by L. T. Ryan
The Recruit
A Jack Noble Short Story
L.T. Ryan
http://LTRyan.com
@LTRyanWrites
PUBLISHED BY:
Liquid Mind Media
Copyright © 2012
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination or used fictitiously.
Jack Noble Series in Order
The Recruit: A Jack Noble Short Story
Noble Beginnings
A Deadly Distance
Thin Line
Noble Intentions Season One ** Free
Noble Intentions Season Two
Noble Intentions Season Three
Never Go Home
Beyond Betrayal (Clarissa Abbot)
Noble Intentions Season Four
The Recruit
August, 1994: Parris Island, South Carolina
I hovered over the dirt in a push-up position, my face inches from the ground. Parris Island in August is a killer. Eight in the morning and it had to be over ninety degrees. Sweat dripped off my face like a waterfall, turning dirt into mud. My lungs filled with dust and grime every time I sucked wind through my mouth. My muscles burned. Quivered. I thought about standing and squaring off with the scrawny punk who’d spent the last eight weeks trying to break me. But that would result in a nighttime visit from the rest of my platoon. And frankly, I’d grown tired of those.
Drill Instructor Sergeant Kaszlaski wove a tapestry of obscenities from above me. “Maggot Noble, you sonovabitch. Don’t you dare touch the friggin ground.” He kicked me in the ribs. “This is why maggots like you don’t belong in my Marine Corps.”
I said nothing. Held firm and remained still.
He placed his boot in the middle of my back. I pictured him, one knee raised, leaning over, arm crossed over his thigh. Some kind of victory pose. He leaned in, trying to use his weight to force my stomach to the ground. The entire platoon shouted from the human barrier they created, encircling me and the good Sergeant. Their shouts of encouragement, or threats, kept me stiff and unbending. God forbid I touch the ground. We’d all be in the shit if I did.
“C’mon, Noble,” Riley “Bear” Logan’s deep voice rumbled from behind me. Bear already had me on his “hit to kill” list. If the platoon got in any more trouble on my account, he’d be sure to visit me in the middle of the night. Given the choice of the platoon or Bear visiting, I’d take the platoon. The guy was massive.
The boot lifted. I reacted by arching my back, loosening my core muscles.
“What the hell was that, shitbag.” Kaszlaski dropped to the ground. Stuck his face next to mine. “Did you just lift up? Did I see you lift your back up?” Spittle sprayed across my face and shaved head. His hot breath felt swampy against my sweat covered head. “Holy shit, Noble. Do you know what this means?”
The platoon let out a collective groan. I didn’t need to look up to feel their eyes burning a hole in my back. The entire group would pay for my perceived failure.
“Damn you, maggot,” Kaszlaski said. “Get the frig off the ground.”
I didn’t move.
Kaszlaski changed my mind with a well-placed kick to the side of my head. My vision flashed as his dust covered black combat boot landed next to my temple. I collapsed into a pile on the ground. My sweat absorbed the dirt and I felt it form a cake-like coating on my cheek and forehead. I questioned my decision to join the Marine Corps as the side of my head thumped with pain. I could be in California right now, preparing for my freshman season as quarterback at one of the top college programs in the nation.
“Get to the barracks, recruits” Kaszlaski said. “We’ve got something special prepared for all of you this afternoon.” He stood a few feet away from me.
I had to get up before it was just me and him out here. I tried to push my body up. Fell back on my face. I rolled over, wiped my face with my sleeve and looked up at the cloudy sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance. That, or the kick to my head was harder than I realized.
I blinked and saw Bear standing over me. His large frame blocked the dull glow of the sun from behind the clouds. “Whatever he makes us do, you’re getting triple from me.”
I smiled.
Bear didn’t. He spat on the ground, turned and walked away.
Kaszlaski stood over me. “Get the frig up, maggot.”
***
We stood in front of our racks. Two straight lines of recruits, facing each other. All of us at attention, arms behind our backs, dressed in our physical training uniforms. No one said a word. I looked down the line opposite me. No one made eye contact.
Kaszlaski and two other drill instructors entered the room. The sound of shuffling filled the room as each recruit straightened up in preparation of the D.I.s punishment.
“Recruits,” Kaszlaski said. “Despite Maggot Noble’s miserable failings at keeping himself off of the ground,” he stopped in front of me and smiled without looking at me, “we have a treat for you today.” He continued walking while saying nothing.
No one said anything.
“Today we are going to pay a visit to the boxing ring,” he continued. “Because nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing my recruits pounding the crap out of each other. This is the moment in recruit training that you should live for. And if you don’t you just need to get the hell out of my barracks.” He stopped and looked around as if waiting for half the platoon to leave. “It’s where one maggot will redefine himself and become slightly greater that worthless to me. And one or two of you will find yourself even lower than maggot on my totem pole.”
I felt every eye in the room focus on me. I glanced around to confirm my suspicion. Big mistake.
“God dammit, maggot Noble.” Kaszlaski spun on his heel and stopped in front of me. “Step forward.”
I took a single step forward.
“This worthless recruit standing in front of me is going fight first,” he said. “What do you think of that, recruit?”
“This recruit is happy to fight first, Drill Instructor Sergeant Kaszlaski, Sir.” I hated saying that and infused every ounce of sarcastic tone I could muster.
He inched closer to my face, smiled and exhaled heavily. The smell of corn chips invaded my nose. I kept my eyes straight ahead, staring into dead space. He shifted and bobbed his head in front of mine, trying to catch my eye. Any excuse to plant a fist in my gut. I refused to fall for it. Picked a point on the drab cream colored wall and kept my eyes fixed on it.
“Who then,” he spun on his heel, “should we get to fight you?” He walked to the far end of the room. “Do I have any recruits who are willing to take on maggot Noble in the first match?”
The room remained silent.
“Holy crap,” he said while continuing to pace the room. “Am I to believe that Maggot Noble is so popular no one wants to fight with him? Recruit Noble, did you know you were so popular?”
I didn’t answer.
“Or is it that you recruits are scared to fight him?”
The room stayed silent.
“If a recruit doesn’t step up now you’ll, all of you shitbags will have to deal with me.” He stopped in front of Bear.
Bear stepped forward. “This recruit will fight in the first match, Drill Instructor Sergeant Kaszlaski, Sir.”
“Well now, here’s a recruit who might actually make something of himself,” Kaszlaski said. “Are you telling me that you’re volunteering for
the first fight, recruit Logan?”
“This recruit wants nothing more than to take place in the first fight against recruit Noble, Drill Instructor Sergeant Kaszlaski, Sir.”
I turned my head. This time Bear turned and met my stare.
He smiled.
I didn’t.
***
Kaszlaski and the other D.I.s led us outside, behind the barracks. Bear walked next to Kaszlaski. The other two D.I.s guided me through the light rain by my elbows.
“Round up,” Kaszlaski said.
The platoon formed a loose circle, pushing me toward the middle. Bear stood across from me. Massive didn’t begin to describe him. He shrugged his shoulders and swung his head side to side. He kept his eyes focused on me the entire time. The three D.I.s surrounded him, slapping at his chest and yelling at him.
I turned, looking for support. One of the other recruits spit at me. Another taunted me to come at him. This was a no win situation if I’d ever been in one. I turned back around. The reaction from the platoon was a mixture of cheering for Bear and cursing at me.
Kaszlaski moved to the center of the makeshift ring. He motioned at Bear and I to meet in the middle.
“I want a fight,” he said. “It don’t have to be clean.” A smile swept across his face as he winked at Bear. “Touch hands.”
Our ungloved fists bumped together inside the empty space between us.
“Fight,” Kaszlaski said.
I brought my hands up in a defensive position. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Kaszlaski twist. I didn’t see it fast enough, though. He delivered a blow to my back, just below my ribs. Pain ripped through my side. I bent over and turned away. I knew I had to get my bearings and locate Bear. I swung my head around in time to connect with a right hook thrown by the big man. The force of the blow spun me and I fell to the ground. I went unconscious for a moment, but the cold rain drops snapped me back to reality.
The human circle erupted. The platoon cheered the cheap shot and subsequent death blow by Bear.
I got to my knees and crawled to the edge of the pit. I heard Kaszlaski’s counting in the background. The sound of it echoed in my head.
“Just stay down, maggot,” he said.
The line of recruits separated as I neared them, giving way to the stacked cinder block wall that made up the barracks. I pressed against the wall and got to my feet. Turned. Focused my eyes on Bear. “That all you got?”
Bear smiled. Charged at me. I took a step forward, then slipped to the side as he lifted his hand over his shoulder and swung at me. He crashed into the wall. A normal man would have collapsed at the impact. It just seemed to piss Bear off.
I backed up to the other side of the ring, staying out of reach of the recruits and keeping Kaszlaski a good distance away.
Bear came at me again, the smile gone from his face.
I waited again. Took a step forward, then slipped to the side, sending him reeling into a group of recruits. They managed to stop his momentum and turn him around.
“Fight me,” he said.
I shrugged. Walked to the middle of the ring.
Bear met me there. No one could accuse me of being a small guy, but Bear towered over me. He started throwing short armed jabs. I ducked, circling around him. It was tricky to maneuver in the pit. The footing was unsure and there was always the risk that Kaszlaski was close by and might sucker punch me again. Finally, Bear managed to land a punch on me. The force of it drove me back a few feet.
The platoon erupted in approval again.
The smile returned to Bear’s face. “Now I finish this,” he said.
I winked.
It threw him off. His eyes narrowed and his smiled faded. His stance opened slightly.
I didn’t hesitate. I twisted, launched myself into the air, and brought my fist down across the bridge of his nose, right between his eyes.
Bear staggered backwards. His arms swung blindly, cutting through the air.
I ducked his blows, came up between his outstretched arms and delivered an uppercut to his jaw.
He fell back against a group of recruits. They pushed him forward. He fell to his knees before collapsing on the muddy ground.
The platoon went silent.
Kaszlaski and the other two drill instructors moved into the circle and stood across from me. I braced myself for the attack. Instead, they turned their attention to Bear and helped him off the ground. The recruit circle parted as two D.I.s helped Bear back to the barracks, his big arms draped around their shoulders.
Kaszlaski addressed the platoon. “Everyone back to the barracks. No more boxing today.” He stood firm, eyes locked on mine, while the platoon filed through the small path between two sets of barracks.
The rain fell hard and the wind whipped, driving spears of rain into my face. I struggled to keep my eyes open against the onslaught.
“I’ll deal with you later, recruit Noble.”
***
That night I lay on my rack, hands clasped behind my head staring up at nothing in particular. None of the other recruits had said a word to me. A few looked at me, rage burning in their eyes. Bear and a few others gathered at the far end of the room. I overheard them mention my name and something about revenge tonight. I expected it. I was prepared for it.
Kaszlaski stepped in to the room. “Lights out, recruits.”
Everyone settled in and the room fell quiet. Minutes passed, then hours. Just as I started to doze off I heard a noise. I braced myself for the attack, but it never came. Instead, I heard whispers. I turned my head slowly toward the voices. Three men stood over Bear’s rack. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but a minute later Bear got up and left the men.
I waited a beat, got up and made my way to the door.
“Noble, get the frig back in bed,” Hardwood said. He was the old man in the group at age twenty-six. We called him Pops. He’d been the only friend I’d made after eight weeks in this hell hole.
“Going to the head, Pops” I said.
“Hurry the hell up, Noble.”
I walked toward the head, turned to the right and stopped in front of the door leading outside. I put my ear to the door. Heard nothing. Inside, the room remained still. Quiet. No one was up, except for maybe Hardwood, but I had no reason to worry about him. I grabbed the handle and turned it, slow and easy. Pulled the door open wide enough to squeeze my body through. I shut the door, keeping the handle turned until completely shut so the latch wouldn’t make any noise.
It had cooled off to a sweltering and humid eighty degrees. The thick air created an instant layer of sweat that covered my body. I looked up. The clouds had disappeared. A thin sliver of the moon provided no light. To my right, artificial post lights lit up the end of the barracks. I pressed my back to the wall and moved to the left, where it was dark. Every few feet I stopped and listened. As I neared the corner I heard voices. Too far away to make out, though.
I rounded the corner and moved toward the back of the building. Stopped at the end of the wall. Listened.
“I can’t believe you, Logan,” Kaszlaski said. “Here we give you the chance to beat the shit out of Noble, and you let him kick your ass.”
Bear said, “I didn’t know—”
“Didn’t know you couldn’t fight?” Kaszlaski said.
Bear said nothing.
“What are you, six foot six?” Kaszlaski said. “I didn’t know they made pussies that big. Holy shit, Logan.”
“I didn’t think he was going to come back from that first hit the way he did,” Bear said. “Just give me another chance to—”
I heard a slapping sound. Peeked around the corner and saw Bear standing with his back to the building. Kaszlaski stood in front of him, arm outstretched, inches from Bear’s face. The big man stood there, mouth open, shoulders slumped. I didn’t know if he was going to try to kill Kaszlaski for slapping him or cry about it.
“Don’t you ever touch me again,” Bear said.
“Or what?�
�� Kaszlaski looked back at the other D.I.’s. They laughed. He twisted his body fast and whipped an open hand across Bear’s face.
Bear’s head snapped back. When it returned to its normal position he said, “I warned you not to do that.”
Kaszlaski squared up and leaned in toward Bear, dwarfed by the massive man. “What are you gonna do about it?”
Bear said nothing.
“That’s what I thought.” Kaszlaski punched him in the stomach.
This time Bear reacted. He stepped forward and brought both his arms up, driving them through the drill instructor’s torso, lifting him off the ground. Bear tossed him at least six feet through the air. Kaszlaski hit the ground with a thud.
The two other D.I.’s lunged at Bear. They fought to restrain him, one on his back, the other at his side. Kaszlaski got to his feet. Pulled something from his pocket. I squinted and leaned in to get a better look. He moved toward Bear and swung his arm. The object in his hand crashed against Bear’s head with a thud.
The big man’s knees gave out a bit and he dropped a few inches. The two D.I.s held him up.
“Look at the big bad Bear now,” Kaszlaski said. “Look at me, maggot.”
Bear lifted his head.
“The way this will go down,” he swung the object again hitting Bear in the midsection, “is that your platoon turned on you after your pussy showing this afternoon.”
The D.I.’s let go of Bear. He fell to his knees. He kept his body straight and his head up.
“My suggestion,” Kaszlaski paused and pointed at the other D.I.’s, “our suggestion, is that you should be rolled back.”
Bear brought one leg up and started to move the other.
Kaszlaski responded by driving the object over Bear’s head again.
I stepped out from behind the wall. “Enough.”
The three D.I.s turned to face me. Bear’s head swung to the side. No one said anything.
“Leave him alone, Kaszlaski,” I said.