The Soldier Who Gave Him Acceptance #4 The Soldier Series

Chapter Three - Fitting In

Chapter Three – Fitting In.

As the small passenger plane’s wheels bumped off the hard ground that was the makeshift runway, the sound of the engine roared in protest as the pilot expertly brought it to a halt. Haley rolled her aching shoulders; it had been one of the longest trips of her life. Four flights, to reach the final destination, the sss jungle. She was surrounded by excited contestants, some of who she knew would not last the first day of the show, let alone complete the process in the hot, hostile territory. Haley had chatted to the girls, spoke with the men, giggled and laughed in a bid to ‘fit in’ with the bunch of civilians who thought they ‘Had What It Takes’ to complete the first part of Special Forces Selection.

“Here Haley, let me get your bag for you”, a small balding man, around 5 ft 6 inches, who had told her his name, but she was struggling to remember it, offered. Not that it mattered, by tomorrow they would all be just a number.

“Thank you, you are very kind.” Haley smiled sweetly.

“Don’t worry, I will help look after you when we get there.” He grinned up at her.

Haley stood up, she was 5 ft 9 inches and looked down at him. Part of her wanted to groan at his belief that she needed his help, but the other part knew that in order for her to keep her identity a secret she should play along with the ‘damsel in distress’ role this man wanted to believe she was.

“Your ink, it is so cool, bit of a bad girl, are you?” he asked, clearly trying to flirt with her.

“Oh, not really, I just like tattoos. I couldn’t hurt a fly.” Haley played up to his misconception.

In reality, Haley had hurt a lot more than just a fly and she was the worst bad girl he would ever meet, in a month of Sundays. Her favourite thing to hurt was the bastard insurgents who would try and take her life, but all who tried had failed, and ended up in a wooden box of their own, six feet under. Her second favourite thing to hurt, was the crazy stalkers who would hound the various celebrities she had helped protect. One in particular had given her a great degree of satisfaction. After he had stalked his pray, and although the mission went south when he stabbed the object of his desires, and her new fiancée, Haley took great pride in the fact she had kicked the s**t out of the fucker, before the Spanish police arrived and arrested him.

“So, what is a lovely lady like you doing coming on a show like this?” Baldy continued with his advances towards her.

“I just want to see if it is as bad as they make out. I believe it is all for the cameras, so I am sure we will be fine.” Haley grinned, voicing the misconception that a lot of people believed.

Haley knew it was far from being set up, or easy. Her brothers in arms, the instructors, and 'Stan the man' a previous winner of the show, could testify to that little believed fact.

“So do you think they will have a mole in this series?” Baldy continued, as they disembarked the aircraft to be hit by a wall of heat that could take your breath away, if you had not already been acclimatised to it. Haley, though, was more than able to deal with the heat, after a couple of years working in the desert. She stepped onto the hard ground, with her new ‘friend’ heading towards the small rickety old hut that doubled as the airport terminal building.

“I am not sure, maybe, but I think everyone is wise to it now, so maybe they won’t this time.” Haley smiled down at him.

“I think they will, and I have already figured out who it is.” Baldy smiled proudly.

“Really? Who?” Haley asked, widening her eyes and fluttering her eyelashes a little at him, hoping she had not already been caught out.

“See that man at the back of the plane, the one built like a brick s**t house? Well, he has hardly spoken to anyone, and has that ‘look’ about him.” Baldy motioned his head towards his suspected mole.

Haley chuckled inside her mind, she could see why Baldy would think that, but he was far removed from the truth, and had no clue. She was the mole he was attempting, and failing, to uncover.

“Oh, I see what you mean, we should keep a close eye on him.” Haley smiled down at him, with a look that she hoped portrayed her thinking he was so clever, rather than the ‘you’re a f*****g wrong it is me’ that was running through her mind.

As she reached the hut, a man sat behind an old table, chips in the melamine exposing the MDF underneath. His face was impassive, as he swiped away the mosquito’s that flew around him wanting a tasty treat. Clearly not at all interested in doing his job correctly, he nodded at each of the passengers, not even glancing at their passports and legal documentation the production crew had bent over backwards to acquire for the contestants.

The contestants were all bunched together in the small hut, a layer of sweat already dripping from their brows, as a member of the production crew stood in front of them, his clipboard in hand.

“I am Karl, part of the production crew of the show.” He introduced himself with a smile.

“Okay, before we start, I just want to check if we have everyone,” Karl stated.

Karl rattled through the list of names, each of the contestants giving a ‘here’ in response.

“I know you are all hot and tired, so we will move out of here very quickly. Tonight, you will all stay in a hotel, then tomorrow we will transport you to the basecamp, and the process starts. I would suggest you get a good night’s rest, as it will be the last decent sleep you will have until you either voluntarily withdraw, are culled, or complete the process. Any questions?” Karl asked.

“Are the instructors staying at the same hotel?” one of the girls asked with a giggle.

“No, they are already at the camp. Along with the standby crew, who work with the instructors, as back up crew", Karl informed them.

Haley resisted the urge to roll her eyes. After all, her brothers, although they were many a woman’s pin up, were happily married, or engaged. They had no chance with any of them, and if she was honest, Haley did not see them in that way, they were family to her.

They all bundled into the back of the SUV’s that were waiting. Baldy put her luggage into the back, as Haley climbed into the vehicle. The girl from earlier smiled at Haley.

“Only four of us girls this time round.” She smiled

“I am Stacey.” She introduced herself to Haley.

“Hi. I am Haley, nice to meet you.” Haley returned the smile.

One thing she was good at, was making friends, a skill she learnt early in her life, when she was passed from foster home to foster home, after her mother was deemed unable to look after her. Haley was too young to remember what had happened, but from research she had done when leaving the system, it seemed the woman who birthed her enjoyed the company of men, more than looking after her baby girl. Social services had found Haley all alone in the house. Her small arm tied her to the bars of her crib to stop her from climbing out. She was just 11 months old, in a filthy nappy, with a packet of crackers to eat, whilst her mother had gone off drinking and clubbing in the city of Durham, where she was born. It was strange, because although she had nothing and no one to hold her to the place, Haley still classed it as home. Although she was without blood relatives, Haley was not without family. Her family were the men and women she had served with in the British army. They had given her a sense of belonging, the confidence and security she had missed out on during her younger years. When she was with her brothers and sisters in arms, she was accepted for who she was, and not judged for being a kid who was not worth looking after properly.

“So, who is your favourite instructor? Mine has to be Kermit, his washboard ab’s are to die for.” Stacey giggled.

Haley offered Stacey a smile, Kermit was a happily married man now, to Kyla one of the nicest women you could ever meet.

“Oh, Woof, he is my guilty pleasure on a cold night”. Another girl with short brown hair offered a cheeky grin on her face.

“Na, Kim, I like Tank, he is all man!” another girl with light brown, almost blonde hair argued.

“That leaves you with Cigs, Haley” Stacey giggled again.

Haley chuckled, Cigs, he was the closest thing to a real brother she had. She had worked with him for years in close protection, they had made a formidable team. Izzy, his wife, was perfect for him. The thought of any of her brothers being attractive to her in that way, just felt wrong on every level.

But Stan, now that was another kettle of fish entirely. These girls would not really know him, although he had stared in one series as a mole, the other he had won, along with Izzy. Stan was the man who she could have endless fantasies about. But still they were just friends, with benefits, but friends all the same. But maybe when the show was finished and she returned home, she could tell him of her plans to stay, and she hoped that would change.

“From what I have read, they are all taken now anyway.” Haley smiled, at the lust filled girls.

“Doesn’t stop them from being the object of my fantasies.” Kim laughed out.

The SUV pulled up outside the hotel. It was not what you would describe as first class, but it was clean and comfortable. Haley made her way to her bedroom. Fortunately, they did not have to share rooms whilst staying there, and she quickly stripped down to her underwear, climbed into bed and got some sleep.

The next morning, after a long hot shower, a breakfast of fruit and yogurt, with some bread and butter, the contestants all gathered outside the hotel doors. The line of black SUV’s stood waiting for them.

“Okay, before we set off, just a few points to note. If, at any time, you want to withdraw, you hand in your armband that will be given to you by the instructors, to one of them. You do not hand it to the production team or back up crew. Please also be aware, this is the jungle. There will be animals that can cause you harm hanging around, although we make every effort to ensure your safety, still watch out for the list of harmful insects, bugs and snakes we have given you. Now, if you can all get into the vehicles, we are now heading into the Jungle. The competition starts now.”