The Cadet Corporal (11 page)

“What?” Pigsy replied.

“Some bastard hit me with a rock,” Moynihan said.

“Bloody Kirk for sure,” Pigsy said. “Let's sort him out.”

To Graham's dismay the three bullies turned and came walking back. So as not to be kicked he quickly stood up and told Kirsty to get up as well. Just as the bullies arrived there were more thuds and the sound of a stone hitting a tree trunk, then a cry of pain from Waters.

“That came from over there, to the left,” Pigsy cried.

At that two figures sprang up and raced off down towards the creek. Pigsy shouted, “After them!” and the three bullies dashed off in pursuit, Moynihan tripping and falling in the process.

‘Andrews and Halyday,' Graham thought. He wondered whether he should join the pursuit to help his two cadets but then decided the three bullies weren't likely to catch them. At that moment a torch beam swung their way.

“Down!” he hissed, dragging at Kirsty's sleeve. They dropped into the shallow washout and huddled low. In the process Kirsty again pressed hard against Graham's right side. ‘She is doing that deliberately,' he decided. That idea got him interested and excited. Her hair was in his nostrils and it smelt a lovely ‘girl' aroma.

To his relief the torches turned and went away. Graham raised his head to watch and found himself looking into Kirsty's eyes at very close range. The reflections from the torches made them glisten. ‘Gosh, she's pretty!' Graham thought. Without conscious will he found his head moving closer to hers. She closed her eyes, and parted her lips. ‘She wants a kiss!' he thought, both astonished and afraid.

Natural desire got his heart thudding and his body tingling and he moved to lean across to kiss her. But even as he moistened his lips his racing mind told him not to do it. ‘It will be nice but could lead to disaster,' he thought. So he hesitated and glanced anxiously around, looking at the same moment for a way out of the situation that would not set her against him and to check if anyone could see.

Kirsty opened her eyes and gave him a quizzical but friendly look. Then she whispered, “You are nice.”

“I think you are nice too,” Graham murmured. But he resisted his urges. Again he battled with desire but by an effort of willpower he held back. By then he was quite aroused and really struggling to control himself. Then a shout nearby made him look up in alarm. By swivelling his head around he could make out running figures fifty paces to his left rear and torches flashing near them. Then he received another shock when he saw a person lying in the gully ten paces away. It was Roger. ‘Strewth! I hope he hasn't seen us,' Graham thought.

But that concern melted into insignificance within seconds as two powerful torches came on twenty paces to his right front. Their beams swept towards him as he and Kirsty both ducked. Then Graham heard Lt McEwen's voice just as he became aware that the torches were now fixed on them.

‘Oh no! What will she think?' Graham thought.

“Who is that there?” Lt McEwen called, walking towards them.

CHAPTER 11

FRICTION

Graham froze in fright, very conscious of closeness to Kirsty. Apprehension at the probability of being disciplined caused his emotions to surge and he felt panic and embarrassment. In anticipation of the worst he tried to think up some reasonable explanation. But he knew it would sound hollow and he felt sick.

Then, as Lt McEwen strode in his direction, her torch beam moved on.

“Who is that there?” she called.

Graham was about to answer when he was surprised to hear Roger's voice. “Lance Corporal Dunning Ma'am.”

“You need to keep down more,” Lt McEwen said.

There were scuffling noises further down the gully and the distinct sound of breaking sticks. Then someone fell. Graham raised his head and, as he did, slid away from Kirsty. He saw that Lt McEwen now had her torch beam aimed at three more cadets: Pigsy, Waters and Moynihan.

“You three go back out of sight and get down,” she ordered.

There was muttering and grumbling from the three bullies but they did as they were told. Graham then expected Lt McEwen to moved closer to him but, to his relief, she moved on down the gully twenty paces then was distracted by more cadets further over.

“Now's our chance,” he whispered to Kirsty.

“What for?” she replied mischievously.

“To get away from here. Come on,” Graham replied. He stood up and began to walk as quietly as he could, glancing back continually to check on where Lt McEwen and her companion were. Both Kirsty and Roger followed. Graham found he was both relieved and irritated by Roger's presence. ‘At least I can't misbehave if he is there,' he thought. But it was with sharp regret and he knew that he really wanted to kiss Kirsty.

After fifty paces Graham stopped. His heart was still beating fast, but with excitement rather than lust. The scare had ended his arousal. Now he concentrated his efforts on the fieldcraft. Ahead were two more groups of two torches, CUO Grey and CUO Mitrovitch in the group on his right front and CUO Masters and CUO McAlistair in the other. They were the last guards before the lantern.

It was 2035 by then. “Twenty five minutes to go,” Graham muttered. “And about a hundred metres. I think we should crawl.”

With that he got down and began inching forward, sometimes on hands and knees but mostly on his stomach using toes and elbows. It was, hard slow work but they drew steadily closer to the lantern and the pattern of the CUO's patrolling became clear. There were other cadets crawling forward on both sides and more behind. In the light of a torch Graham recognised Halyday and Andrews twenty metres to his left. He was amazed. Halyday had even blackened his face and was right down crawling properly.

There were noises behind as a group of cadets came hurrying forward. A torch swung towards them. Graham lay flat behind a small log. The group kept on hurrying forward and out of the corner of his eye Graham recognised Pigsy. As he went striding past Pigsy swerved and gave Graham a good kick in the thigh. It happened so fast that Graham was unable to react and it took an effort not to call out.

CUO Masters did though. His torch picked out the three bullies, who had gone running on ahead. “Stop running and go back you three!” he ordered.

Pigsy and Co at first disobeyed but CUO Masters raced over to them and repeated the order. With bad grace and much muttering they did as they were told, CUO Masters and CUO McAlistair walking back down the slope with them. In doing so they passed fifteen metres to Graham's right.

‘This is our chance,' he thought. There was now no-one between him and the lantern. He rose to his hands and knees and gestured to Kirsty and Roger to follow. Quickly but quietly he crawled quickly up the slope, his head swivelling to keep track of CUO Masters, and also of CUO Grey and CUO Mitrovitch, who were again approaching from the right. But they were now past them. Over on Graham's left were Halyday and Andrews. They also crawled quickly forward.

At 2115 they stood up near the light. Graham was surprised to find Capt Conkey standing behind it controlling a dozen cadets who had already arrived and were seated in the darkness beyond. “Who is that?” Capt Conkey asked.

“Cpl Kirk, and Four Section sir,” Graham replied.

Capt Conkey shone his torch on them all and then grunted with approval, “Good. Sit over there.” His torch showed where. Graham walked past the lantern with a real feeling of achievement. As he told the others to sit he said, “Very well done Four Section. Well done Cadet Halyday.”

He then sat at the front of the group and talked about the exercise. What he really wanted to know was whether Pigsy and Co had caught Halyday and Andrews. “It was you chucking rocks at them wasn't it?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Andrews replied. “We wanted to get them back for teasing us.”

“Did they catch you or see you?”

“No fear! We ran faster than them,” Andrews replied.

As they talked Graham was uncomfortably aware that he needed to do another pee. A check of his watch showed five minutes to go. ‘If I don't go now I might not get a chance for a while,' he thought. Without saying anything he stood up and walked back past the waiting cadets into the darkness. After twenty paces he turned and headed down the ridge towards the highway, his eyes questing for a good piece of cover. Finding a big ironbark he stopped close to it and looked carefully in all directions. ‘I don't want to get sprung by Pigsy and his slimy mates- or by any of the girls,' he thought.

Satisfied no-one was near he relieved himself. All the while he glanced anxiously in all directions, not wishing to be caught again.

As Graham walked back to the lantern CSM Cleland began bellowing that the exercise was over and that they were all to move to the lantern. He hurried back and, in the resulting commotion, sat without anyone noticing.

Once CSM Cleland had checked they were all present and Capt Conkey had debriefed them they were sent back to their platoon areas. This was only a hundred paces for 2 Platoon. They still had 30 minutes to bed and Graham wondered if he should light his stove and heat some water for coffee. It was the third night of camp and he was feeling very tired. He also felt very dirty.

Nor was he the only one. Dianne came and asked if she could have a wash.

Graham shook his head doubtfully. “We are having a shower at the army camp tomorrow.”

“But I've got sand and dirt everywhere!” Dianne wailed.

“Then get a washbasin from the Q,” Graham replied.

“Good idea. Come on Lucy, Kirsty,” Dianne replied.

“Be quick. You have to be in bed in twenty minutes,” Graham called after the three girls. As they walked away he thought about that. ‘A quick wash would be nice,' he thought. What was really on his mind was the knowledge that he was really sweaty and chafed between his thighs and the armpits. ‘I don't want to stink if Kirsty gives me a kiss,' he thought. He knew he shouldn't be thinking like that but he was aroused with desire and hope.

With that he strode off after them and arrived at the Q area just as they were trying to pick up a jerry can of water. “It's too heavy!” Lucy wailed.

“I'll carry it for you, if one of you will carry a wash basin for me,” Graham said.

“Oooh! Are you going to have a bath too?” Kirsty asked, her voice alive with interest.

Graham picked up the jerry can and laughed. “Just a little wash,” he replied.

“You can't bath with us,” Lucy said.

“Why not? It's dark,” Graham teased.

The girls squealed and Dianne snapped, “You cannot!”

“I was only joking,” Graham replied. It was on the tip of his tongue to say other things he thought witty and sexy but managed to stop himself. Instead he carried the jerry can down past the platoon area towards the female latrine. When he was fifty paces past the last hutchie he put it down and retreated back to his hutchie feeling very aroused and with his mind full of delicious fantasies about the girls.

At his hutchie he unrolled his bedding and sat down to unlace his boots. Roger was already lying down. The two friends talked for a while, mostly about Pigsy and his mates and what to do about them. As they talked Graham heard occasional girlish laughter and he imagined the girls washing themselves.

The next thing he knew Sgt Grenfell was calling to the girls to get to bed. When they told him they had no clothes on he sent Gwen Copeland to round them up. Graham pulled his boots on and stood up to ensure that the others were in bed. They were, so Graham went and stood with Sgt Grenfell and explained that he had allowed the girls to have a wash. Sgt Grenfell grumbled but nodded so Graham said he would like a few minutes to have a quick rinse himself.

“After all your cadets are in bed,” Sgt Grenfell replied. He went off to quieten Stephen's section. They were all laughing at some joke. A few minutes later the girls came back with Gwen. They had lugged the now almost empty jerry can back.

“Get to bed,” Graham ordered. He then stood and supervised as they crawled into their hutchies. Kirsty sat down under her half hutchie and pulled off her boots then looked at him in the starlight. That got him wondering and anxious. ‘Is she hinting she wants a kiss?' Now he wished he had washed as he was sure he stank. After a glance to check that no-one was near he walked over to her, hoping at the same time Roger wasn't listening.

With beating heart he bent down. “I am just going to have a quick wash,” he whispered.

He could see Kirsty's eyes glistening in the starlight. She nodded and she whispered back, “I could scrub your back. Would you like that?”

That got Graham's mind racing with erotic hopes and fantasies but he shook his head. “I'd love you to but Sgt Grenfell or CSM Cleland might catch us. So no.”

Graham knew he shouldn't be talking like this but he was now very aroused and the prospect of even a little cuddle with Kirsty was something he badly wanted. He crawled back into his own hutchie to get his toilet gear and towel. Roger was awake and caused him some anxiety by asking, “What was all that about?”

“Just Kirsty flirting,” Graham replied offhandedly.

“You be careful,” Roger warned.

“I will be,” Graham replied. “I'm just going to have a quick wash.” With that he stood up. As he collected the washbasin and jerry can Graham looked towards Kirsty and saw she was now lying down. She was looking his way and for a moment he was tempted to go over and make more suggestive comments.

He resisted this and walked down into the gully twenty five metres away. By now he was breathing fast and was very aroused. He stood behind some bushes where he could see whether anyone was coming and from where he was sure no-one could see him. There was no sign of anyone so he quickly stripped off. That felt very nice and he gripped himself and groaned with frustration.

After pouring some water into the basin he crouched and quickly splashed water on his skin and soaped himself. By this time the camp had settled down and he was very conscious of the water noises so he tried to wash as silently as possible. The sting of the soap on his chafe helped calm him but he was still gripped by lust and temptation. After washing he cleaned his teeth, just in case.

When he was finished washing Graham pulled on his trousers, tugged on his boots, then loosely pulled his shirt on. Slinging the towel over his shoulders he picked up the washbasin and jerry can and walked back up the slope. He dearly wanted to go to Kirsty's hutchie and he was sure she was still awake watching but he first went to his own hutchie and crawled in.

After taking off his boots and packing his toilet gear Graham had a drink, then lay back, wondering if Roger was awake but not daring to speak in case he was. Instead he lay on his side and peered towards Kirsty. All he could see was the top of her head but that was enough to make his imagination work. Time passed and he became very drowsy. The only sounds were the occasional mournful cry of a curlew, and the wind in the trees. Then he noted the sound he wanted to hear: Roger snoring.

For another ten minutes he lay there fantasizing and trying to pluck up the courage. At last he sat up and crawled to the end of the hutchie. He tried to do it silently but made some noise. Kirsty moved and he saw her face swivel in his direction. In the starlight he could see she was smiling. ‘Come on coward,' he told himself. He knew he would be taking a fearful risk but was now driven by urgent desire. After taking a deep breath he crawled out and stood up.

For a minute he stood looking in all directions and listening. The loudest noise seemed to be his own heart and he knew he was fearfully aroused and being stupid. His skin seemed to flush hot and cold and he had trouble steadying his breathing. Licking lips which had gone dry from fear and lust he stepped quietly over to Kirsty's shelter.

She looked up as he reached her and he saw she was smiling. He knelt, again licking his lips. Then fear and caution gripped his mind. After a false start he managed to get out a hoarse whisper. “You should be asleep.”

Kirsty smiled and nodded. “I know, but I am wide awake.”

Graham knelt there in the starlight and battled with temptation. Through his mind raced all the fantasies and all the fears of what could go wrong if he gave in. He stared at her and a great shuddering tremor wracked his body. ‘No. I must not give in,' he told himself. With an effort he said, “It is late. We had better try to sleep.”

Kirsty grunted and did not reply. Graham was confused and knew he was scared. To end the situation he said, “See you in the morning.”

She was disappointed. Even in the dark he could tell that. But she just nodded and lay down. Graham stood and walked back to his hutchie. As he did he was torn by both desire and shame. ‘Am I really a coward?' he agonized as he crawled into his shelter.

For the next hour he lay engulfed by passion, regret and doubt, waves of heat sweeping over him. He was so aroused he could not sleep. Feverish fantasies kept him awake and aroused until he at last slid into a deep sleep.