The January Attrition Run

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" your mom asked. "You trained with your sister, after all."

"Mom, it'll be fine. They gave me another partner" you told her. It was January 5th and you were standing at the starting line for the yearly January Attrition Run. While it was true that you'd trained for this with Rebecca and the JAR was for pairs, you knew you'd be alright. Sure, the person you were assigned wasn't your sister, but with an acute case of appendicitis Rebecca wasn't going to be able to run. "They always give you another partner who's in the same category as you are."

"Sure, but you don't know him or her" your mom pointed out. "And you'll be relying on them for two days."

"Mom, yes, I trained with Bec. But it's still the same thing. Don't worry mom, I'm going to be fine, alright?" you told her.

"If you're sure.." your mother replied. "But I'm not sold on you going without your sister."

"I'm a big boy" you said with a laugh. "If I survived being raised by a workaholic single mom, I can survive the JAR."

"Ouch" your mom said with a laugh. "Oh, okay. Just know that I'm going to be fretting the entire weekend until I see you again." She didn't even let you reply before hugging you tight, one of those big hugs that only a mom could give her child.

"You will be regardless. Maybe less now that Rebecca's at home recovering" you pointed out.

"Huh, good point" your mom said.

"Exactly, so why not hover over her so that I can roll around in the mud, huh?" you suggested with a grin.

"Shut up, you brat" your mom told you. She gave you another hug. "Just promise me you'll be okay."

"I promise I'll do my damnedest to come home in as few separate parts as I can" you replied.

"Good enough. Knock 'em dead, honey" she said.

"Yes, ma'am" you said, smiling as she let you go and then walked back to her car. You watched her go, gave her a wave as she left, and then got your stuff off the ground and walked towards the sign in desk. Once there, you stood underneath a large open-walled tent, waiting for it to be your turn. When you signed in you were given a number, a laminated sheet of paper with the number 77 printed on it.

"Your partner's already signed in" the man said. "She's number 76."

"Alright, thanks" you said as you took the number. After that you looked around and saw a brunette about Rebecca's age, maybe a little older, wearing the number 76.

"Hey" she said when she saw you approach. "There's my partner." She extended her hand when you reached her. "I'm Claire" she said. You shook her hand.

"John" you said. "I'm happy to see you."

"Yeah, me too. I wasn't looking forward to taking on the JAR alone" Claire replied. "So, have you done this before?"

"Twice before" you said.

"With the same partner that isn't here now?" she asked.

"Nah. I went once with a friend from college but he almost broke his leg so we had to forfeit" you explained.

"And the other time?" the brunette wanted to know.

"We had to quit because of a storm" you said.

"Oh yeah. That was three years ago, right?" Claire asked.

"Yeah, that's the one. Were you here then, too?" you asked.

"I was. First time after my deployment ended, too" she replied.

"Oh. Did you serve?" you asked.

"Yeah, I'm a marine" she said, rolling up her sleeve to reveal a tattoo on her shoulder. You nodded, not surprised.

"I had a feeling you were a tough girl" you said.

"For sure. So what about you?" she asked. "You look like you work out a lot."

"I do. But I'm not a soldier or even a cop. I just finished college" you said. At this point you checked your watch, saw it was still 20 minutes until you started, so you suggested that the two of you go for a jog to warm up and get loose and limber. Claire agreed and before long you were talking and jogging like others had been around you.

"Huh. That looks like rain" you said, pointing eastwards.

"Yeah, it does" Claire agreed. "Hope it doesn't hit us" she said.

"It probably will" you said, checking your phone. "Look." Claire looked at your phone as you held it up to her and sighed.

"Just our luck, huh?" she asked.

"Yeah, but hey. We got all the tools to make a good shelter with" you pointed out.

"So you think you got what it takes, huh?" Claire wanted to know.

"I took my training very seriously" you said. "To the point where I went alone into the woods and built a little house out of pallet wood."

"Did it go well?" she asked.

"No" you said with a laugh. "I got the wrong wood. It was basically paper."

"I hope that isn't a sign of things to come" Claire teased.

"Nah, I learned my lesson really fast that night" you said. "I went home that same night."

"I bet you did. Hope you are better prepared this time" Claire told you. "Because while I think we get along, I'm not quite at the point where I want to share my sleeping bag with a virtual stranger." You laughed and nodded.

"That's fair enough. But no, you won't have to share. I brought my own" you said, gesturing at the backpack over your shoulder.

"Alright, good" Claire said, smiling.

It was another hour of walking before the weather turned.

"Fuck" Claire said. "I was hoping it would pass us by."

"Oh well" you said, stopping to take your backpack off and getting out your poncho. "Guess it's poncho time."

"You said it" Claire agreed, getting her own out. Before long you were both clad in ponchos, walking and talking as you went. "So what do you do? I mean, in daily life."

"Like I said, I just got done with college. I studied history" you said.

"So you're going to go traipsing around old ruins and stuff?" Claire asked.

"No, not really. I could go teach, but I might just as easily become a writer or whatever for some sort of publication" you said. "Though becoming Indiana Jones isn't completely out."

"Including the whip?" your partner wanted to know.

"Hell no. Last time I tried that, I ended up lashing myself with my dad's belt. No thank you" you said, smiling at the memory. It had hurt then, but now it was a good story to tell at parties.

"What about a machete?" Claire asked.

"I do have a hatchet" you said.

"Eh, good enough" the marine said. "As long as it's sharp."

"I could shave with it" you replied. "If need be."

"Well, we won't be that gone that long" Claire said with a smile. "Unless you got beard growth to rival my old sergeant's."

"Nah, I got pretty average beard growth. Nothing serious, but at least I can grow one" you said. "Definitely not a Tier 1 beard."

"You think I was Tier 1?" an amused Claire asked.

"I have no clue. Usually you can tell by the facial growth" you teased. "So unless you spring a beard, I have no clue."

"Well, I'm not a Marine Raider. My grandfather was, though. He was in Edson's Raiders" Claire said. "He inspired both my dad and me to join the Marines. My brother became a Sea Hawk pilot."

"Wow. And here I am with my history degree" you said. "That's nowhere near as impressive."

"Hey, everybody has their specialty" Claire said. "I'm not judging."

"That, and my mom would kill me more surely than enemy combatants ever could" you added with a laugh. This made Claire laugh.

"Don't tell me someone like you is a momma's boy" she said.

"Like me?" you asked.

"Well, you obviously take care of yourself and you've got a degree, so you're smart. There has to be some red flags" Claire said.

"Oh, gee, thanks Claire" you said, chuckling. "I do love my mom, yeah. But it's not like I can't do anything without her say so."

"So what is the red flag? Mine is obviously that I am addicted to thrills and adrenaline" Claire said.

"I dunno. Is it a red flag to care too much about my family?" you asked.

"Oh, boo" the marine replied, laughing. "That's such a safe answer. But yeah, it can be. Coe to think of it, that's the kind of answer people give at job interviews. 'I care too much about the company', 'I work too hard', that kind of stuff."

"Have a lot of experience with that?" you asked, curious.

"Hell no. The only job interview I ever had was a brief talk with the nearby greengrocer to work there until I was old enough to sign up for the navy" she said.

"Right" you replied with a laugh. "So now you have no people skills, right?" you teased.

"Oh, none at all. Go to foreign places, meet new people, then shoot at them. That's what they say, right?" Claire said. "But no, I was a liaison between us and other troops from a few other countries."

"What was that like?" you wanted to know.

"Surprisingly fun" she said. "I actually learned some French as well as some Polish."

"Huh. That's cool" you said. "Like what?"

"Chcę rozruszać twoje usta" Claire said.

"What does that mean?" you asked.

"You talk too much" she replied.

"Huh" you repeated. "I don't think I'm ever going to learn any Polish by the sound of that."

"Yeah, it was tough but very rewarding. Those guys and girls are tough, very professional and consummate soldiers" Claire said. She was about to say more when there was a loud thunderclap not too far away from huh.

"Damn" Claire said, while you started counting inwardly. The flash came mere seconds later, telling you the worst: you were right underneath the thunderstorm.

"We should probably hunker down" you told her.

"Good idea" she agreed. "Come on, I saw a good place a little way back."

"I hope this doesn't get as bad as three years ago" you said as the two of you lay in a dell, a word you'd learned from the tv series Band of Brothers. The dell was covered by thick bushes, apparently a decent enough shelter if nothing man-made was available.

"Yeah, it'd suck to have to go home now" Claire replied. "I just started to sweat." You snorted a laugh and shook your head.

"Leave it to a marine to brag" you said. "Or is that just you?"

"Both" Claire said, grinning at you. Just then your phones dinged at the same time. "Weather warning?" she suggested.

"Right on time" you said, frowning. You took your phone out of your chest pocket and checked it.

"Yep" Claire said, looking at her own phone. "Well, we already did what they suggested. I just hope they're not going to call it."

"For sure" you agreed. "Guess we'll have to wait it out."

"Yep. Want to play I spy?" the marine asked.

"I spy something starting with the letter R" you said.

"Rain?" she asked.

"Boy, how'd you guess?" you exclaimed. This made the brunette laugh.

"Alright, good point. How about ghost stories?" she suggested.

"Can't be more scary than getting hit by lightning" you said with a shrug.

It turned out that Claire was pretty good at telling stories. So good, in fact, that you almost missed the danger.

"What's that noise?" you asked, interrupting Claire. The two of you looked up and down the hill came a torrent of mud.

"Run!" Claire exclaimed. The two of you scrambled out of cover and just ran for it. As the mud rushed downhill and you tried to find another way, you pointed at a tree.

"Up there!" you shouted. It was a very thick, gigantic thing that you figured would hold up. At least, you hoped.

"Better than running! Come on!" Claire said, leading the way. The two of you scrambled up its branches and made it just in time before the mud reached the tree, the roar of the torrent deafening. You spent quite some time up in the tree, unwilling to move or even look down for fear of falling. After what felt like a long time but probably wasn't, the mud settled down and you chanced looking down.

"Holy shit" you said, "that could've been bad."

"Yeah, for sure" Claire agreed. You agreed on staying in the tree for a little while longer until you were sure it was all over, then climbed down. Just as you reached out to help her down, you slipped in the mud, making Claire laugh. "I'm sorry" she said, still laughing, "but that was so funny."

"Yeah, yeah" you said, laughing too. "Laugh it up. Karma'll get you."

"As if it wi-" she started to say, but before she could finish she, too, slipped, landing right on top of you. Unable to help yourself you laughed even louder, until the both of you laughed uncontrollably, probably in part because you were relieved to be okay. Now thoroughly soaked and muddy, you probably made for quite a sight as you lay on your back with the pretty marine on top of you.

"As if, huh?" you asked, grinning.

"Shut up and help me up" Claire said, though she was grinning too.

"You're have to get off me first" you told her.

"You wish" she said. "Oh, you said get off me."

"Terrible joke" you replied, "can you get off me now? Your massive muscles are threatening to crush me."

"Oh, haw haw" Claire replied. "For that I'm just going to stay here for a while longer."

"And do what?" you asked.

"I don't know. Read a magazine, fall asleep, or this" she said, kissing you on the lips.