8 Boot Camp

Garrick awakened to the sound of a horn. The horn's sound reverberated throughout the fort, but it was especially loud near the barracks. 

Leaping out of bed, he swiftly tidied his bed, dressed, groomed, and then rushed out of the barrack. He was the first person to line up. 

Dillard stood there along with another man. This man looked around thirty. He stood silent as the grave but his back was like an arrow pointing to the sky. In his right hand, he held a rectangular object. His left hand was at his side.

The arm didn't dangle, instead, it held a precise position. The arm was about two inches away from the middle, his thumb pointing down with the rest of his fingers. 

This new man wore a grey and black uniform and his eyes squinted like he was used to protecting them from the sun. 

After two minutes, the man bellowed, "I don't care if you are ready or not, I want you out here to line up immediately!

The last few recruits ran out and lined up. Three of them were half-dressed; while the last person was still in his pajamas with his blanket still wrapped around him. His eyes were still closed and it wasn't clear how he managed to line up.

Signaling to Dillard, who was next to him, a bucket filled with water was poured on the fellow in the blanket. His eyes flashed open and stood shocked by the ice-cold water. 

"My name is Sergeant Milken Kowpat Tee Jefferstone, You may call me Sergeant, Sergeant Jefferstone, although my true name is "Your Daddy," but I don't have any sorry children like you!"

Sergeant Jefferstone looked at every person there and gave them a disgusted look. He sneered as he looked at each person. Walking in front of Garrick, the Sergeant looked him up and down.

"What's your name, private?" the sergeant asked.

"Dr. Alexander Garrick, sir!" 

"That's a weird name, kid. Did anyone ever tell you that you have a weird name?"

"No, sir!"

"You were the first person to line up. It only took you thirty seconds to get out here," the sergeant didn't go on. Garrick had already gone through boot camp when he was a kid. He knew that the best way to get through things was to say yes to whatever the drill sergeant said and say no more than yes or no if possible. 

Sergeant Jefferstone seemed to get more and more upset seeing that Garrick didn't say anything to him.

"You must think that you are pretty special since you got out here first."

"No, sir," Garrick responded.

"You know, all you did was put on your pants and shirt a little faster than everyone else. I don't know why you would feel so proud of yourself."

Garrick didn't respond.

"I knew it, You're pretty happy about this minor accomplishment. But you know what? You stood here by yourself like an idiot while your comrades struggled to get out here. There's one person still wrapped in his blanket. 

Don't you feel bad about not helping your comrades out?"

"Yes, sir!" Garrick responded.

"You admit that you were being selfish, you don't care about the others, you only care about yourself!" The angry sergeant bellowed.

"Yes, sir, I was wrong, sir!" Garrick responded.

The sergeant didn't like how Garrick took everything in stride. He wanted to humble him and make him feel nervous, but Garrick wouldn't play out his role like he should.

[You have gained 1 point for the "Boot Camp" trope. You have gained -1 point for not responding according to the trope. Your total additional points is 0.]

"Very good, private, From this day forward you are responsible for every man in your barrack. Every time one of these guys makes a mistake, you will get punished. If they are not ready in the morning, you will be punished. If they fail in anything from this day forward, you will be punished. 

You aren't going to have a good time from this day forward. Do you think you can cost through my training? Ha, prepare for a good time. If you aren't the top scorer in everything, you'll get to experience true misery. 

You will get assigned the absolutely worst and most disgusting jobs. The hardest work and I'll still punish you for the slightest infraction. How does that sound?" The sergeant grinned at Garrick.

"Thank you, sir, it's more than I deserve!" Garrick's perfect answers ticked the sergeant off more and more. 

The sergeant's evil smile didn't change, but he moved back to where he stood at the beginning. 

"Alright trash, we'll start the morning with a light workout. Dillard, get them to stretch, I'll be back in a minute," the sergeant left. 

Dillard led the men through a series of stretches and about fifteen minutes later, Sergeant Jefferstone returned. 

In his hand was a horse saddle. He looked at Garrick and yelled.

"Hey there, Mr. Perfect, get over here!" The sergeant yelled. Garrick looked at the horse saddle in the sergeant's hands and had a bad feeling. He hustled over to the sergeant and stood before him.

"Turn around!" 

Garrick turned around with his back facing the sergeant. The sergeant took the horse saddle to place it on his back. Since Garrick was much smaller than a horse, the sergeant had Dillard run off and get some rope. 

After about half an hour, the saddle was finally secured, and he had Garrick turn around and point to a place he wanted him to stand. 

"Okay, this will be a daily training for you mutts, it's a fun little exercise called the yo-yo. All of you line up behind the horse." The 13 remaining recruits lined up behind Garrick. 

"Horses don't have two legs, they have four legs, get down!" The sergeant bellowed. Garrick immediately got down. 

The sergeant looked at the person directly behind Garrick and pointed at the saddle.

"You, get on the saddle and ride him!" 

The man behind Garrick reluctantly did as he was told. It was a weird feeling for a man. He hadn't played horsy since he was a child. Garrick found it awkward with the man on his back. 

"This is how we will conduct this exercise!" The Sergeant began. 

"This is the horse, he will lead at the front and must jog faster than the rest of you. When I yell 'GO' the person at the back of the line will run to the front.

The horse will then run to the back. The rider will get off and jog in front of the horse. When I yell 'GO' again, the person at the front will run to the back and mount the horse. 

He will ride the horse until the horse takes the lead again and then we will repeat the process all over again. Do you understand?!" The sergeant screamed.

"Yes, sir!" The men shouted. Garrick answered as well, but his heart was burning with anger. Not only has he become the sergeant's example to everyone else, but he didn't even make any trope points from this common trope. 

The sergeant gloated as he looked at Garrick. "The horse is not allowed to run like a human! You must run using your hands and your feet and you are not allowed to slow the group down. Every time you lag behind..." The sergeant walked over to Garrick and shoved a horsewhip into the "rider's" hand. 

"I will shout "WHIP!" and you better whip him on his horse rear or I'll whip you later, do you understand me?" The sergeant gave a savage stare at the person on Garrick's back. 

"That goes for anyone who is the rider, do you understand?!" The sergeant yelled.

"Yes, sir!" The recruits yelled in unison. 

"How about you horse, do you have any questions?" The sergeant asked.

"Neigh!" Garrick shouted.

This really ticked the sergeant off, "Oh, a funny man. Let's see if you can tell any jokes after this!" The sergeant yelled. 

"Go on three, 1, 2, 3, Go!" Garrick ran to the back of the line, the sergeant stopped everything. 

"Stop, you stupid horse, what are you doing?" 

"You said on Go I should go to the end of the line," Garrick responded.

"Do you think you know the rules better than me? The first go you don't go, only on the second go!" The sergeant yelled. 

Garrick finally had enough. He had 12 PHDs led a military organization for years. He was the leader of a top-secret experiment worth billions of dollars, who did this guy think he was? 

Garrick stood up straight throwing the rider off his back and looked at the sergeant in the eyes. 

"If that's what you wanted then you should have been clear with your instructions. I understand that you want to make an example of me, and I tried to cooperate. Listen to me Sergeant Cow excrement, I didn't sign up to play soldier. 

I've been a soldier, I've led and trained men better than you..." Garrick was just finding his stride when he felt a sting on his face. The sergeant struck him with the back of his hand and sent Garrick reeling backward falling flat on the ground. 

Garrick was shocked.

"Dillard, have some men carry the horse to the stables. Put him in the stable without the roof. Bring over that old horse with the bowel problems and aim its but right next to its friend here. He'll enjoy something really nice when things get hotter later. Tie him up and feed him the same food as the other horses. 

I can tell that he's a wild one, I need to break him!" The sergeant said gently. He wasn't yelling anymore, which made him feel even more menacing. 

Dillard made arrangements, and two soldiers walked over and carried Garrick over just as they were instructed. 

Garrick was shocked the entire time. The soldiers didn't even bother to let him walk. They simply dragged him away. They lashed him to a post in a broken-down stable. After a few minutes, the oldest, smelliest horse Garrick ever witnessed in his life was brought over. 

Its rear end was aligned in such a way that if anything came out, some or maybe most of it would land on Garrick. The animal wasn't even tied up when a wave of multi-colored excrement sprayed out. 

It smelled horrible and was all over his clothes, in his hair, and on his face. Garrick knew this wasn't the worst of it. The worst of it would come later as the heat of the sun intensified. 

Garrick was angry and bitter as the old horse continued to erupt. The soldiers who tied him up couldn't wait to get away.