The Recruit: A Jack Noble Short Story

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.

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.