Chapter 30
Thirty
Rook
“Hold it higher, you little cocksuckers. Do you want to be men someday or pansy-assed boys? Whiny little brats?”
My arms are strained to the point that they might threaten to collapse at any moment. My teeth have been chattering for hours. At least, it seems that long. I really have no idea how long we’ve been standing here. What I know is that my balls are going to freeze off soon.
That’s not just an expression. The five of us are naked. Master Drill Sergeant Keagan found out that’s what we call him behind his back, so he’s teaching us a lesson in respect. Or so he says.
We’ve been standing single file, holding a very heavy log above our heads for too long to know for sure.
It’s cold outside. Our clothes are in the mud.
We stripped naked and dropped them in the dirt before we picked up the log.
We watched as Master Drill Sergeant Keagan took the hose to our clothes, soaking them and causing them to lie in a muddy pit.
When we’re done, he’ll make us wash them by hand in the bathtub.
He hates us with so much passion that he has switched to humiliation tactics to get us to break.
It will never happen. We won’t break. We have a plan, and we’re sticking to it. He can make us stand here all night if he wants. We’re solid. We’re a unit. We have each other. He can go fuck himself.
I yank awake, shocked to find that I’m wrapped around my girl’s warm body. I wasn’t sure how I behaved when my nightmares take over. Apparently, I’m not as violent as I feel since she doesn’t seem to have stirred.
I smile and snuggle into her. A sense of smugness consumes me. I’m here. I’m alive. I have the most precious woman in my arms. She’s perfection. I’m a lucky bastard.
Fuck you, Master Drill Sergeant Keagan. Fuck you.
He can’t hurt any of us anymore. We’re free. We’ve made something of ourselves. We may be fucked in the head, but we have each other, and look at me. I’ve found a woman. She’s in my bed. In my arms. I don’t even want to let her go. I feel like I could hold her all night for the rest of my life.
Fuck, I’m lucky.
Blessed beyond measure. I will never take her for granted. Yes, I will always be strict with her. I will push her limits and boundaries every day for the rest of our lives. But it’s what she needs. Her life wasn’t complete without me in it. Mine was not complete without her.
With a contented smile on my face, I let myself go back to sleep.