After we ate lunch, which I cleaned the tray of and almost no one else did, I sat in the classroom and was completely bored. The drill sergeant, and the instructor soldiers that had been on the obstacle course to guide us, went over everything again and explained to each of the other soldiers how to improve themselves and their ability to traverse the course.

Maybe I should have brought one of the books that I can't read. I thought and stared out the window at the outside.

“Are we boring you, Recruit Drake?” The drill sergeant asked.

_______________

You have a choice to make. It will change your relationship with the drill sergeant named Will and the instructors.

A) Stay quiet. B) Answer properly. C) Be sarcastic. D) Correct him. E) Ignore him. F) Choose two.

Ha ha! All right. Let's stay within the army regulations. I'll choose B and C.

_______________

“Yes, Drill Sergeant.” I properly responded without looking at him. “My rank is Private, Drill Sergeant.”

“Well, I hope you like doing push-ups!” He said loudly. “Get on the floor and do them for the rest of the class!”

“Yes, Drill Sergeant.” I said and dropped to the floor and started doing regulation push-ups that only took one second each to complete.

_______________

Montage mode engaged. All further exercises will be sped up and bypassed, unless an event occurs.

_______________

Two hours later, the class ended and the drill sergeant told me to stop.

“How many push-ups did you do, Recruit?”

I didn't respond as I stood up and he walked over beside my desk.

“Didn't you hear me? I asked how many push-ups did you do?!?”

“Were you talking to me, Drill Sergeant? You said recruit.” I said and he let out a low growl. “I did 7,200 of them, Drill Sergeant.”

“I sincerely doubt that, Recruit! You're not even sweating!” The drill sergeant said. “I think you better get on the floor and do it again!”

“It's Private, Drill Sergeant.” I said.

“GET ON THE FLOOR! RIGHT NOW!” The drill sergeant yelled.

“Yes, Drill Sergeant.” I said and dropped to the floor and started again.

“Drill sergeant, he really did do...” One of the instructor soldiers started to say.

“Do you want to join him?” The drill sergeant asked and the man shook his head. “Gillis! Give him a hand!”

“Sir?” A voice responded.

“Normal push-ups are apparently too easy for him.” The drill sergeant said. “Get over here and sit on him.”

“Sir, it's only the first day.” One of the other instructors said. “You can't just...”

“I'm the judge of who can handle it.” The drill sergeant said. “Gillis. Sit.”

I saw someone approach and stopped at the top of a push-up for them.

“Thank you.” Gillis said and then sat down.

“You have to turn either forwards or back.” I said and held the push-up.

“Wh-what?” Gillis looked down at me with wide eyes.

“You won't keep your balance for long while sitting sideways and you'll slide or fall off.”

“Oh. Okay.” Gillis said and turned to face the other way and I felt boots on my backside.

I did one push-up to test the weight and it wasn't even close to what I normally carried in my pack, so I kept going. I counted in my head and it passed by in only a few moments. I finished the seven thousand and two hundredth one, then did another and held it at the top for Gillis to turn and step off. I felt the deep warmth leave my back and I stood up, only to see that everyone was still there and were looking at me.

“Now you're all sweaty.” Gillis said and smiled at me. It reminded me of Hope's smile the last time I saw her and I realized something.

“You're a girl.” I said and she chuckled.

“I guess the bumps on my front didn't clue you in?” Gillis asked.

“I didn't look.” I said and she looked surprised.

“You didn't look.” She whispered.

“The CO in Ester's Village didn't tell me that I should look for women.” I said. “Do I need to look for women?”

Gillis lost the surprised look and shook her head. “No, if you aren't looking, that's fine.”

“I need to dry my uniform.” I said.

Gillis chuckled. “Me, too. My butt is soaked from your back sweat.”

“You can dry them later.” The drill sergeant said. “It's time for food.”

We formed up into two lines and Gillis stayed beside me as we marched out of the classroom and over to the mess hall. After we ate the evening meal, it was time for chores. I was assigned to washing the floor of the barracks and I was to have it completely cleaned by lights out. I was used to cleaning wood off to prepare it for waterproofing potion and was done barely an hour later. I reported back to the drill sergeant to ask if that was all I had to do.

The drill sergeant stood up and strode by me. I followed him to the barracks and he looked at the floor. It was spotless and he looked at me. “Did anyone help you?”

“Who would help me?” I asked and he looked angry for a second.

“There's still dirty water on it.” The drill sergeant said and kicked the bucket of soapy water over. “Do it again.”

“I don't have to.” I said and the angry expression was back on his face.

“Are you refusing a direct order from me?” The drill sergeant asked.

“No.” I said and pointed at the floor. He looked down and saw the water he had intentionally spilled was flowing back by the bucket, around our feet, and out the doorway.

“What in god's name is going on?” The drill sergeant asked, his eyes wide, as the floor remained dry and all the water was now gone.

“Marsh magic.” I said.

The drill sergeant stared at the floor for a minute, stared at me for a minute, then left without a word.

“He really doesn't like you.” Gillis said as she peeked around the corner of the barracks at me.

I turned to look at her. “How do you know?”

“You're frustrating him.” Gillis said and walked over to me. “He can't figure out how to take the knowledge he has to apply it to you.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“The whole point of this is to break us out of our normal lives, make us struggle and better improve ourselves, so we can benefit the kingdom.” Gillis said. “You... well, you...”

“I'm the Marsh Man.” I said and she gave me a look that said she knew.

“The things you've gone through in your normal life are so much worse than anything the army could do to rebuild you into a better person.”

I thought about that for a minute. Did the Hag rebuild me and make me a better person? I asked myself and looked at Gillis. “Are you a better person?”

Gillis chuckled. “We just started.” She said and started to walk away. “Ask me again in three months when basic training is over.”

I picked up the bucket and dumped the water out, then went inside the barracks and took out some smoked meat from my trunk. I ate it and settled the grumbling in my guts. The food they served didn't have enough hardiness to it, in my opinion. I did know that they never served two servings, which meant that when my smoked meat ran out in a few weeks, I might have to go hunting.

Over the next hour, the others finished their tasks and came back to the barracks. Nearly all of them avoided looking at me, except for Gillis. She sat down on my trunk with me and told me all about scrubbing the outside of the barracks and how her arms and legs were sore.

_______________

You have a minor choice to make. It will only affect your relationship with Gillis.

A) Offer advice. B) Stay silent. C) Offer help. D) Rub her arms. E) Ignore her. F) Complain.

She seems to be okay, so I think I'll give her a chance. I thought. I choose C.

_______________

I reached into my bandoleer and pulled out the healing potion that I had already used some of for the purser. “Take a small sip.” I whispered.

Gillis looked at the vial and then at me. “Is that...”

I nodded. “Just a sip.”

Gillis made sure that no one else was looking and quickly took a small sip. She couldn't stop her relieved sigh and quickly handed it back. I tucked it away and she smiled at me.

“Thank you.” Gillis whispered, then she stood up and spoke in a normal voice. “I need to get to bed. It's going to be another long run in the morning.”

“Goodnight.” I said and took out the two blankets from the trunk and spread them out on the floor beside my cot. I took off my bandoleer and laid it down and tucked it into the blanket, then laid down myself. People were having hushed conversations all over the barracks.

“He's cheating again.” Someone said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Most people take their clothes off to go to bed.” Someone else said.

“You can do that too, you know.” Gillis said. “I doubt you'll stop your clothes from wrinkling, though.”

“How does he do it, if you know so much?” Someone else asked.

“Just don't move.” I said and all the conversations died down to nothing.

“What was that?” A man's voice asked.

“Pretend a marsh panther is coming after you and stay perfectly still.” I said.

A few people whispered marsh panther a few times and conversation picked back up.

“Did you really have a marsh panther come after you?” Gillis asked.

“No. It broke into my hut while I was gone to the nearby village and I found it when I came back. It had wrecked the place, too.”

Everyone in the room went deathly quiet again.

“What happened?” Gillis asked in a whisper that everyone could easily hear in the silence.

“I killed it with my knife, skinned it, and ate it.” I said.

Not a single person spoke again for the rest of the evening.

The drill sergeant came in and banged the door loudly. “All right! Settle down in here! It's time for... lights... out.” His voice trailed off when he realized that everyone was already quiet. He walked over to the valve that controlled the oil for the lamps and slowly turned it off. He gave me a stern look before he left and shut the door as quietly as he could.

About an hour later, Gillis spoke again. “Did you really eat it?”

“I still have some smoked panther meat in the bag in my trunk.” I replied.

No one asked anything else.