"S-stop," he cried, but he knew no one could hear him. They were out too far, no one was awake—he couldn't do anything.

He wasn't sure why this was necessary. Thinking back on the events that had happened that evening, he hadn't done anything wrong. Well, no, that was a lie. He did something wrong, but he didn't think that this was a just punishment. He only laid there, recounting what happened in his head.

He woke up an hour later with a note on the desk that read 'dinner – 1800 hours, table farthest from the others'. He figured it was him again and rolled his eyes. He didn't mean to, but he thought back to the window and how he looked. The more he thought it over in his bed, reflecting on how his roommate looked. He thought and thought… And came to a sort of shocking conclusion. He looked… Sad. And hopeful.

He sat up and swung his legs over the bed, noting that his clothes were on the floor, neatly folded. He froze. He had gone to bed naked due to the heat, but… His clothes were never folded. He felt his cheeks go red as he put two and two together. He had been in there, and he had seen Edmy naked. Asleep. And folded his clothes.

Quickly dressing, he burst through the door into a small room with a sad looking shower and a grimy looking sink and toilet. He splashed water on his face and looked at the clock that was kept in all of the rooms. He turned off the water for a moment and stared. He had slept four hours… It was almost six. He ran out once more, slid into his boots, and began sprinting to the picnic tables where he guessed they served the meals.

He looked around and found the one table that was farthest away from all the others… Or at least he thought it was a table. It was a long board on four planks with crates placed around it. He had a feeling that it was fitting for the people that sat there and decided he'd just hide amongst the others. The guy with the scar across his face looked nice…

He stood in the line of people receiving trays of food that look about as appetizing as the sand that surrounded him. He took the tray regardless and looked around to a place to sit. It was like high school all over again—he could even name the tables by clique. The two closest to him were the big guys, the tough ones who've dreamed of being in the army since they were kids. They were the jocks. The table behind that was the table for the serious men: generals, base commanders, so on and so forth. They were the people you just don't mess with. Then there were the geeks, the weak ones, the stupid ones, and those who just kept to themselves. He glanced back at where he was invited to. He figured they were the Populars.

He began walking to what he labeled as the weak table with a sort of fresh smile on his face. Maybe it wasn't too late to bond with some of the other—

"About time. I thought you'd never wake up."

Motherfuck. He was almost there, too!

"Uh, yeah, jetlag." He glanced over his shoulder at the red head that held a tray similar to his own. He couldn't help but feel a little nervous and out of place. He wasn't sure why, but he felt the need to fill the silence. "But I'm up."

"I can see that," Johnson responded with his smirk. It was as though he had his own special way of smirking that only he could master. Said form of smirk would be the greatest weapon known to mankind in that it could seduce even the most heterosexual man. He'd do some research into the matter later.

"Anyway… I'll see you back at the bunk." Edmy made an attempt to move away with his pride, but instead was easily spun around by the taller male.

"What, you're gonna reject an invitation from your superior day one? Now that's just rude." He had a fake frown that was accompanied by a pitiful puppy face. "Come on, squirt, you're sitting with me. Think of it as bonding between bunkmates." Johnson wrapped an arm around Edmy's shoulders and practically dragged him to the table with a triumphant smile.

Meantime, Edmy was frozen stiff. He automatically moved his legs, but his mind was in panic mode. Defying his roommate meant that he'd be in serious trouble and would probably have to watch his back. Not to mention that if he got off on the wrong foot with his senior, who was he going to ask questions? He wouldn't get anywhere. With a worried frown, he went through the motions and sat on the crate next to the red head. He was so very screwed.

He looked around the table and made note of who was obviously used to sitting there and who was brought along as a joke. Next to every senior sat their new bunkmate, and each bunkmate looked as frightened and as worried as he. That gave him a little relief, but nothing more. Starting on his immediate right, there was a tan man with light blond fuzz on the top of his head, then a frail looking boy who had dark gray-ish hair that was neatly cropped, next a strong looking man who like Johnson had long pulled back—but his hair was dyed pink. He couldn't wrap his mind around why he still had it, but he decided not to ask. It then occurred to him that he didn't know why Johnson had his hair either. He'd ask later. After the strange man with pink hair, there sat a small blond boy with a moody look and big, blue eyes. His hair was short and spiked, but he didn't look very happy about it.

The man with the pink hair was first to speak. "So, looks like we've got the runts…" He trailed off and stared down at Edmy with a sort of smile. His voice was smooth, but not in a good way—like he was going to kill you in your sleep kind of way.

"Oh, maybe they're actually some good this year." The man with blond fuzz shrugged. He talked in a sort of pert British accent. Everything he said sounded like an insult, even though he was defending the three boys at the table.

"Figure we get acquainted if we're all going to be eating together for such a long time." Johnson smirked, looking over at the man with blond fuzz. The blond man sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. Corporal Rolud Kings, Vermont." He nudged the boy beside him who had been poking at the slop with his fork. The boy looked up sheepishly and quickly mumbled "Ienzo", then continuing to play with his food. Then Rolud let out a pompous laugh. "For those of you without supersonic hearing, his name is Ienzo." Ienzo seemed consumed in playing with his food, so nothing more was said about him.

Edmy's focus went to the man with pink hair whose focus was creepily on Edmy. He shrank back a little as he looked down at his food, also. He could feel each word falling on him, though, as the man spoke.

"You can all just call me Ray." He smiled in what Edmy guessed was supposed to be an enticing way, but for him it was just the creepiest thing he'd ever seen. He looked up at the last one with a hint of curiosity. The blond boy was staring at Ray with his eyes screaming murder.

"Sora."

There was an awkward silence following as the blond moodily stared at Johnson. Edmy could've sworn he saw his expression chance once to that of interest, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. He only shrugged and looked up at his bunkmate. He wondered what his name was… Even though they weren't on a first name basis.

Again, Johnson had that killer smirk of his. "Sergeant Lea Johnson, Pennsylvania." He chuckled lightly, looking down at the three boys. "Lea to you lot." He scooped up some of the slop and ate it happily as if it was homemade pie.

Then, it came to Edmy. He blushed and looked up at the rest of the people, who seemed to all be paying attention at this point. Even Ienzo. He blushed and came with the brilliant response of "uh". He felt a clap on the back from Rolud and banged his chest on the table. He had a small coughing fit as Rolud spewed some British encouragement. When he recovered, he sat up and looked ashamed. "Edmy. Edmy Finn." He frowned and looked down at his plate. Now he understood why Ienzo wouldn't look up.

His name was received with laughter from all, except Lea. Lea frowned and looked at the others. "I think it's perfectly normal." The laughter stopped suddenly and was replaced with an awkward silence.

Time seemed to trickle like the grains of sand in an hour glass, except more than an hour seemed to pass in those tiny two minutes. After that time, Edmy stood with his tray. "I'm tired." He walked to the nearest bit and dumped everything in, leaving the tray on the counter. He moved with sudden grace and speed to the bunk. He wasn't sure why he was so embarrassed, but something about it just seemed terrible. Not the laughing… But Lea defending him. He felt vulnerable, like needed the help. It didn't feel safe.

He hurled himself onto the bed and laid there for a while, watching the sun go down. What the hell was wrong with him? It was his first day and he'd already messed up majorly. Running only made it worse. He sat up and undressed again, then laying down in his bed and pulling the covers on. Wouldn't make that mistake again… He curled up in the bed, just thinking… And thinking…

"You sleep like a sloth, y'know that?"

He sat straight up in his bed, staring into the darkness from which the voice came. He felt himself sweating in the desert heat, his hair plastered to his head. He looked right and left, his eyes finally adjusting to the darkness. He panted for a moment, and then hung his head. "Yeah. I know."

"Wanna talk?"

And then the single word he would regret all night. "Sure."

He got up, threw on his pants and walked out the door. He looked up to see Lea, but instead saw something else. He saw pink, then black.

When the bag was pulled off of his head, he had a black eye and a badly bruised abdomen. He figured two people: two very drunk people. He knew that it was Lea's voice at first, but Lea… He wasn't there. He was gone.