The First Dragon of Marble

Chapter 1

            “AT EASE!!!” said the battalion commander putting the whole battalion at ease to listen to him drone on about safety for the weekend like every other week. “This is such a waste of time.” I thought while standing, wanting to go home already to my beautiful girlfriend I met after being stationed here at Fort Bragg for four years. We’ve had a lot of fun and exciting times together and I dare say I love her. I have never felt like this before with anyone. I feel like we are meant for each other truly.

            “Specialist Marl.” I look at my squad leader next to me in formation. “Yeah sarge?” I answered back in the same whisper as him. “This shit is getting annoying ain’t it. Every fucking week for the past ten years I have heard this shit.” He complained to me in a whisper, keeping his eyes on the battalion commander. “Yeah, I haven’t been in as long as you, but it is already getting old listening to the same template of common sense every weekend. But what can we do though, it’s the army.” I replied back my own complaint back to him. “Listen I know you want to go back to that hot thing back at home, but I need your help to set up the HMMWVs and LMTVs for training on Monday.” I looked at him for a second and briefly showed a frustrated face before quickly looking back at the battalion commander. “What the fuck man. I’m always the one stuck staying back taking care shit while everyone else gets to goes home.” I thought before my squad leader continued.

            “I know you are frustrated to stay back but out of everyone in the squad you are the only one who won’t fuck it up. Specialist Cowe is your friend, but he can be an idiot and may wreck one of the vehicles or get the line up wrong and then we’ll have the platoon sergeant, the lieutenant, and the commander breathing down my neck. Plus and no offense he can be an asshole.” Basically, calling my roommate and best friend a dumbass my squad leader finished his reasoning to me. Sighing with a soft sigh I said “Aight, sarge after this lets get it done right and quick so we can start our weekend. I want to take Amy out tonight. I’ll have to text her after the briefing and let her know I’ll be late.” I said more to myself than my squad leader who just rolled his eyes.

            After about 15 minutes the battalion commander finally called the battalion to attention and dismissed us for the weekend. As soon as we were done, I texted Amy that I going to be late and that I had to get vehicles ready in the motor pool. I garbed my friend, sarge was talking about before he went off to one his fuck buddies and said “Hey Cowe, I’ll be late getting back late. I got to set the vehicles for training Monday with the sarge. Can you make sure Amy is good before you leave for whatever you are going to do this weekend?” Smiling with his playboy smile that I’m used to by now he says, “Yeah man no problem I'll make sure to check on her before I go see Tina.” I just smirk as Tina is a lieutenant in the company. "At least its not our lieutenant. I wish he would think with his upstairs brain instead of his downstairs brain." “Thanks man, I’m going to find SSgt. Romeo, it’s probably going to take a couple of hours I’ll see you later brother.” We clasped hands then brought each other into a bro hug and went our separate ways.

            About an hour later sarge and I were done with the setting up of the vehicles and were on our way to our separate cars. “Thanks Marl, I know you didn’t want to stay back but you are the only one in the squad I can depend on. Hopefully we will get some new soldiers soon to replace the ones that PMCSed. Then we can get you promoted.” SSgt. Romeo gave his praises and mentioned being promoted which gives me mixed feelings about it since it would come with better pay, and I could get out to of the barracks but comes with more responsibility than he already gave me comes with the rank. I gave him a side long glance and failed to mask my conflicting thoughts as I got into my car finally ready to go home. “It’s not a problem sarge, comes with the job.” “Do what you got to do.” I thought as I turned the engine over while keeping myself from thinking about the orphanage and constant borderline abuse, I had to endure over the years. I joined the army to get away from it all.

            Five minutes later I arrived at the barracks and headed to my room. Amy usually comes here from her apartment around the time I get off work. I enter the common area that separates mine and Cowe’s rooms and I hear moaning. “Oh God, did he bring Tina here!” I thought now a little pissed off how dumb they both are being from doing it in a barracks filled with gossip hungry enlisted soldiers. Thinking that the sound was coming from his room I opened my room’s door and came upon a sight that broke the last string of positivity I had for human race. They didn’t see me at first and they continued to cuck me as I was too shocked to say anything. There was Cowe my best friend, brother in all but blood, and brother in arms railing my girlfriend, love of my life, and the one I was going to propose to this weekend. Eventually, Amy turned her eyes from staring into Cowe’s saying sweet nothings to him to shifting to the door where I stood with multiple emotions showing on my face. “STOP! STOP! STOP COWE! GOOSE!” Amy was shouting at Cowe to stop but he wasn’t listening until she shouted the safe word that she and I use which seems to be theirs as well.

            Cowe finally stops and says, “What! What is wrong…MARL!” He looks at what she was looking at and sees me there and starts to get up and covering himself and Amy in my sheets. Silence. No one says anything until I drew in a shaky breath and tried and failed to say something to them. I wish I could look back on this situation in the future and say how angry I was and kept my composure as a man should but, I just broke down right in front of them crying and shaking for a full ten minutes not hearing if they were saying anything. “I can’t stay here I have to move. Just go body DAMMIT! GO!” Gathering whatever strength, I had left I weakly turned around and slowly walked to the door that led outside into the corridor.

            Before I reached the door handle, I was twisted around to see Amy. She was saying something with tears in her eyes, but I couldn’t hear what she was saying. I just looked at her with dead eyes tears still leaking onto my cheeks. “Why did she stop me? What is she saying? Whatever it doesn’t matter. None of it did least not to her. My drunkard of a mother was right. I'll  just never be good enough. No one will ever love me she said just that as the cops shut the back door of their SUV. She’d just shot dad while they were drinking and having an argument over me being a burden. Well, I call her mom because my real mother died at birth. My father blamed me for her death saying that if I wasn’t born then his love would still be here. Ah…Fuck. I must go now! My anger is rising after the shock of all this. I NEED TO GO NOW!!!

            “Goodbye…Cu…just goodbye” I said low towards Amy turned around left the barracks destination unknown. I reach outside and tried to steady my breath which was coming in low and fast from the emotions coursing through my brain. Standing there for not even five minutes and started hearing running footsteps behind me. Judging by the sound two sets legs running towards me. Not knowing nor caring who the footsteps belonged to I set off towards the parking lot and got into my car. I looked down and saw a full tank. Looking up I saw both Cowe and Amy running towards me both frantic. I ignored them and backed up quickly and squealed my tires pulling out of the parking lot and drove towards the nearest liquor store.

            Three hours later I’m at an overlook with a valley at the bottom. I sit in my car crying with self-loathing and betrayal weighing heavy on my heart. I had thought these emotions would have been gone long ago. The abuse from my parents and passive aggression from the orphanage I had thought my emotions were under control. I was stupid to think that since Amy often pointed that my emotions always showed on my face. “Why does this hurt so much after everything through the years?” With a sob and a thought that kept repeating itself. I looked at my phone on the passenger seat and noticed it light up with notifications. I grabbed it see that Amy, Cowe, and for some reason SSgt. Romeo was messaging for the past hours.

            Feeling anger rise I threw it outside onto the ground where it shattered into pieces. I took a swig of the bottle between my legs. Drowning the last dregs of alcohol from the bottle I reached behind and grabbed the last bottle I had picked up at the store before picking a random direction and just drove. I don’t even know exactly where I am right now. I looked at my radio on the car and saw around three hours had elapsed since I left my room. “Should I just kill myself? No one loves me apparently. No one truly was ever my friend much less my brother like Cowe was. Am I destined to be alone forever? Amy was I really not good enough? Cowe what happened to brothers among brothers? Why? WHY COWE?! I TRUSTED YOU! YOU GAVE ME YOUR WORD THAT YOU WOULD NOT MAKE A MOVE ON ANYONE I WAS WITH! AMY, YOU ARE A FUCKING CUNT! WHAT DID LOVE MEAN TO YOU? WAS I JUST A PASSING FANCY FOR YOU? JUST A TOY TO MILK DRY OF MONEY? I LOVE YOU! I LOVED YOU! FUCK YOU! AMY, COWE, SSGT ROMEO, THE ARMY, FUCK EVERYTHING!” My thoughts started going into a spiral eventually breaking through my mouth in sobs and broken speech. “AAahhh…aahhh…why…why does this always happen to me?”

            I suddenly saw headlights shining from behind me. I wiped my eyes and tried to get a better look in the mirror to see who it was since I was parked in an overlook that has plenty of space for another car to park somewhere else, I started to get worried. Even though I feel like if I died right now, I wouldn’t really care but instincts are what they are, instincts. Opening my car door, I staggered out of my car to see what they wanted. I knew it wasn’t the cops. I was in the middle of nowhere.  What I saw was Cowe with his chiseled jaw line and tall masculine figure with bugling muscles like a body builder. He was walking over to me smiling with a smile so carefree it made my blood seethe in red rage. Next to him was Amy with her beautiful face and petite body. She must have still been crying and because her face was tear stained. Amy started to rush past Cowe and rush to me, but I backed away and she stopped midway seeing that causing tears to roll out of her eyes.

            “How are y’all here? I don’t even know where we are.” I said as I was drunkenly glaring at them. “We tracked… your GPS… baby, remember we… have each other’s locations… on our phones.” Amy said choking on her sobs. “DO NOT CALL ME BABY YOU HAVE NO RIGHT YOU CHEA…” I stopped yelling to pull the reins of my anger. All the while Cowe was smiling like he was enjoying everything. “Why are you smiling bastard?” I ask him turning my glare towards him where he balked a little under the intensity of my red swollen hate filled eyes. He looked away and shrugged saying, "I got what I wanted from you and her, so I came to drop my sloppy seconds on to you for good.” Amy turned around and faced Cowe with shock and wide eyes saying “What are you saying Derrek? You said we would be together, and I would move with you when you PMCSed.” “Shut up whore. HAHAHA! This was well worth the entertainment for tonight. Just so you know Marl we have been cucking you behind your back for the past couple years when you had to stay late at the company.”

            Reality shattered before my eyes after he said that to Amy and I. My life for the past couple of years had been a lie. All the happy moments I had with Amy and Cowe thinking that that was what friends and family were supposed to be like. “Lies. It was all a lie. How could I ever trust anyone after this!?” “AID…AIDE…AIDEN.” I snap back to see Amy closer to me clinging to my shirt. “Aiden I’m so sorry please forgive me…please I didn’t know he was like this. I'm sorry I hurt you. I was going to tell y- “I cut her off and pushed away and stepping back a few steps until the back of my knees hit the railing overlooking the valley far below. Cowe was walking towards me with a smirk on his face and stopped arm’s length away and said “Oh Marl…with all your sad stories and delusions of us being friends I revel in it all. It’s like the nectar of the gods coursing through me seeing you like this.” With a voice almost a whisper I said, “You’re a psychopath!” “Probably I’ve never been examined or more like I am just a very good actor. Anyway, it was nice playing with you, and I’ll enjoy the fallout from all this. It’s like I have life in my hands.”

            Everything went red and my body started moving on its own. “I am not anyone’s plaything! I am what I am. I will not let this go unanswered. Never again will I allow someone to play with life. I will remove everyone who tries from now on. I can’t trust anyone anymore. Not Amy, Cowe, not even Romeo. I bet he was in on this, promising a promotion to keep me passive. Never again. NEVER AGAIN!!!” I tried to swing at Cowe, but he caught my hand and started twisting. “Come on Marl, I thought you were smarter than that. Look at you, you’re to scrawny and weak and pudgy…and drunk to fight someone like me. Get back before you get hurt.” “Sniff…ahh…sniff” I look over and see Amy kneeling and crying into her hands and I felt nothing only a hatred that raged at her as well. I turned back to Cowe swung my other hand before I was pushed back hard. Losing my balance, the world went into slow motion. I felt my body falling longer than it should have and looking behind me I realized he pushed off the cliff down towards the valley below. I look back up to see Cowe wide eyed with an expression not of regret but with a look of self-perseveration. “He truly is a psychopath. Narcissistic to the end.”

            What felt like hours only to be a few seconds until my vision went black with the last sight being Cowe turning around leaving replaced with a horrified Amy. My last thought before the long awaiting oblivion was “Fuck you, cunt. Fuck you, bastard. Finally, my torment of a life is over.”

            “Ad…Adi…Adien…. ADIEN!!!!”