OBSESSION

Obsession



Chapter 8





I was absolutely boiling after that quick march we had just done, and oh fuck, I so desperately needed a drink of water. I watched as Lieutenant Pike came towards us, his face still showing the hurt he felt at the brush-off he’d just gotten from the General. My dry tongue was sticking to the roof of my mouth as I thought of how he’d offered his water bottle to his lover. An offer I couldn’t believe had been refused!



“Fifteen minute rest break men,” he snapped, before walking off. Looking around me, at all the other men, it seemed I was the only one struggling to cope in this stifling heat. Even the brown haired boy hadn’t broken out into much of a sweat, whereas me, the stuff seemed to be just pouring off my body.



Opening my flask, I drank greedily, glad of the soothing, cooling water as it hit my burning mouth and throat. I dropped onto the hard floor, panting. I really needed to sit down, before I fell down. Even after gulping the entire contents of my water bottle, I still felt I was going to pass out if I got any hotter. There was no shade around anywhere, nowhere to get out of the merciless heat and cool off.



Not caring whether or not it was against regulations, I took off my heavy jacket, and laid it on the floor beside me, folding it up neatly first. Undoing a couple of buttons on my shirt, I fanned myself with my cap, relishing the feel of the fresher air the action generated. I closed my eyes, thoroughly enjoying the sensation of the cooler breeze as it brushed against my hot skin, totally unaware of the others around me, totally oblivious of someone creeping up behind me, until….



I cried out in shock, as freezing water was poured over my head, catching my breath at the coldness of it. Then I heard laughter. Turning, I saw ‘button boy’, holding himself as he laughed at me, a large, and now very empty pitcher, at his side.



“What the……That was fucking freezing you stupid……” I yelled. I couldn’t help myself. My hair was drenched, my clothes were saturated, and all he could do was stand there and laugh at me?



“Oh god,” he sputtered. “Oh god……The look on your face….That was so fucking funny.”



Funny? Who the hell was he kidding? What was so funny about soaking me in ice cold water? Why would he do that? What was wrong with him?



Gradually, I became aware that he wasn’t the only one stood laughing at me. My yelp had been heard by others in the troop. Several heads turned to look at me, and as soon as they saw the state I was in, their laughter joined with his. Because of what he’d done to me, I had become an object of ridicule!



Suddenly I saw red, and without stopping to think about what I was doing, I lunged at him. I just felt so hurt, so betrayed. I had thought he was a friend!……



But, I guess he was no better than a number of others back at the barracks, ones who had nothing better to do in their free time other than make fun of me, to scoff at my attempts to try and become a soldier.



All the anger I felt towards them, I channelled into hurting him. I managed to get him to the floor, throwing a few good punches at him, before I realized something….. He was stronger than me!



I thought I was doing well too, until I suddenly felt myself being flipped over. He straddled himself across my chest, easily pinning me down on my back. It hardly took him any effort to do it either. I was panting, and the weight of him sitting upon me pressed the air from my lungs, and pushed my spine into the hard floor, the sharp little stones and pebbles beneath me digging into my skin.



I realised I was totally helpless, unable to move……and I also became aware of something else. We were now the focus of attention for the entire troop! During our tussle, they had formed a circle around us…and were now calling and cheering, wanting the fight to continue.



“Get the fuck off me,” I hissed, glaring at the gloating boy above me. He just laughed again, grinning down at me. Although my ears were pounding with the sound of my thudding heartbeat, I still heard some of the comments made by the heckling men.



“See?….I told you the brunette one was going to win.”



“Aw fuck! I thought for sure the cute looking blonde would have put up more of a fight than that!”



Someone thought that I hadn’t tried?….How could he think that?



“Perhaps the pretty boy didn’t put up much of a fight, because he wanted to end up beneath his little lover boy,” one laughed.



“Yeah….I bet that’s a position he loves being in,” jeered another, his remark causing the others to make more lewd comments about me.



I shook my head vigorously from side to side, trying to enforce upon them my denial….NOOOOOOOO…..My face was burning with shame and humiliation. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.



“Well, I think the winner should claim his prize….” a voice rang out. “Go on….Take a kiss from your little ‘girlfriend’ …you can see he’s gagging for it!” A riotous cheer went up.



The boy on top of me smiled at the men….then he turned to me, beaming like a fool.



“Would you like that? Would you like for me to kiss you?”



NO! …….I fucking would NOT!…….



I just glared up at him, anger and confusion robbing me of speech. Why would they tell him to kiss me? Why would he even WANT to kiss me? That was just sick! My reply was to give him the most evil stare I could muster.



“Well….It doesn’t matter. I’m going to kiss you anyway, and I won’t stop until you do like it!”



At first, I thought he was just larking about, showing off in front of the others….proud of the fact that he had proven he was stronger than me. But then, to my horror, he placed his hands either side of my head, and he started to lean down towards me. As he neared my face, he paused, staring straight into my eyes, a serious look coming over his features, his smile disappearing…..



“You…..You do know how much I like you, don’t you?…..I’m claiming you as my boyfriend Aspen. And this….This is going to be our first kiss.”



He closed his eyes. He closed his fucking eyes…..and started coming towards my face once again, as the men around us cheered him on to do it. I panicked…..I had to get him off me. I didn’t want him kissing me….I didn’t want him touching me. But he held me fast beneath him.



With renewed vigour, I did everything I could to throw him off. I tried twisting and turning….I tried bucking and kicking. Nothing worked. Still he advanced towards me. I felt demoralized, as angry tears of frustration begin welling up in my eyes.



Oh God……Help me!…..



“What the fuck is going on here?”…….. Everyone suddenly seemed to freeze.



“YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE SOLDIERS!”



The sound of the General’s angry voice seemed to ricochet off the now silent wall of human flesh. The boy on top of me quickly stood up, holding out his hand. I slapped it away. He’d be lucky if I ever spoke to him again!



I scrambled to my feet, grateful for the Generals timely intervention. He had answered my prayers….I couldn’t believe it. I felt so indebted to him. I looked at him, and saw he was staring straight at me. I dropped my face. I didn’t want him to see me with tears in my eyes. I felt a big enough fool as it was!



Then I wondered……What would the General do to us for fighting? He would probably question each of us, wanting to know who had thrown the first punch. I would have to be honest with him. As much as I disliked the dark haired boy, it was me who had instigated the fight. My heart sank, as I realised he had the power to send me back to the barracks, back to Commander Jake, in disgrace.



“Break-time’s over….Get to the vehicles….All of you…..NOW!”



I didn’t know what to do! He wasn’t going to punish us? Should I still own up anyway? ….. The angry tone of his voice, and the way in which the others hurried to carry out his order made my decision for me. If he were going to punish us, he’d do it when he was ready, and not before. I decided to hold my silence, until I was asked to explain!



As I bent down to pick up, and dust off my jacket, I saw the General grab my provoker, his normally unruffled face contorting into a snarl as he easily lifted the brown haired boy bodily off the ground. And feeling glad that I had escaped his angry attention for now, I quickly sped towards the trucks with the other men….praying that I didn’t feel his hand on the scruff of my neck, hauling me backwards and up off my feet, glaring at me with that same look of disgust and contempt.



I reached the small truck unscathed and waited in line, as the others slowly climbed in. A hand brushed along my lower back, and I spun around quickly, my heart in my mouth, thinking the General had finally caught up to me. But it was ‘button boy’ again, the grin back on his stupid face. General Zaphara walked past quickly, ignoring me, and got into the front of the truck I was stood beside.



The boy beside me touched me again. “Hey, Aspen…Come on…..” he said, his fingers tugging at my clothing as he pushed forward. I pulled harshly from his grip. “I have to get in this one….Get in with me.” He wanted me to sit next to him? Like fuck I would.



Turning, I stomped off towards the other truck, wanting to stay as far away from him as possible….But, as soon as I got there, I began to wish I hadn’t, as the men began pushing and mocking me.



“Will you look at this…..The pretty little ‘girl’ wants to sit in with us.”



“What’s the matter?….You and your little lover boy rowed already?“



“Come here sweetheart. Let me show you what a real mans got between his legs…You’ll love it!”



They laughed, as the last one pushed me out of the way, taking the only remaining seat inside.

Oh crap! I felt my heart sink as I looked back dismally towards the truck ‘he’ was in. I had no choice. I had to make my way back over there.



With the sound of catcalls and wolf-whistles following me, I made my way across, dragging my backpack forlornly behind me, slowly approaching the vehicle with trepidation.



Still, I thought a little brightly….One good thing…..At least I wouldn’t be sitting right next to ‘button boy’ …… At least I’d be near the back door.



That happy thought lifted me, until I looked into the back of the truck…and saw that there was nowhere to sit in here either. The huge men seemed to fill the space on the benches to capacity. Even ‘button boy’ looked uncomfortable, wedged up against the front seat and the hard body of the soldier next to him. He looked at me, and began shuffling along the seat as much as he could…..



“Hey, come on…you can fit your little butt in here,” he said, trying to make room on the bench beside him.



I glanced back towards the other truck…maybe I could still try squeezing in that one?…But even as the thought crossed my mind, it had started up and pulled away. Now there was no other options available to me, I had to get into this one.



Tossing my back pack in first…I clambered in….And saw General Zaphara staring at me….an angry look on his face. Oh great….First he catches me fighting….and now I’m delaying his departure. I had the feeling I wasn’t going to last much longer on this mission!



As soon as I had gotten my feet into the truck, the driver put his foot down hard on the accelerator. Totally unprepared for the movement, I lost my balance and felt myself toppling backwards, almost tumbling out of the gaping back door….I threw out my arms ….And breathed a huge sigh of relief as a strong grip caught hold of me……pulling me back safely into the truck….pulling me down to sit………..ON BUTTON BOYS LAP….



“Whoa……Steady there! Can’t afford to go losing you, can we, Sweetie.”



………….SWEETIE?



As soon as I realised who had grabbed me, I tried to pull away….but he’d wrapped his arms around me and locked them together, trapping me within his tight embrace. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck….and I squirmed, trying to get off him….I’d sit on the floor, anywhere, just to be away from him….Then I heard him whisper in my ear…..



“Oh god….Stop it baby….You’re making me so hard….Can you feel it?”



For a moment, I stopped moving, as my shocked brain slowly registered what he’d said….Then, to my utter horror…I felt it…I felt him…..Hard as rock beneath my ass, he was thrusting himself inconspicuously up against me. Christ, I had to get away from him….before anyone noticed what he was doing. I tried desperately to pull his fingers apart, as the swaying of the truck seemed to make the contact of him against me seem even closer.



Suddenly, the truck lurched forward…before coming to an abrupt halt. I heard General Zaphara cussing the driver about something…I wasn’t taking too much notice, still trying desperately to escape the clutches of the boy…..Until I heard his voice raise into a shout. Then I looked up…a little afraid at the depth of anger in his voice.



He was staring into the back of the truck, and I knew, I just knew, that it had to have been me that had pissed him off, put him in this foul mood.



Please don’t send me back….please don’t send me back…That’s all I could think of, as I looked into his cold, emerald green eyes…I didn’t want to return to the barracks. I would try so much harder not to cause any more trouble, even if it meant I had to sit here quietly and let ‘button boy’……… I shuddered.



“You Boy…..Get up here, in the front with me. Where it’s safer.”



For a moment I froze. How did the General know I was in peril? Then I realized that the tight hold ‘button boy’ had on me had loosened, and I grabbed the opportunity the general had gifted me with to bolt from his arms. Grabbing at my backpack, I scrambled out as quickly as I could, hardly daring to believe my luck.



For the second time today, General Zaphara had saved me from the boy. I couldn’t believe it….the great General, coming to my rescue again….like a knight in shining armour. No wonder Lieutenant Pike was so enamoured with him.



As I walked along the side of the truck, up towards the front, I thought back to the first time, just moments earlier. Me, laying prone on my back…..Him, standing there, so erect…so tall. His voice so forceful…so masterful. I recalled the way his green eyes had sparkled, the way his lips had compressed into a snarl…and I found myself wondering what it would feel like to have his lips pressed hard against my own.



Oh my god! I couldn’t believe I’d just thought something like that…and about my General too!



I felt myself blushing…and dropped my head shamefully to the floor. I didn’t want anyone to see my face….They’d know, they’d know straight away what it was I had been thinking.



He pushed open the side door for me, sliding back along the seat and giving me room to sit. I climbed in, tossing my backpack to the floor and slammed the door shut, keeping my eyes fixed to the small rubber mat beneath my feet.



“Sir…Thank you Sir,“ I said, gnawing at my inner lip, afraid to look at him…afraid he would know what I had been thinking. And even though I could feel him staring at me, I couldn’t bring myself to return his gaze.



‘BUTTON BOY’….This was all his fault! It was because of him the general was angry at me now. And boy, was he angry! Angry enough to shout…to raise his normally calm, controlled voice and bellow in rage against his men. Angry because I couldn’t control my temper. Angry because I had stupidly almost fallen out of the truck!



God, why was I so…..useless?



Was he, even now, thinking up the report he would give me to hand in to Commander Jake when he ordered me to leave, telling him of what a complete and utter failure I had turned out to be? Was he, even now, regretting having ever allowed me to accompany him on this mission?



I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a hand falling upon my knee…a large, gloved hand…… His hand. Was it now? Was it now that he was going to tell me of my dismissal? Was he trying to be gentle about it?



I gulped back the tears that threatened to choke me, turning pleading eyes toward him, biting down hard on my lip, to stop it from trembling. He stared at me, his deep emerald orbs piercing into mine.



Please let him see how much I wanted to stay.



His fingers gently squeezed my knee. His way, I guess of preparing me for the bad news he was about to give me.



“Ahem….Would it be okay to go now, Sir?” the driver asked.



The General removed his hand. I wondered why I felt disappointed at the loss of contact.



“Sir?” The driver seemed in a hurry to go. General Zaphara gave a deep sigh, as if he were making up his mind about something. I swear I heard a hint of resignation in the generals voice as he gave permission for the driver to continue.

I took a deep breath. At least, despite everything, it seemed that I had made it to first camp.