Texas Nights - Book 13 of the Damned of the 2/19th

My First Day (Rewrite)

Room 275
15th FSB Barracks
Fort Hood, Texas
CONUS
Saturday
21 December, 1991
0930

The room felt warm as I sat in the chair, fully dressed in flannel, T-shirt, and jeans.  I was staring at my boots, finishing off a cigarette and sipping a cold soda. Steward was sprawled out under the blanket, snoring lightly. There was a new guy from Alpha, a big black guy, who was smoking menthols and staring out the window for the most part, trying to avoid looking at me. He'd taken over at 0600 so the other guy could get some sleep.

I hadn't heard Peel or anyone else rampaging through the hallway in hours. That was on me. All on me. As soon as possible I needed to get them into mental health or back out in the Zone where it all mattered.

The knock on the door startled me out of gloomy thoughts. The Alpha Guy Two waved me down when I started to stand up then went over and opened the door. Captain Jane and SGT Danville stood in the doorway and at Alpha Guy Two's hand motion they came into the room. I smiled and gave them a little wave, trying to break Captain Jane's serious expression. Harvey gave me a little wave and a smile back.

"How are you feeling this morning, Chief?" Captain Jane asked me.

"A little off balance," I told her. "The last few days, since the Navy picked us up, has been a little confused in my brain. I remember the evac, landing, debriefing (only fuzzily), and  then being shipped here."

She nodded. "You were very, um, aggressive yesterday, Chief," She said, flushing slightly.

I frowned, wondering why she was blushing. I put it out of my mind, turned to Danville and got his attention before turning slightly in my chair to look at Steward.

"Boyfriend?" Danville asked.

I shrugged. "I guess. Hope so. Maybe."

"Good lucky," Danville smiled, looking around. He saw what he was after and went to the the desk. Sergeant Danville dragged the extra chair in my room over to sit in front of me. Alpha Guy took the hint that Captain Jane was giving him and went out to stand outside my door.

"How about we have a talk, Heather," he said, unfolding a notebook.

"Umm, today is Saturday," I said, feeling cold butterflies in my stomach.

He shrugged. "Army pays me to work, not sit in my barracks room reading," He smiled. I glanced at Captain Jane and he nodded. "Don't worry, she has to be here while you are under observation. The PRP Rep cleared her for this part."

I just nodded. "Do I need to wake up Chuck, ask him to leave?" For some reason the thought made me anxious.

Harvey Danville looked at my hands, then at Chuck Steward, who was face down asleep. He shook his head. "No, Heather, he can stay if it makes you feel better," he told me.

"Thank you, Harvey," I said. I looked down and saw that I was wringing my hands. I willed myself to stop it.

...I AM THE WINTER QUEEN!...

I looked up, "What happened to Peel? How is she?" I asked. "She was having zone drop problems."

"She's in her room, under observation," Captain Jane told me. "We managed to sedate her, finally, she's resting comfortably."

"Just, don't hurt her, she had a rough time," I said, looking down. "She's a good girl. She rose to the challenge and Momma's proud of her," I looked up, aware I had tears running down my face. "It isn't her fault, what all of that found inside of her, what it all brought out in all of them, it's mine, I couldn't protect them."