other while Bob threw a punch to my stomach, making me stumble back, but regained my composure. I tried to throw a punch at him, but he caught my fist, and flipped me over where I landed on my back painfully. This was simply barbaric.

Frank laughed. “Mikey, I think your partner is a little wuss.”

“Shut-up, Frank,” Mikey muttered and helped me up, and said to me, “Monty, you gotta stop being a human punching bag.”

“Sorry,” I sighed. “I suck at this.”

“You’ll get better,” He said.

Sure, when I die, I thought to myself. I wondered if Mikey could hear my thoughts, because he frowned at me.

“Guys, can we just practice individually for a little?” He asked the other two, and they scowled and nodded. They were probably upset since they couldn’t punch me anymore. Mikey turned back to me. “Alright, now try and block me.”

“Wait, what…?” And Mikey punched me in the face. I held my face and groaned. “Son of a…!”

“I told you to block,” He sighed.

“Well, I didn’t expect you to punch me so fast!” I spat blood.

“This is the army,” He said. “Everything happens too fast. Act slowly and you will die.”

I sighed, and nodded. “Okay.”

“Again,” He commanded, and I nodded.

He kept throwing punches at me, and I failed miserably at blocking. My face and sides felt so swollen and stiff, and Mikey continued. When he threw a punch to my face, my arm suddenly came up to block his fist. I gasped, stunned at what I had just done. Mikey smiled at me.

“I…I did it!” I exclaimed. “Mikey, I did it!”

Then he suddenly punched me square in the face.

“Ow, what the hell!” I yelled.

He chuckled. “You shouldn’t let your guard down!”

“Oh, right,” I laughed sheepishly.

The practice continued, and I was able to block Mikey a few more times. My body ached by the time it was lunch. I was famished, and gladly ate the slop while Mikey looked at me like I was insane and pushed his bowl away. After lunch, we went straight back to physical combat training. I got a little better with my blocking, but I was still weak and earned enough bruises to cover my entire body. This time Mikey wanted me to learn how to punch. He gave me a free one where he didn’t block, and when I punched him there was a pain in my fist.

“Ow, ow, ow!” I whined, shaking my hand.

“Here, lemme see it,” Mikey said, taking my hand to inspect it. “Nothing is wrong with it, but your thumb looks a little sore. Next time keep your thumb outside your fist, not inside. Jesus, you're like a little girl.”

That's because I am a girl, jackass, I wanted to say.

“Okay,” I nodded.

By sundown, we returned to our tents, and Mikey bandaged my thumb so it wouldn’t get swollen by tomorrow. We lay in our sleeping bags, and I turned out the lantern. I stared straight up with my arms behind my head, silence enveloping our small tent.

“Hey, Mikey?” I whispered, hoping that he hadn’t fallen asleep.

“Yeah?” He answered back.

“Thanks for today,” I said.

“Anytime, kiddo,” He yawned, and fell asleep.

I closed my eyes, sleep soon clouding my mind and thoughts.

However, now I was dreaming.

Sulfur was in the air, and it suffocated my lungs and nostrils. The battle field was dark and gloomy, with mines and drones exploding whenever a solider ran. Where ever I looked someone was bleeding or dead.

I ran, trying to get away from all the chaos, clutching my rifle to me. Fear ran through my veins. I could hear the sound of a missile soaring, and I looked up, realizing it was heading straight for me. I jumped out of the way just as it exploded. I could taste dirt coating my tongue and my lip bleed as I cried silent tears.

I got up, and before I could react or run, I was knocked down to the ground, with a body hovering over me just as another missile sailed through the air and exploding. It killed so many people on impact.

“What’re you doing, Monty?!” Someone screamed at me, and I looked up with terrified eyes to see my father with the same fear in his eyes. “Don’t just stand there! You need to run!”

“I... I can’t!” I cried. "Daddy, I can't!"

“Yes, you can!” He shouted, getting up and pulling me up with him and started to run with me through the woods. “Don’t stop running! Just shoot and run!”

“What about you?” I cried to him.

“I’ll follow you!” He said to me, looking straight into my eyes as I saw myself in him. “I’ll follow you at the end of the world, or to the last thing I see!”

My father never followed me.