Weeeiz!
The whistle blew again, sharp and piercing. Everyone rushed back to the assembly point, ready for the next drill. Sergeant Washe barked orders, forming the sixty recruits into six rows of ten.
"All right, today we're gonna— uh, hell, what was it again? Oh yeah! We're running cadence before chow. Private Boop!"
"Yes, sir!?" Matt poked his head out from the far-right end of the line.
"C'mon, move your ass! Boy! You'll make a female someday." Washe waved him forward. The small guy jogged out and stood stiffly at the front. "From now on, you're leading the chant, got it?!"
Matt froze like someone had dropped an ice cube down his back. Goosebumps prickled up his arms. "A-Aye, sir!" He ran to the head of the formation, standing straight as a board. Washe took his place at the side, hands behind his back.
"You big brains knew how to march already, so don't screw it up! Left! Right! Left! No fancy crap, or I'll pop your asses! Now, follow my lead!" The sergeant started jogging in rhythm. Matt hesitated, then broke into a run, the rest of the platoon following behind.
"Sing it out! Sing it out!" Washe yelled.
A few weak voices mumbled, "Sing it out, sing it out," sounding like dying engines.
Washe frowned. "Louder, damn it! After me! I~ do not want 'em cheese~ burgers"
"I~ DO NOT WANT 'EM CHEESE~ BURGERS!" sixty voices bellowed, shaking the field.
"Gonna shove 'em up, S.I.Z— (GONNA SHOVE 'EM UP, S.I.Z—!!)"
"'Till they cry—! (TILL THEY CRY—!!)" The cadence rolled across the compound, echoing off the metal fences. The soldiers cracked up but kept jogging.
Then Washe switched it up. "Keep running 1, 2, 1, 2 ,3, 4 I can run to Hawaii today! (I can run to Hawaii today!)"
"And will return with light and gay! (And will return with light and gay!) "
Their voices rose, bouncing out past the iron fence of the training yard, the sun sinking behind them.
Thud. Thud. Thud.The synchronized sound of sixty combat boots hitting dirt became its own kind of music.
"Fighter! Goo-goo-goo-goo-goo!"
"Killer! Goo-goo-goo-goo-goo!"
"T'gether! Goo-goo-goo-goo-goo!"
The men chanted with full lungs now, their voices strong and unified. "HEY! HEY! HEY! Fire burns across the sand! They wear black, but we still stand! Together we fight, together we rise! Warriors of honor, under the skies! HOO-RAH!"
Then, like a heartbeat echoing through the desert air, the soldiers broke into the war chant, led by Washe himself:
Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum! Dum!
"Sand in my muzzle, they're covered in black! And all of a sudden, we got blue-red tanks!"
"Men at war—OOOOR! (Load!) Men at war—OOOOR! (Fire!)"
"Late at night, when you're sleeping, There's a lion comes a-creeping, all 'round~~~ HEY!"
"Watch out for grenades; they gonna engage! And all of a sudden, we got 'em in the back!"
"Men at war—OOOOR! (Load!) Men at war—OOOOR! (Fire!)"
"Late at night, when you're sleeping, There's a lion comes a-creeping, all 'round~~~ HEY!"