James lay in his bunk staring into space barely listening to Arlington's yammering in the background. Nothing was going well. Or better yet, Arlington was totally unaffected by all the unfortunate evnets from the past 27 days, but James had to bear the brunt of it all. Nobody actually said anything, for fear of word getting back to Commander Sanchez. But the close and tight knit family spirit was gone. It was like everyine shunned him. And James.wasn't sure it would stop, whether the experiment succeeded or not.
James turned over his pillow and punched it in frustration. He couldn't lose his status in his family here. There was no family he could go back to or depend on outside of his fellow soldiers. He'd even changed his name in order to leave behind his past of foster homes and neglect. The army was all he had, but now he felt like an outcast in the place he'd learned to call home.
So even though Arlington could not do any of the tasks required of a soldier (including waking up early) thus far, the commanding officers claimed that with time it could be possible. The essential thing was to get him integrated. And since James was to noble (or proud) to tell them the truth of how the men were no longer united and were divided on the subject of gays in the army, Commander Sanchez and his peers applauded themselves for a job done well.
James sighed. What's left to do is to continue putting on a brave face, and ending this assignment. Afterwards I'll just have to reinvent myself in another country far, far from here.
With mixed emotions, James pulled the covers over his head, unaware that Arlington had long since stopped talking, and tried to find some much needed sleep.
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YOU ARE READING
Familian
FantasyThe country of Familian was at war. Not a full-out or even noticeable war. But it was a war just the same. It was like a simmerring pot on a stove. There seems to be nothing in it, but once anything hits the bottom of the pot, it starts steaming, h...
