Labyrinth

Chapter Twenty

Cameron opened his eyes to be met with the darkness of the room. It was chilly, so he snuggled into Christian seeking more of his warmth. In doing so, Christian opened his eyes to see the koala that was latching onto him. The sound of raindrops could be heard hitting the roof softly while the window opened just a crack, let in a cool breeze. The door was closed leaving Cameron and Christian in their own little safe haven, closing out the rest of the chaos that was engulfing the world.

"Good morning, mom," Cameron greeted his mother as he walked down the stairs. "Where's dad?"

"Go wake Christian up and then by the time you two come down here we can talk." Wendy said.

"Mom, what's going on?" Cameron said.

"Cameron, please, just listen!" Wendy exclaimed.

Cameron noticed how she refolded the hand towel over and over, a sign of when she's nervous about something.

Cameron ran upstairs and went to Christian's side.

"Wake up, baby, something has happened." Cameron said nervously.

"Huh? What is it?" Christian said, fluttering his eyes like a little baby.

"I don't know, mom won't tell me yet." Cameron said worriedly.

Christian got up and put on his shirt and the two made their way downstairs.

Just as they were coming downstairs, William was walking in the front door.

"Son, take a seat." William said.

"You guys are scaring me, what happened?" Cameron said a little too loudly.

"This morning, we were attacked." William said.

"The house looks fine, what are you talking about?" Cameron said, looking around.

"No, honey, not the house. The country." Wendy clarified.

"Is my family okay?" Christian said frantically.

"Yes, honey, Pearl Harbor was attacked." William said slowly.

"What does this mean," Cameron said after a few minutes of silence.

"We're probably entering the war, boys." William said with an expression that was a mix of sympathy and sorrow.

-Time Skip-

"I want to go home, Cameron." Christian said after they walked back into their room.

"I understand, sweetheart, let me talk to my parents. Can you pack for us?" Cameron said.

"You're coming back to Iowa?" Christian said, a little surprised.

"I can't live without you, I need you to breathe, of course I'm going to Iowa." Cameron said, giving Christian a long, sweet kiss.

Cameron just entered the kitchen where his parents are still sitting at the table.

"Where's Christian?" Wendy asked.

"He's packing our things." The two nodded in understanding.

"Mom, dad, I want to enlist." Cameron said.

Wendy and William looked at their son with shock written on their faces.

"But I need your help. I want Christian to get a deferment if it comes time to draft." Cameron said.

"Son, only students get those." William said.

"Dad, please." Cameron almost begged.

"I'll talk to some friends." William said.

"He's never going to agree to this," Wendy said sadly.

Just at that moment, a brick flew into the dining room shattering the glass of the window.

Cameron could hear Christian screaming and ran upstairs to make sure he was safe.

"Cameron!" Christian yelled.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Cameron said.

"I'm never coming to Missouri again!" Christian cried, causing Cameron to smile a little.

"Come on, come be by my parents while I look outside," Cameron said.

"No, you're not going out there!" Christian yelled.

"I have to see what's going on, please," Cameron said.

Christian let Cameron go and Cameron walked out the front door.

William's sheriff car was smeared with paint and the garage door was egged.

"Immature assholes," Cameron said.

A car whipped around the bend again coming toward Cameron. Cameron grabbed a blade from his father's unmarked vehicle for protection.

The car stopped in front of Cameron revealing two young men.

"Your father was one of the war supporters wasn't he?" The driver yelled. "Well, congratulations, he got it!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cameron said.

"Your dad wanted the war, but his son is too scared to enlist." The two boys were laughing.

"Look, look at his face! He can't even get a date, but he thinks he can go fight in the war like a real man." The other man said.

Cameron punched the driver in the face and walked back into the house.

"Cameron, are you alright?" Christian ran up to him, seeing his bruised hand.

Cameron collapsed in Christian's arms letting the smell of chocolate relax his mind.

"Let's go home," Cameron said.