Many thanks to those who offered comments and constructive criticism on my previous stories. For those who want to say this or that would never happen, remember this is my universe, a place where nearly anything can, and often does, happen. At least on paper...
Please refer to my profile for more on my personal policy regarding comments, feedback, follows, etc. And please remember, this is a work of fiction, not a docu-drama...
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Mike Sanders' eyes flew open a few minutes before reveille. Today was the day he and his fellow "campers" would become what the instructors called the "Second Class," meaning that the first grueling month was finally over. He remembered his first day at Camp Rollins like it was yesterday.
...
The small bus pulled into the parking area of the small camp, located somewhere in the mountains of north Idaho. When the bus stopped, a large man wearing a khaki uniform and campaign hat stepped on the bus and quickly ordered everyone off, telling them to stand on the painted footprints. He grabbed his gear and followed the others outside. A few minutes later, he heard a booming voice shouting over the lot.
"Oh. My. Fucking. Gawd," the man yelled, looking over the small group of men standing in the lot. "How in the hell do they expect me to make men when they won't even send me human fucking beings to start with? This is the sorriest collection of illiterate cum bubbles I have ever seen in my entire fucking life! Christ on a fucking bicycle!" He spoke to another man in uniform. "Get this sorry-assed bunch out of my sight and get them processed before I start cussing!"
"Yes, Sergeant," the other man said. He turned his attention to the group of 15 men and told them to face right and walk forward. When they reached a small building, he told them to stop. One by one, the men entered the building, were given a close haircut, then issued two sets of olive green overalls, several pair of white t-shirts and boxer shorts, socks, tennis shoes, boots, caps and a bag filled with toiletries.
Then they were told to strip and given a few seconds to shower, shave and don their uniforms. Once finished, the uniformed man instructed them to form up outside. He told them the rules, which were simple. They were not to speak unless spoken to, they would run wherever they went and were to follow whatever instructions they were given without question.
With that, he faced them to the right and double-timed them to another small building, which they learned was their barracks. This, they were told, would be their home for the next three months.
The first month was grueling. They ran, worked out, got yelled at every day multiple times by the instructors, who refused to accept failure for any reason. Their day started at 0500 - that's five o'clock in the morning - when reveille would sound from the loudspeakers. They ran to breakfast, ran to PT, ran up and down steep hills, ran through obstacle courses, ran to the gym, where they worked out with weights until their arms nearly fell off.
Then they ran to lunch, ate again, and ran some more. The instructors seemed to be as cruel as they were imaginative. They were given exercises that seemed to make no sense to him at the time. This went on every day from 0500 until 1830 - that's 6:30 pm - when they returned from dinner and were allowed to have one cigarette in a formation outside the barracks. When Mike arrived, he didn't smoke. He does now.
The only other break they got was on Sundays. Those who did, went to church. The rest were given jobs to complete around the camp - mowing the grass, or washing laundry. On that day, the men were allowed to write letters. Some wrote to their wives, while others wrote to their children. Mike only wrote one letter to his wife, and that on the first Sunday he arrived, telling her he was safe. She never wrote back. He didn't expect to hear from her - she was, after all, the main reason he was here - but he did get other letters, however, and it was those that he responded to.
Mike had been told about this, so he sucked it up as best he could and moved ahead. The idea, he was told, was to make him strong - mentally as well as physically. He was told it was necessary to help him deal with the shitstorm that made up his married life.
But Mike didn't have any more time to dwell on this, as reveille had sounded from the loudspeakers. Instantly, the lights flipped on in the barracks and before the Sergeant could say anything, all 15 men were standing in attention at the foot of their beds.
"You knobs have 30 seconds to shit, shower and shave and be formed up for chow," he said, walking into his office.
The 15 men all grabbed their gear and ran into the large bathroom, where they quickly showered and shaved. Once dressed, they ran outside to form up. They ran to breakfast, formed up and marched to another building, where they were told to sit in chairs arranged in a semi-circle facing another chair positioned at the front of the large room. The Sergeant took a seat at the back of the room.
A few minutes later, an attractive woman wearing a white coat entered the room and placed her briefcase on the desk. A man wearing a lightweight jacket with a strange logo entered with her. She opened her briefcase and retrieved a pile of folders before sitting down in the chair. She looked through the folders and called out two names.
"Please go with this officer," she told them. The two men looked at each other and followed the man into another room. We couldn't help but wonder what was going on, but we didn't get a chance to ponder it for very long.
"My name is Dr. Deborah White. Today starts the beginning of your emotional healing," the woman said. "For the last month, you've been broken down and built back up physically. Now starts the mental and emotional part of your journey back into manhood. We'll start by giving each of you a chance to tell your story. Don't be embarrassed or shocked - you're all here for pretty much the same reason. And believe me, you won't shock or embarrass me because there's nothing I haven't heard before."
She opened the first folder and looked at Mike. "We'll start with you," she said. "Keep it simple and down to five or 10 minutes, tops."
"Do I need to stand up or something?" Mike asked. She shook her head.
"No," she said. "You can stay seated. But I do want you to introduce yourself to the rest of the group as though you've never met them. And I want you to start by admitting what you are."
"I'm sorry, Doctor," Mike said. "I don't understand what you mean."
"You're here because you realized that you're a wimp and a cuckold, right?" she said. Mike nodded his head, embarrassed. "No need to be embarrassed, Mike," she said. "Everyone here is just like you. And the first step to fixing your problem is admitting it." He looked at her for a moment before speaking.
"My name is Mike Sanders and I'm a wimp and a cuckold," he said quietly. Everyone in the room, including the doctor and the sergeant responded.
"Good morning, Mike," they all said.
"Tell us your story," Dr. White said.
Mike told his story:
I've been married to Sandy for four years. We met in college, dated, fell in love and got married. I work as an account executive for a financial firm. My wife got her real estate license and works as a realtor. I thought we had a good marriage. We were even planning to have a baby.