Drafted- A Story Of Heroes

4

   I sat on my bed and put my shoes underneath. I just felt like things were going to fast. Life was flashing past me, straight to death. In a weeks time I could be standing by myself on a battlefield or be one of the ones on the ground. I glanced around me. They all were sitting on or laying on their beds. Silence. We all were feeling more sorry for ourselves than each other. They had families other than siblings and parents and yet I'm feel more sorry for myself. Selfish bastard!

   I knew that once I woke up I'd need my shoes to be untied and so I grabbed them out and stared at them. They were heavy combat boots. I'm a writer, the only other things I need for my preparation was ink. Now I have to dress a certain way and pack everything up in one single bag just to carry on my shoulders. My weapon used to be a typewriter and now its a gun. 

I sat my shoes on the ground and slid my feet into them. I looked around me, most were laying with their backs to the walls. I stood up and walked out after tying my shoes. My foot steps were loud and heavy. I cringed at the sound and picked my feet up more. I left the quorts and walked around. Until I started to run. I got on the trail and ran, I ran for almost and hour before I stopped completely. I stood there catching my breath as I watched the stars and moon. 

They were about to watch everything that was going to happen. Just like they had always. 

"If you are ever thinking about being sorry for yourself, you need to get over it. Its just death." I turned to my side. Fen was sitting on a rock. 

"Fen, its not just death." I breathed out. I walked over to him.

"Its never just about you. My baby sister counts on me. My girl counts on me. If I die whats that going to do to them?" I sat next to him on another rock. 

"I don't know. But if you were really worried about them you should've come up a plan for them."

"Well I'm sorry I've never been to war before and didn't think a head." 

"Your problems not thinking ahead, its thinking. The better you learn things and follow orders the most likely you are to survive, Davis. You should be sleepin right now." 

"And what about you? Are you just going call the kettle black?"

"I'm not going to fight with you."

"Oh really? Because you sure as hell have a funny way of showing that! This last week has been hard, but half of what made it so was your need of critiquing my every possible move with snarky comments  and rude "assessments"! I never thought of those comments as being passing comments but fighting words Fen!" I had stood up after yelling at him and was breathing hard still from running and yelling. He just stared up at me, waiting for me to finish. 

"You need to worked on your breathing." 

"And you need to work on minding your own business." He scoffed and laughed a bit like he had heard the stupidest comeback. 

"As long as you or I am in the fifth, your business is mine and mine yours. My life is in your hands." He stood up and stood right in front of me.

"You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself! Your not the only one who doesn't want to be here! You aren't the only one who could die from your actions! And finally, you are not the only one who might not see their family again." He took a step back.

"I didn't want to say anything but, you think yourself above the others, don't you? Your problems are worse than the others. You don't care that the amount of effort you are putting in not counts your life but ours as well. You are just above failing this boot camp. Go ahead and fail it because I'd rather go one member short than to die because of some incompetent griper." He had hit my biggest insecurity. These past weeks it was in the back of my head, "you're going to get these men killed." And what I had already known, I'm a complainer. I stood staring at him.

"You really didn't hold back did you?" 

"Of course not. I rarely do. Davis, you're a good man. You just weren't meant to go to war. I'm sure the rest of the men aren't either. You just have to learn to deal with the truth, you have work at something with your heart on the line to get what you want. You half heartedly going through boot camp won't help anyone. This isn't just a game. It's life and death. I've been trying to show you that by trying to get you to prove me wrong but you haven't. You just whine about me and take away from my duties. If I can't do what I have to do to prepare I'm going to die. Stop whining."  

I had told on him every time to Jones. He was set apart from us.  He wasn't sure how our team functioned because he never saw us. I told Jones because I thought it would make him stop. And Jones being Jones agreed. I never saw it this way before. 

"I will. Will you help me prepare for war? And I'll help you catch up." He nodded and we started to walk back to quorts.

"Why were you out here?" 

"My father told me that this was his favorite spot while training. I just wanted to see it before I couldn't." 

"Are you going to miss your family?" I looked at him through the corner of my eyes. He took a bit to answer and seemed to think it out. 

"I'll be fine." He nodded along with his statement.

"So you won't?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"My family was never that close. My father always wanted me to follow in his footsteps but never cared for other than that. My mother was never around because she was always working. And my sister was... someone who was disagreeable. She still is. On my call, she was the one who picked up and she just handed it over to my mom. My mom passed it over to my father without saying a word. And my father told me to fight until I couldn't before hanging up." I was really surprised to hear this. I thought he idolized his father.

"What about you?" I laughed awkwardly.

"It's just me and my sister. She's seventeen." I pulled out her photo and handed it to him.

"She's a pretty girl." 

"Yeah, she looks like my mother, so I've been told." I looked at the photo before putting in my pocket. 

"I've heard that family is allowed to see us off. Do you think she'll come?" 

"I honestly don't know. She doesn't live around here and is going to school." We broke into a comfortable quiet. We reached the quorts.

"Where were you two?" Jones asked in his commander voice.

"Getting our differences put aside, sir." I answered first.

"Is this true Fen?"

"Yes sir." He scanned over us before nodded his head and stepping aside to allow us into the quorts. I stayed behind as Fen walked in.

"Sir." Adams turned his attention back to me.

"What is it Olient Davis?" 

"That call you had, are you okay sir?" Adams frowned at the idea of me hearing his personal call.

"What were you doing listening in Olient?" 

"I couldn't help but hear it. Are you okay sir?"

"I'm fine. Just a bunch of bills and nothing to show for it." He tilted his head down and looked down to my shoes. 

"Always keep on your feet, the moment you stop the moment you drop." I glanced down, my lace was undone. 

"Yes sir." I knelt down and tied them. 

"I have high hopes for you Olient Davis, don't let me down." I stood up.

"Yes sir!" He smiled and walked away. I opened the door again and walked in. The rest of the men were still up and talking softly. They had no life inside of them. Fen was changing out of his clothes and barely made eye contact with me. He smiled softly as I sat on my bed to do that same.