running around

Soldier, I said flank right.  That means you flank right NOW!

Sir, yes sir!

With his hand on his helmet, he scurried away as quickly as his legs could take him considering he was carrying a 70lbs bag and slightly oversized boots that aren't exactly the best for high speed activities anyway.  Most of the other guys seemed to fit into their boots a little bit better, but who knows why that is.  Everyone did the same amount of training, and if anything Mark seemed to hit the weights a little more than a few of the others.  But they have what I guess you would describe as "ankle muscle" which is in this instance something that would be kinda handy.

Mark liked to think that he was always gearing up towards combat, whether he knew it or not.  How else can one fit in when you're in a place like this anyway?  You'd be surprised the direction that life can lead some people.  Thinking back to the people he's met in his life, who would have expected some of the things that they've done.  It's not like people can judge you anyway, that's one of the benefits that Mark noticed very early on.

I don't see anything.

Are you blind or stupid?

Shut up and stay down!

Oh, the old familiar dialogue.  By now, Mark's sure that outsides wouldn't really understand what's going on, but he's grown to like that sort of thing after a while.  The Captain doesn't really need to throw on the extra "stupid" bit, but he knows Mark well enough to remember that it digs him just that little bit extra.  And with all the people around here, he definitely doesn't have to do those little bits that lets a guy know he's remembered.

When Mark first arrived, he knew that banter and other sort of teasing was to be expected to some extent, that's the nature of things.  But what can't really just be prepared for is when you start to form sort of bonds with this back and forth.  And some guys just tend to know each other for a long time, whatever the reason may be.

Looks like we're moving.

Stay low and shut your mouth.

I know what I'm doing.

What did I just say to you?  Now I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that.

The sun was starting to get low in the sky, but not low enough to be directly in your eyes and definitely not low enough to start to reduce visibility.  The target that the Captain was talking about was just on the other side of a small hill.  The long, dry grass in the field swayed lightly back and forth in the wind.  There really wasn't anything that Mark could claim was getting in his way.

Mark was the kind of guy that always had his head in things, but not quite in the way that the people around him expected.  And the obvious thing to assume from here is that he didn't really want to be where he was.  That's pretty much how things go in whatever you're doing.  As soon as you stop wanting to be there you start to lose focus, you stop doing what you're supposed to be doing, and eventually an intelligent person will find something else to do with their life.  So, what exactly is Mark's problem?

Being the kind of guy that people sort of have to get to know, Mark can get away with a few things every now and then.  It's pretty much been like that his whole life.  In high school if Mark got into a fight or two, he wouldn't really get labeled as the kind of guy that goes around starting fights.  People knew him and they never really questioned this.  Or if he forgot to do his homework once in a while, his friends still pretty much assumed that he was going in the right direction and wouldn't really think about him the way they might if someone else were to  do that.

And of course, people got to know Mark because he would make them get to know him.  It's pretty hard to ignore someone that's in the gym that much, especially when that's what you do.  But some people seem to get to know each other a little more quickly than others.  It was actually a strange day today.  This isn't in the way that Mark couldn't seem to get anything right, or anything like that.  Those were almost to be expected to some extent and when people know each other for a long enough period of time, these things are often skimmed over or forgotten quickly.  The strange part is that Mark wasn't with the group of guys he's normally around.

Maybe it was just the time of day.  It had been a pretty long week after all.  Mark had been working a little harder than usual for reasons he wasn't exactly aware of.  Things don't always need to make sense or be explained in some simple, easy to swallow version.  Sometimes people just do things or think things and that's the way things are.  "He's already calling me stupid, isn't he" Mark kept thinking to himself.

Spotted!  Drill's over.