The Soldier

CHAPTER THREE

 I am sitting by the creek on my land. School went by like a breeze, and all we did was learn what camp everybody will be going to.

I get up and go to my father's hunting lodge. There we have so many weapons. I pass by one of the workers, and smile. He smiles in return, waving in greetings. I open the door to find all of the men having fun: poker, beer, and the usual amount of gambling.

I run to one of Father's best friends. "Hey, Nathan, do you know where my father is?" I ask.

He wobbles a little, and I infer that he's drunk, but he points over to the bar, where my father sits, drinking watered down wine. (I don't know how he is able to drink that. Usually, cheap NONR wine does not taste very well.)

I thank Nathan before heading over to my father.

Some men hold Taser guns by their sides, making sure that anyone who is drunk, does not get out of hand. I give a slight nod as a greeting to them, walk up to Father. To my surprise, he's not drunk.

"Father, may I have my gun so that I can go hunting?" I ask.

"I don't think you should go hunting today." he says, his voice deep. There's something in his eyes. The way he looks at me. But I can't put my finger on it.

"Come on, I haven't been hunting for weeks, and plus, we don't have any meat for today." I reply.

He sighs and puts a hand on my shoulder. "I already went hunting." he says.

"Oh." I say, defeated, though something unnerves me that he's not telling me the truth. "Well, Can I just gather a little bit more food? This winter is getting colder, and pretty soon we won't be able to find any."

He hands me the key to my gun, and I thank him, I stand up on my tiptoes and kiss him on his cheek. I swing my hand in front of the motion-censored cabinet's door, it opens, and carefully I grab my gun.

"Thanks, Father." I say, and then leave.

Before I leave, he says, "Hey, June, we need to have a talk when you get back."

I don't answer. I don't need to. I know he knows.

Out the door, I tread into the forest surrounding my home (What my family and I call Our Land). I'm not sure what game I'm going to get today, but I'm planning to get a few rabbits or squirrels. This will be one of the last time I'll go hunting. I think not to tell anyone because, I don't want them to worry until the time is there.

All the soldiers in our school, after a few training sessions, are to leave their family, home, and everything else, and go train at a military camp. If you don't survive the training, you simply go home, but your family will be put to shame of having a weak child. My father is a military trainer, so he will know this- He's the president of the North of New Rome. (NONR, for short.)

I run farther into the woods until I get to my usual spot. Taking the gun out of my shoulder bag, I rest its silver mantle on my arm. It whines a quiet sound that only I can hear as it charges up for me to shoot. When it does, all I have to do is click my tongue since its motion activated. A bird flies overhead, but I don't kill it. The bird is a vulture, and there are not that many animals around. It will eat any living thing... including small, seventeen year-old girls, who go hunting out alone.

A flock of quail finally comes waddling by. A mother and her babies. I feel a little sorry that I will have to shoot them, but meat is rare is hard to come by these days. The quail pass me, but don't notice me. I click my tongue, and silently, they all drop dead.