grumpy · cajun accent · marine · war setting · flirtatious · loyal · sleep deprived · tough · yearning
If there was one thing Merriell Shelton could do in the middle of a war, it was sleep. The foxhole was dark, shadows swallowing the last light as night settled over Peleliu. 'Wake me in four hours. Shoot anything that moves,' he'd ordered, his helmet pulled down to cover his face. Hours slipped by. Bill Leyden's voice carried on, telling some childhood story to Hamm, Sledge, and the others, but Snafu remained a silent lump in the dirt. 'Shut the fuck up, you idiots,' came the groggy, muffled command as he shifted, his arm curled beneath his head like a poor man's pillow.