High Cost

By:  M. J. Cogburn and C. E. Krawiec

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Commandant Robert immediately came to his feet, took a few steps toward the recruit and came within his personal space, so close that Trevor could have easily kissed the man's nose.

"Mr. Conroy," Dennis Roberts bit each word off sharply, glaring into the recruit's eyes. "If you've got anything that resembles a brain or commonsense, use them and shut up!  Lothos has recorded every...EVERY...instance of you screwing Recruit Tenney. Every word, every moan and the visual recordings... Well, let's just say that it's more than enough to hang you with mister."

As the words in his mind were stringing together and emerging from his mouth, Trevor knew he should just seal his lips and keep quiet.  Unfortunately, his commonsense lost the race with the words.

"What...do you mean, sir?" Trevor asked nervously.

"It is Lothos' direct order that you will face your retribution upon your return to the island after your training is completed."

The words ratcheted up the dread in Trevor's mind but even that dread paled when the commandant added another thought.

"Lothos has informed me that on the day you return to the island, you will have a definite face to face with the one that you've hurt the most.  It seems to me, Mr. Conroy, that you've royally made a mess of things the moment you touched Madeline Tenney.  Or is it when you called her, my own?"  Seeing the way that Trevor's face paled and his gaze floated downward slightly, Commandant Roberts added with a slight pout, "Was that little pet name meant for someone else?"

Trevor's eyes instantly floated back up to the Commandant's dark piercing gaze.  Trevor didn't even have the saliva in his mouth to wet his lips when the vision of the red haired beauty floated back into his thoughts.  His mouth, however, opened and her name slipped out.  "Siren."

Commandant Robert's eyes narrowed slightly at the name.  "So, she does have a name.  Perhaps you should have thought of her instead of bedding the first thing that came close and opened their legs to you, recruit.  Until that day when you are returned to the island, Mister Conroy, your ass is mine.  You will not have any priviledges.  You will be so damn busy with cleaning, studying, training and anything else that I might assign to you that you won't even be able to think about that sweet Siren of yours until she slaps you with her own hand for all the shit you've dealt to her.  Be prepared for hell, Mister Conroy."

Although Trevor wanted to say something snotty back to the Commandant, his own commonsense kicked in for a moment.  Siren's face was still floating before him and he silently apologized to her but she vanished from his sight as he heard Commandant Robert's voice raise in volume.

"Are you deaf, boy!?" the man barked hotly.  "Get your ass on the floor!  Instead of fifty, it's now a hundred.  Want to go for another fifty, recruit?!"

"No sir!" Trevor barked and immediately hit the floor, getting in position for his first pushup, then began on his first set of fifty pushups.  By the time Trevor was in the midst of his second set, his arms felt like they were about to give out and he paused slightly in his count. 

"What's wrong, recruit?" the Commandant questioned sarcastically.  "Are we so soft now that we can't finish?  Do we need to take a rest?"

"No sir," Trevor responded smartly.

"No sir, indeed," the Commandant replied plainly.  "Keep going, Mr. Conroy and don't stop again until you are done."

As Trevor began his pushups again, he responded just as sharply, "Yes sir."

Every succeeding pushup just increased the growing burning in the muscles of Trevor's arms. Every time he lowered himself to the floor, he began to dread the lift that had to follow.  It also didn't help much that the fort's commandant was counting off every pushup.  Digging deeper, Trevor kept going, determined to keep pace with the steady cadence being counted.  However, determination, it seemed began to slip away as his aching arms began to quiver then shake with each slow repetition, sweat now dripping from his face.  Then, on the next lift up, his arms refused to bear his weight and he slumped to the floor.

"You've got ten seconds to resume the count Mr. Conroy," commandant Roberts barked, glaring down at the naked man laying face down on the floor and panting like a bellows.  "Otherwise, you're going to start at one again."

"S..sir..." Trevor gasped.

"Did you hear me, Mister Conroy?" he demanded angrily.

"Yes...s..sir," Trevor gasped. "But I..."

"Then what's the problem?" Dennis Roberts shouted, leaning down a bit toward the recruit.

"Sir...I need..."

"Need?" Dennis Roberts' attitude and tone continued angry and loud.  "What is it you need?"  He paused a second before demanding, "An audience?  Is that what you need, Mr. Conroy?  You need an audience to 'perform' better?"

"What?" Trevor gasped, snapping his head up to staring incredulously at the furious camp commandant.  "Sir...what....I...."

Deciding it was time to spell out in simple words to ensure that Recruit Conroy couldn't possibly misunderstand their meaning, Dennis Roberts glared at Trevor.  "Listen closely, Mr. Conroy, because I'm only going to say this one time. You now have five seconds to start the remaining thirty pushups of the last set. IF YOU DON'T, then I'm going to call every member of the squad into the main room and you will perform all one hundred pushups...as you are....while they watch.  And you'll stay there until you complete all one hundred to MY satisfaction.  NOW, Mr. Conroy," Dennis bit the words off sharply. "What's it going to be? Thirty more right here, or are you going to perform for the entire squad?"

The blood first rose in Trevor's face then just as quickly drained away at the commandant's "or else" order.  His reaction wasn't what it should have been - namely just starting the pushups again. "You can't be serious!"

Dennis Roberts' expression darkened and his tone turned frosty at the recruit's knee-jerk reaction to the order.  Straightening up, he didn't blink as he kept his gaze on the man, his tone frosty as he responded to the thoughtlessly blurted comment.

"On your feet, Mister Conroy," the commandant barked. "NOW!"

"Ohh shit," Trevor muttered under his breath as he scrambled to his feet. "Sir, please..."

"QUIET...and come to attention, recruit!" When Trevor Conroy snapped to attention, Commandant Roberts marched to the open doorway then paused to look back at him.  "Mr. Conroy, you will immediately march to the center of the main room where you will resume standing at attention until you receive further orders from me."

Trevor closed his eyes a moment and swallowed slowly, seemingly unable to make his legs work to obey the order.

"Mr. Conroy," Dennis Roberts voice dropped to a dangerous growl.  "You want do those pushups OUTSIDE?"

The mental picture that threat painted in Trevor's head was all the goad he needed to get moving.  He didn't stop moving until he stood in the middle of the large main room of the barracks where he stopped and came to attention.  The dread already building in his belly began to grow to monstrous proportions at the sound of a whistle being blown, followed by no one less than the Commandant himself bellowing, "EVERYONE UP AND INTO THE MAIN ROOM RIGHT NOW, AS YOU ARE!"

As his fellow recruits stumbled and hurried into the main room, the gasps and the "What the hell?"s again turned up the heat in Trevor's face.

"QUIET!"

Silence descended over all present as Commandant Roberts moved to stand before Trevor Conroy.  "Mr. Conroy, it seems, needs an audience to perform...even something as simple as a set of pushups...without a partner.  So, all of you are going to stand here and watch him do one hundred pushups.  And no one will leave this room for any reason until Mister Conroy has obeyed the order given him."

Turning to the naked recruit now with a seeming full body blush, Dennis Roberts snapped," Recruit Conroy...drop and give me one hundred pushups.  If you pause at any time during the count, you will begin again.  Is that clear, Mister Conroy?"

Trevor swallowed then replied, "Yes, sir!"

"Drop, Mr. Conroy," Dennis snapped, stepping back near the inner perimeter of the circle of watching recruits. Turning his head slightly, he called out, "Squad, you will count off the pushups for Mister Conroy so he doesn't lose count.  Now, Mister Conroy," Dennis barked. "Assume the position...and begin."

In spite of the fort's commanding officer standing in their midst, several of the squad members couldn't help sniggering softly as Trevor got down on the floor and prepared to do one hundred pushups.  Deciding that the best way to get through this without thinking, he shut his thoughts down about everything except the sound of his fellow squad members as they counted off the first pushup.

"One," the sound of twenty-eight unified voices called out strongly.