01-10-2011, 09:35 PM
“Please don’t make me do this.”
“Sorry, sweetheart, you’re shit out of luck.”
“I’m not up to this, please, you’ve got to understand…”
The sergeant shoved her into the barracks, and Iris fell flat on her face, tears welling up in her eyes. With a frustrated grunt, the military officer stepped over the human rag doll and continued to walk towards the rest of the soldiers, all of whom were sitting on cots, getting into their uniforms.
Iris brought herself to her knees, and saw her uniform sprawled out on the ground before her. She let a few of the tears slip from her eyes, and picked it up, clutching it tightly with her fingers. She was going to die.
“Come on, maggot, off the ground,” the sergeant’s voice yelled from the opposite end of the room. Iris looked up, and felt her anger bubbling up inside, as if something was about to erupt from her body. She could feel her energy pulsing through her veins, adrenaline telling her to take it out on him, to take it all out on him — but she stopped herself. She stayed calm, and forced her body into a standing position. Her lips curled into a furious scowl; the sergeant just laughed.
“You maggots are going to get really fuckin’ pissed off at me, that’s for sure,” he scoffed, and Iris could feel herself buckling under the pressure. Her fury was building with every word that dripped from his acidic mouth. “But this young lady — this young lady’s handlin’ it perfectly.”
That fucking bastard — wait, what?
“She’s keeping it under control, stayin’ respectful to her superior, which, in case any of you maggots forgot, is me,” the sergeant expanded on his former statement, and Iris raised an eyebrow. Was he… complimenting her? “You all could learn a thing or two from her. I’ve noticed soldiers that get so pissed off at their commanding officers that they go AWOL; some even try and hurt ‘em, or do some other stupid shit like that.” Iris, still majorly confused, cracked a smile. She was, for once, the good example — she was doing something right.
A soldier in the cot across from hers’ stared at her intently. His face was curious, as if he’d seen her somewhere before, as if she was some sort of interesting specimen that he’d been looking for. Iris locked his gaze, but she blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, his own gaze was back on the sergeant.
She couldn’t take her eyes off of him, though. He was just another soldier — a ‘maggot’ — so what interest would he have in her? What the hell gave him the right to stare at her like that? There was something odd about him, something eerie, just like there had been something eerie about the guys in the suits. The one in the crowd, in South City, and the one in the spaceport, just a little while ago. It was as if all of them were watching her, watching this ‘specimen’ that she must’ve been.
The powers — that had to be it, that must’ve been why they were watching her, they were interested in her abilities. She couldn’t blame them, she would be interested, too, but she wasn’t even sure what those abilities were, yet, and she had yet to even tap into their potential. These people — in the suits, this soldier — they had to be agents of some galactic force, ready to take her and probe her and…
…wait. That sounded utterly ridiculous.
Since when did she get so important? She had powers, sure, but… she couldn’t be the only one. She couldn’t have been the only person with these special abilities. Of course, that didn’t mean that she wasn’t the subject of their particular inquiries… but that shouldn’t have been her concern. She shook her head, and attempted to erase all paranoid thoughts from her mind.
“…you don’t think so, soldier?” the sergeant said, turning his gaze on Iris. The brown-haired girl looked up, and her skin turned pale with fear. The sergeant was looking straight at her, staring daggers into her, and she had no idea why. Damn it, she cursed inside her mind, why did you have to go off on that tangent? Why couldn’t you just stay inside this dimension, and stop letting things play with your head? Why couldn’t you just stay out of trouble, just this once?
“I think she’s just got a lot on her mind,” the soldier across the way said.
The sergeant stared at her, his gaze unmoving, as if the boy who’d tried to protect her didn’t even exist. Which, to the sergeant, he probably didn’t — the officer was looking for an answer from her, the offender. She swallowed nervously.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Iris nodded, “I have a lot on my mind right now. Nerves, you know? Talking… to myself.” The sergeant stared for another couple of seconds, and then smirked at her.
“Right. I think we’re all nervous, so I’ll let you off the hook this once,” he said, “But from now on, you pay attention to me, is that clear, Private… ?”
“Swanning. Iris Swanning, sir. Like the…”
She cut herself off. Now wasn’t time for — forgive the pun — flowery introductions. He knew what she was talking about, and even if he didn’t, he probably didn’t give a damn. So, she didn’t finish her statement. She did, however, turn her gaze back to the boy, who wasn’t watching her anymore, but rather putting on his uniform. She supposed she should start getting to that. As she undid her blouse, she looked over at him, and dared herself. “…thank you,” she said in a low voice, not wanting the Sergeant — or anyone else, for that matter — to hear her.
“Ha,” the boy soldier said, letting his jeans fall to his ankles, “Don’t thank me — I didn’t help much, you did all the work.” Iris smiled; a humble boy, she guessed, but one that still alerted her suspicions. He was… intriguing, this boy. “Oh, I’m Private White, by the way. You know, like, the white of your eye.”
“Say the white of an egg,” Iris told him without thinking. “It sounds more appetizing, you know what I mean?”
“Sorry, sweetheart, you’re shit out of luck.”
“I’m not up to this, please, you’ve got to understand…”
The sergeant shoved her into the barracks, and Iris fell flat on her face, tears welling up in her eyes. With a frustrated grunt, the military officer stepped over the human rag doll and continued to walk towards the rest of the soldiers, all of whom were sitting on cots, getting into their uniforms.
Iris brought herself to her knees, and saw her uniform sprawled out on the ground before her. She let a few of the tears slip from her eyes, and picked it up, clutching it tightly with her fingers. She was going to die.
“Come on, maggot, off the ground,” the sergeant’s voice yelled from the opposite end of the room. Iris looked up, and felt her anger bubbling up inside, as if something was about to erupt from her body. She could feel her energy pulsing through her veins, adrenaline telling her to take it out on him, to take it all out on him — but she stopped herself. She stayed calm, and forced her body into a standing position. Her lips curled into a furious scowl; the sergeant just laughed.
“You maggots are going to get really fuckin’ pissed off at me, that’s for sure,” he scoffed, and Iris could feel herself buckling under the pressure. Her fury was building with every word that dripped from his acidic mouth. “But this young lady — this young lady’s handlin’ it perfectly.”
That fucking bastard — wait, what?
“She’s keeping it under control, stayin’ respectful to her superior, which, in case any of you maggots forgot, is me,” the sergeant expanded on his former statement, and Iris raised an eyebrow. Was he… complimenting her? “You all could learn a thing or two from her. I’ve noticed soldiers that get so pissed off at their commanding officers that they go AWOL; some even try and hurt ‘em, or do some other stupid shit like that.” Iris, still majorly confused, cracked a smile. She was, for once, the good example — she was doing something right.
A soldier in the cot across from hers’ stared at her intently. His face was curious, as if he’d seen her somewhere before, as if she was some sort of interesting specimen that he’d been looking for. Iris locked his gaze, but she blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, his own gaze was back on the sergeant.
She couldn’t take her eyes off of him, though. He was just another soldier — a ‘maggot’ — so what interest would he have in her? What the hell gave him the right to stare at her like that? There was something odd about him, something eerie, just like there had been something eerie about the guys in the suits. The one in the crowd, in South City, and the one in the spaceport, just a little while ago. It was as if all of them were watching her, watching this ‘specimen’ that she must’ve been.
The powers — that had to be it, that must’ve been why they were watching her, they were interested in her abilities. She couldn’t blame them, she would be interested, too, but she wasn’t even sure what those abilities were, yet, and she had yet to even tap into their potential. These people — in the suits, this soldier — they had to be agents of some galactic force, ready to take her and probe her and…
…wait. That sounded utterly ridiculous.
Since when did she get so important? She had powers, sure, but… she couldn’t be the only one. She couldn’t have been the only person with these special abilities. Of course, that didn’t mean that she wasn’t the subject of their particular inquiries… but that shouldn’t have been her concern. She shook her head, and attempted to erase all paranoid thoughts from her mind.
“…you don’t think so, soldier?” the sergeant said, turning his gaze on Iris. The brown-haired girl looked up, and her skin turned pale with fear. The sergeant was looking straight at her, staring daggers into her, and she had no idea why. Damn it, she cursed inside her mind, why did you have to go off on that tangent? Why couldn’t you just stay inside this dimension, and stop letting things play with your head? Why couldn’t you just stay out of trouble, just this once?
“I think she’s just got a lot on her mind,” the soldier across the way said.
The sergeant stared at her, his gaze unmoving, as if the boy who’d tried to protect her didn’t even exist. Which, to the sergeant, he probably didn’t — the officer was looking for an answer from her, the offender. She swallowed nervously.
“Yeah, that’s it,” Iris nodded, “I have a lot on my mind right now. Nerves, you know? Talking… to myself.” The sergeant stared for another couple of seconds, and then smirked at her.
“Right. I think we’re all nervous, so I’ll let you off the hook this once,” he said, “But from now on, you pay attention to me, is that clear, Private… ?”
“Swanning. Iris Swanning, sir. Like the…”
She cut herself off. Now wasn’t time for — forgive the pun — flowery introductions. He knew what she was talking about, and even if he didn’t, he probably didn’t give a damn. So, she didn’t finish her statement. She did, however, turn her gaze back to the boy, who wasn’t watching her anymore, but rather putting on his uniform. She supposed she should start getting to that. As she undid her blouse, she looked over at him, and dared herself. “…thank you,” she said in a low voice, not wanting the Sergeant — or anyone else, for that matter — to hear her.
“Ha,” the boy soldier said, letting his jeans fall to his ankles, “Don’t thank me — I didn’t help much, you did all the work.” Iris smiled; a humble boy, she guessed, but one that still alerted her suspicions. He was… intriguing, this boy. “Oh, I’m Private White, by the way. You know, like, the white of your eye.”
“Say the white of an egg,” Iris told him without thinking. “It sounds more appetizing, you know what I mean?”