Carly by Lyn Cote Read Free Book Online

Who would be that crazy?
    Evidently, this was just another of the gestapo tactics that the army used to break platoon members down individually so they
     would form a team. Nate had warned her that indoctrination was the whole idea of boot camp. And right now Carly sensed she
     was near a breaking point. Her hands knotted into fists at her sides.
Please, God, don’t let the dog pause at my duffel. Please
. Her tension tightened inside her like a wire being twisted again and again.
    Finally the MPs led the dogs away. Carly felt the tautness leave her spine. Three of her compatriots followed orders and in
     the dim light, scrambled to gather up their possessions and stuff them back into their bags. Then with their duffels shoulder
     high, they all began running to the barracks. At the entrance of the barracks, the DI pointed which way the recruits, in pairs
     of “battle buddies,” were supposed to go—left into one side of a barracks or right into the other. Carly groaned when Alex
     was paired with her as her “battle buddy.”
    After all of them were standing beside bunks, the DI stood in the hallway between the two halves and ordered them to unpack,
     make their bunks, and get into them. They had five minutes, and the DI stood there gazing down at her wristwatch.
    Carly gave Alex-somebody a dirty look. Battle buddies—they had to be kidding. This girl was a total nutcase.
Why should I be surprised to get her as my buddy? Everything else that could go wrong has
. Carly stuffed her possessions into the nearest locker, snapped shut the lock, then quickly made her bed.
    “Lights out!” And the room went dark. Carly lay down and realized then that she hadn’t even shed her clothing. She was too
     tired. After untying her shoes, she laid her head on the lumpy pillow and closed her eyes. No one made a sound. A kind of
     stunned, exhausted silence held sway over them all. What could any of them say?
Let me out of here?
    Carly felt the soothing fingers of sleep unknotting her tension, claiming her. With her last bit of energy, she unfastened
     the diamond earrings from her bra. She felt through the sheet that her mattress was the old kind with buttons in it. She slipped
     one out and slid the earrings into the mattress stuffing and then put the button back in place. With her fingers, she counted
     the buttons from top and side edge so she’d remember which one concealed her contraband. Her last conscious thought was,
Who would look for something under there?
    At seven o’clock the next morning, in the nearly silent mess hall, Carly looked down at the full tray of food and cup of murky
     coffee that had been handed her in the food line. Her touchy stomach clenched and warned her not to eat anything. Too little
     sleep, too much anxiety, too much noise, too much everything—except privacy, time to think, and basic human respect—had taken
     its toll.
    “There will be no talking!” a DI yelled. “And you will not be allowed to leave the mess until you have eaten everything on
     your plate.”
    Everything?
Carly felt her mouth drop open.
I never eat breakfast
. The petite blonde who’d helped her stay on her feet the previous night sat across from her. “Dolly” gave her a commiserating
     look. In return, Carly sent her a trace of a smile. But unfortunately the girl, Alex-somebody, who hated her, sat right beside
     her. It must have been on purpose. What was with her? And how could Carly avoid her, especially since they were “buddies”?
    “Start eating now!” a DI yelled. “You have fifteen minutes.”
    Carly picked up her fork and wished she were anywhere but there. Tentatively she forked up a bite of runny scrambled egg and
     hash browns. She put it in her mouth and chewed. Her stomach gave her another warning. Would she be sick? What would they
     do to her if she were?
    She tightened her resolve and began forcing food in, forkful by forkful. The only sounds in the room where two hundred people
     ate breakfast