The Recruit: A Jack Noble Short Story - Plot & Excerpts
Parris Island in August is a killer. Eight in the morning and it had to be over ninety degrees. Sweat dripped off my face like a waterfall, turning dirt into mud. My lungs filled with dust and grime every time I sucked wind through my mouth. My muscles burned. Quivered. I thought about standing and squaring off with the scrawny punk who’d spent the last eight weeks trying to break me. But that would result in a nighttime visit from the rest of my platoon. And frankly, I’d grown tired of those. Drill Instructor Sergeant Kaszlaski wove a tapestry of obscenities from above me. “Maggot Noble, you sonovabitch. Don’t you dare touch the friggin ground.” He kicked me in the ribs. “This is why maggots like you don’t belong in my Marine Corps.” I said nothing. Held firm and remained still. He placed his boot in the middle of my back. I pictured him, one knee raised, leaning over, arm crossed over his thigh. Some kind of victory pose. He leaned in, trying to use his weight to force my stomach to the ground.
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