Free Gray Girl by Susan I. Spieth Page B

came
shooting out of her toe.   She wasn't
sure it was still her toe or some alien creature.   He continued to squeeze until every last
drop of the evil fluid emptied.   Then he wiped it with an antiseptic pad and wrapped it with gauze and
tape.   He told her to have it looked
at again once she got to Lake Frederick.  
    “Will you come take a look at
it?”   Jan asked.   He smiled and said he'd try to find
her.   She decided there should be a
merit badge for any man who could push that kind of goop out of a body and not
throw up.
     
    The line was back up and moving.   Jan returned to her spot in the middle
of the squad where Dogety had positioned her so that
the “front could pull and the back could push her,” if necessary.  
    Her toe felt amazingly better and she
marveled at what seemed to be a miracle cure.   The pain of the cut and the pushing on
the toe were nothing compared to how it felt when it held all that crap
inside.   Once released, the toe was
free to be a toe again—instead of a putrid vessel.   For some reason, she thought a long time
about that blister.   Once it was cut open and drained of the bad
shit, it immediately felt better.   And it works again without pain!
    At mile thirteen they stopped for the
last water and sock change.   Dogety came down the squad line and stopped in front of
Jan.   “ Wishart ,
we are about to ascend Bear Hill.”   He looked directly at her.   “You know what that means?”
    “Yes, Sir.”
    “Well, just to be safe, I am going to
march right in front of you.   As I
have already said, I am not going to lose anyone to this hill, not even you, Wishart .”
    “Yes, Sir.”
    “If you start falling behind, you are
to grab onto my rucksack.   I will
carry your ass up that hill if I have to.”
    “Yes, Sir.”   But Jan cursed him in her mind, saying
to herself, “There’s no freakin ’ way I’m going to
touch him.”
    She soon discovered Bear Hill was
neither particularly high nor steep.   As they climbed upward, the pace picked up.    And then she understood why it was
called “Bear Hill.”   Not because of
its size but to see who could bear it.   About halfway up at this faster pace, to
her great dismay, she started breathing heavily and falling behind.   We’re
practically running this damn hill!   The squad mate behind her began stepping on her heels.   She realized this was not a good time to
die on her sword.   With much reservation
and humiliation, she grabbed Dogety’s rucksack.   As bad as that was, it was better than
failure.  
    Strangely enough, Dogety seemed pleased that she had taken him up on his offer.   While never dropping the pace, he turned
his head to the side and shouted, “That’s it, Wishart ,
hang on.”
    For one moment, halfway up Bear Hill,
he became her Knight in Drabby Green .   Yet, she detested him even more for it,
so she pretended he was that nice medic instead.   
    The whole squad made it to the top of
Bear Hill and Cadet Dogety was briefly proud of his
little charges.   They all marched to
Lake Frederick as one squad and began setting up their pup tents.   The field soon began looking like
something out of the Civil War with some eight hundred small tents all lined up
in rows.  
    “Look across the field, Wishart , at that deuce-and-a-half pulling up,” Dogety said, pointing to a truck carrying a dozen or so new
cadets.   Jan watched as they hobbled
out from the back of the vehicle.   “Do you see them, Wishart ?”
    “Yes, Sir.”
    “Those are the ones who didn’t make
the march—the weak, the lazy, the pathetic.   Aren’t you glad you’re not one of
them?”  
    “Yes, Sir.”   And she was.  

 
    Jan had not had a period since before
R-Day, which was perfectly normal and
perhaps the best thing to happen during Beast barracks.   But she broke out in a
rash covering her back, chest, legs and arms.   It had spread to her face by the time
they reached Lake Frederick.