Thank you to Nolcha Fox for sharing Part 8 of my WIP, The Soldier and the Radium Girl.
Jake Tanner
9 October 1917
For seven days after leaving Halifax, the convoy traversed the continuously heaving ocean. Aside from twenty short minutes a day stretching their legs and taking the air on deck, the men passed the time playing cards in cramped, confined conditions.
Throughout this time, the confinement chaffed at Jake. Being below deck was like being jailed in a mausoleum with no natural light, airflow, or freedom of movement.
From time to time, a terrible yearning to get out of this horrible place rose within him, making swallowing difficult and constricting his airways. Sometimes a scream fought to escape, and he clamped his jaw tightly shut, holding it back. If he started screaming, he might never stop.
Stormy weather struck two days out of Halifax, and the ship had rolled and lurched ever since. Many men were struck down by seasickness, but, thankfully, neither he nor Joe was affected. Mike took to his bed early on, and they took him water and food at mealtimes.
“No soup.” He pushed his lunch away again today. “The smell makes me sick.”
His hand trembled as he pointed at a small basin. Jake held it under his chin as he retched weakly.
“Water,” he whispered. Jake held the cup to his mouth, and he drank a few sips before sinking back onto the lumpy pillow.
“I’ll eat his soup,” Joe took the bowl and started shoving spoonsful into his mouth. “You’re lucky to get this,” he said to Mike. “You should see the swill we get. Boiled pork and worse yet, boiled rabbit. English food!”
“The foods not the worse part,” Jake added. “The British and French officers are the most stuffy and pompous assholes I’ve ever met.”
“How’s the voyage going?” Mike’s papery voice was reedy.
Continue reading here: https://chewersmasticadores.wordpress.com/2025/12/05/the-soldier-and-the-radium-girl-part-1-the-bloom-of-youth-chapter-1-enlist-in-haste-repent-at-leisure-cont-8-by-roberta-eaton-cheadle/
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