Page 13 of Leave Me Behind
“What does it take to get a bunny to quit?” Ian taunts.
“Abigfucking carrot,” Harrison says with a nasty grin pulling at the corner of his mouth. Bradshaw grunts beside me like he’s trying to contain his laugh.
Anger thrums through my veins like fire. “Wait, so instead of accepting me as one of your own, you’re going to try and bully me to quit? Because I’m a former Riøt soldier? What the fuck is wrong with you?” My voice is lead.
“What’s wrong withus? You were the sole survivor while your entire team perished. What does that say about you?” Jefferson leans over the table and sneers at me.
My blood chills because he’s right. And he’s not the only person who’s told me that either.
“The only good Riøt soldier is a dead one,” Bradshaw says smoothly. Like it’s his fucking slogan to live by. His eyes fill with pleasure the angrier I get. I shove him out of his seat and his ass hits the ground. He’s back on his feet in a heartbeat and grabs my shoulders with a vice grip.
“That’s enough, everyone! I don’t want to hear any more trash talk. I’ve already told you I don’t want to see any foul play out there in the training mission. I just want you to not hold back.” Eren moves his eyes to me and his brother, pinning us with a glare. “You too, Bunny. I want to see everything you’ve got.”
Bradshaw’s hold on me loosens and he sits down with force, like a goddamn child.
I stare at Eren for a beat, trying to get a read on him, but his features are stone. I reluctantly nod and fist my hands tightly under the table.
“Any questions before dismissal?” Eren looks us over and when no one else seems to have any, I speak up.
“What’s the mission that’ssoimportant the general sent me?” There are hundreds of other squadless soldiers in the dark forces that are just waiting for positions like these to pop up. They’re already replacing Riøt with some new squad. So why not someone else? Why me?
Eren’s brow twitches as he closes the folder on the desk. “You won’t get the details until we confirm you’re staying on the squad, Bunny.”
I raise a brow and glance at the others. They don’t question their sergeant’s authority at all. “Yeah, because that makes sense,” I grumble, but it’s ignored.
Eren slaps his hands together. “Alright, squad, hit the showers and show Bunny the barracks. We’ll meet at fourteen hundred at the chopper pick-up on the north end of base. Have your bags packed and get ready for a hell of a month.”
They all salute him and stand in unison. “Yes, Sergeant.”
An entire month in the training field is going to suck. But I try my best to stay positive. I give Bones a hesitant look, wondering if we’ll be able to break past our awkward circumstances. In all honesty, it’s not like I haven’t had sex with other comrades. If he’s worried that I know his identity, maybe I should try talking it out with him. I mull it over as the squad files out of the war room.
The twins share an uncertain look between them before Bradshaw walks out.
I stop beside Eren. He’s easier to talk to, so maybe I should try to explain things to him first. “Sarge, I apologize about yesterday. I didn’t know?—”
He cuts me off sharply. “Bunny, I trust that you will keep yesterday’s events to yourself entirely. Not a peep unless you want to be shipped out within the next hour.” Eren’s voice drips with disdain, though it’s much softer than the other guys’.
I nod and look away pointedly before following my new squad through the cement jungle.
This is panning out to be way bleaker than I expected. I thought they might at least have a little sympathy for me for losing my comrades, but that’s a hard no. They blame me and, by the sound of it, they’re going to do everything in their power to get me to quit. If I’m anything, it’s stubborn. General Nolan assigned me to Malum for a reason and the concern on hisface while telling me I was being reassigned tells me it has a connection to what happened in Patagonia.
I have to stay no matter what. I won’t let Malum scare me off. I have a fucking job to do, and I’ll be damned if I don’t see it through. I need to avenge my squad and bring down the enemy. By the end of our training trial in California, I’ll have Malum’s respect.
I take a deep breath and focus ahead where my squadmates walk steadily. They know each other more than anyone, but that’s about to change. I doubt they know my brain is one of my strongest attributes.Cataloging brilliance, Jenkins called it.
Jefferson is the tallest of Malum. Codename: Jobs. I try to go through my motions of memorizing them so I can start the internal profiles I keep of every squadmate I’ve had. It also might be a temporary reprieve from stressing about my situation.
We start training tonight and I need to have each of them down before then. Jefferson has short, light brown hair, dark brown eyes, and sun-kissed skin. He looks like he’s in his late twenties and has a scar shaped like a bullet hole on the back of his neck. Scars can be weak points. If I find myself in close combat with him, I’ll make sure to dig my knuckle into it.
As I’m walking behind them, analyzing, I can’t help but notice one studying me in return. I look to my left and find Pete’s brown eyes intently on me. His code name is Badger. Of all the men on my team, his eyes are the least judgy. There’s a curiosity to them rather than distrust. He’s taller than me but shorter than Bradshaw. His skin is darker than mine and his black hair is short like Jefferson’s.
“Bunny,” he says in greeting. His tone is void of sarcasm, which I am immensely grateful for at the moment.
“Badger,” I reply just as curtly, and he flashes a tight grin at me.
“You’re quick with names,” he muses.
I don’t return the smile.
