The first time they messed with me, I laughed. A boot full of shaving cream? Dumb. Juvenile. But then my bunk collapsed in the middle of the night.
That’s when I knew: Alvarez and Denton weren’t just bullies. They wanted me gone.
I wasn’t loud. Didn’t party. Just followed orders, stayed sharp. Maybe that’s what made me a threat.
The Blizzard Hits
On the recon op, the blizzard hit fast. We were supposed to be at checkpoint Echo by 1400. But Alvarez ignored the map and led us straight into a dead valley.
By 1600, we were freezing, lost, and burning through thermals. I offered to backtrack using my compass and marked map. Alvarez laughed in my face.
That night, I heard them whispering outside the tent. “Should’ve left him at Delta.” “Creep’s always writing things down.” “Think he’d rat us out?”
They made the decision before I woke up. They left. Took the thermal pack. Took the food.
A Chance Encounter
I was supposed to freeze. But seven hours later, I found someone else.
Corporal Lina Reyes. Leg broken. Half-buried in snow. Abandoned, just like me.
I fired my flare. Stayed with her, kept her talking until help arrived. When the rescue team found us, they looked at me like a ghost. Like I wasn’t supposed to be standing there.
The Aftermath
Back at base, Command asked what happened. I handed them my field notes. Every decision Alvarez made. Every word they whispered. They read it in silence.
Then I looked straight at Alvarez and said—