Continuation of the first post

This Is the next chapter of the first posting on this blog.


 It was still early, I stood in the sullen glow of the street lamps with the last remnant of a cigarette burning dangerously close to my fingers. I still had a solid half hour before i was due to report in for morning formation. it was still plenty of time to sleep off the last of the nights festivities but i had no want to rest anymore.  I lit the next cigarette of the dieing carcass of the first and flicked it aside. i inhaled eagerly at the fresh tobacco, the rich leaves bathed me in their aroma. the morning was surprisingly warm for the time of year. they always said up here in the mountains, if you don't like the weather wait five minutes and check again. I checked my watch, the neon glow on the face of the digital watch that had seen most of my military career showed i had twenty minutes before i had to be in formation. slowly the parking lot populated, people shut their headlights off and began to mingle in the parking lot. i stood off to the side and pondered what redundant and useless tasking they had for us this week.  i flicked the cherry off of my cigarette with trained precision, pondering to myself if it was really time to quit or is the notion of cancer remained so appealing. I was a corporal, not quite to the point where i got to put on my big boy pants and start slinging chevrons around like they were cool, but sufficiently high enough to get shit done. i was a maintenance guru and a acceptable soldier in the ranks of my peers.
    I found myself making my way to the motor pool with my moral dragging so far down in the dirt my dog tag should have been dragging. it was definitely a Monday, Monday run days, all day every day. I couldn't help reciting the same bits and pieces of old cadences i hadn't heard in a hot minute, i guess when you spend time in the army thing like that tend to stick with you. i pulled at the glass door, i didn't budge to my surprise.
"you do that every morning Corporal" a cocky black specialist jeered at me
"and my sheets still smell like your mothers ass" i replied with a grin.
Joesph D Johnson, or as we called him most days J.J. his parents must of had a bible on the bed and a sick sense of humor to put to names like that together, but i tend not to judge others like that.
"so whats on the agenda for today" J.J asked with a raised eyebrow and a smart-assed grin.
"probably the same shit as every week, Fix shit and do some stupid  detail later in the day" i replied with a sigh.
"don't sound so ecstatic over it, I think you might fall over dead of a stroke" he replied.
We entered in to the main hall and made our way through the ready room and into the motor pool where  the company colors had already been posted. the ranks had already began to converge from chaos to some semblance of order. J.J and myself posted up in the first rank with our rag tag band of the dumbest smart people you'll ever meet. Our squad was composed of one staff Sargent, who wasn't the sharpest crayon in the wood chipper, two Sargents that were so far apart in age it was ridiculous, one other corporal, a shit talking kid from California, myself  and three lower enlisted to include J.J and a couple green as grass privates who just put boots on ground in this area.
    the company commander walked to his post at the back of the formation. he was a young dark haired Irishman who often bordered on coming to work drunk on a daily basis. our first Sargent burst through the door gibbering with our young platoon leader in broken English. He posted up front, pushing out every inch his four foot seven frame could hold. he cleared his through and called the company to attention and then put us a parade rest to await the flag to go up. the horns sounded a few seconds later and we made with all the military formalities that were deemed necessary before anything could happen ever.
    First Sargent made an about face to look at the company and cleared his throat again.
"alright, all joo terds out d'heir know dat da prepping for da deployment is underway, This means dat you must start getting all of your shit packed up and inventoried, I want all da paperwork on my desk before Friday, Section leaders take charge and conduct Physical training" he finished and waddled his way back to his office, like the outstanding non-commissioned officer he was.  our staff Sargent strolled up to the front of the squad. he packed his can of dip and put a fat pinch in his mouth.
"Right face!" he bellowed and like clockwork the formation reacted "File from the right column left"  the squad leaders yelled in unison their parts and the formation began to train its way out to the parking lot and reassemble as squads in the empty section where we always formed up for prep drills. the next five minute was spent doing useless exercises that all in all did nothing to help you to run any better or train any harder. after the ridiculous display of gyrating and wobbling ceased we broke down by squads and began the multi mile run of the day. the first mile made my stomach turn and i pondered the reasons why i chose to drink so dammed much so often. the next mile we began to lose the privates, the altitude was a bitch of a mistress your first few months, as predicted our fearless leader fell back to pick up the stragglers and attempt to coax them back up to the formation to no avail.  we finished out with a half assed sprint back to the formation area and finished up with yet another ridiculous display of bend and flexing to and fro. I went back to my car and retrieved a beat up pack of cigarettes and lit one. another pleasant day in the army, i mused to myself.
    The day turned out to be uneventful, i returned to my small apartment where my cat greeted my at the door and wined for food in a tiny voice. I settled in on the couch after sating my cats needs and poured a glass out of the many bottles neatly lined up on the remaining cushions. to be free of the self made bonds that i have set upon myself and not once again fly like a bird on high winds. Only strokes of such genius hit me in those annoying sober points of the evening and never remained long. I sipped carefully from my glass, savoring each fiery drop of whatever i was drinking, i didn't know nor did i care much what it was, so long as it served true to the purpose. a few hours rolled by and the blur and warmth turned in to a restless sleep. this cycled continued up until one day the routine finally broke.
    It was early, not in the morning but rather in the evening. I hadn't much felt like drinking, in fact i did much feel like doing anything. I sat and contemplated weather or not i should even exist on this earth.  these thoughts ran deep within every fiber of my being, was i truly serving my purpose in this life, was it worth all the trouble it brought. thoughts like this brought out wreck less actions. I walked solemnly to my bedroom and pulled the chrome revolver that had so often had been the judge of my path in this world. I spun open the chamber and removed all but one round.  so many paths to be walked in this life, i mused to myself, and all of them wrought with perils. i spun the chamber and cocked the hammer, the final verdict was left up to fate itself. I stared at the weapon in my hand and admired the beauty of such a cruel implement, but perhaps all things filled to the brim with such hazards should be wrapped in a lovely shell.
"let god decide tonight " i murmured and put the pistol to my temple " let him be true in judgment" i proclaimed to the emptiness and pulled the trigger. Click, the hammer fell to nothing but dead air and the decision was prolonged yet another day perhaps, or perhaps another few months. The phone rang and startled me, the revolver fell from my hand and landed on the carpet.
"Better there then any other place" i mused to the darkness. I made my way through the apartment back to the couch where my cell phone nearly lived besides within my pocket.
"corporal dans" I croaked,
"Dans, Get your ass down here, were mobilizing" It was staff Sargent Runsetter
"bring my bags?" i questioned out of habit
"No, just your ruck and kit" he responded
"Roger" I hung up confused, If we are mobilizing then why don't i need my bags. i let the idea drift out of my head and put my game face on. with my gear secured I tore down the street on the way to post.  It was dammed near three in the morning and the traffic at the gate was stacked deep. MP's roamed car to car with flashlights and turned some cars away. finally after what seemed hours they checked my ID and pushed me through the exit only route. I was confused and lost at this notion.  I made my way up the street about a hundred meters and ran right into another road block of ten up armored bulldogs. they checked my ID again and told me to hurry to my motor pool. before i even thought to ask questions i was moving again.
    I arrived to find mass chaos, Weapons being loaded onto their mounts, trucks being staged, small arms being carried out to the gun trucks. I wheeled into the parking lot and slammed my car into a parking space. i grabbed my gear and ran for the ready room, i came in to find it stacked to the rafters with the whole company and their equipment. the arms room was open and everyone was drawing weapons.
"Dans! Get up here and draw your weapon!"  Staff Sargent Runsetter yelled over the drone of the crowd. I dropped my gear in an empty space and made my way through the tangle of bodies and gear. I met staff Sargent Runsetter at the arms room
"Dans, Some big shit is going down all along the east coast." He began " we gotta have the bulldogs up and moving before dawn, full support with each convoy." he paused to spit "fuel, ammo and food on the trucks and down the road"
"Sarge, how the fuck are we going to dispatch that many trucks in this amount of time" I asked
"fuck the dispatches" he said spitting again "we got to get moving time yesterday"
"roger" I secured my M-7 and ammo was shoved in every pocket I had. I made my way over and secured my gear hap-hazardously and made my way out into the motor pool. private Sanchez and private Gunther were loading cans of 20mm case less in the ammo racks in the bulldog. Sargent bonzer and Sargent redding were mounting the M-977 onto the truck and putting a full case into the feeder.
"think we need to link up another case to this" Sargent redding asked Sargent bonzer.
"nah, i don't think shits gonna get that real out there" Sargent bonzer replied.

    Within the crack of dawn we were on our way down route 5 heading for Maryland,  the bulldogs Rotary engine was dam near at the red line and all the other trucks followed suit. fourteen hours in we hit the first bit of devastation
    It was burning , all of it was wrought with devastation, there were no signs of foreign troops. no sign of brass nor bullet, just fire and crumbling, smoldering ruins. we pushed farther into the city and the building seemed to have just turned to dust at the foundation and collapsed. still there was no enemies in sight or sign. I was aghast at the sight of it, the city had began to unmake itself seemingly over night and we knew nothing of why or how.
"what the hell happened" Sargent bonzer turned and asked Sargent redding.
"don't know but it looks like the whole place got nuked"  Sargent redding pondered as he wheeled the truck through the rubble" looks like a nuke went off but the radiation alarm hasn't gone off yet so whose to say."  I wish i had known what i now know about the happening in that small suburb of Maryland. i would have never gone on that mission.