A Solder's Tale (Book 1 of Something Series) (Completed)

Chapter 14 (Edited)

I walked into the barn and saw five men lounging around in the tack room. The buckets that contained the water were overturned, leaving a huge mess on the floor. The rags and sponges were scattered around, as if they had been thrown. I shook my head silently, wondering if they even would get any work done. It seemed to me that they needed to be taught a lesson, so I was going to teach them one.

José was in the middle of the group, trying to act like me. His whole body was straight, while he had an arm behind his back. A sneer was on his face, while he walked around, inspecting all of the saddles and then looking at his brothers and cousins. "I'm the Captain, you all have to do what I say," he said. He pointed towards the whole mess that was on the ground. "Clean up this mess, if you know what's good for you. Do you want to run the 100 acres of land?"

Hoots of laughter were heard, as he flicked one of his brother's in the head. "Come now, Captain, you are not in the Army anymore," his brother said, moving away from him and hitting his hand. His face paled when he caught sight of me, standing in the doorway with my arm straight at my side. He saw that there was a fist before he again looked straight up to see that I had a dangerous look in my eye. "Uh..." He gulped, trying to think of something to say.

"Herberto, what is wrong? You look like you've seen the Captain Pain in My Ass," José said. There was a bit of teasing in his voice, probably because he knew that it couldn't be true, even though it was true.

"That's because he did," I said. My voice was calm and there was a bit of an edge to it. I didn't like being made fun of, basically because I had been made fun of about my sister. However, a small smirk appeared on my lips, they had learned not to make fun of my sister, if they didn't want me to beat them to a pulp. I raised an eyebrow, seeing that the rest of the group had jumped in surprise, when I had spoken, not knowing that I was there. "What? Didn't expect me to come here quickly from whatever I was doing?" I glanced at each of them, to see that they were kind of sweaty, so I knew that they wouldn't be lying about them doing the 3 mile run.

"I didn't think you were that fast," one of the men said. He raised his hand, probably to let me know who he was. "I'm Juan, Señor Castille," he replied nodding his head hello.

I nodded my head in greeting. "I am not that fast," I replied. "I am silent on my feet, which you will all learn by the end of this moth." I glanced at Josè, raising an eyebrow. "Do you really hate me so much that you are actually trying to make fun of me?"

Josè looked at me, before he set his jaw, stubbornly. However, the stubborn jaw turned into a smirk, while he narrowed his eyes at me. "Isn't it that obvious?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought I was making it quite obvious that I did hate you."

I glanced at him before looking at the others. A frown was on my face, and I had to keep myself from punching Josè in the mouth. "Clean up this mess and then go do that 100 acres run. You can thank your brother and cousin for making you do it." There were a couple of groans, interrupting me from talking. A scowl appeared on my face, because I didn't like being interrupted. "I will join you all later. I have to take care of some buisness first and then I will get to you. After you do the 100 acres run, you will be working on the saddles, bridles, and sweeping the tack and feed rooms."

"This isn't the Army, Capitán. You don't have to be so harsh." Josè folded his arms across his chest and glared at me. His hatred for me was growing, because I was actually making him work.

I smirked but it turned into a sneer. "I'm not being harsh, Josè. I can be a lot worse. I am just making you all work, like you are supposed to do."

Josè moved in front of me, trying to become the predator instead of the prey. His whole body was tense, while he looked into my blue eyes. "Is that a threat?" he asked. His voice was cold, while he looked at me.

I shook my head, keeping an eye on him. I didn't trust Josè and knew that he might try to do something to me. However, I was ready for anything that this boy could send my way. I had faced bullies before, and Josè was just being one, because I was making him and his family work. My sneer grew, while I looked into his eyes, not blinking.

My heart was pounding a little, probably giving me some adrenaline to take care of myself if need be. I knew that Josè thought he was all that, but he wasn't. I knew that I was going to be teaching him a couple of lessons, which I hoped he was ready for.

"It's a promise."

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A/N: Dun Dun Dunnnnn. Do you think that those to will ever work out their hatred or not?