Read Online Ever Onward by Wayne Mee - Free Book Online

outside immediately. Bring no weapons. I repeat, bring no
weapons. Anyone failing to report will be shot. Anyone reporting
with a weapon will be shot.”
    Silence.
    On the hard bench in the back of the
troop carrier Walter Pinkton strained to see what was happening.
Beside him Sam Waterson sat glaring at Jocco’s back, wondering if
he could throttle the bastard before that maniac behind him used
his bayonet.
    Jocco spoke into the mike, his
amplified voice both calm and cold. “Sergeant George. Give them a
burst through the windows.”
    Georgie was out of the cab in a flash,
the M-16 cradled in his arm. Flipping the switch to full rock n’
roll, he emptied a two dozen mag in a matter of seconds. The
prefabricated wall of the barracks took on the texture of Swish
cheese. Any glass left in the row of windows hung in long, jagged
shards. Most of it lay shattered on the tarmac.
    Pussbag had already moved out of the
truck. What looked like scuba gear was strapped to his back. The
long nozzle dripped tongues of flame, quickly dispelling any notion
that he was on his way to the beach. Perhaps a weenie-roast of
sorts, though such decisions now rested in the competent hands of
his new friend. Pussbag himself was but the faithful
servant.
    The calm, cool voice spoke again.
“Corporal Pussbag. Prepare your flame-thrower. On my word,
incinerate the building. Sergeant George, at the ready. Kill anyone
you see with a weapon. Corporal, commence on my mark. Three. Two
--”
    “Wait a minute! Wait a fucking
minute!!”, though muffled, the voice clearly came from inside the
barracks. The door opened and a man came out, hands held above his
head. Four more followed. The last one out was a woman. Jocco
nodded to Georgie, who moved forward like an eager bully, M-16 more
than ready.
    “Keep your fucking hands where I can
see them!”, George beamed, warming to his new-found roll. “No
sudden moves! Now, advance slowly.”
    All five shuffled forward, uncertainty
written on their drawn faces. Ten yards from the truck Jocco had
them stop. With Georgie on one side and Pussbag on the other, Jocco
climbed down, his .45 held casually in his hand. Pinkton and
Waterson watched silently from the back of the truck. Nurse Shirley
was still hiding in the safety of the good ol’ days.
    The first man to come out, a tall
black wearing corporal stripes, lowered his hands and started
forward. Jocco raised his gun and smiled.
    “No-one told you to move, soldier. Get
back in line.”
    The man cocked his head, a frown
creasing his dark features. “Just who the hell do you think are you
anyway? You could have killed someone for real,
asshole!”
    Jocco wiped a grain of dust out of his
eye, that terrible grin still on his face. Each word came out like
polished ice. “We’re the good guys, asshole. Now, get your black
ass back in line!”
    The corporal grunted, turned and spoke
to the others. “These clowns ain’t regular army! Are we going to
stand here and let them order us around? I saw we ---”
    Jocco shot him in the back of his
head. As the body collapsed, the woman screamed. The man closest to
the corporal had brains spattered all over his face.
    “Insubordination will not be
tolerated,” Jocco said calmly. “Now, the four of you, climb into
the back of the truck.”
    Like swimmers struggling against the
current, they moved towards the troop carrier. The woman’s scream
had shrank to a moan. Waiting wide-eyed in the back, Walter Pinkton
looked down to see that he had pissed his pants.
    They found a few more survivors in the
other barracks, making a total of seven men and two woman. By the
time the Recruiting Ceremony was over, the number of men had
dwindled back down to four. Besides the smart mouth black, Jocco
had been forced to shoot two more reluctant recruits.
    Jocco had refined the initiation
somewhat. Not wanting dubious volunteers like Waterson, joining
only to save the woman from Pussbag’s bayonet, Jocco decided to
accept a man strictly