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Sure enough, Eric touched the back of his legs, and red ketchup came away on his fingers, causing him to roll his eyes in frustration.
“CLARK! PERRY! I’M GONNA FREAKIN’ KILL YOU GUYS FOR THIS…”
Eric held back an irritated laugh, because while he was annoyed?
Someone else was downright livid.
That’s fine, he thought, let the guys have a little fun, because it was better than all of them staring at each other moping… or the room taking a decidedly downturn of momentum as Reed’s name came up.
They had heard nothing on the quiet soldier’s condition – good, bad, or otherwise.
Hesitating, he sighed heavily and looked at the ‘bloodbath’ before him on his person. Yeah, there was ketchup everywhere on his pants, and he wasn’t going to get out of the bathroom without looking like he was menstruating or worse.
Rolling his eyes and sighing heavily, Eric stripped off his boots and pants, trying to save what he could… and made his way towards the showers. Turning on the stream, he immediately began washing up and relaxing under the water, daydreaming of some Irish Spring soap or some fruity scented shampoo… only to open his eyes as something touched his foot.
Trigger?
Looking down, he expected to see his dog or a scorpion, perhaps some other debris… after all - there was a reason they wore shower shoes into the showers. It wasn’t just to keep from getting athlete’s foot, but rather to keep from stepping in something that nobody wanted to identify.
… But there, near his foot, was the biggest spider he’d ever seen.
Eric did not like spiders – and spiders did not like him.
Mutual. Hatred.
He let out a bloodcurdling scream as the spider reared back on it’s hind legs, and he could have sworn it made a noise… a hiss? Or was that him? Jumping back, he nearly slipped on the tile of the shower, catching himself on the faucet, and changing the water from warm to scalding hot.
… Which only sent both of them skittering away – unfortunately in the same direction, as he heard wild laughing from the other room where their bunks were… and Eric saw red.
The massive camel spider had been planted in there, as a joke!
Eric strode out of the showers, uncaring at his state of undress, past several men who were crying with laughter… only to grab his hunting knife that he’d had since he was a teenager.
Marching back into the showers, he returned and stabbed his knife into the wall bluntly, leaving there as the *twaannng* of the blade wobbling in the drywall echoed over the laughter.
Turning to Clark and Perry, who were nearly hysterical, sobbing with delight, and watching him with avid interest, Eric began yelling to get his point across. He just ruined a perfectly good knife and would have nightmares for weeks on end after that stunt.
Now, he was all for a practical joke – but never with spiders.
“YOU DO THAT TO ME AGAIN? IT’LL BE YOUR TURN! YOU GOT ME?”
“What is going on in here?!” Mitchell roared from the doorway with Logan behind him – and Eric covered himself, causing another bout of laughter from the men… including Logan, who snorted.
“I’m sure you can handle this,” Logan chuckled, patting Mitchell on the back and walking off… his laughter echoing in the hallway.
“Get some clothes on, Morrison!”
“Yes, sir!” Eric saluted, hesitated, and dropped his hands to cover himself once more as another round of laughter surrounded him. He should be embarrassed, but he honestly couldn’t care less… so long as another spider didn’t find his way into the barracks.
“Perry! Clark! With me, you two…” Mitchell snapped angrily. As the two men filed out of the room, he met Mitchell’s eyes and saw his lips twitch, giving him a silent look, before he shut the door behind him.
“Jeeezzz,” Talbot grimaced. “That’s the biggest dang spider I’ve ever seen – and I’m from West Texas.”
“Right?” he uttered, and looked at his dog who was laying on her side, atop of his bunk, looking right at home, and let her tongue loll out of her mouth as she looked at him. “Some help you were, Trigger…”
Hearing her name, Trigger rolled over and stood up.
“Oh no,” Eric muttered, rolling his eyes. “I’ve already got it handled, ya little beast. Let’s go get some chow and check to see if email has come back up yet.”
