Chapter 1

         He was drenched in sweat and was shaking badly as his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the room.  He was lying on his floor next to his bed with the sheets tangled about him.  After a few moments of laying there he untangled himself from the sheets and made stumbled his way to the bathroom.  He turned on the faucet and splashed cold water onto his face to wake up.  Cain lifted his head and gazed into the cracked mirror, he saw a tired twenty-two year old man with sea green eyes and messy brown-gold hair.  He sighed and leaned against the sink.  "It's been sixteen years since then.  Why does it still haunt me?”  A horn blared over the intercom, “Time to go rouse my new set of slackers.”  Cain sighed; he was a captain in the rebellion against the German army and had just gained a new unit. What a joy.  Each previous unit that he had been assigned had consisted of slackers wanting to be heroes without any effort; Cain was not looking forward to another unit of wannabe heroes.
           Cain changed into his uniform and trudged down the hall to the last door on the right.   His loud horn in hand, he kicked the door in and blared the horn.
           CRASH!  BANG!  SLAM!
The entire unit, minus one soldier fell to the ground cursing.  "Yo, Captain; whuts the big idea?" well that was the toned down version anyway.
           "Up and at’um, slackers!" Cain bellowed as he went down the aisle, waking any that were less than enthusiastic, “Guess what, slackers!  I’m the Captain; you are to treat me with the utmost respect.  In short, I am God to you until you are shipped out to the front lines; do exactly as I say, when I say it, and speak to me with respect and we’ll get along just fine.”  Cain reached the last bed where the only soldier not to fall out of bed laid.  “Slacker!  Out of bed now!”  The man rose out of bed slowly and turned to face Cain; the man was breathtaking.  Blood red eyes beneath midnight black hair that was pulled back into a low pony; a slim build containing muscles in all the right places, with a six-pack and a deep tan to boot; all this combined to make a beautiful young man whose gaze held only respect for the captain.
         “I would appreciate it, Sir, if you would treat me with the same respect I treat you with.” He stood stiffly and saluted Cain, “I am Lieutenant Irvine Bladebraker, Sir,” a grin spread across his face, “and just as you desire respect, so too, do I,” Lieutenant Bladebraker stood proudly in the military’s ‘relaxed stance.’
         Cain leaned back slightly, this was the kind of soldiers he needed, “You’ve balls, Lieutenant Bladebraker; I like seeing that in my unit’s soldiers,” Cain grinned, “let’s get these slackers moving, Lieutenant.”
         Lieutenant Bladebraker smirked in return, “Just call me Irvine, Sir, my last name is too long, and I have a feeling that you’re going to be stuck with me for a long time.  They tend to keep lieutenants off the front lines, Sir; I’ll probably be with you when these slackers are shipped out.”
        Cain nodded and turned from Irvine and started shouting, “Stop standing there like idiots, slackers!  Get your asses out that door and into the showers, damn it!”  Everyone jumped to it, fearing the wrath of their captain.  Cain unwound the whip from around his waist and snapped it at the poor, brunet soldier who was foolish enough to sleep in the nude.  The soldier let out a girly squeal and ran as fast as he could towards the showers.
Cain rubbed his temples and sighed, "Sometimes I wonder what some of these boys are thinking."
        Irvine chuckled and clapped Cain encouragingly on the shoulder, giving him a sympathetic look, "As do most of us."  He stretched out his back with a groan.  As he leaned back he allowed his eyes to roam over Cain's body.  He finished his quick stretch and walked toward the showers.  As he passed Cain their hands brushed lightly, and then the contact was lost.
         Cain sighed and walked outside to wait for them to assemble, "Well this should be an interesting group." he muttered as he glared up at the pre-dawn sky.