A Shade Darker ✔️

{Chapter Fifty Five}

How To Be A Man

March 17th, 2018

Ashley

I had been breathing shallow and crouching behind a bush now for twenty minutes, watching as the last minute men enlisted for the upcoming battle. I was looking frantically between the line of men still enlisting and the line of men waiting to be given weapons. Quickly while I saw that the coast was clear, I slipped casually between a man at the enlisting desk and hurried over towards the group of men being handed weapons.

Pushing one of my Bobby pins back into place, I try and blink the fog and fear out of my eyes. With a deep breath I don't have much time to steady myself before a large leather belt is pushed into my arms by an angry looking man. Another man follows, loading a large enclosed knife on top of the pile in my arms. And following him, a man with a smaller dagger that places it lightly on top of the other, larger one.

With shaking hands I search frantically through the crowd for a familiar face. I stand on my toes, even in the boots that had provided a small step up for me.

Though I was extreme uncomfortable for a number of reasons. My heart was still racing in the disbelief that I was here. And the boots were too big, having to be stuffed in the toes with washcloths, as well as wearing two pairs of socks for a snug fit. The shirt I had stolen from Mike's closet was tucked deeply into the trousers, almost at my knees. And the trousers themselves were pinched tightly at the waist with a belt and cuffed to meet the length of my legs. My breasts were bound tightly against me, wrapped with medical bandages to be held down.

I pull my hat down a little over my hairline and suck in another sharp breath.

"What are you doing? Looking for mommy or daddy? This is war, man! Now strap that belt to your chest and keep those knives in position. They're the only ones you'll be given 'till we board" A scream makes me jump out of my oblivion just long enough to stare into the face of a rather dirty looking man.

He was fat and greasy looking, unkempt and unshaven face oily and shiny in the moonlight. His breath stank of booze and his body of very strong man sweat. I nearly gagged once.

He pushed at my shoulder, causing me to wobble unevenly on the boots.

I grabbed the belt and strapped it around my shoulder as I watched the other men do. I quickly bound it to me and stuffed the larger knife into the holster while the other went down into my boot.

Next to me, two men were whispering quietly to each other.

"Do you reckon there will be enough horses for all of us?"

"Are you kidding? The colony wouldn't pay that much just to allow a bunch of men to ride. No, they'll make us walk until we drop first"

"All the way to the boats? Seems a little risky if you ask me. Why risk lives already when we need all the men we can get for the battle?"

Boats? Walking? I shivered again even though a sweat was breaking out on my forehead.

Suddenly now all the men began growing quiet and stiffened their postures. I was at the end of the row and couldn't peek over the tall males to see what was coming.

Large boots that produced heavy footsteps began walking down my row now and with shaky breaths I stood as tall as I could manage and put on a face of indifference.

Finally, the heavy footsteps stopped in front of me and I blinked the fog away again.

"Your belt is backwards" Glancing at the strap I see that the buckle is facing the back of my shoulder instead of the front.

I couldn't speak to him, or to anybody really. But if I let my voice show through to the person who knew it so well then my cover was blown. Mike stares at me with a hard face until I reach around and fix it.

It takes me a few tries because my fingers were shaking, but with a final pull, the buckle comes into it's place and fasten it in the right direction on my shoulder.

With a nod of approval he moves to the next row and then the walking begins.

Every step is painful, every step takes me farther away from home and deeper into the forest.

Many of the men are much stronger and more durable with me and by the time and feeling of body I have to believe that we've been walking close to four hours without a break.

Somewhere my vision grows blurry and my feet and legs grow heavier with every step. Somewhere near a rock, everything goes black.

****

I gasp and sit up right, shiver with the brim of my hat dripping cold water. The rest of it soaks my shirt and pants and a group of men crowds around me.

"Alright, he's fine. Get him some water stat, and then we keep moving" I tug the hat down over my head more, hiding my hair.

A man pulls me to my feet and hands me a flask. I choke with the expectation and orders of water, but the liquid burns as it slides down my throat.

A few pats on the back and we begin moving again.

After another couple of hours the crowd stops, the men stop walking so quickly that I almost bump into the stranger in front of me.

Slowly the crowd becomes single file and the destination seems so far away.

Whatever I had expected of a boat was sadly shot down quickly. Looking up into the sky the masts resembled clouds and the ladder as Hugh as a two story building. Another incline of a walk and I would find myself on a ship full of stinky, sweaty, and vulgar men preparing for battle.

And I would have to be one of them.