World War 3: The Beginning [A trilogy]

6. I'm a Foot Soldier

Cracking my knuckles, I ride the train in silence with Fiona.

"Nervous?" She asks me.

"Yeah," I responded, putting my hands abruptly in my lap.

"You'll do fine," Fiona says, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I smile weakly at her.

We ride the speed-train to the country's border, and arrive there within two hours.

"Welcome, ladies! Fiona," a woman says, nodding to Fiona. "Welcome to the place you'll be spending eight more years of your life!"

"I'll be twenty-six then," I say to myself, awestruck.

The woman continues her speech, explaining how war work, as if we didn't already know, and that we're all allies here. She then sends us off to bed, as we'll be starting our first day tomorrow.

"Fiona, what if one of us dies?" I ask, looking over at her. Her whole face appearance seems to have changed. Her jaw is set, and a strange fire in her eyes exists that I've never seen before.

"Then we die. We can't help it. We are here to save our world. The men-" She says, then breaks off.

"Men? What about them?" I ask, curious. Fiona has never mentioned them, but everyone knows they exist.

"Don't ask about it here," Fiona says. "Don't ask anybody, or you will meet a- a terrible fate," she shudders.

"Okay," I say, but my mind can't help but wander. What have the men done to make both sexes go into war against each other? What could be so terrible that nobody would want to talk about it?

I crawl into my cot, which isn't the most comfortable, and try to sleep. But I can't. I stay awake, thinking about the men. Now that I think about it, I don't even know what men would look like. Do they look like women, but with short hair and flat chests?

I stay awake almost all night, tossing and turning until I fall asleep. I don't know what time I fell asleep or for how long I stayed awake, but it felt like the minute I fell asleep the waking bell was ringing throughout the camp.

I woke, pulled the white sheets up to the white pillows, then fold it over. I then dress, in a room full of other women, but it seems normal. We all go down to breakfast walking in pairs in a straight line.

How does this feel normal?

Everything is happening in a neat and perfect order. Everyone finishes everything at the same time, and has their minds on the same track, never failing to falter, even me. I didn't trip once on the way to the mess hall while walking next to Fiona, which is a great accomplishment for me. My eyes wander, but my head doesn't move on my neck at all. Every woman's jaw is set, eyes straight ahead, arms down at their sides and stepping forward with the same foot at the same time. Even when I try to mess myself up, I can't.

At the mess hall, I finally feel like I am myself again. I can control every limb in my body.

"Fiona?" I ask her.

"Yes?" She answers me.

"Did you feel that just now? It's almost like we were being controlled," I say.

"It'll feel like that for a while," she explains.

I don't bother asking for any more information, because I know she won't give it to me. Instead I just keep my mouth shut and eat my breakfast of sausage in scrambled eggs.

The woman from yesterday stands up after everyone has finished eating.

"You will now report to your stations to take over for those in the night shift. Sailors, head over to the east gate, the ships still in any good condition will be returned to you. Pilots, you will head over to the north gate, where your very own plane awaits you, engine full and stacked with a months worth of needs. Use them wisely. Soldiers, head over to the east gate, you will receive further instructions there," she barks. Everyone stands up and heads towards their instructed area.

"Aren't you coming to the North Gate?" I ask Fiona, confused of why she was going a different direction. She always sticks with me.

"I'm a foot soldier, not a pilot, Haley, I'm afraid this may be the last time we'll see each other for a while," she says. I stop and stand. I forgot that I was her first "child" and was trained to be a pilot by someone else.

I run over to Fiona and hug her tightly, a tear rolling down my cheek.

"Good luck out there, Haley. I will miss you," Fiona says, her white-blonde hair shining.

"Don't think about me too much, I'll be fine. But I'll miss you, too, Fiona. Thank you for raising me right," I say, and throw my arms around her shoulders again.

"You better head over to the North Gate," Fiona says.

"Right!" I say, and start to dash off.

"I-" I start to say that I will be worried about her, but she's gone and blends into the crowd of others and I cannot see her. "I better get going," I say quietly to myself.

🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

Hey guys! Sorry I've been gone for so long, but I hope you guys liked this chapter! Did Fiona's and Haley's departure give you "the feels?" Probably not. Ha ha.

Sorry I've been ghosting you all!

WORD COUNT: 913

~ Sami