He nodded. ‘Jack. Nice to meet you.’
Honestly, Jack did not find it nice at all. He had no interest in being friendly with, or even talking to, those who were supporters of the Realm. Yet as he did not want to give himself away as a ‘human empathiser’ he was forced to socialize with such people.
Now that Jack was a member of the Realm’s army, he was living on the vast grounds. All guards shared a large bunker, which was filled with bunk-beds. Men and women were housed in these bunkers together, at least twenty to a room.
‘So why’d you decide to join?’ asked Ethel.
Jack had been asked this question a few times since joining the Realm’s Guard five days ago. He was ‘the new guy’ and was the butt of many jokes and pranks. But he’d worked out a generic answer to this question. ‘I want to protect our way of life,’ he said for the umpteenth time that day.
‘Yeah,’ said Ethel. ‘I’ve heard that one before.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
She shrugged, walking quickly to keep up with Jack’s long strides. ‘It means you’re lying.’
Jack scoffed and quickened his pace. He wanted to get back to the bunker before any guards put more worms in his bed. He hadn’t enjoyed waking up in the early hours of the morning with things crawling all over him.
‘So why did you join?’ he asked.
‘To fight,’ she said, balling her hands into fists. ‘To help my country.’
Jack rolled his eyes and quickened his pace. Ethel broke into a jog to keep up with Jack. She did not seem to be able to take a hint.
‘So why did you really join?’ she asked.
Jack stopped at the mouth of his tent and turned to face Ethel. She looked expectantly at him.
‘I’m a healer,’ said Jack. ‘I don’t like fighting or conflict if it can be helped. So I’m going to do my best to help those stupid enough to fight.’
And with that, he entered the bunker, ignoring the shocked look on Ethel’s face.
~
The next morning, Jack awoke and immediately ran his hand over his shaved head. For a moment he couldn’t remember whether it had been a nightmare or not. But the realization of his own baldness was not what had woken him.
The other men and women in Jack’s tent were being rather unruly for such an early hour. The sun wasn’t even up yet, and they were already fighting amongst themselves. If they didn’t shut up soon the quadrant leader would have them running laps of the camp.
‘Oi, Greenwood,’ one of the men shouted. His name was Barney, and he was a particularly fat man who often complained a lot. ‘What did ya do with your trousers?’
‘What?’ replied Jack, confused, though a moment later he realized that he was not wearing any pants. They’d stripped him whilst he slept and taken his blanket. ‘Son of a-’
Jack tried to jump up to grab some clothes from his bag, but went crashing to the ground, realizing the boys had tied his ankles to the bed. They roared with laughter as Jack struggled to untie himself and regain what little dignity he had left.
‘I get it,’ he said, pulling on a pair of spare trousers. ‘Pick on the new guy.’
‘No, no,’ said Barney, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. ‘We aren’t picking on you because you’re new.’
‘Yeah,’ said a second man named Axle. ‘We do it because you’re a pansy.’
They roared with laughter again. Jack, his ears bright pink, and his face red, gathered up his shoes, socks, and shirt and bustled from the bunker. He could hear the lads laughing as he left.
‘Where ya going, Greenie? Off to have a cry? Aw, we’re only having a laugh!’
Jack decided to go for a run to clear his head. It was dark and sprinkling outside, but he didn’t care. A lap around the grounds would do him good.
‘The things I do for love,’ he muttered.
‘Talking to yourself?’
Ethel appeared on Jack’s right, jogging to keep up with him.
‘Oh, it’s you,’ he said. He didn’t much feel like talking to anyone at the moment, especially the woman who had shaved his head. The cold around his ears was still bothering him. ‘Look, I really wanted to run on my own-’
‘Are you mad at me?’ she asked, panting as she tried to keep up. ‘Did I do something wrong? You know I had to shave our head, right? All the men have to do it-’
‘Why would I be mad at you? I don’t know you,’ said Jack.
‘Well, we can get to know each other,’ she said with a smile. ‘Everyone needs a friend, especially here.’
Jack scoffed and slowed to a jog. It was too difficult to talk and run. ‘Well, the guys here aren’t very friendly.’
‘Why? What did they do?’
‘Never mind,’ said Jack. ‘It was nothing. Just a joke.’
Ethel’s face became stern. ‘It was Axle, wasn’t it? Or Barney, right?’
Jack’s silence answered her question.
Ethel rolled her eyes. ‘Ugh. Those boys are idiots. I can help you get even, if you like.’
‘I don’t want to make things worse,’ said Jack.
‘Trust me,’ said Ethel, with a mischievous grin.