Flight: A Novel

When Zits opens his eyes again, he hears reveille. He awakens in a tent; he rises and looks outside, where he sees 100 U.S. Cavalry soldiers running around. Some of the soldiers laugh and gesture at Zits. Then, all of them begin to laugh and gesture. He realizes that the person whose body he’s now occupying is naked. He’s also an old, wrinkly man. He tries to rush back into his tent but only manages to limp. He looks for his uniform and puts it on. His fingers ache as he secures his snaps and buttons. He becomes frustrated as he continues to lose his grip on the buttons. He knows he’s late for reveille.

Outside the tent, he hears someone shout the name Gus. He doesn’t “connect” to that name, so he keeps walking and looks for his place within the row of lined soldiers (78). He thinks of when he was 12-year old Zits and went to New York with a group of other disadvantaged children from Seattle. A rich man paid for their trip. While at Newark Airport’s baggage claim, he watched a group of young soldiers play keepaway with another soldier’s bag. He recalls how young and childish they were, and that these are the boys who are sent away to fight wars and defend adults.