Strawberry Red

Prologue Buck

1940

Gale Cleven stepped out of bus which dropped him and other recruits off at the training base of the Eighth Air Force. He swung his bag over his shoulder and walked with the recruits over to the entrance. At the entrance military officers were stationed to check in the recruits. Gale stood in line waiting to be next. He saw multiple barracks directly behind the fence. Further behind he saw high towers and wide take-off fields. Planes were standing on the field. He could hear forts flying above his head. The base felt alive, everyone was moving and doing something.

As a child he always found planes fascinating but he would've never thought that one day he'd be training to become a pilot. He always thought he'd end up studying physics or business at a university. But here he was standing a couple of feet away from his new life.

"Name?" asked one of the senior officers.

"Gale Cleven," he answered. The officer handed him a piece of paper and winked him in. Finally, he was on base after hours of travelling. On the paper were a couple of things listed. Gale's bunk was in barrack sixteen. He followed the path between the barracks and opened the door to barrack sixteen. A couple of guys were already inside putting their stuff away. The only free bed was in the left corner. He made his way past the men and laid his bag down beside his bed.

"Buck," said one of the men energetic. "You look like Buck,"

Gale didn't bother to find out what was going on. Instead, he drowned out the other voices and opened his bag. He started to take out his things and stuffed them into the bedside table. Gale felt a tap on his shoulder: "Hey, Buck. Are you coming? The guys and I are checking out the base."

"My name's Gale," answered Gale shortly. The young man before him had black hair which was dangling into his face.

"No, you're Buck. You know, you just look exactly like a guy back home in Wisconsin. His name is Buck," insisted the man and grinned widely at Gale. "I'm Bucky by the way,"

"What kind of name is Buck? I don't like that name." Gale shook his head and wanted to walk past Bucky.

"It's a great name and it fits." It seemed impossible, but Bucky's smile grew even larger.

"I prefer to stick with Gale." Bucky burst out laughing and putting a hand on Gale's shoulder.

"You and I are going to be good friends, Buck." Bucky pulled himself together and skipped happily out of the barrack humming the song Blue Sky.

The days in training were long and exhausting. The recruits were woken up every morning at exactly 5 o'clock. They were given an hour to get ready for the day and eat breakfast. Then they were assembled to listen to the program of the day. Most days were spent flying. It felt like they were living inside their forts.

As Bucky had predicted, they became friends fast. Maybe it due to the fact that Bucky almost never left Buck's side. Bucky was constantly talking to him and always requested Buck's help somehow. At the beginning Buck was incredibly irritated by the man but eventually he got used to it. Now he missed the troublemaker's presence whenever they were separated.

"Have you heard the rumours, Buck?" asked Bucky one night. They were sitting outside enjoying the warm evening sun.

"Don't think I have."

"Apparently, they are sending crews of the Eighth to England. We are supposed to help the Brits bring the war to Hitler's doorstep." Bucky turned his head to look at Buck.

"You want to be part of that mission, don't you?" Buck threw a little stone into the grass field in front of him.

"Of course. That's what we have been training for. I didn't spend three years of my life learning how to fly only to sit around doing nothing," retorted Bucky.

"If you're in, count me in too," said Buck and smiled. Nothing could separate the two, not even a war.

A/N: Let me now if you liked reading Buck's POV.