I’ve been out to the field three times now with this new unit, and every time, heaters have been a problem. It gets damn cold in the night when we’re on fireguard, sitting around the radio. Even here in the desert for our National Training Center rotation, these nights dip down into the 30s – a stark contrast to the pleasant ~60 degree daytime weather where the sun kindly kisses the skin covering our frigid bones. So imagine my surprise when we not only bring a single heater for our entire staff, but on probably our third night here, it breaks. Just shuts right off, I guess. Which meant we were supposed to head into “the box”, our eight-day training excursion into the yonder of this base as large as Rhode Island, with no heater at all. What madness! ...
Short Story 9 – Hell Yeah Finished on 11 November 2024 The bathroom door flung open, its handle punching the growing divot on the wall behind it. A man stumbled in and crashed a beer can on the counter as he grabbed the side of the sink. His body wavered as he watched the unsteady beer can rock beneath him in a sea of empties littering the counter. Would it fall over, his hazy mind wondered? Once the can managed to find its balance, he dropped his elbows down to the ledge. Something about this manoeuvre made his head spin again, so he closed his eyes and rested his forehead on his forearms. Without looking, he fumbled around the faucet until he managed to turn the water on. “Ugh,” he grunted. He knew the spins were temporary, so he held tight for about a minute as the soothing sound of the running water consoled him. When he opened his eyes, he noticed drops of blood on the grimy counter b...
"Hobart’s Heroes" Finished on 6 October 2024 Hobart was, by most accounts, a rather average man. He grew up in one of the many suburbs of an entry-level big city. With a rather forgettable reputation, he’d occasionally lurk in the background of high school parties before it got too late and he headed home, the red solo cup in his hand mostly there just to fit in. His parents, in a marriage that was neither good nor bad, supported him every once in a while as normal parents do, but never tried to inspire him enough to have anything but the same, average trajectory in life as they did. At the same time, children are, by nature, more idealistic. Hobart’s mind ran free with possibilities, so he covered the walls of his room with all his favourite heroes – astronauts, superheroes, athletes, and even Army recruitment posters. But this was hardly unique, as most people had such untamed imaginations while growing up. Perhaps th...
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