visible, but just barely. Corby’s horse, controlling all navigation, was headed straight for the barn. He did not seem at all concerned about the honey locust trees in his path. Em kicked Sugar, his horse, and she galloped toward Corby and Dynamite.
Sugar was definitely the fastest of Em’s four horses, and she caught up to Corby before they reached the thorn trees. Sugar had no trouble maneuvering around Dynamite and cutting him off. Another second and Corby would have been pierced in several parts of his anatomy. When Dynamite finally calmed down, he would not let Corby mount him again. Em reluctantly gave up Sugar and finished the day riding Dynamite. “Now, Corby, stay behind me and let’s get this done. I’m hungry.”
The boys continued riding, not seeing any other places that needed mending. They talked about nothing in particular. Soon, they arrived at the mouth of the creek, where their small creek ran into a larger one, which led to the Ohio River. The creek surrounded the ridge where Em wanted to build a house someday.
They rode the last section of fence where the creek began. Em pointed to the small pool of water that seemed to be feeding the entire creek. His father had shown him this when he was a small boy. He was just as fascinated now as he was then. Water came straight from the ground. This phenomenon was possible because of an underground spring that never ceased to produce cool, clean, running water. This really helped out when the county experienced droughts. No matter how dry it was, the spring always fed the creek with clean water. The cows stayed down here in the summertime. They would not drink from the pond, only from the creek.
Em told Corby of his plan to build a house. He told him that if he looked up the hill right then, he could see where the house’s roof would be.
“Em, I’m sorry I made this take so long. I’m always slowing you down,” Corby said.
“Don’t worry about it, Corb. If you weren’t here, it wouldn’t be any fun at all.” Em knew how much Corby thought of their friendship. He had to admit to himself that he cared as much as Corby. He wondered at that time if the two of them would always be friends.
****
Just as Em started to relax, the barracks erupted with chaos. It seemed every other group had arrived at the same exact moment. He immediately began to search for Corby. He walked to the other side of the room where Corby’s bunk was. He saw several frightened faces searching for their names. He looked down to check the name on Corby’s bunk again. When he straightened up and turned around, Corby was staring at him. He had the biggest grin Em had ever seen on his face. “I-thought-we-were-separated-for-good-Em-I-sure-am-glad-to-see-you,” he said this as though the whole sentence were one word.
“How’s it going, Corb?” Em asked him.
Before Corby could respond, their new “Mom” entered. “All you girls better be where you are supposed to be, and I mean one minute ago!”
Em was already getting used to all the screaming; however, he noticed that Corby flinched every time Mom got a little louder. Em knew that not only would their friendship be tested but also every other aspect of their being. Mom continued to scream. Every once in a while, he would single someone out and get right in their face. Most of the time, Em thought that they brought the attention onto themselves. Em started to practice being invisible. He noticed everyone’s faces. It was hard not to, now that they were all bald. He had only spoken to a couple of the others in his group, but after the trip to the barber, he had difficulty distinguishing one from another. He tried to pick out some of the faces from earlier, but it was so hard to tell who was who with everyone dressed in the same olive-green fatigues. The poor souls that Mom had found to be amusing were trying desperately not to be noticed. Em believed that their efforts would prove to be futile. He knew that Mom had branded them. He was happy to see that Corby was not one of them.
When the lights finally went out, the whispering began immediately. Em and Corby caught up on the day’s events. Em already noticed a slight change in Corby. He saw a hint of confidence in him.
“Em, I want you to meet Larry. We’ve been watching out for each other all day,” Corby whispered. Corby continued to talk just as he always did. Em knew it would get him into trouble someday. Em felt a little uneasy as he listened to his friend. He could not understand the feelings he was experiencing. Was it envy that Corby had found a friend so fast? Was it actually envy? Em realized he kind of enjoyed having Corby depend on him. It was kind of like being a father. He really wanted Corby excel here, but something inside of him wanted Corby to still need him. He liked being the “big brother.” With only his two sisters at home, Corby had saved him from many tea parties when they were younger.
They whispered for a few minutes before the noisy whispers all around them began to diminish. Somehow, Em knew that Corby would be the last one to speak.
“I want everyone in here to know,” Corby was talking out loud, “that no matter what happens, I will do my best to see that we all live through this war and that I will never turn my back on any of you.”
Then there was silence. Evidently, those words somehow soothed everyone or made them think of the war. Em didn’t hear another sound until the snoring began.
The first thing Em remembered hearing the next morning were the bunk springs all around him. Every time someone moved, the springs made a terrible racket. Em didn’t know if anyone else slept better than he did. He instinctively looked across the aisle to see if Corby was awake yet. He did not see him anywhere.
“Excuse me. Aren’t you Turner? We were in the same group yesterday,” Em spoke to the tall airman with the tanned skin who occupied the bunk between him and Corby.
“Yeah. I’m Jack. You’re Story, right?” Jackson Turner introduced himself again to Em. He could not stop rubbing his bald head.
Before either one could think of anything else to say, their new mom came in screaming. As he made his way past Em and Jack, Em saw the name tag on his uniform. When Em saw that their new mom’s name was Sergeant Cannon, he thought it seemed appropriate. The one with a mouth so large, he was named Cannon.
“You maggots get over here and stand at attention! I haven’t told you how to dress yet!” The screaming was endless.
Em and Jack got in line and proceeded to the other side of the room. All of them were in their underwear. It seemed that no one was entirely sure exactly what standing at attention was. Whenever someone moved their head, Cannon exploded in their face. When Corby and Larry walked out of the latrine, shadowboxing like they were on the playground at school, Cannon charged at them like a bull. Em watched as Cannon walked straight up to Corby and punched him right in the gut! Corby doubled over and gasped for air. Cannon began to rant once again. He screamed something about a hillbilly Kentucky idiot. Em decided then that he would not refer to Cannon as Mom anymore.
Corby stood as still as a statue while Cannon screamed. He was no longer gasping for air. Em was afraid that Corby and Larry had just gotten themselves put on the favorite recruit list.
The following three hours, they did nothing but march around on an abandoned runway strip. Up and back, up and back. Em didn’t mind at all. It was somehow a calming ritual. Once again, it seemed that some of the guys just couldn’t get it right. He couldn’t believe that these guys were so immature and clumsy. All of them were at least eighteen years old, and marching was simply walking with a beat. American soldier’s style of marching was as unspectacular as any military in the world. These guys looked like pistons rising up and down in an engine block.
Sergeant Cannon had not let Corby out of his sight since he came out of the latrine earlier. He was now in the front of the formation, right beside Sergeant Cannon. The rest of them were aligned according to their height. When Sergeant Cannon had put them in marching order, he had bellowed, “If you are taller than the man in front of you, tap him on the shoulder and trade places with him!” This enabled the front of the formation to be bigger, possibly to intimidate opposing armies. Em was fifth in line, in column 4, about as far away from Sergeant Cannon as possible, which suited Em fine. Em felt incredible pity for Corby; he just could not do one thing right in Sergeant Cannon’s eyes.
“What’s